Case Number: 19STCV19860 Hearing Date: March 17, 2020 Dept: 28

Motions to Compel Responses to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Request for Production of Documents (All Set One)

Having considered the moving papers, the Court rules as follows. No opposing papers were filed.

BACKGROUND

On June 7, 2019, Plaintiff Dorjon Lubyck (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against Defendant Century Villages at Cabrillo, Inc., (“Defendant”). The complaint alleges negligence and premises liability arising out of a slip and fall incident that occurred on June 23, 2017.

On December 30, 2019, Defendant filed motions to compel Plaintiff to provide verified responses without objections to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Request for Production of Documents (all Set One) pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300.

Trial is set for December 4, 2020.

PARTY’S REQUESTS

Defendant asks the Court to compel Plaintiff to serve verified responses without objections to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Request for Production of Documents (all Set One) due to Plaintiff’s failure to serve timely responses.

Defendant further asks the Court to impose $555 in monetary sanctions per motion against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel of record for their failure to respond to the outstanding discovery requests.

LEGAL STANDARD

If a party to whom interrogatories are directed fails to serve a timely response, the propounding party may move for an order compelling responses and for a monetary sanction. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.290, subd. (b).) The statute contains no time limit for a motion to compel where no responses have been served. All that need be shown in the moving papers is that a set of interrogatories was properly served on the opposing party, that the time to respond has expired, and that no response of any kind has been served. (See Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 902, 905-906.)

Where there has been no timely response to a demand for the production of documents, the demanding party may seek an order compelling a response. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.300, subd. (b).) Failure to timely respond waives all objections, including privilege and work product. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2031.300, subd. (a).) Thus, unless the party to whom the demand was directed obtains relief from waiver, he or she cannot raise objections to the documents demanded. There is no deadline for a motion to compel responses. Likewise, for failure to respond, the moving party need not attempt to resolve the matter outside court before filing the motion.

Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.030, subd. (a), “[t]he court may impose a monetary sanction ordering that one engaging in the misuse of the discovery process, or any attorney advising that conduct, or both pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by anyone as a result of that conduct. . . . If a monetary sanction is authorized by any provision of this title, the court shall impose that sanction unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.” Failing to respond or to submit to an authorized method of discovery is a misuse of the discovery process. (Code of Civ. Proc. § 2023.010.)

Sanctions are mandatory in connection with motions to compel responses to interrogatories and requests for production of documents against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel unless the court “finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.” (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2030.290, subd. (c), 2031.300, subd. (c).)

California Rules of Court, rule 3.1348, subdivision (a) states: “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.”

DISCUSSION

On August 7, 2019, Defendant served Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Request for Production of Documents (all Set One) on Plaintiff by U.S. mail. (All Two Declarations of Kathy D’Andrea (“D’Andrea Decl.”), ¶ 6, Exh. A.) On September 5 and 30, 2019, Plaintiff twice sought extensions to provide responses. (D’Andrea Decl., ¶¶ 7 – 8; Exhs. B – C.) Defendant agreed. (Id.) On October 28, 2019, Plaintiff again requested a 30-day extension. (D’Andrea Decl., ¶ 9; Exh. D.) Defendant again agreed. (Id.) Plaintiff had not provided the outstanding responses as of the signing of Kathy D’Andrea’s declarations on December 20, 2020. (D’Andrea Decl., ¶ 10.)

The Court finds the motions are properly granted. Defendant served the discovery on Plaintiff and Plaintiff failed to timely respond. There are no facts presented to the Court showing Plaintiff acted with a substantial justification or that other circumstances exist showing an imposition of sanctions would be unjust.

Defendant’s request for $1110 in sanctions for these nearly duplicative and straight-forward motions is unreasonable. Rather, the Court finds $550 to be a reasonable amount of sanctions for filing the unopposed moving papers.

CONCLUSION

The motions are GRANTED.

Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses without objections to Defendant’s Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents (All Set One) within 20 days of this ruling.

Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel of record are ordered to pay $550, jointly and severally, to Defendant within 30 days of this ruling.

Defendant is ordered to give notice of this ruling.

THE PARTIES ARE ADVISED THAT IF THEY SUBMIT ON THIS TENTATIVE, IT WILL BECOME THE ORDER OF THE COURT.

IF THE PARTIES DO NOT STIPULATE TO THIS TENTATIVE, THEY SHOULD ARRANGE FOR COURT CALL TO MAKE ARGUMENTS.

IF THE PARTIES ARE UNWILLING TO APPEAR BY COURT-CALL, THE COURT WILL CONTINUE THE MOTION TO A DATE TO BE DETERMINED.