Judge: Steven A. Ellis, Case: 23STCV04411, Date: 2025-04-01 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23STCV04411    Hearing Date: April 1, 2025    Dept: 29

Skurskiy v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
23STCV04411
Defendant’s Motion to Compel Deposition of Plaintiff

Tentative

The motion is granted.

The request for sanctions is granted in part.

Background

On February 28, 2023, Arthur Skurskiy (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Defendant”) and Does 1 through 50 for premises liability/negligence arising out of an incident on May 24, 2022, in which Plaintiff alleges that he was injured at a Metro station.

On May 3, 2024, Defendant filed an answer.

On February 13, 2025, Defendant filed this motion to compel Plaintiff’s deposition.  Defendant also seeks sanctions.

No opposition has been filed.

Legal Standard

“Any party may obtain discovery … by taking in California the oral deposition of any person, including any party to the action.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.010.) Code of Civil Procedure sections 2025.210 through 2025.280 provide the requirements for (among other things) what must be included in a deposition notice, when and where depositions may be taken, and how and when the notice must be served.

“The service of a deposition notice … is effective to require any deponent who is a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party to attend and to testify, as well as to produce any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing for inspection and copying.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.280, subd. (a).)

Section 2025.230 provides: “If the deponent named is not a natural person, the deposition notice shall describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested. In that event, the deponent shall designate and produce at the deposition those of its officers, directors, managing agents, employees, or agents who are most qualified to testify on its behalf as to those matters to the extent of any information known or reasonably available to the deponent.”

Section 2025.410 requires any party to serve a written objection at least three days before the deposition if the party contends that a deposition notice does not comply with the provisions of sections 2025.210 through 2025.280. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.410, subd. (a).)

Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.450(a) provides:

“If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party, or a person designated by an organization that is a party under Section 2025.230, without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice, the party giving the notice may move for an order compelling the deponent’s attendance and testimony, and the production for inspection of any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice.”

(Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, subd. (a).)

The motion must be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040, “or, when the deponent fails to attend the deposition and produce the documents … by a declaration stating that the petitioner has contacted the deponent to inquire about the nonappearance.” (Id., subd. (b)(2).) The motion must also “set forth specific facts showing cause” for the production of documents. (Id., subd. (b)(1).)

When a motion to compel is granted, “the court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) in favor of the party who noticed the deposition and against the deponent or the party with whom the deponent is affiliated, 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., § 2025.450, subd. (g)(1).)

 In Chapter 7 of the Civil Discovery Act, section 2023.010, subdivision (d), defines “[m]isuses of the discovery process” to include “[f]ailing to respond to or to submit to an authorized method of discovery.” Where a party or attorney has engaged in misuse of the discovery process, the court may impose a monetary sanction in the amount of “the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by anyone as a result of that conduct.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.030, subd. (a).)

Discussion

Plaintiff’s deposition has been set and continued several times. Plaintiff’s deposition was originally set for November 12, 2024, continued to December 30, 2024, and continued again to January 10, 2025. (Yehoshua Decl. ¶¶ 4, 7, 10; see also Exhs. A, D, & F.) On January 9, 2025, Plaintiff requested the deposition to be reset. (Id. ¶¶ 13, 14.)  Defendant requested Plaintiff pay the late cancellation fee for the interpreter in order to change the deposition date; Plaintiff refused. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 16.) Defendant took a certificate of non-appearance on January 10, 2025. (Exh. N.) Defendant sent a follow-up email for dates on February 5, 2025; Plaintiff has failed to provide dates as of the date of Defendant’s filing of this motion. (Yehoshua Decl. ¶ 19.)

Plaintiff has not opposed this motion.

Defendant properly noticed Plaintiff’s deposition.  Plaintiff did not serve timely objections and did not appear.  Defendant need show nothing more.

Accordingly, the Court grants Defendant’s motion to compel Plaintiff’s deposition.

The Court also grants in part the request for sanctions.  The Court sets sanctions in the amount of $3,176.95, based on the following: three hours of reasonable attorney time multiplied by a reasonable rate of $300 per hour for work of this nature, $1,250 for the services of an interpreter for the deposition (as requested by Plaintiff’s counsel), and $1,026.95 for the services of a court reporter.  (Yehoshua Decl. ¶ 20.)

Conclusion

The Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to compel Plaintiff’s deposition.

The Court ORDERS Plaintiff Arthur Skurskiy to appear for deposition and give testimony under oath at 10:30 a.m., on April __, 2025, at 21051 Warner Center Lane, Suite 210, Woodland Hills, California (or on such other date and time as may be mutually agreed to in writing by counsel for all parties).

The Court GRANTS IN PART Defendant’s request for sanctions.

The Court ORDERS Plaintiff Arthur Skurskiy and his attorney Alek Zeven, Esq. of Zeven Law Firm, jointly and severally, to pay monetary sanctions under the Civil Discovery Act in the amount of $3,176.95 to Defendant (through counsel) within 30 days of notice.

Moving party is ORDERED to give notice.