DILLON REGGIE VS ABTIN NEIMAN

Case Number: BC522843    Hearing Date: October 21, 2014    Dept: 93

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 93

DILLON REGGIE, et al.,

Plaintiff(s),
v.

ABTIN NEIMAN, et al.,

Defendant(s). Case No.: BC522843

Hearing Date: October 21, 2014

[TENTATIVE] ORDER RE:
DEFENDANTS ABTIN NEIMAN AND BIJIAN NEIMAN’S MOTION TO COMPEL PLAINTIFF DILLON REGGIE’S ATTENDANCE AT DEPOSITION

Defendants Abtin Neiman and Bijan Neiman’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff’s Attendance at Deposition; Request for Reasonable Sanctions and Attorneys’ Fees and Plaintiff Dillon Reggie (“Plaintiff Reggie”) is GRANTED. Plaintiff Reggie is ordered to appear for his deposition at the Law Offices of Early, Maslach & Hartsuyker, 700 South Flower Street, Suite 2800, Los Angeles, California, at a mutually convenient date and time, within 10 days of service of notice of this order. Plaintiff Reggie is ordered to pay Defendants sanctions in the amount of the $1,031.50 on or before the date of the deposition.

Background

This action arises out of a motor vehicle accident involving a vehicle owned and operated by Defendants Abtin Neiman and Bijan Neiman, and a vehicle driven by Plaintiff Dillon Reggie (“Plaintiff Reggie”) and in which Plaintiff Marcus Marshall was a passenger. Defendants had previously filed a motion to compel the deposition of Plaintiff Reggie, which was set for hearing on July 25, 2014. The unopposed motion was taken off-calendar because no party appeared at the hearing or submitted on the Court’s tentative ruling (which was to grant). The instant motion to compel Plaintiff Reggie’s deposition was filed on August 15, 2014. The motion is again unopposed.

Defendants move to compel Plaintiff Reggie’s deposition, and for an award of sanctions, on the grounds that he failed multiple times to appear for his properly noticed deposition.

Legal Standard

CCP Section 2025.450 states in relevant part:

(a) If, after service of a deposition notice, a party to the action or an officer, director, managing agent, or employee of a party, or a person designated by an organization that is a party under Section 2025.230, without having served a valid objection under Section 2025.410, fails to appear for examination, or to proceed with it, or to produce for inspection any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice, the party giving the notice may move for an order compelling the deponent’s attendance and testimony, and the production for inspection of any document, electronically stored information, or tangible thing described in the deposition notice.

Also, a motion to compel deposition shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under CCP Section 2016.040. (CCP, § 2025.450(b)(2).) If a motion to compel deposition is granted, the court shall impose a monetary sanction “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.” (CCP § 2025.450(g)(1).)

Discussion

Defendants served a notice of deposition of Plaintiff Reggie on October 25, 2013, setting the deposition for January 9, 2014. (Motion, O’Connor Decl. (“O’Connor Decl.”) ¶3 and Exh. A.) The deposition was subsequently taken off-calendar. The deposition was re-noticed on January 22, 2014, setting the deposition for March 14, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶4 and Exh. B.) Plaintiff Reggie failed to appear for his deposition on March 14, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶5 and Exh. C.) On March 24, 2014, Plaintiff Reggie’s counsel sent a letter to defense counsel indicating that Plaintiff Reggie had been located and his deposition could be re-set at Defendants’ convenience. (O’Connor Decl. ¶6 and Exh. D.) The deposition was re-noticed on March 26, 2014, setting the deposition for April 16, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶7 and Exh. E.) Plaintiff Reggie failed to appear for his deposition on April 16, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶8 and Exh. F.) The deposition was re-noticed a fourth time on May 19 and 21, 2014, setting the deposition for June 19, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶9 and Exh. G.)

In an effort to encourage Plaintiff Reggie’s attendance, Defendants filed the first motion to compel deposition on May 27, 2014 with the understanding that the motion would be taken off-calendar if Plaintiff Reggie appeared. (O’Connor Decl. ¶10 and Exh. H.) It is unclear why the first motion to compel deposition did not go forward on July 25, 2014, other than the parties failed to appear. (O’Connor Decl. ¶ 12 and Exh. J.) Plaintiff Reggie failed to appear for his deposition on June 19, 2014. (O’Connor Decl. ¶11 and Exh. I.)

The meet and confer requirement is satisfied. The parties’ attorneys conferred numerous times to schedule Plaintiff Reggie’s deposition despite his repeated failures to appear. It is appropriate, therefore, for the Court to grant Defendants’ request to order Plaintiff Reggie to appear for his deposition at the Law Offices of Early, Maslach & Hartsuyker, 700 South Flower Street, Suite 2800, Los Angeles, California, at a mutually convenient date and time.
Additionally, Defendants are entitled to sanctions for the cost of successfully bringing the instant motion given Plaintiff Reggie’s repeated failure to submit to an authorized method of discovery. (CCP, § 2023.010(d).) Sanctions are ordered against Plaintiff because it appears that Plaintiff’s counsel has shown up for the depositions but Plaintiff has not.

Therefore, Plaintiff Reggie is ordered to pay Defendant sanctions in the amount of $1,031.50 (three hours of attorney time billed at $150.00, plus a filing fee of $60.00 and court-reporter no-show fees of $446.50). (O’Connor Decl. ¶13.) The Court is assuming that little or no attorney time will be necessary for the hearing. Sanctions will be modified to cover attorneys’ fees for appearance at the hearing if appropriate.

Defendants are ordered to give notice.

Dated: October 21, 2014

_______________________
Hon. Gail Ruderman Feuer
Judge of the Superior Court

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