Case Number: BC700804 Hearing Date: September 09, 2019 Dept: 37

HEARING DATE: September 9, 2019

CASE NUMBER: BC700804

CASE NAME: WS Investments Property, LLC v. Imelda Balanay, et al.

TRIAL DATE: January 28, 2020

PROOF OF SERVICE: OK

PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS TO DEEM REQUESTS FOR ADMISSIONS ADMITTED

MOVING PARTY: Plaintiff WS Investments Property, LLC

OPPOSING PARTY: Unopposed

MOTION: Filed March 28, 2019

OPPOSITION: Unopposed

REPLY: Filed August 27, 2019 & August 29, 2019

TENTATIVE: Plaintiff’s motions to deem requests for admissions to Defendant Charles James admitted and to deem requests for admissions to Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James admitted are GRANTED. The genuineness of the documents and the truth of the matters specified in Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One is deemed admitted by Defendant Charles James and by Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James. Monetary sanctions in the amount of $1,500.00 each are issued against Defendants Charles James and Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James jointly. Counsel for the Plaintiff to give notice.

BACKGROUND

This is a breach of contract case concerning a written residential purchase agreement (the “Agreement”) whereby WS Investments Property, LLC allegedly agreed to purchase real property located at 6207 Hillandale Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90042 (the “Subject Property”). The Complaint alleges that Imelda Balanay and Charles James (“Defendants”) are the owners of the Subject Property and that they breached the terms of the Agreement by refusing to sell the Subject Property to Plaintiff. In the operative Complaint, Plaintiff alleges causes of action for breach of contract and specific performance against Defendants.

Plaintiff now moves this court for an order that the truth of each matter and the genuineness of each document specified in Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One be deemed admitted by Defendant Charles James and Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James and for an Order that each Defendant pay to the moving party the sum of $2010.00 as the reasonable costs and attorney fees incurred by Plaintiff for these proceedings. The motion as of September 6, 2019 is unopposed.
DISCUSSION

If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the party to whom the requests for admissions are directed waives any object to the requests, including one based on privilege or on the protection for work product (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (a) and the requesting 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….” (Id. § 2033.280, subd. (b).) The court shall make this order, unless it founds that the party to whom the request for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admissions that is in substantial compliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.220. (Id. § 2033.280, subd. (c).) It is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 on the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated this motion. (Ibid.)

Here, Plaintiff moves the court for an order that the genuineness of the documents and the truth of the matters specified in Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One be deemed admitted, and that monetary sanction in the amount of $2010.00 be imposed against each of Defendant Charles James and Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James. (Mot. at p. 1.)

Plaintiff establishes that Defendant Charles James and Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James were served by mail with Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One on August 10, 2018 and that courtesy copies were given to defense counsel on October 30, 2018. (Kenefel Decl. ¶ 3.) Plaintiff also establishes that no extension of the time to respond to Plaintiff’s discovery requests have been requested or given and that as of August 27, 2019, Defendants have not responded to the discovery requests. (Kenefel Decl. ¶ 6; Reply at p. 1.) This showing is sufficient to establish that Defendants have failed to serve timely responses to Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One and that Defendants therefore are deemed to have waived any objections to Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions, Set One. (See Code Civ. Proc. § 2033.250 [“Within 30 days after service of requests for admission, the party to whom the requests are directed shall serve the original of the response to them on the requesting party…”]) Accordingly, as the motion is unopposed, the motion to deem the genuineness of any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests be deemed admitted is GRANTED. Moreover, as “it is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction . . . on the party . . . whose failure to serve a timely response to the request for admission necessitated this motion”, monetary sanctions are imposed against Defendant Charles James and Defendant Imelda Balanay a/k/a Imelda James each in the amount of $1,500.00. Counsel for the Plaintiff is to give notice.