Case Number: BC676804 Hearing Date: January 08, 2019 Dept: 5

Superior Court of California
County of Los Angeles
Department 5

Edelio Valentin Alvarez,

Plaintiff,

v.

Jimmy Mo Chung, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No.: BC676804

Hearing Date: January 8, 2019

[TENTATIVE] order RE:

motions to compel discovery responses

Defendants Jimmy Mo Chung and Ritsuko Lee (“Defendants”) move to compel responses from Plaintiff Edelio Valentin Alvarez (“Plaintiff”) to: (1) Request for Production of Documents (“RPD”), set one; (2) Form Interrogatories (“FROG”), set one; and (3) Special Interrogatories (“SROG”), set one. The Court grants the motions in part and denies the motions in part.

Plaintiff served unverified responses to Plaintiff’s RFA, FROG, SROG, and RPD. “Unsworn responses are tantamount to no responses at all.” (Appleton v. Superior Court (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 632, 636.) To the extent Defendants move to compel Plaintiff to provide verifications for the responses to the FROG, SROG, and RPD, the motion is granted per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verifications for the responses to Defendant’s RPD, FROG, and SROG within twenty (20) days of notice of this order.

However, Plaintiff’s responses include objections. Plaintiff need not verify his responses to preserve the objections. (Food 4 Less Supermarkets, Inc. v. Superior Court (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 651, 656.) Defendant cannot obtain responses over Plaintiff’s objections without moving to compel further responses. Therefore, the motion is denied in part.

Defendants seek sanctions in connection with the motions. The Court awards sanctions against Plaintiff in the amount of $820, based upon four hours of attorney time to prepare the motions and attend the hearing at $160 per hour, plus three filing fees of $60 each.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

Defendants’ motions to compel responses to the RPD, FROG, and SROG are granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff is ordered to provide verifications to prior answers, per Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.290 and 2031.300, within twenty (20) days of notice of this order. Plaintiff need not verify or provide further information concerning objections.

Plaintiff is ordered to pay monetary sanctions in the amount of $820 to Defendants, by and through counsel, within twenty (20) days of notice of this order.

Defendants are ordered to provide notice of this order and file proof of service of such.

DATED: January 8, 2019 ___________________________

Stephen I. Goorvitch

Judge of the Superior Court