STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY VS JOSHUA BAILEY

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: 19STLC04442    Hearing Date: September 23, 2020    Dept: 26

State Farm v. Bailey, et al

MOTION TO DEEM REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION ADMITTED

(CCP § 2033.280)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted Against Defendant Joshua Bailey is GRANTED. DEFENDANT JOSHUA BAILEY IS TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $460.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER.

ANALYSIS:

On October 15, 2019, Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) served Requests for Admissions on Defendant Joshua Bailey (“Defendant”). (Motion, Reese Decl., Exh. A.)  Despite providing an extension of the time to serve responses, to date, Plaintiff has not received any verified responses to the discovery requests propounded on Defendant. (Id. at pp. 1:24-2:2.) As a result, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion to Deem the Truth of Matters Specified in Requests for Admissions to Defendant as Admitted and for Monetary Sanctions (the “Motion”) on June 12, 2020.

Defendant filed an oppostion on September 10, 2020.

Discussion

Defendant has not provided verified responses to the discovery propounded by Plaintiff on October 15, 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.) Despite Defendant’s opposing argument that the Court exercise its discretion to deny the Motion and request for sanctions, no legal authority grants this Court the power to ignore the express legislative mandate:

If a party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response, the following rules apply:

. . .

(b) 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 under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010).

(c) The court shall make this order, 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. 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 this motion.

(Code Civ. Proc., § 2033.280 (emphasis added).) This action was filed in May 2019 and defense counsel has had 13 months to locate Defendant prior to the filing of the instant Motion. Therefore, Plaintiff is entitled to an order deeming the Requests for Admission admitted.

The Court also finds the failure to respond a misuse of the discovery process. In ignoring communications from defense counsel, Defendant has willfully ignored his obligations under the Discovery Code. (See Opp., Zaiderman Decl., ¶¶2-5.) Sanctions are appropriate under Code of Civil Procedure sections 2023.010, 2023.030 and 2033.280, and have been properly noticed. Sanctions are granted against Defendant in the amount of $460.00, based on two hours of attorney time billed at $200.00 per hour, plus the $60.00 filing fee. (Id. at p. 2:6-9.)

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted Against Defendant Joshua Bailey is GRANTED. DEFENDANT JOSHUA BAILEY IS TO PAY SANCTIONS OF $460.00 TO PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL WITHIN 20 DAYS’ SERVICE OF THIS ORDER.

Moving party to give notice.