SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA  

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT 

 

 

I. BACKGROUND 

Defendant Mynor Rene Orellana (“Defendant”) propounded on plaintiff Sevak Baboumian (“Plaintiff”) (1) form interrogatories, set one, (2) special interrogatories, set one, and (3) request for production of documents (“RPDs”), set one, on February 5, 2023. (Cook Decl. ¶¶ 2-4; Exhs. A-C.) Responses were due on January 8, 2024. (Ibid.) After receiving no responses, defense counsel sent email correspondence to Plaintiff’s counsel regarding the outstanding discovery. (Id. at ¶ 5.) To date, Plaintiff did not respond to defense counsel’s letter nor has Plaintiff served responses to the written discovery. (Id. at ¶ 7.) Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding discovery and to pay sanctions.  

Any opposition was due on or before April 9, 2024. No opposition has been filed.  

 

II. MOTIONS TO COMPEL 

For a motion to compel initial discovery responses, all a propounding party must show is that it properly served its discovery requests, that the time to respond has expired, and that the party to whom the requests were directed failed to provide a timely response. (See Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 902, 905 906.) Where a party fails to serve timely responses to discovery requests, the court may make an order compelling responses. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290; 2031.300; Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 403.) A party that fails to serve timely responses waives any objections to the request, including ones based on privilege or the protection of attorney work product. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (a); § 2031.300, subd. (a).)    

Therefore, because the evidence shows Plaintiffs were properly served with discovery by Defendant and failed to timely respond, any objections have been waived. Defendant’s motions are GRANTED.  

Plaintiffs are ordered to serve verified responses to Defendant’s (1) form interrogatories, set one, (2) special interrogatories, set one, and (3) RPDs, set one, without objections, within twenty (20) days. (CCP §§ 2030.290(a),(b), 2031.300(a),(b).) 

 

III. SANCTIONS 

Sanctions are mandatory against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel a response, unless a court makes certain findings.¿ (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).)¿Plaintiff did not file any opposition. However, sanctions may be awarded, even though no opposition was filed, pursuant to CRC 3.1348(a). Defendant seeks sanctions in the amount of $825 for the motion to compel.    

A court has discretion to award sanctions that are “suitable and necessary to enable the party seeking discovery to obtain the objects of the discovery he seeks” but they should not be punitive in nature or levied for the purposes of punishing an offending party. (Vallbona v. Springer (1996) 43 Cal.App.4th 1525, 1545.)         

Defendant is awarded one hour for the motion to compel, and one hour to appear at the hearing (awarded only once), at the requested rate of $210 per hour for a total of $420 in attorney’s fees. Further, Defendant is awarded one motion filing fees of $60, as costs.       

Sanctions are and imposed against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel, jointly and severally. Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff’s counsel are ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $480, within twenty (20) days. 

 

IV. ADDITIONAL FILING FEES¿ 

The Court notes that Defendant filed a single motion for what should have been three separate motions as to the motions to compel form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents. Combining discovery motions allows the moving party to avoid paying the requisite filing fees. Filing fees are jurisdictional and it is mandatory for court clerks to demand and receive them. (See Duran v. St. Luke’s Hospital (2003) 114 Cal.App.4th 457, 460.) Thus, Defendant is ordered to pay two additional filing fees. This ruling will be final only upon proof of payment of the filing fees. 

 

Moving party is ordered to give notice.