Case Number: SC119083    Hearing Date: April 25, 2014    Dept: O

SC119083
MONTANA v. CORZINE ET AL

Defendant’s Motions to Compel Further Responses are substantively MOOT. Plaintiff served supplemental responses on 3/27/14. Sanctions are still warranted as Plaintiff refused to meet and confer in good faith or supplement responses prior to Defendant’s motions to compel. Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel are ordered to pay sanctions in the amount of $3400.

ANALYSIS: Plaintiff’s initial responses consisted entirely of boilerplate objections. Substantively, the motions to compel were warranted. Plaintiff acknowledged as much by serving supplemental responses on 3/27/14. Defendant claims these responses are still deficient. However, the parties should meet and confer further on the supplemental responses prior to the Court ruling on their sufficiency.

However, Defendant is entitled to sanctions under CCP §§2030.300, 2031.310 and 2033.290 and also CCP §2023.020 (failure to meet and confer). Plaintiff’s supplemental responses do not deprive the Court of discretion to award such sanctions. See Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. v. Pacific Healthcare Consultants (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 390, 408-409 (untimely responses served after motions to compel filed and briefed did not rob court of jurisdiction or discretion to rule on motion before it, to impose sanctions or to find the motion moot)

Plaintiff refused to meet and confer in good faith or supplement the responses until 3/27/14, approximately two months after the motions were filed and four months after the initial responses were served. Defendant requests sanctions in the amount of $850/motion against Plaintiff and her counsel. Defense counsel’s rate is $500/hr. Defense counsel testifies that he has incurred more than $1000 in fees on each motion to compel. Counsel’s fees are reasonable and the court awards $850/motion as requested for a total of $3400.