Case Number: BC576699??? Hearing Date: May 31, 2016??? Dept: 39
Defendant, CVS Pharmacy, Inc.’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Provide Responses to Defendant CVS Pharmacy?s Special Interrogatories, Set One [? 2030.290 et seq]: the unopposed motion is GRANTED.
Code-compliant, objection free, verified responses are due June 17, 2016.
The court grants the request for sanctions in the amount of $860.00 against Plaintiff. Plaintiff is to pay sanctions by June 17, 2016.
This case is an insurance subrogation action in which Plaintiff Hartford Insurance seeks subrogation to recover Workers? Compensation benefits paid to Defendant as a result of an injury to a vendor within a CVS retail location.
The motion lacks tabs as required by California Rules of Court Rule 3.1110(f).
Where, as here, a party to whom interrogatories are directed fails to respond at all, the propounding party?s remedy is to seek a court order compelling answers thereto. (C.C.P. ? 2030.290.) All that needs to be shown is that the discovery was properly served on the opposing party, that the time to respond has expired, and that no response of any kind has been served. The moving party is not required to show a reasonable and good faith attempt to resolve the matter informally before filing the motion. The failure to timely respond also waives all objections. There is no time limit to bringing the motion.
Defendant provides the interrogatories at issue, which were served via regular mail to Plaintiff?s counsel on February 9, 2016. (Ex. A.) Thus, the time to respond has expired. Defendant sent a letter to Plaintiff?s counsel seeking objection free responses to avoid the instant motion. (Ex. B.) Counsel for Defendant attests that no responses were received as of April 28, 2016. (Pollack Decl. ? 4.)
The unopposed motion is therefore GRANTED. Plaintiff is to provide code-compliant, objection free, verified responses by June 17, 2016.
Defendant also seeks sanctions against Plaintiff only. ?The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel a response to interrogatories, unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.? (C.C.P. ? 2030.290(c).) Pursuant to California Rules of Court Rule 3.1348, ?[t]he court may award sanctions under the Discovery Act in favor of a party who files a motion to compel discovery, even though no opposition to the motion was filed, or opposition to the motion was withdrawn, or the requested discovery was provided to the moving party after the motion was filed.?
Defendant?s counsel attests to an hourly rate of $200.00 spending two hours on the motion, an anticipated two hours travelling to and appearing at the hearing, and a $60.00 filing fee. (Pollack Decl. ? 5.) Therefore, the court awards monetary sanctions in the amount of $860.00, against Plaintiff only. The monetary sanctions are due June 17, 2016.