EVA CARDENAS VS ROBERTO LUNA ET AL

Tentative Rulings

Case Number: ****4865    Hearing Date: January 10, 2020    Dept: 4B

[TENTATIVE] ORDER RE: DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO COMPEL SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSES TO DISCOVERY AND MONETARY SANCTIONS

On September 5, 2017, Plaintiff Eva Cardenas filed this action against defendants Roberta Luna (erroneously sued as “Roberto Luna”) (“Luna”) and Honoluna, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) for premises liability arising out of a January 12, 2017 slip and fall. On July 24, 2019, Luna served Supplemental Demand for Production (Set One) and Supplemental Interrogatories (Set One) on Plaintiff. On October 14, 2019, defense counsel sent a meet and confer letter requesting verified answers. Defense counsel also sent emails and called. Plaintiff did not respond. Luna seeks to compel Plaintiff’s responses and monetary sanctions.

A party may propound a supplemental interrogatory or supplemental demand for production of documents to elicit any later acquired information bearing on all answers previously made by any party. (Code Civ. Proc., ;; 2030.070, subd. (a), 2031.050, subd. (a).) Where a party fails to serve timely responses to discovery requests, the court may make an order compelling responses. (Code Civ. Proc., ;; 2030.290, 2031.300.) A party that fails to serve timely responses waives any objections to the request, including ones based on privilege or the protection of attorney work product. (Code Civ. Proc., ;; 2030.290, subd. (a), 2031.300, subd. (a).)

Plaintiff filed no opposition to these Motions and did not serve responses to Luna’s requests for discovery. Accordingly, the motions to compel Plaintiff’s responses are GRANTED. Plaintiff is ordered to serve verified responses, without objection, to Luna’s Supplemental Interrogatories (Set One) and Supplemental Demand for Production (Set One) within seven (7) days of the date of this Order.

Where the court grants a motion to compel responses, sanctions shall be imposed against the party who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel, unless the party acted with substantial justification or the sanction would otherwise be unjust. (Code Civ. Proc., ; 2030.290, subd. (c), 2031.300, subd. (c).) Luna’s request for monetary sanctions is GRANTED and imposed against Plaintiff and counsel of record, jointly and severally, in the amount of $470.00 for two hours at defense counsel’s hourly rate of $175.00 and $120.00 in filing fees, to be paid within twenty days of the date of this Order.

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SSCDEPT4B@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative.