Case Number: BC631836 Hearing Date: July 26, 2018 Dept: 5

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 5

Alina Hall Derby,

Plaintiff,

v.

ESH Hospitality Holdings LLC, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No.: BC631836

Hearing Date: July 26, 2018

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

defendant’S motions to Compel Responses to Discovery

Defendant ESA P Portfolio LLC (“Defendant”) has filed a motion to compel responses from Plaintiff Laverne Jones (“Plaintiff”) to the Form Interrogatories (“FROG”), set two. Defendant has also filed a second motion to deem admitted the Requests for Admission (“RFA”), set one.

On April 16, 2018, Defendant served the above discovery responses on Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s responses were due on May 21, 2018. Defense counsel granted Plaintiff an extension to serve the responses without objection by June 4, 2018. As of the filing of these motions on June 22, 2018, Defendant has not received responses from Plaintiff. Plaintiff has not filed any opposition to Defendant’s motions.

Defendant’s motion to compel responses to the FROG is granted pursuant to CCP §§2030.290. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to Defendant’s form interrogatories, without objections, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

Defendant also moves under CCP §2033.280 to deem the RFA admitted. Where there has been no timely response to a request for admission under CCP § 2033.010, the propounding 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, as well as for a monetary sanction. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (b).) The party who failed to respond waives any objections to the demand, unless the court grants that party relief from the waiver, upon a showing that the party (1) has subsequently served a substantially compliant response, and (2) that the party’s failure to respond was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subds. (a)(1)-(2).) The court “shall” grant a motion to deem admitted requests for admissions, “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 of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).)

Plaintiff has not filed any opposition to Defendant’s motion to deem the RFA admitted. Nor has Plaintiff otherwise demonstrated that Plaintiff has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the RFA. Accordingly, Defendant’s unopposed motion for an order deeming the RFA admitted is granted pursuant to CCP §2033.280. Plaintiff is deemed to have admitted the truth of all matters specified in the RFA as of this date.

Defendant requests sanctions against Plaintiff. The Court finds Plaintiff’s failure to respond a misuse of the discovery process. Sanctions have been sufficiently noticed against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel, Jeffrey Jacquet. The Court grants monetary sanctions for four hours to prepare the motions and appear at the hearing, at $165.00 per hour, plus two $60 filing fees, for a total of $780.00. Plaintiff Alina Hall Derby and Plaintiff’s counsel Jeffrey Jacquet, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $780.00 to Defendant, by and through counsel, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Defendant’s motion to compel responses to the FROG is granted pursuant to CCP §§2030.290. Plaintiff Alina Hall Derby is ordered to serve verified responses to Defendant’s form interrogatories, without objections, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

Defendant’s motion to deem admitted is granted. Plaintiff is deemed to have admitted the truth of all matters specified in the RFA as of this date.

Defendant’s request for sanctions is granted. Plaintiff Alina Hall Derby and Plaintiff’s counsel Jeffrey Jacquet, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $780.00 to Defendant, by and through counsel, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

All parties should note that the hearing on this motion and all future hearings in this case will take place at the Court’s new location: Spring Street Courthouse, 312 N. Spring Street, Department 5, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Defendant is ordered to provide notice of this order, including the Court’s new location and new department number, and file proof of service of such.

DATED: July 26, 2018 ___________________________

Elaine Lu

Judge of the Superior Court