Judge: Wesley L. Hsu, Case: 21PSCV01052, Date: 2023-05-04 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 21PSCV01052 Hearing Date: May 4, 2023 Dept: L
1. Defendant/Cross-Complainant Superior Industries, Inc.’s Motion to
Deem Requests for Admissions, Set One, Admitted is DENIED as MOOT, except
as to the issue of sanctions. Sanctions are awarded in the reduced amount of $190.00 and are payable within 30 days
from the date of the notice of ruling.
2. Defendant/Cross-Complainant Superior Industries, Inc.’s Motion to
Compel Plaintiff Aurora Chan’s Response to Form Interrogatories, Set One is GRANTED.
Plaintiff is to provide verified responses, without objections, to Superior’s
Form Interrogatories, Set No. One, within 20 days from the date of the notice
of ruling. Sanctions are awarded in the
reduced amount of $190.00 and are payable within 30 days from the date of the
notice of ruling.
3. Defendant/Cross-Complainant Superior Industries, Inc.’s Motion to
Compel Plaintiff Aurora Chan’s Response to Special Interrogatories, Set One is
GRANTED. Plaintiff is to provide verified responses, without objections, to
Superior’s Special Interrogatories, Set No. One, within 20 days from the date
of the notice of ruling. Sanctions are awarded
in the reduced amount of $190.00 and are payable within 30 days from the date
of the notice of ruling.
4. Defendant/Cross-Complainant Superior Industries, Inc.’s Motion to
Compel Plaintiff Aurora Chan’s Response to Request for Production of Documents,
Set One is GRANTED. Plaintiff is to provide verified responses, without
objections, to Superior’s Request for Production of Documents, Set No. One,
within 20 days from the date of the notice of ruling. Sanctions are awarded in the reduced amount of $190.00 and
are payable within 30 days from the date of the notice of ruling.
Background
1. Motion
to Deem RFAs Admitted
Legal Standard
A response to
requests for admission is due 30 days after service. (Code Civ. Proc., §
2033.250, subd.
(a).) “If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a
timely response,
. . .[t]he 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. . .” (Code
Civ. Proc., §
2033.280, subd. (b).) “The court shall make this order, 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).)
“It is mandatory that the court impose a
monetary sanction . . . on the party or attorney, or both,
whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this motion.”
(Code Civ.
Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).)
Discussion
Superior moves the court for an order admitting the truth of each matter
specified in Superior’s Requests for Admissions, Set One, served on Plaintiff
on June 20, 2022. Superior also seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and her
counsel of record, Steven L. Rader (“Rader”) of Centauri Law, jointly and
severally, in the amount of $950.00.
Code of Civil Procedure Section 2015.5
Non-Compliance
At the outset the court notes that the Declaration of Tyler M. Costanzo
(“Costanzo”) is not made under oath, as per Code of Civil Procedure Section
2015.5. Costanzo is instructed to file a corrected declaration at or before the
time of the hearing.
Merits
Costanzo represents as follows: Superior served the subject discovery on
June 20, 2022. (Costanzo Decl., ¶ 2, Exh. A.) Upon receiving no responses from
Plaintiff, Costanzo unsuccessfully attempted to meet and confer with
Plaintiff’s counsel, via email, on at least three different occasions in
November 2022. (Id., ¶ 3, Exh. B.) On November 30, 2022, counsel
telephonically met and conferred without success. (Id., ¶ 4, Exh. C.)
Plaintiff has not served responses as of the motion filing date. (Id., ¶
5.)
Plaintiff, in
response, advises that Code-compliant responses have now been served. (Rader
Decl., ¶ 2, Exh. A.) The court has reviewed the responses and determines that
they are Code-compliant; as such, the court denies the motion as
moot, except as to the issue of sanctions.
Sanctions
Superior seeks sanctions against
Plaintiff and Rader in the amount of $950.00 [calculated as follows: 3 hours
preparing motion, plus 1 hour preparing reply and 1 hour attending hearing at
$190.00/hour].
Rader complains that
Plaintiff delayed over 4 months before bringing the instant motion, without
warning, and that he had assumed that the parties had stayed activity in the
case while engaged in settlement discussions. (Id., ¶ 3). Rader,
however, concedes that he did not confirm any such stay on discovery pending
settlement negotiations in writing.
Utilizing a Lodestar approach, and
in view of the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the total
and reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs incurred for the work
performed in connection with the pending motion is $190.00 (i.e., 1 hour at
$190.00/hour). Sanctions are payable within 30 days from the date of the notice
of ruling.
2. Motion to Compel
Re: Form Interrogatories
Legal Standard
A response to
interrogatories is due 30 days after service. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2030.260,
subd.
(a).) “If a party to whom
interrogatories are directed fails to serve a timely response, . . . [t]he
party propounding the
interrogatories may move for an order compelling response to the
interrogatories.” (Code
Civ. Proc., § 2030.290, subd. (b).)
“The court shall impose a monetary sanction . . . against
any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to
compel a response to interrogatories, unless it 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).)
Discussion
Superior moves the court for an order compelling Plaintiff to
serve verified responses, without objections, to Superior’s Form
Interrogatories, Set No. One. Superior also
seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Rader, jointly and severally, in the
amount of $950.00.
See synopsis of
Motion #1.
Sanctions
Superior seeks sanctions against
Plaintiff and Rader in the amount of $950.00 [calculated as follows: 3 hours
preparing motion, plus 1 hour preparing reply and 1 hour attending hearing at
$190.00/hour].
Rader requests that
any sanctions awarded be reduced, based on his mistaken belief that the parties
had stayed discovery pending settlement negotiations.
Utilizing a Lodestar approach, and
in view of the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the total
and reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs incurred for the work
performed in connection with the pending motion is $190.00 (i.e., 1 hour at
$190.00/hour). Sanctions are payable within 30 days from the date of the notice
of ruling.
3. Motion to Compel
Re: Special Interrogatories
Legal Standard
See Motion #2.
Discussion
Superior moves the court for an order compelling Plaintiff to
serve verified responses, without objections, to Superior’s Special
Interrogatories, Set No. One. Superior also
seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Rader, jointly and severally, in the
amount of $950.00.
See synopsis of
Motion #1.
Sanctions
Superior seeks sanctions against
Plaintiff and Rader in the amount of $950.00 [calculated as follows: 3 hours
preparing motion, plus 1 hour preparing reply and 1 hour attending hearing at
$190.00/hour].
Rader requests that
any sanctions awarded be reduced, based on his mistaken belief that the parties
had stayed discovery pending settlement negotiations.
Utilizing a Lodestar approach, and
in view of the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the total
and reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs incurred for the work
performed in connection with the pending motion is $190.00 (i.e., 1 hour at
$190.00/hour). Sanctions are payable within 30 days from the date of the notice
of ruling.
4. Motion to Compel
Re: Request for Production
Legal Standard
A response to a request for production
of documents is due 30 days after service. (Code Civ.
Proc., § 2031.260, subd. (a).) “If a
party to whom a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or
sampling is directed fails to serve a
timely response to it, . . . [t]he party making the demand may
move for an order compelling response
to the demand.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2031.300, subd. (b).)
“[T]he court
shall impose a monetary sanction . . . against any party, person, or attorney
who
unsuccessfully makes or opposes a
motion to compel a response to a demand for inspection,
copying, testing, or sampling, unless it
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., § 2031.300, subd. (c).)
Discussion
Superior moves the court for an order compelling Plaintiff to
serve verified responses, without objections, to Superior’s Request for
Production of Documents, Set No. One. Superior also seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Rader, jointly and severally,
in the amount of $950.00.
See synopsis of
Motion #1.
Sanctions
Superior seeks sanctions against
Plaintiff and Rader in the amount of $950.00 [calculated as follows: 3 hours
preparing motion, plus 1 hour preparing reply and 1 hour attending hearing at
$190.00/hour].
Again, Rader
requests that any sanctions awarded be reduced, based on his mistaken belief
that the parties had stayed discovery pending settlement negotiations.
Utilizing a Lodestar approach, and
in view of the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the total
and reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs incurred for the work
performed in connection with the pending motion is $190.00 (i.e., 1 hour at
$190.00/hour). Sanctions are payable within 30 days from the date of the notice
of ruling.