Case Number: BC694329 Hearing Date: November 28, 2018 Dept: 4

Defendant’s Motion to Compel Responses from Plaintiff Asmik Davtyan to Form and Special Interrogatories

Defendant’s Motion to Compel Responses from Plaintiff Harutyun Minasyan to Form and Special Interrogatories

Defendant’s Motion to Compel Responses from Plaintiff Mkrtich Minasyan to Form and Special Interrogatories

Defendant’s Motion to Compel Responses from Plaintiff Harutyun Minasyan to Request for Production of Documents

Defendant’s Motion to Compel Responses from Plaintiff Asmik Davtyan to Request for Production of Documents

The court considered the moving papers. No opposition was filed.

Background

This is a motor vehicle negligence case. Plaintiffs Harutyun Minasyan (“Harutyun”), Asmik Davtyan (“Davtyan”), and Mkrtich Minasyan (“Mkrtich”) filed the Complaint on February 16, 2018.

On June 6, 2017, the court granted plaintiff’s counsel’s motion to be relieved as counsel, effective upon filing the proof of service of the signed order.

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

On July 9, 2018, Defendant Patricia Leonard served the following discovery:

Form and Special Interrogatories, Set One, upon Harutyun, Mktich, and Davtyan

Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, upon Harutyun and Davtyan

The deadline to respond was extended to Augsut 28, 2018, by agreement. However, no responses were served by that time, and no responses have been served since.

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

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).

It is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction on the party or attorney whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated a motion to deem them admitted. CCP § 2033.280(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 in the amount of $1,985.00 for each motion, representing 11 hours of work at a rate of $175 per hour on each motion. The court finds that $2,225 ($175/hr. x 11 hrs. plus 5 x $60) is a reasonable amount to be imposed against plaintiff in total for all four motions.

The court ORDERS:

Plaintiffs Harutyun Minasyan, Mkrtich Minasyan, and Asmik Davtyan are ordered to serve on defendant Patricia Ann Leonard verified responses without objections to defendant’s Form Interrogatories and Special Interrogatories, Set One, within 20 days. CCP § 2030.290.

Plaintiffs Harutyun Minasyan and Asmik Davtyan are ordered (1) to serve on defendant a verified response without objections to defendant’s Request for Production of Documents, Set One, and (2) to produce all documents and things in plaintiff’s possession, custody, or control that are responsive to defendant’s Request for Production of Documents, Set One, within 20 days. CCP § 2031.300.

The court orders that Plaintiffs Harutyun Minasyan, Mkrtich Minasyan, and Asmik Davtyan are to pay to defendant Patricia Ann Leonard a monetary sanction in the amount of $2,225.00 in total for four motions within 30 days.

Moving defendant is ordered to give notice of this ruling.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: November 28, 2018

_____________________________

Christopher Lui

Judge of the Superior Court