Judge: Steven A. Ellis, Case: 21STCV26485, Date: 2023-08-08 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV26485    Hearing Date: August 8, 2023    Dept: 29

TENTATIVE

Defendant Starline Tours of Hollywood, Inc.’s motion to compel responses to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, Request for Production, and Deem Requests for Admissions Admitted is GRANTED.

Additional Filing Fees

Preliminarily, the Court notes that Defendant filed a single motion to compel responses to the form interrogatories, special interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission. Instead, Defendant should have filed separate motions as to each discovery request for a total of four motions. The Court will therefore order Defendant to pay an additional $180 in filing fees, at $60 per motion. (Gov. Code, § 70617, subd. (a).)

Legal Standard

Compelling Responses to Interrogatories 

Within 30 days after service of interrogatories, the party to whom the interrogatories are propounded shall serve the original of the response to them on the propounding party, unless on motion of the propounding party the court has shortened the time for response, or unless on motion of the responding party the court has extended the time for response. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.260, subd. (a).) 

If a party to whom interrogatories are directed fails to serve a timely response, the propounding party may move for an order compelling responses and for a monetary sanction. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290, subd. (b).) The statute contains no time limit for a motion to compel where no responses have been served. All that needs be shown in the moving papers is that a set of interrogatories was properly served on the opposing party, that the time to respond has expired, and that no response of any kind has been served. (Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 902, 905-906.) 

A party waives its objections when it does not serve a timely response to the request. (Code Civ. Proc., 2030.290, subd. (a).)

Compelling Response to Demand for Production of Documents¿ 

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Where there has been no timely response to a demand for the production of documents, the demanding party may seek an order compelling a response. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (b).) Failure to timely respond waives objections. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (a).) There is no deadline for a motion to compel responses.¿ 

Deem Requests for Admissions Admitted 

Where there has been no timely response to requests for admissions, a “requesting party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted.”  The court “shall” grant the motion to deem requests for admission admitted “unless it finds that the party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220.”  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).) 

Sanctions 

Sanctions are mandatory in connection with motions to compel responses to interrogatories and requests for production of documents against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel unless the court “finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.”¿(Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290, subd. (c) & 2031.300, subd. (c).)¿ Sanctions are also mandatory against a party and/or an attorney “whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this motion [to deem matters admitted].”  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).) 

Discussion

Defendant moves to compel Plaintiff’s responses to the form interrogatories (“FROG”), special interrogatories (“SROG”), and requests to produce documents (“RPD”). Defendant further moves to deem admitted the requestions for admission (“RFA”).

Defendant propounded the FROG, SROG, RPD, and RFA on Plaintiff on April 3, 2023. (Tran Decl., ¶3.) To date, despite multiple extensions, Plaintiff has not served responses to Defendant’s discovery requests. (Tran Decl., ¶¶ 3-14.)

Accordingly, because Plaintiff has not served any responses to the FROG, SROG, RPD, or RFA, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion.

The Court also GRANTS Defendant request for monetary sanctions.  The Court finds Plaintiff’s failure to timely respond to the FROG, SROG, RPD, and RFA to be an abuse of the discovery process, warranting monetary sanctions. (See Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2023.010, subd. (d), 2030.290, subd. (c), 2031.300, subd. (c), 2033.280, subd. (c).)  Sanctions are set at $630 (3 hours multiplied by a billable rate of $210 per hour).  (Tran Decl., ¶ 15.)

Conclusion

The Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to compel.  Plaintiff is ordered to provide verified, code compliant, written responses to Set One of Defendant’s Form Interrogatories, Set One of Defendant’s Special Interrogatories, and Set One of Defendant’s Requests for Production of Documents within 30 days of notice of this order.

There being no evidence that Plaintiff has serve a response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to deem admitted the matters covered by each request in Set One of Defendant’s Requests for Admission.

The Court GRANTS Defendant’s request for sanctions.  The Court orders Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel of record, Bral & Associates, jointly and severally, to pay sanctions to Defendant in the amount of $630, within 30 days of notice of this order.

The Court further ORDERS Defendant to pay to the Clerk of the Court an additional $180 in unpaid filing fees, at $60 per motion, within 30 days of the hearing on this matter. (Gov. Code, § 70617, subd. (a).)

Moving party is ordered to give notice.