Case Number: BC671005 Hearing Date: April 04, 2018 Dept: 97

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 97

Vera Dem,

Plaintiff,

v.

Carlos Cruz, et al.,

Defendant.

Case No.: BC671005

Hearing Date: April 4, 2018

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

motion to compel further responses to form interrogatory 4.1; request for sanctions

Plaintiff Vera Dem (“Plaintiff”) has filed a motion to compel defendant Efren Valenzuela’s (“Defendant”) further responses to Form Interrogatory No. 4.1 (“FROG 4.1”).

Pursuant to the Court’s current Amended General Order Re: Personal Injury Court Procedures, which is available on the Los Angeles Superior Court website, lead or other designated counsel for the parties with full authority, must participate in an Informal Discovery Conference (“IDC”) before the Court will hear any motion to compel further responses to discovery. Here, the moving party has failed to schedule and participate in an IDC prior to the current hearing date on this motion to compel further. Therefore, the instant motion to compel further responses to FROG 4.1 is CONTINUED to June 5, 2018 at 10:00 am to allow the moving party an opportunity to schedule and participate in an IDC in compliance with the Amended General Order.

Plaintiff must make a reservation for the IDC using the Court’s online reservation system (CRS) after consultation with Defense Counsel regarding a mutually convenient date. Once Plaintiff has reserved an IDC date, she must serve notice of the IDC date, time, and location upon Defendant and file proof of service of such. For all future hearings and trial dates after April 13, 2018, the parties are ordered to appear at the Court’s new location effective April 16, 2018: 312 North Spring Street, Dept. 5, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Plaintiff’s notice of the IDC must note the Court’s new location if the IDC reservation is for a date after April 16, 2018.

Prior to the IDC date, lead or other designated counsel for the parties, with full authority, are requested to meet and confer, face-to-face, to resolve as many of the issues as possible before the IDC. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.670, subdivision (f)(2).) If the parties resolve their discovery disputes before the IDC date, Plaintiff is ordered to take both the IDC and motion off calendar as soon as possible by canceling the reservations on CRS. At the IDC, Counsel should bring with them whatever materials are needed to make this court-ordered meet-and-confer session productive and successful.

The Court notes that Plaintiff had another motion to compel further on calendar for April 3, 2018. Plaintiff must schedule a separate IDC for each motion.

If Plaintiff fails to reserve and participate in an IDC as set forth above prior to the continued June 5, 2018 hearing on the motion to compel further responses to FROG 4.1, the Court will take the motion off calendar.

Plaintiff shall provide notice of this order.

DATED: April 4, 2018 ___________________________

Elaine Lu

Judge of the Superior Court