Judge: Michelle C. Kim, Case: 22STCV15911, Date: 2023-04-04 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV15911    Hearing Date: April 4, 2023    Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Defendant 99 Cents Only Store, LLC (“Defendant”) propounded special interrogatories, form interrogatories, request for admissions (“RFAs”), and request for production of documents (“RPDs”), all sets one, on Plaintiff Tony Martinez (“Plaintiff”) on May 27, 2022.  As of the filing these motions on October 20, 2022, Plaintiff has not served responses.  Defendant therefore seeks an order compelling Plaintiff to respond, without objections, to the outstanding interrogatories and RPDs and imposing sanctions.

            On March 24, 2023, Defendant’s counsel filed a declaration for each motion providing that after the filing of the motions, Plaintiff served responses to each discovery request.  Defendant’s counsel states that the only remaining issue concerns sanctions. 

The motions to compel are thus moot in light of the responses served on Defendant prior to the hearing.  (St. Mary v. Superior Court (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 762, 776.)

The sole remaining issue is whether to impose sanctions.  Sanctions are mandatory.  (CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c), 2033.280(c).)  Defendant is awarded one hour for preparing each form motion to compel [three hours] and one hour to appear at the hearing- but awards this time once- all at the requested rate $145 per hour, for a total of $580.00 in attorney fees.  Defendant is further awarded three motion filing fees of $61.65, or $184.95 total, in costs. 

Sanctions are sought and imposed against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record; they are ordered to pay sanctions to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $764.95, within twenty (20) days.

Defendant is ordered to give notice.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

• Parties are encouraged to meet and confer after reading this tentative ruling to see if they can reach an agreement.
• If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the Court at sscdept31@lacourt.org with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number.  The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.  
• Unless all parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument.  You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.  
• If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court.  After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave. 

Dated this 4^th day of April 2023