Case Number: VC066650 Hearing Date: May 24, 2018 Dept: SEC

QUALITY EMPLOYMENT & MULTI SERVICES, INC. v. SUNRISE LUXURY LIVING ROOMS

CASE NO.: VC066650

HEARING: 05/24/18

JUDGE: LORI ANN FOURNIER

#5

TENTATIVE ORDER

Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to compel Defendant FRANK GARCIA’s responses to form interrogatories (set one) is GRANTED. CCP §2030.290.

Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to compel Defendant FRANK GARCIA’s responses and production to request for production of documents (set one) is GRANTED. CCP § 2031.300

Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to deem matters in requests for admissions propounded on Defendant FRANK GARCIA admitted is GRANTED. CCP §2033.280.

Plaintiff’s unopposed motion to deem matters in requests for admissions propounded on Defendant SUNRISE LUXURY LIVING ROOMS, INC. admitted is GRANTED. CCP §2033.280.

Defendant FRANK GARCIA and his counsel of record are ORDERED to pay Plaintiff and its counsel of record, sanctions in the total amount of $1,110.00 ($350/hr. x 3 hrs.) + ($180 filing fee) no later than 15 days from the Court’s issuance of this Order.

Defendant SUNRISE LUXURY LIVING ROOMS, INC. and its counsel of record are ORDERED to pay Plaintiff and its counsel of record, sanctions in the total amount of $410.00 ($350/hr. x 1 hr.) + ($60 filing fee) no later than 15 days from the Court’s issuance of this Order.

Defendants FRANK GARCIA is ORDERED to provide verified responses and documents to Form Interrogatories (Set One); and Request for Production of Documents (Set One) without objection by Friday, June 8, 2018. This date may be extended pursuant to agreement of the parties.

Moving Party to give Notice.

No Opposition filed as of May 22, 2018.

Motions to Compel

If a party to whom interrogatories and document demands are directed fails to respond at all, the propounding party’s remedy is to seek a court order compelling answers thereto. (CCP §§ 2030.290, 2031.300.) All that needs to be shown is that the discovery was properly served on the opposing party, that the time to respond has expired, and that no response of any kind has been served. The moving party is not required to show a reasonable and good faith attempt to resolve the matter informally before filing this motion. The failure to timely respond also waives all objections.

Here, Plaintiff has shown that Form Interrogatories (set one) and Requests for Production of Documents were properly served on Defendant FRANK GARCIA on January 12, 2018. The deadline to respond has expired, and no responses of any kind have been provided. Plaintiff filed these motions on March 22, 2018, almost three months after service of the discovery. As of May 22, 2018, Defendant GARCIA has not filed an Opposition to Plaintiff’s motions. Therefore, the Motions to Compel are granted, and Defendant GARCIA is ordered to provide verified responses and documents without objection. If any objections are asserted, it will be tantamount to no response at all and will be deemed a violation of this Court’s order.

Monetary Sanctions

“The court may award sanctions under the Discovery Act in favor of a party who files a motion to compel discovery, even though no opposition to the motion was filed, or opposition to the motion was withdrawn, or the requested discovery was provided to the moving party after the motion was filed.” (C.R.C. Rule 3.1348(a).)

Defendant GARCIA does not oppose the instant motions to compel. As such, there is nothing to show that GARCIA acted with substantial justification and the Court knows of no other circumstances which would make the imposition of sanctions unjust. Therefore, Plaintiff’s request for monetary sanctions is granted as set forth above.

Motion to Deem Defendants’ RFA’s Admitted

“If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the following rules apply: (a) The party to whom the requests for admission are directed waives any objection to the requests…. The Court, on motion, may relieve that party from this waiver on its determination that both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The party has subsequently served a response that is in substantial compliance with Sections 2033.210, 2033.220, and 2033.230. (2) the party’s failure to serve a timely response was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect…. (c) 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. It is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7…on the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this motion.” (CCP §2033.280.) No prior attempt to resolve the matter informally is required.

Here, RFAs were propounded by Plaintiff on January 12, 2018 to (i) Defendant FRANK GARCIA; and (ii) Defendant SUNRISE LUXURY LIVING ROOMS, INC. Defendants have failed to provide any response. As such, the motions to deem requests for admissions admitted is granted.

Monetary Sanctions

Sanctions are mandatory pursuant to the terms of CCP §2033.280(c), therefore, sanctions are awarded as indicated above.