Case Number: BC518448 Hearing Date: April 11, 2014 Dept: 97

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 97

LILLIAN GARCIA,
Plaintiff,
v.

RALPHS GROCERY COMPANY, et al.,

Defendants.
Case No.: BC 518448

Hearing Date: April 11, 2014

[TENTATIVE] ORDER RE:
1. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL DEPOSITION
2. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER RESPONSES

This action involves a slip and fall at a grocery store owned by Defendant Ralphs Grocery Company.

MOTION TO COMPEL DEPOSITION

Plaintiff served Defendant with notice of deposition on September 30, 2013, seeking the deposition of the person most knowledgeable with regard to five areas, and production of 47 categories of documents. Defendant objected to the notice on a number of bases, one of them being that Defendant’s counsel was not available on the date scheduled. Plaintiff re-noticed the depositions for January 8, 2014, and again Defendant served objections. Plaintiff re-noticed the deposition for February 19, 2014, and filed this motion to compel Defendant’s deposition for hearing on March 7, 2014. Because Defendant had not failed to appear for the February 19, 2014 deposition at the time the motion was filed, the Court was not inclined to grant it at that time. The hearing on Plaintiff’s motion was continued to today’s date.

Plaintiff has filed a supplemental brief indicating that Defendant failed to appear at the February 19, 2014 deposition. Plaintiff provided Defendant with notice of this continued hearing date, and Defendant has failed to file any opposition. Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion is granted as prayed. Defendant is ordered to comply with the Notice of Deposition by producing the person or persons most knowledgeable on the areas indicated, and producing the categories of documents identified in the Notice of Deposition. Defendant and its former attorneys of record, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions to Plaintiff, by and through counsel, in the amount of $1,110.00.

MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER RESPONSES

Plaintiff served Defendant with Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents, and Requests for Admission, on September 30, 2013. Defendant provided responses on December 2, 2013, an agreed upon date. However, many of Defendant’s responses consist of objections. Plaintiff challenges the validity of those objections and seeks an order compelling Defendant to provide further responses without objections. Defendant has filed no opposition and therefore the motion is granted. Defendant is ordered to provide further responses, without objections, to each of the items of discovery placed at issue in these motions. Defendant and its former attorneys of record, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions to Plaintiff, by and through counsel, in the amount of $585.00.

Plaintiff is ordered to provide notice of this order. Defendant is ordered to appear for deposition and provide the further responses, and Defendant and Defendant’s former attorneys are ordered to pay the monetary sanctions, within twenty days of notice of this order.