ANCHOR GENERAL INSURANCE CO. VS JOSE ANTONIO MENDOZA LUNA

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: 19STLC07387    Hearing Date: November 10, 2020    Dept: 26

Anchor General Ins. Co. v. Luna, et al.

MOTION TO DEEM REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION ADMITTED(CCP § 2033.280)

TENTATIVE RULING:

No tentative ruling to issue on Plaintiff Anchor General Insurance Company’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted and Request for Sanctions. Ruling to depend on what happens at the hearing.

ANALYSIS:

On March 18, 2020, Plaintiff Anchor General Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) served Requests for Admissions on Defendant Jose Antonio Mendoza Luna (“Defendant”). (Motion, Reese Decl., Exh. A.) To date, Plaintiff has not received any discovery responses to the requests propounded on Defendant. (Id. at p. 1:26.) As a result, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Deem the Truth of Matters Specified in Requests for Admissions Admitted and for Monetary Sanctions (the “Motion”) on July 1, 2020.

The Motion initially came for hearing on August 10, 2020, at which time the Court’s tentative ruling was to deem the Requests for Admission admitted. However, Defendant appeared in pro se and represented that he had not received the requests for admission. (Minute Order, 8/10/20.) The Court declined to adopt the tentative ruling and instead ordered Plaintiff to re-serve the Requests for Admission within 10 days of the order by overnight mail and ordered Defendant to respond within 35 days. (Ibid.)

To date, no supplemental briefing nor proofs of service have been filed demonstrating that either party complied with the Court’s order. Therefore, no tentative ruling is to issue at this time. The Court’s ruling will depend on what happens at the hearing.

Case Number: 19STLC07387    Hearing Date: August 10, 2020    Dept: 26

Anchor General Ins. Co. v. Luna, et al.

MOTION TO DEEM REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION ADMITTED

(CCP § 2033.280)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff Anchor General Insurance Company’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted and Request for Sanctions is GRANTED. DEFENDANT JOSE ANTONIO MENDOZA LUNA IS TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $260.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 30 DAYS’ NOTICE OF THIS ORDER.

ANALYSIS:

On March 18, 2020, Plaintiff Anchor General Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) served Requests for Admissions on Defendant Jose Antonio Mendoza Luna (“Defendant”). (Motion, Reese Decl., Exh. A.) To date, Plaintiff has not received any discovery responses to the requests propounded on Defendant. (Id. at p. 1:26.) As a result, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Deem the Truth of Matters Specified in Requests for Admissions Admitted and for Monetary Sanctions (the “Motion”) on July 1, 2020. To date, no opposition has been filed.

Plaintiff has demonstrated that Defendant has not provided verified responses to the requests propounded on March 18, 2020, nor filed an opposition to the Motion. There is no requirement for a prior meet and confer effort before a motion to deem requests for admission can be filed. Further, the motion can be brought any time after the responding party fails to provide the responses.

The Court further finds the failure to respond a misuse of the discovery process. Sanctions are appropriate under Code of Civil Procedure sections 2023.010, 2023.030 and 2033.280, and have been properly noticed. However, the amount sought is excessive given the straightforward and unopposed nature of the Motion. Based on a lodestar calculation, sanctions are granted against Defendant in the amount of $260.00, based on one hour of attorney time billed at $200.00 per hour, plus the $60.00 filing fee. (Id. at pp. 1:27-2:3.)

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff Anchor General Insurance Company’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted and Request for Sanctions is GRANTED. DEFENDANT JOSE ANTONIO MENDOZA LUNA IS TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $260.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 30 DAYS’ NOTICE OF THIS ORDER.

Moving party to give notice.