Judge: Thomas D. Long, Case: 22STCV23548, Date: 2023-10-26 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV23548    Hearing Date: October 26, 2023    Dept: 48

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

On July 21, 2022, Plaintiff Messina & Hankin LLP filed this action against Defendants Dan Wolfe (individually and as Trustee of the Wolfe Family Trust of 1992), Wolfe Air Aviation Ltd., and Hawthorne Hangar Operations L.P.

On October 2, 2023, Dan Wolfe filed a motion to compel Plaintiff’s responses to First Set of Requests for Production.

When a party fails to serve timely responses to discovery requests, the court may make an order compelling responses.  (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290, 2031.300; Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 403.)   A party that fails to serve timely responses waives any objections to the request, including ones based on privilege or the protection of attorney work product.  (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290, subd. (a), 2031.300, subd. (a).)  Sanctions shall be imposed against the party who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel, unless the party acted with substantial justification or the sanction would otherwise be unjust.  (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290, subd. (c), 2031.300, subd. (c).)

Wolfe served discovery on Plaintiff on May 9, 2023.  Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the June 13, 2023 Notice of Stay of Proceedings “necessitate the bankruptcy trustee’s permission/agreement in allowing this action to proceed.”  (Jamison Decl. ¶ 8.)  “Generally, however, the automatic stay of judicial proceedings against a debtor in bankruptcy does not apply to non-debtor codefendants.”  (Cross v. Cooper (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 357, 365, fn. 2.)  The debtor for the bankruptcy case is Hawthorne Hangar Operations L.P., not Plaintiff or moving Defendant Wolfe.

Plaintiff did not serve responses to Defendant’s discovery and filed no opposition to this motion. 

Accordingly, the motion to compel is GRANTED.

Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses, without objection, to Wolfe’s First Set of Requests for Production within 30 days.

The request for sanctions is granted in part.  Plaintiff’s counsel is ordered to pay sanctions of $1,810.00 to Wolfe within 30 days ($1,750 attorney fees plus $60 filing fee).

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 26th day of October 2023