Case Number: 18STCV08050 Hearing Date: February 13, 2020 Dept: 58

Judge John P. Doyle

Department 58

Hearing Date: February 13, 2020

Case Name: Alvarado v. L&T Meat Co., et al.

Case No.: 18STCV08050

Motion: Motion to Compel Further Responses

Moving Party: Defendant L&T Meat Co.

Responding Party: Plaintiff Mario Lopez Alvarado

Tentative Ruling: The Motion is granted in part.

This is an action arising from Plaintiff’s employment as a warehouse man/driver/delivery man. On December 12, 2018, Plaintiff filed the operative Complaint for (1) FEHA discrimination, (2) FEHA retaliation, (3) FEHA failure to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, (4) wrongful termination, (5) declaratory judgment, (6) failure to provide itemized wage statements, and (7) violations of the UCL.

Defendant L&T Meat Co. seeks to compel further responses to its special interrogatories, set two, (“SIs”) and requests for production, set two, (“RFPs”) propounded upon Plaintiff.

The Motion is granted as to SIs nos. 55 and 56 because the responses provided were incomplete and the objections asserted lack merit. The Court notes that “[i]f the responding party does not have personal knowledge sufficient to respond fully to an interrogatory, that party shall so state, but shall make a reasonable and good faith effort to obtain the information by inquiry to other natural persons or organizations, except where the information is equally available to the propounding party.” (Code Civ. Proc. § 2030.220(c).)

The Motion is denied as to RFP no. 1 because Plaintiff provides that all responsive documents were produced. That Defendant disputes this is not a basis to compel a further response. Further, the Court notes that certain documents requested—for example, tax returns, W-2s, and 1099s—need not be produced because they are subject to the tax-payer privilege.

In sum, the Motion to Compel Further Responses is granted in part as set forth herein. The Court respectfully declines to award sanctions.