Judge: William A. Crowfoot, Case: 21STCV37131, Date: 2022-12-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV37131    Hearing Date: December 9, 2022    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

PI Hub Courts will not hear a motion to compel further discovery responses to discovery until the parties have engaged in an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”). The Courts may deny or continue the motion unless the parties have participated in an IDC before the scheduled hearing. (See Eighth Amended Standing Order for Procedures in the Personal Injury Hub Courts (9/20/2022) (the “Order”).)  In Section 9E, the Order clearly states: “PI Hub Courts will not hear Motions to Compel Further Discovery Responses to discovery until the parties have engaged in an Informal Discovery Conference (IDC).”  It also alerts parties that reserving or scheduling an IDC does not extend the time to file a motion to compel further, so the motions need to be timely filed, the IDC date reserved, and the motion hearing date reserved.  Further, lest there be any doubt as to the importance the Court gives to the IDC requirement, the Order states that “[a] party's failure to stipulate to extend the time to bring [a motion to compel further] so that an IDC may be held may subject the parties and/or counsel to the imposition of sanctions.”

The Court’s file reflects that no IDC has taken place or even been reserved by Defendant.  The parties are required to appear for an IDC to enable the Court to discuss with the parties their inability to resolve discovery disputes without Court intervention. The parties may or may not find this useful, but Defendant here insufficiently considers the need the Court may have to attempt every effort to obtain resolution of discovery disputes without the need for an already overly burdened motions calendar to accommodate an otherwise resolvable dispute.  Moreover, the IDC provides the Court with an opportunity to weigh the good faith each party has brought to the attempt to resolve discovery disputes, which may later inform the Court's ruling on a request for sanctions.

Accordingly, the hearing on Defendant’s motion to compel further is premature and will be taken off calendar.  To the extent that Defendant’s motion was timely filed, taking the hearing off calendar will not affect the timeliness of the filing.  However, if Defendant wishes for its motion to compel further to be heard, it must use the online reservation system to reserve an IDC and to promptly continue the hearing on the motion to a date at least two weeks after the reserved date for the IDC. 

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SSCDEPT27@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue.  If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.