Judge: Thomas D. Long, Case: 21STCV33388, Date: 2025-01-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV33388    Hearing Date: January 9, 2025    Dept: 48

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

On September 9, 2021, Plaintiff Elana Malekan filed this action against Defendant Rebeka Shadpour and others.

On December 5, 2024, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel Defendant’s deposition.

If a party or an officer, director, managing agent, employee of a party, or person designated as the person most qualified to testify fails to appear for examination or produce documents without serving a valid objection, the demanding party may move to compel attendance, testimony, and production.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 2025.450, subd. (a).)

Plaintiff noticed Defendant’s deposition eight times between February 4, 2022 and October 18, 2024, for mutually agreed-upon dates.  (Azadegan Decl. ¶¶ 6, 11, 15, 20, 24, 28, 33, 40.)  Defendant did not appear for two depositions, and Plaintiff took two certificates of non-appearance.  (Azadegan Decl. ¶¶ 8, 43.)  For other deposition dates, Defendant’s counsel claimed scheduling conflicts on short notice, sometimes the day before the deposition.  (Azadegan ¶¶ 12, 19, 22, 25, 29, 34, 42.)

Defendant argues that “there has been no bad faith attempt” to avoid the deposition, and “[t]he series of continuance has just been a result of agreed upon continuances and a series of unfortunate events.”  (Opposition at pp. 6-7.)  Defendant is “amicable to setting an agreed upon deposition date,” and “Plaintiff’s motion to compel could have been avoided without the unnecessary waste of judicial resources had Plaintiff and Mr. Azadegan continued to meet and confer with Defendant and Mr. Zadeh.”  (Id. at p. 7.)

Plaintiff’s counsel’s declaration sets forth over two and a half years of attempts to meet and confer about deposition dates.  All dates had been agreed-upon, yet Defendant still has not appeared.

The parties have now agreed (after this motion was filed) to a deposition date of January 17, 2025.  (Azadegan Reply Decl. ¶ 4.)  Accordingly, the motion is GRANTED.  Defendant Rebeka Shadpour is ORDERED to appear for deposition on January 17, 2025.

Defendant is ordered to pay sanctions of $7,232.50 to Plaintiff within 30 days.

The request for evidentiary and issue sanctions is denied without prejudice.

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SMCDEPT48@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit.  If all parties in the case submit on the tentative ruling, no appearances before the Court are required unless a companion hearing (for example, a Case Management Conference) is also on calendar.

         Dated this 9th day of January 2025