Judge: Yolanda Orozco, Case: 22STCV05622, Date: 2022-11-29 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV05622    Hearing Date: November 29, 2022    Dept: 31

MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER RESPONSES

TO FORM INTERROGATORIES IS CONTINUED 

Background 

On February 15, 2022, Plaintiff Bijan Yaghoobia filed a Complaint against Defendant Valaria Cruz and Does 1 to 100 for: 

1)     Waste;

2)     Trebel Damages;

3)     Temporary Restraining Order;

4)     Preliminaryary Injunction; and

5)     Permanent Injunction. 

On August 15, 2022, Plaintiff filed this Motion to Compel Defendant to Answer Form Interrogatories, Set One. 

Legal Standard 

On receipt of a response to interrogatories, the propounding party may move for an order compelling a further response if the propounding party deems that (1) an answer to a particular interrogatory is evasive or incomplete, (2) an exercise of the option to produce documents under Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.230 is unwarranted or the required specification of those documents is inadequate, or (3) an objection to an interrogatory is without merit or too general. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.300(a).) The responding party has the burden of justifying the objections thereto. (Coy v. Superior Court (1962) 58 Cal.2d 210, 220-21.) 

Moreover, notice of a motion to compel further must be given 45 days of service of the response or any supplemental response, or on or before any specific later day to which the propounding party and responding party may have agreed in writing. (CCP § 2030.300(c).) Finally, Cal. Rules of Court, Rule (CRC) 3.1345 requires that all motions or responses involving further discovery contain a separate statement with the text of each request, the response, and a statement of factual and legal reasons for compelling further responses. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1345, subd. (a)(3)).¿  

Discussion 

Plaintiff asserts that on July 28, 2022, Plaintiff propounded Form Interrogatories, Set One on Defendant Valeria Cruz. (Yaghoobia Decl. ¶ 2, Ex. A.) 

On or about September 28, 2022, Defendant served Plaintiff with her responses and objection to Plaintiff’s First Set of Form Interrogatories, Set One. (Id., Ex. E.) Plaintiff asserts that the responses were non-responsive. 

On October 11, 2022, Plaintiff mailed a letter to Defendant explaining why Defendant’s responses were non-responsive and requested that Defendant respond no later than Tuesday, October 18, 2022. (Yaghoobia Decl. ¶ 2, Ex. H.) Plaintiff asserts that Defendant failed to respond. 

The Court notes that future hearings are scheduled for Motions to Compel Further Responses to Special Form Interrogatories, Set One; Request for Production of Documents, Set One; and Request for Admission, Set One. 

The Court requires the parties to attend an Informal Discovery Conference in advance of any hearing on a motion to compel further written discovery as spell out in its website guidelines. 

For this reason, the hearing is CONTINUED. 

Conclusion 

Since no IDC has been held, the hearing is CONTINUED to February 7, 2023. 

The Parties are to identify 3 dates on which they are available for an IDC and inform Court staff.  You will be notified about the date of your scheduled IDC. 

Moving party to give notice.