Case Number: BC718911 Hearing Date: November 25, 2019 Dept: 5

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 5

nedra porter,

Plaintiff,

v.

KROGER, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No.: BC718911

Hearing Date: November 25, 2019

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

motions to compel discovery responses

Defendant Alpha Beta Company (“Defendant”) moves to compel responses from Plaintiff Nedra Porter (“Plaintiff”) to Form Interrogatories, Set Two (“FROG”). Defendants move to deem admitted specified in Requests for Admissions, Set One (“RFAs”). Defendant served the discovery at issue on Plaintiff by mail on September 6, 2019. Defendant offered Plaintiff an extension of time to respond to October 25, 2019. As of the filing date of these motions, Defendants have not received responses from Plaintiff. Plaintiff has not filed an opposition, and there is nothing in the record to suggest that she has complied with her discovery obligations. Accordingly, the motion to compel responses to the FROG is granted per Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.290. Plaintiff is ordered to serve responses to Defendant’s FROG, without objections, within 30 days of service of this order.

Defendant also moves to deem admitted the matters specified in the RFAs. Where a party fails to respond to requests for admissions, the propounding party may move for an order that the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted, as well as for a monetary sanction. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (b).) The court “shall” grant a motion to deem admitted the matters specified in the requests for admissions, “unless it finds that the party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220.” (Code of Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).) As Plaintiff has not responded to Defendant’s RFAs, the Court grants the motion to deem them to have been admitted.

Defendant seeks sanctions in connection with the motions. The Court concludes that Plaintiff’s failure to respond to the discovery is an abuse of the discovery process. The Court awards sanctions against Plaintiff and her counsel of record, the Law Offices of Avi Zvulun, in the amount of $1,120, which represents four hours of attorney time to prepare the motions and attend the hearing at $250 per hour, plus two filing fees of $60 each.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Defendant’s motion to compel responses to the FROG is granted per Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.290. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses, without objections, within 30 days of notice of this order.

Plaintiff is deemed to have admitted the truth of all matters specified in the RFAs as of this date.

Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel of record, the Law Offices of Avi Zvulun, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $1,120 to Defendant, by and through counsel, within 30 days of notice of this order.

Defendant is ordered to provide notice of this order and file proof of service of such.

DATED: November 25, 2019 ___________________________

Stephen I. Goorvitch

Judge of the Superior Court