Case Number: BC662011 Hearing Date: August 22, 2018 Dept: 31

Defendants Albert Malouf, D.D.S. and Albert M. Malouf, D.D.S., Inc. move the court to compel responses from Plaintiff Georgiana Rodiger to their respective Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One, served on February 7, 2018 via regular mail.

On May 9, 2018, the court granted Defendants’ initial motions to compel responses from Plaintiff to Defendants’ Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production, Set One. The court ordered Plaintiff to provide responses within ten days.

Defendants move the court for another order compelling responses, and the imposition of monetary sanctions, on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to comply with the court’s order. (Dixon Interrogatory Decl. ¶ 7.) Defendants’ counsel states Plaintiff did not serve court-ordered responses and did not appear at the Informal Discovery Conference. (Id. ¶ 8.) As to the requests for production, Defendants’ counsel states responses were sent via email without a proof of service. (Dixon Document Decl. ¶ 6.) However, the parties never agreed to accept service by email and Plaintiff failed to properly serve the responses despite being informed of this procedural deficiency. (Id. ¶ 7.)

The court finds Plaintiff has failed to comply with its May 9, 2018 order compelling responses to Defendants’ Special Interrogatories, Set One, and Request for Production of Documents, Set One. The unopposed motions are GRANTED. Plaintiff is ordered to properly serve verified responses and responsive documents in compliance with the court’s May 9, 2018 order no later than Friday, August 31, 2018.

Each of Defendants’ motions seek $4,350.00 for the identical number of attorney hours. Each request seeks 2.5 hours for the motion, 6.5 hours for the informal discovery conference, 1.5 hours for the reply, and 6.5 hours to attend the hearing at a rate of $250.00. (Dixon Decls.) The requests are clearly duplicative and inflated. For example, counsel cannot reasonably anticipate spending 26 hours attending a single hearing on four motions. In addition, these motions require no legal research and are nearly identical to each other and the motions that counsel previously filed.

Pursuant to CCP §§ 2030.290(c) and 2031.300(c), plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel of record is ordered to pay sanctions in the amount of $865.00, consisting of 2.5 hours of attorney time at $250.00 per hour and $240.00 in filing fees, to defendant and defendant’s counsel of record no later than Friday, August 31, 2018.

Moving parties are ordered to give notice.