Lawzilla Additional Information:
Per the Los Angeles court records plaintiff is represented by attorney Kelly Casado. Note that the motion was taken off calendar so the tentative ruling republished below never became a final ruling.

Case Number: BC674116 Hearing Date: May 09, 2018 Dept: 4

MOVING PARTY: Defendant Iron Mountain Incorporated

RESPONDING PARTY: None

(1) Motion for Order Compelling Response to Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories

(2) Motion for Order Compelling Response to Demand for Production of Documents

The court considered the moving papers.

BACKGROUND

On August 30, 2017, plaintiff Freddy Lopez filed a complaint against defendant Joe Raul Velasco and Iron Mountain Incorporated (“Iron Mountain”) for motor vehicle negligence based on an incident that occurred on February 24, 2016.

Trial is set for February 28, 2019.

LEGAL STANDARD

Interrogatories

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. CCP §2030.290(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. Leach v. Superior Court (1980) 111 Cal. App. 3d 902, 905-906.

Request for Production of Documents

Where there has been no timely response to a CCP §2031.010 demand, the demanding party must seek an order compelling a response. CCP §2031.300. Failure to timely respond waives all objections, including privilege and work product. 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. Where the motion seeks only a response to the inspection demand, no showing of “good cause” is required. Weil & Brown, Civil Procedure Before Trial, 8:1487.

DISCUSSION

Defendant Iron Mountain requests that the court compel plaintiff to serve verified responses without objections to defendant’s first sets of form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and demand for production of documents, served on January 26, 2018. Responses were due by March 2, 2018. On March 12, 2018, defense counsel sent a letter to plaintiff’s counsel, requesting the overdue responses within ten days. To date, defense counsel has not received responses.

Because defendant properly served discovery requests and plaintiff failed to serve verified responses, the motions are GRANTED.

Under CCP § 2023.030(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.” Under CCP § 2023.010, an example of the misuse of the discovery process is “(d) Failing to respond or to submit to an authorized method of discovery.”

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.” CCP §§ 2030.290(c), 2031.300(c).

Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1348(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.”

Defendant requests sanctions against plaintiff and his attorney of record in the amount of $595 for both motions. The court finds that $470 ($175/hr. x 2 hrs. hrs. plus $120 in filing fees) is a reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs to be awarded against plaintiff and his attorney of record in total for both motions.

The court ORDERS:

Plaintiff Freddy Lopez is ordered to serve on defendant Iron Mountain verified responses without objections to defendant’s Form Interrogatories, Set One and Special Interrogatories, Set One, within 20 days.

Plaintiff Lopez is ordered (1) to serve on defendant a verified response without objections to defendant’s Demand for Production of Documents, Set One, and (2) to produce all documents and things in plaintiff’s possession, custody, or control, which are responsive to defendant’s demand, within 20 days.

The court orders plaintiff Freddy Lopez and his attorney of record, Kelly Lawrence Casado, Esq., to pay to defendant Iron Mountain a monetary sanction in the amount of $470 within 30 days in total for both motions.

Defendant is ordered to give notice of this ruling.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: May 9, 2018

____________________________

Dennis J. Landin

Judge of the Superior Court