Case Number: BC680927 Hearing Date: February 20, 2020 Dept: 31

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES – CENTRAL DISTRICT

TEAJAH JOHNSON,

Plaintiff,

vs.

ROCHELLE EXUM, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No.: BC680927

[TENTATIVE] ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO COMPEL DISCOVERY RESPONSES FROM PLAINTIFF

Dept. 31

1:30 p.m.

February 20, 2020

Defendant served form interrogatories and demand to produce, inspect and copy documents and other tangible things on Plaintiff on May 13, 2019. Plaintiff’s responses were due on August 12, 2019 after Defendant granted multiple extensions to Plaintiff’s counsel. Having not received responses, Defendant’s counsel reached out to Plaintiff’s counsel on October 17, 2019, requesting responses without objections by October 25, 2019. To date, Plaintiff has failed to provide responses. Defendant therefore seeks orders compelling Plaintiff to provide verified responses without objections to the outstanding discovery requests. Defendant also seeks orders for Plaintiff to pay sanctions.

Defendant’s motions are granted. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses to form interrogatories and demand to produce, inspect and copy documents and other tangible things, without objections, within ten days. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290(b), 2031.300(b); Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc., supra, 148 Cal.App.4th at 404.)

Defendant seeks sanctions against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel in the amount of $847.50 for each motion. Sanctions are mandatory unless the party failing to timely respond to the discovery requests acted with substantial justification or the sanction would otherwise be unjust. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).) Although Defendant is entitled to sanctions, the Court finds Defendant’s request for sanctions to be excessive, given the motions are unopposed and virtually identical. Therefore, the Court awards sanctions in a total amount of $882.50 (1-1/2 hour for preparing the motions at $175/hr, 2 hour for appearance time at $250/hr, plus $120.00 in filing fees). Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s attorney of record are ordered to pay sanctions, jointly and severally, to Defendant, by and through counsel of record, in the total amount of $882.50 within twenty days.

Moving Party is ordered to give notice.

Moving Party is ordered to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at sscdept31@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org. If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.