Judge: Monica Bachner, Case: 21STCV38742, Date: 2023-03-15 Tentative Ruling

Department 71: Attorneys who elect to submit on these published tentative rulings, without making an appearance at the hearing, may so notify the Court by communicating this to the Department's staff at (213) 830-0771 before the set hearing time.  See, e.g., CRC Rule 324(b).   All parties are otherwise encouraged to appear by Court Call for all matters.

Case Number: 21STCV38742    Hearing Date: March 15, 2023    Dept: 71

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 71

TENTATIVE RULING

Petitioner State Farm Automobile Insurance Company’s unopposed motion to compel Respondent Navid Faizi, to provide responses to Plaintiff’s Special Interrogatories (Set One) is granted. Respondent is ordered to comply within 20 days.

Petitioner State Farm Automobile Insurance Company’s unopposed motion to compel Respondent Navid Faizi, to provide responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatories (Set One) is granted. Respondent is ordered to comply within 20 days.

Petitioner State Farm Automobile Insurance Company’s unopposed motion to compel Respondent Navid Faizi, to provide responses to Plaintiff’s Request for Production (Set One) is granted. Respondent is ordered to comply within 20 days.

Petitioner’s request for sanctions is granted in the reduced total of $825.00, payable within 20 days.

          Petitioner State Farm Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) (“Petitioner”) moves unopposed for an order compelling Respondent Navid Faizi (“Faizi”) (“Respondent”) to provide responses to Petitioner’s Special Interrogatories (Set One) (“SROG”).  (Notice of Motion SROG, pgs. 1-2; C.C.P. §§2023.030, 2030.290.)  Petitioner also requests an award of sanctions against Respondent for attorneys’ fees in the amount of $645.00 and the filing fee for $60.00.  (Notice of Motion SROG, pgs. 1-2.)

Petitioner moves unopposed for an order compelling Respondent to provide responses to Petitioner’s Form Interrogatories (Set One) (“FROG”).  (Notice of Motion FROG, pgs. 1-2; C.C.P. §§2023.030, 2030.290.)  Petitioner also requests an award of sanctions against Respondent for attorneys’ fees in the amount of $645.00 and the filing fee for $60.00.  (Notice of Motion FROG, pgs. 1-2.)

Petitioner moves unopposed for an order compelling Respondent to provide responses to Petitioner’s Request for Production (Set One) (“RFP”).  (Notice of Motion RFP, pgs. 1-2; C.C.P. §§2023.030, 2030.290.)  Petitioner also requests an award of sanctions against Respondent for attorneys’ fees in the amount of $705.00 and the filing fee for $60.00.  (Notice of Motion RFP, pgs. 1-2.)

          Background

          On August 26, 2022, Petitioner served written discovery upon Respondent, which included the instant SROG, FROG, and RFP.  (Decls. of Reader ¶¶2, Exhs. A.)  As of the date of this hearing, Petitioner has not received discovery responses from Respondent or any requests for further extensions of time to respond.  (Decls. of Reader ¶¶3.)

          On November 14, 2022, Petitioner filed the instant motions.  As of the date of this hearing, Respondent has not filed oppositions.

Motion to Compel Compliance

If a party to whom interrogatories are directed either fails to respond at all, or responds with objections or incomplete answers, the propounding party’s remedy is to seek a court order compelling answers to the interrogatories.  (C.C.P. §§2030.290, 2030.300; see Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 404.)  An unverified response is tantamount to no response at all.  (See Appleton v. Superior Court (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 632, 636.)  Relief for untimely motions may be available, however, under C.C.P. §473(b) based on “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.”  (C.C.P. §473(b).)

Where there has been no timely response to a C.C.P. §2031.010 demand to produce documents, the first thing the demanding party must do is to seek an order compelling a response.  (C.C.P. §2031.300.)  Failing to respond to a C.C.P. §2031.010 demand within the time permitted waives all objections to the demand, including claims of privilege and work product.  (C.C.P. §2031.300(a).)

          Here, Respondent has failed to timely respond to Petitioner’s interrogatories and request for production with verified responses.

Accordingly, Petitioner’s motions to compel Respondent to provide answers to Petitioner’s Form Interrogatories (Set One) and Special Interrogatories (Set One) and comply with inspection demands to Petitioner’s Request for Production of Documents (Set One) are granted.  Respondent is to produce responses to Petitioner within 20 days.

          Request for Monetary Sanctions

If the party enforcing a motion to compel answers to interrogatories properly asks for monetary sanctions, the court “shall” impose a monetary sanction against the losing party on the motion to compel unless it finds that party acted “with substantial justification” or other circumstances render the sanction “unjust.”  (C.C.P. §2030.290(c).)

If a motion to compel response production of documents is filed and a party properly asks for monetary sanctions, the court “shall” impose a monetary sanction against the losing party unless it finds that party made or opposed the motion “with substantial justification” or other reasons make the sanction “unjust.”  (C.C.P. §2031.300(c).)

C.C.P §2023.030 authorizes a trial court to impose a monetary sanction against any party or attorney, or both, who has engaged in misuse of the discovery process. Misuses of the discovery process include, among other things, failing to respond or to submit to an authorized method of discovery; making without substantial justification, an unmeritorious objection to discovery; making an evasive response to discovery.  (C.C.P. §2023.010.)

Petitioner’s counsel declares his hourly rate is $215.00.  (Decls. of Reader ¶¶4.)  Petitioner’s counsel declares each discovery motion took 2 hours to prepare, and he anticipates spending another 1 hour attending the hearing on each motion.  (Decls. of Reader ¶¶4.)  Petitioner’s counsel further declares the filing fee for filing each motion was $60.00 each.  (Decls. of Reader ¶¶5.)  Considering that each of Petitioner’s motions are brief, substantively similar, and unopposed, the Court reduces the total number of hours requested by Petitioner’s counsel to a total of 2 hours.  Further, because all the motions will be heard at a single hearing, and are unopposed, the Court reduces Petitioner’s request for fees to attend the hearing to a total of 1 hour.  The Court will grant filing fees for each motion.

Accordingly, Petitioner’s request for sanctions against Respondent is reduced to a total of $825.00.

Dated:  March _____, 2023

Hon. Monica Bachner

Judge of the Superior Court