Case Number: BC602681 Hearing Date: June 25, 2019 Dept: 5

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 5

cecelia kleiner,

Plaintiff,

v.

ralphs grocery company,

Defendant.

Case No.: BC602681

Hearing Date: June 25, 2019

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

motions to compel discovery responses

Defendant Ralphs Grocery Company (“Defendant”) moves to compel responses from Plaintiff Cecelia Kleiner (“Plaintiff”) to: Supplemental Interrogatories (“SuppROG”), set two, and Supplemental Requests for Production of Documents (“SuppRPD”), set two. Defendant served the discovery on Plaintiff by mail on January 22, 2018. After this Court granted Plaintiff’s prior counsel’s motion to withdraw, Defendant re-served the discovery on Plaintiff on January 26, 2018. Plaintiff retained new counsel on March 8, 2018, and Defendant’s counsel met-and-conferred concerning the outstanding discovery with Plaintiff’s new counsel on at least four occasions. However, Plaintiff has not yet responded to the outstanding discovery requests. Nor has Plaintiff opposed this motion. Accordingly, the motions to compel responses to the SuppROG and SuppRPD are granted per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300. Plaintiff is ordered to serve responses to Defendant’s SuppROG and SuppRPD, without objections, within thirty (30) days of service of this order.

Defendant seeks sanctions in connection with the motions. The Court finds Plaintiff’s failure to respond to Defendant’s discovery is an abuse of the discovery process warranting sanctions. The Court imposes sanctions against Plaintiff and her counsel of record, the McElfish Law Firm, jointly and severally, in the amount of $1,720, representing eight hours of attorney time at a billing rate of $200 per hour, plus two filing fees of $60 each.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Defendant’s motions to compel responses to the SuppROG and SuppRPD are granted per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses, without objections, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

Plaintiff and her counsel of record, the McElfish Law Firm, jointly and severally, are ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $1,720 to Defendant, by and through counsel, within thirty (30) days of notice of this order.

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

DATED: June 25, 2019 ___________________________

Stephen I. Goorvitch

Judge of the Superior Court