Lawzilla Additional Information:
It is our understanding the final order denied the sanctions request.

Case Number: BC625579 Hearing Date: April 13, 2018 Dept: 74

PATRICK SMITH,

Plaintiff,

vs.

CITY OF LOS ANGELES,

Defendant

Case No.: BC625579

[TENTATIVE] ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER

TENTATIVE RULING: Plaintiff’s motion for protective order is granted. Sanctions of $3200 are awarded to plaintiff and against defendant and its attorneys Geoffrey S. Sheldon, Jeffrey E. Stockley and James Oldendorph, Jr., jointly and severally.

DISCUSSION

Motion for Protective Order

The court previously addressed the issue of plaintiff’s medical records in response to a subpoena served on Kaiser Permanente on September 26, 2017. Defendant seeks the same records through a new subpoena. This is not permitted.

The parties agreed plaintiff would review the records received from Kaiser Permanente in response to the subpoena, and produce to defendant those records which related to the symptoms of emotional distress at issue in this action. Defendant argues a second subpoena is necessary because it does not believe plaintiff produced all relevant records.

A motion to compel further discovery responses cannot be granted based on the reason that verified answers served are really untrue. (Holguin v. Sup. Ct. (1972) 22 Cal.App.3d 812, 820, 821.) Similarly, a party cannot serve the same discovery request, in this case a records subpoena, in the hopes of obtaining a different response. That is particularly true here, where defendant already obtained a court order on the first subpoena.

The motion is granted.

Sanctions

Defendant argues it had substantial justification. The court disagrees. However, the request for sanctions is excessive. The issues in this motion were fully argued in the prior motion. Sanctions of $3200 are awarded to plaintiff and against defendant and its attorneys Geoffrey S. Sheldon, Jeffrey E. Stockley and James Oldendorph, Jr., jointly and severally.