Case Number: VC063751    Hearing Date: September 16, 2014    Dept: SEC

JON K. TAKATA CORPORATION dba RESTORATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY V. 44TH STREET LLC, ET AL.
CASE NO.: VC063751
HEARING: 9/16/14

#4
TENTATIVE ORDER

Plaintiff JON K. TAKATA CORPORATION dba RESTORATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY’S motion to continue trial is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s motion to compel further is GRANTED. Defendant must comply and provide additional responses within 30 days.

Motion to Continue Trial
The Court may grant a continuance upon a showing of good cause, including a party’s excused inability to obtain essential discovery despite diligent efforts. Cal. Rule of Court 3.1332(c). Plaintiff requests a continuance to complete discovery. Plaintiff’s motion is granted.

Motion to Compel Further
A party may bring a motion to compel further responses to production of documents once it has deemed the responses to be incomplete or evasive or that an objection is made without merit. See CCP §§ 2030.300(a), 2031.310(a), 2033.290(a). The motion must be accompanied by a Section 2016.040 meet and confer declaration showing a good faith attempt at formal resolution and must be noticed within 45 days of service of the response, or supplemental response, unless the parties have agreed in writing to an extension of the 45-day deadline. See CCP §§ 2030.300(b)-(c), 2031.310(b)-(c), 2033.290(b)-(c). If the motion is not timely filed, the party waives the right to compel further responses to the interrogatories. See Id. A motion to compel further responses must be accompanied by a separate statement. See CRC Rule 3.1345.

Plaintiff’s motion was filed just over the 45 day deadline; however, since the motion is unopposed and not extraordinarily out of time, the Court will hear the merits. Plaintiff’s counsel states he repeatedly attempted to meet and confer with Defendant’s counsel, sending many emails and making multiple phone calls. Anderson Decl. ¶ 9. Plaintiff has met its burden under the meet and confer requirement.

The Court Grants the following requests to Compel Further:
• Requests for Production Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17.
• Requests for Admission Numbers: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
• Form Interrogatories Numbers: 3.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 13.1, 13.2, 14.1, 14.2, 17.1, 50.1, 50.2, 50.3

The Court grants the following requests to Compel Further only to the extent that Defendant failed to provide verifications for the answers:
• Requests for Admission Numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 17, 18
• Form Interrogatories Numbers: 4.1, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 9.1, 9.2, 50.4, 50.5

Defendant must provide additional responses as ordered within 30 days.

Sanctions
C.C.P. §§ 2030.300(h), 2031.310(h), 2033.290(h) addresses mandatory sanctions with regards to motions to compel further responses to discovery requests. They provide that the court shall impose a monetary sanction against any party who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel further response, 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.

Here, Plaintiff is the prevailing party. The Court grants sanctions in the amount of $1,500.