Judge: Salvatore Sirna, Case: 22PSCV01500, Date: 2024-10-02 Tentative Ruling

The Court may change tentative rulings at any time. Therefore, counsel are advised to check this website periodically to determine whether any changes or updates have been made to the tentative ruling. Counsel may submit on a tentative ruling by calling the clerk in Department G at (909) 802-1104 prior to 8:30 a.m. the morning of the hearing.

Case Number: 22PSCV01500    Hearing Date: October 2, 2024    Dept: G

Plaintiff Joseph Michael Parslow’s Motion for an Order to Deem Requests for Admissions, Set One, to Defendant Jamison Services, Inc. Admitted and Request for Issue, Evidence, and Monetary Sanctions

Respondent: Defendant Jamison Services, Inc.

TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff Joseph Michael Parslow’s Motion for an Order to Deem Requests for Admissions, Set One, to Defendant Jamison Services, Inc. Admitted is DENIED as MOOT.

Plaintiff Joseph Michael Parslow’s Request for Issue, Evidence, and Monetary Sanctions is GRANTED  and Monetary Sanctions are awarded in the amount of $847.50, payable within thirty (30) days of the issuance of this order.

BACKGROUND

This is a premises liability action. Defendants Pomona Office Tower LLC (Pomona Office Tower); WG Kupka LLC (WG Kupka); and Mike Han, doing business as Pacific Commercial Co., are the alleged owners, possessors, or lessors of a commercial property in Pomona. In January 2021, Plaintiff Joseph Michael Parslow slipped and fell on a wet floor at the Pomona property.

On October 26, 2022, Plaintiffs Joseph Parslow and Donna Parslow filed a complaint against Pomona Office Tower, WG Kupka, Han, and Does 1-100, alleging causes of action for (1) negligence and (2) loss of consortium.

On November 29, 2022, Pomona Office Tower filed a cross-complaint against Han and Roes 1-50, alleging causes of action for (1) indemnification, (2) apportionment of fault, and (3) declaratory relief.

On December 27, 2022, the Parslows amended the Complaint to replace Doe 1 with Defendant Jamison Services, Inc. (Jamison Inc.) and Doe 2 with Jamison Services, LP (Jamison LP).

On July 26, 2023, Jamison Inc. filed a cross-complaint against Han and Roes 1-50, alleging causes of action for (1) indemnification, (2) apportionment of fault, and (3) declaratory relief.

On September 9, 2024, Joseph Parslow filed the present motion. A hearing on Parslow’s motion is set for October 2, 2024, with a further status conference re: informal discovery conference on November 6, 2024, and a post-mediation status conference/trial setting conference on December 4, 2024.

ANALYSIS

Joseph Parslow moves to deem requests for admissions admitted against Jamison Inc. In addition, Joseph Parslow seeks sanctions.

Legal Standard

Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, subdivisions (b) and (c) allow the requesting party to file a motion requesting that the truth of any matters specified in the request for admissions be deemed admitted unless the party to whom the requests have been directed has served a response that is in substantial compliance before the hearing. A response to requests for admissions is timely if provided within 30 days of service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.250.) Monetary sanctions must be imposed pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, subdivision (c) for failure to timely respond to requests for admissions. While the imposition of sanctions is mandatory, the court “has discretion to reduce the amount of fees and costs requested as a discovery sanction in order to reach a reasonable award.” (Cornerstone Realty Advisors, LLC v. Summit Healthcare Reit, Inc. (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 771, 791 (Cornerstone).)

Discussion

On May 7, 2024, Joseph Parslow’s counsel electronically served on Jamison Inc. a first set of request for admissions. (Wong Decl., ¶ 3.) After Jamison Inc. failed to provide timely responses, Joseph Parslow’s counsel sent another request for responses on July 9, 2024, that gave Jamison Inc. until July 19, 2024, to reply. (Wong Decl., ¶ 5.) In response to Jamison Inc.’s promise to provide responses as soon as possible, Joseph Parslow gave Jamison Inc. an additional extension to respond by July 26, 2024. (Wong Decl., ¶ 6-7.) After Jamison Inc. failed to provide responses by the new deadline, Joseph Parslow filed a request for an informal discovery conference on July 29, 2024. (Wong Decl., ¶ 8-9.) At an informal discovery conference on August 27, 2024, the court ordered Jamison Inc. to provide verified responses without objection on or before September 6, 2024. (Wong Decl., ¶ 14-17.) While Jamison Inc. provided responses on September 6, 2024, their responses included objections and lacked verifications. (Wong Decl., ¶ 20-21.)

In opposition, Jamison Inc.’s counsel states Jamison Inc. served the required verifications for their responses on September 9, 2024. (Vega Zamudio Decl., ¶ 9-10.) Although the responses include objections despite such objections being waived, the court finds Jamison Inc. has served responses in substantial compliance before the hearing on the present motion. Thus, the court deems Joseph Parslow’s motion MOOT.

Sanctions

Joseph Parslow also requests an award of sanctions for the present motion. To the extent Joseph Parslow requests issue and evidentiary sanctions, the court finds they are not warranted. Nevertheless, since Jamison Inc. failed to respond timely to Joseph Parslow’s request for admissions, the court finds Joseph Parslow is entitled to mandatory sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, subdivision (c). Accordingly, utilizing a lodestar approach and in view of the totality of the circumstances, the court awards sanctions and finds reasonable attorney fees and costs in the total of amount of $847.50 ($787.50 for 3.0 hours drafting the moving/reply papers and 0.5 hours attending the hearing at an hourly rate of $225.00, plus $60.00 in filing fees).