Case Number: 16K16002 Hearing Date: December 26, 2017 Dept: 77

Defendant’s Motion for Order Deeming Request for Admissions to be Admitted is GRANTED.

Plaintiff is awarded a total of $650 in monetary sanctions against Defendant.

Background

On December 30, 2016, Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (“Plaintiff”) filed this subrogation action against Defendant Nicole Jasmin Rufatt (“Defendant”), alleging that Defendant caused a vehicle collision and injured one of its insured. On July 17, 2017, Plaintiff served a Request for Admissions on Defendant. (Wilks Decl. ¶¶ 2-3, Exh. A.) Plaintiff has not received a discovery response to the Request for Admissions from Defendant. (Id. ¶ 4.)

On September 28, 2017, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Order Deeming Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions as Admitted (the “Motion”). No opposition or reply has been filed as of December 15, 2017.

Legal Standard

If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the propounding party may move for an order that the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted. (CCP § 2033.280(b).) It is mandatory that the court imposes monetary sanctions on the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated the motion. (Id., § 2033.280(c).)

Discussion

Because Plaintiff had directed the Request for Admissions at Defendant and Defendant has failed to timely serve a response thereto, the unopposed Motion is GRANTED. The truth of the matters specified in Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One are deemed admitted.

Plaintiff requests a total of $1,240 in monetary sanctions for the Motion. (Wilks Decl. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff requests an hourly rate of $295 for two (2) hours to prepare the Motion and to correspond with Defendant and two (2) hours to appear for the hearing for this Motion. (Id. ¶ 7.) Plaintiff also requests $60 in filing fee for the Motion. (Id. ¶ 8.)

Because the Motion has been granted, the Court must impose monetary sanctions. The Court finds that one (1) hour to prepare the Motion and one (1) hour to appear for the hearing of the Motion at a reasonable rate of $295 per hour, along with $60 in filing fee for the Motion, to be sufficient to compensate Plaintiff. Plaintiff is awarded a total of $650 in monetary sanctions against Defendant. Sanctions are to be paid within twenty (20) days from the date of this Order.

Moving party to give notice.