Judge: Randall J. Sherman, Case: 2019-01120722, Date: 2022-09-02 Tentative Ruling

Non-Party Judith Peck’s Motion to Amend Court Order of Costs and Fees is denied.

This motion is actually a motion for reconsideration of this court’s May 20, 2022 ruling granting Snell and Grad’s request for monetary sanctions in opposing Peck’s Motion for an Order Prohibiting Discovery of Privileged Documents.  However, this motion fails to satisfy the requirements of a motion for reconsideration.  There are no new or different facts, circumstances, or law that could not have been presented earlier.  Moreover, notice of the May 20, 2022 ruling was served by electronic service on Peck’s attorneys on May 23, 2022.  This motion was not filed and served until June 17, 2022, well over 10 days after service of the notice of ruling.

This court stands by its original ruling.  Peck’s motion, on its face, requested a finding of privilege as to every single communication between Peck and any of the 15 plaintiffs.  However, Peck did not show that all of the requested documents were privileged, or that she inspected all of the potentially responsive documents to establish they were all privileged, and thus Peck did not establish good cause for the protective order she sought.  Peck’s motion lacked substantial justification, and no other circumstances made the imposition of a sanction unjust. Peck filed her motion prematurely, without actually evaluating the complete set of documents she wanted withheld, and sought relief that was overly broad.  Peck tried to partially cure this issue by filing a privilege log on reply, but admitted she and her counsel had not yet reviewed all the documents.  Thus, sanctions were appropriate pursuant to CCP §2031.060(h).  Peck now argues that sanctions were unjust because she faces severe financial hardship and relies solely on social security income.  However, defendants point out that Peck has had the means to retain ten different attorneys and to litigate related actions.

On the court’s own motion, Defendant Snell & Wilmer LLP’s Motion to Compel Further Responses and Production of Documents to Requests for Production (Set Two), and for Order of Monetary Sanctions, set for hearing on October 28, 2022, is ordered off calendar.  This court has appointed a discovery referee for this case.

Snell and Grad are ordered to give notice of the ruling.