Judge: Robert B. Broadbelt, Case: 20STCV10085, Date: 2023-08-04 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV10085    Hearing Date: August 4, 2023    Dept: 53

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles – Central District

Department 53

MOVING PARTY:                 Plaintiff Michael F. Wright, individually and as trustee of the Michael F. Wright Individual Retirement Account         

RESPONDING PARTY:        Defendant George W. Carroll

Motion to Compel Further Responses to Form Interrogatories

The court considered the moving, opposition, and reply papers filed in connection with this motion.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff Michael F. Wright, individually and as trustee of the Michael F. Wright Individual Retirement Account (“Plaintiff”) moves the court for an order (1) compelling defendant George W. Carroll (“Defendant”) to provide further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatories, numbers (i) 15.1, and (ii) 17.1, as to Requests for Admission numbers 3, 7-10, 12-15, 27-31, 33-38, 40-46, 48, 69, 70, and 74, (2) imposing evidence or issue sanctions against Defendant for violating the May 2, 2023 “Stipulation and Order re: Further Responses to Plaintiff Michael F. Wright’s Written Discovery,” and (3) awarding monetary sanctions in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant.

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 15.1, as to the responses regarding the “general denial” because those answers are incomplete since they do not sufficiently identify each denial of a material allegation of the pleadings.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 15.1, subdivision (c) as to the first through 27th affirmative defenses, because those answers are evasive and incomplete since they do not sufficiently identify all documents and other tangible things in support of the affirmative defenses.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, as to Requests for Admission numbers 10, 45, 48, 69, 70, and 74 because (1) the parties agreed that Defendant would provide answers to those Requests for Admission and corresponding Form Interrogatory number 17.1 in the May 2, 2023 stipulation and order, and (2) Defendant concedes that those responses were omitted from the May 2023 production.  (Mateescu Decl., ¶¶ 8, 10.)  Although Defendant’s counsel states, and Plaintiff appears to concede in reply, that further supplemental responses were served, Defendant does not appear to have attached a copy of the supplement responses to the opposition.  (Mateescu Decl., ¶ 13; Reply, p. 2:20-21 [“it is undisputed that he only supplemented his responses regarding a handful of RFAs that he originally failed to respond to., i.e., Nos 10, 45, 48, 69, 70, and 74”] [emphasis in original].)  Because the court cannot evaluate whether the July 19, 2023 further responses are deficient, the court orders Defendant to produce further, full and complete answers that comply with the Code of Civil Procedure pursuant to the parties’ stipulation and the court’s order.  (May 2, 2023 Order, p. 2, ¶ 10.)

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, subdivision (d), as to Requests for Admission numbers 3, 7-9, 12-15, 30, 34-38, and 40-43 because the answers to that subdivision are evasive and incomplete since they do not sufficiently identify all documents and other tangible things that support Defendant’s responses.

The court denies Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, subdivision (b), as to Requests for Admission numbers 3 and 41-43 because the answers to that subdivision are not evasive or incomplete.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court denies Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, subdivisions (b) and (d) as to Requests for Admission numbers 27 and 28 because the answers to those subdivisions are not evasive or incomplete.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, subdivisions (b) and (d) as to Requests for Admission numbers 29, 31, and 33, because the answers to those subdivisions are evasive and incomplete since (1) they are not responsive to the presented requests, including because the parties stipulated, and the court ordered, that the phrase “when YOU solicited the Wrights to invest in TAMARA” would be substituted for “when YOU went to the Wrights asking if they wanted a share of the investment in TAMARA[,]” and (2) they do not sufficiently identify all documents and other tangible things that support Defendant’s responses.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court grants Plaintiff’s motion to compel further responses to Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatory number 17.1, subdivisions (b) and (d) as to Requests for Admission numbers 44 and 46 because the answers to those interrogatories are evasive and incomplete since (1) they are not responsive to the presented requests, and (2) they do not sufficiently identify all documents and other tangible things that support Defendant’s responses.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (a)(1).)

The court denies Plaintiff’s request to impose issue and evidence sanctions against Defendant.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.030, subds. (b), (c).)

The court grants Plaintiff’s request for an award of monetary sanctions.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (d).)  The court finds that $60 (consisting of the $60 filing fee for this motion) is a reasonable amount of sanctions to impose against Defendant.  (Wright Decl., ¶ 23.)

The court denies Defendant’s request for an award of sanctions in the amount of $5,000, made in his opposition, against Plaintiff.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.300, subd. (d).)

ORDER

The court grants in part plaintiff Michael F. Wright’s motion to compel further responses to form interrogatories as follows.

Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.300, the court orders defendant George W. Carroll to serve further, full and complete answers to plaintiff Michael F. Wright’s Form Interrogatories (1) number 15.1, as to the “general denial;” (2) number 15.1, subdivision (c), as to the first through 27th affirmative defenses; (3) number 17.1, as to Requests for Admission numbers 10, 45, 48, 69, 70, and 74; (4) number 17.1, subdivision (d), as to Requests for Admission numbers 3, 7-9, 12-15, 30, 34-38, and 40-43; and (5) number 17.1, subdivisions (b) and (d), as to Requests for Admission numbers 29, 31, 33, 44 and 46, which comply with Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.210-2030.200, and 2030.250, within 20 days of the date of this order.

The court denies plaintiff Michael F. Wright’s motion for issue and evidence sanctions.

The court grants plaintiff Michael F. Wright’s request for an award of monetary sanctions.  The court orders defendant George W. Carroll to pay to plaintiff Michael F. Wright sanctions in the amount of $60 within 30 days of the date of this order.

The court orders plaintiff Michael F. Wright to give notice of this ruling.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED:  August 4, 2023

_____________________________

Robert B. Broadbelt III

Judge of the Superior Court