Case Number: 18STCV09143 Hearing Date: May 24, 2019 Dept: 5

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 5

shirley azizi,

Claimant,

v.

21st Century Insurance Company,

Respondent.

Case No.: 18STCV09143

Hearing Date: May 24, 2019

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

motions to compel discovery responses

Respondent 21st Century Insurance Company (“Respondent”) moves to compel responses from Claimant Shirley Azizi (“Claimant”) to: Form Interrogatories (“FROG”), set one; Special Interrogatories (“SROG”), set one; and Requests for Production of Documents (“RPD”), set one. Respondent also moves to deem admitted the matters specified in Requests for Admissions (“RFA”), set one. The motions are granted. Respondent also filed a motion seeking discovery sanctions against the Claimant and her counsel-of-record, Raymond Ghermizian, for abusing the discovery process. That motion is granted.

Respondent served the discovery on Claimant on March 28, 2018. On July 3, 2018, Claimant served unverified responses. “Unsworn responses are tantamount to no responses at all.” (Appleton v. Superior Court (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 632, 636.) Accordingly, the motions to compel responses to the FROG, SROG, and RPD are granted per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300. Claimant is ordered to serve responses to Plaintiff’s FROG, SROG, and RPD, without objections, within thirty (30) days of notice of the Court’s order.

Respondent also moves to deem the matters specified in the RFA. 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 Claimant has failed to serve verified responses to Plaintiff’s RFA, the Court grants the motion to deem admitted matters specified in the RFA.

Respondent seeks sanctions against the Claimant and her counsel-of-record, Raymond Ghermizian, for abusing the discovery process. The Court finds that Claimant’s failure to respond to discovery is an abuse of the discovery process. The abuse is especially egregious in this case, given the length of time that Claimant has failed to respond to discovery. Therefore, the Court orders sanctions against both Claimant and counsel-of-record, Raymond Ghermizian, jointly and severally, in the amount of $1,225, based on seven hours of attorney time at a rate of $175 per hour, plus filing fees for five motions of $60 each.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Respondent’s motions to compel responses to the FROG, SROG, and RPD are granted per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300. Claimant is ordered to serve verified responses, without objections, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

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

The motion for sanctions is granted. Claimant and counsel-of-record, Raymond Ghermizian, are ordered to pay sanctions, jointly and severally, in the amount of $1,525 within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

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

DATED: May 24, 2019 ___________________________

Stephen I. Goorvitch

Judge of the Superior Court