STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY VS EMANUEL DIAZ, ET AL.

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: 19STLC08838    Hearing Date: July 09, 2020    Dept: 26

State Farm v. Diaz, et al

MOTION TO DEEM REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION ADMITTED

(CCP § 2033.280)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motions to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted Against Defendants Emmanuel Diaz and Andres Diaz are GRANTED. EACH DEFENDANT IS ORDERED TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $260.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 30 DAYS’ NOTICE OF THIS ORDER.

ANALYSIS:

On December 9, 2019, Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) served Requests for Admissions, Set One, on Defendants Emmanuel Diaz (“Defendant Emmanuel”) and Andres Diaz (“Defendant Andres”). (Motions, Reese Decl., Exh. A.) Having not received verified responses to the discovery, Plaintiff filed the instant Motions to Deem the Truth of Matters Specified in Requests for Admissions as Admitted and for Monetary Sanctions against Defendants Emmanuel and Andres (“the Motions”) on March 3, 2020. Counsel for Defendant Emmanuel filed an opposing declaration on April 10, 2020.

Discussion

Defendant Andres has not provided verified responses to the discovery propounded by Plaintiff on December 9, 2019. There is no requirement for a prior meet and confer effort before a motion to deem requests for admission can be filed. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280.) Further, the motion can be brought any time after the responding party fails to provide the responses. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280.) Based on Defendant Andres’ failure to provide verified responses to the Requests for Admission, Set One, the Motion to deem those admissions against him are granted.

Counsel for Defendant Emmanuel submits a declaration stating that his verified responses to the Requests for Admission, Set One, were served on Plaintiff on March 18, 2020. (Opp., Sims Decl., ¶2.) Based on this representation, the opposing declaration asks the Court to take the Motion against Defendant Emmanuel off calendar and deny the request for sanctions. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280, subdivision (c), the Court is required to deem unanswered requests for admission admitted “unless it finds that the party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).) The opposing declaration does not demonstrate that the responses served on Plaintiff were in substantial compliance with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.220. No copy of the responses is attached to the declaration, nor does the declaration state that the responses comply with the statutory requirements. Additionally, no papers have been submitted by Plaintiff regarding the responses. Therefore, the Court cannot make a finding that the responses served by Defendant Emmanuel were in substantial compliance with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.220. The Motion to deem those the requests for admissions against Defendant Emmanuel is also granted.

Finally, it is mandatory that the court impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) on the party or attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to requests for admission necessitated a motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280, subd. (c).) Sanctions are granted against each Defendants Emmanuel and Andres 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. (Motion, Reese Decl., ¶ at p. 2:4-7.)

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motions to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted Against Defendants Emmanuel Diaz and Andres Diaz are GRANTED. EACH DEFENDANT IS ORDERED TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $260.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 30 DAYS’ NOTICE OF THIS ORDER.

Moving party to give notice.