Robert Maron Inc, Robert Maron vs Timothy Brown, The Santa Barbara Smokehouse

Case Number

21CV01747

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 11/01/2023 - 10:00

Nature of Proceedings

Smokehouse’s Motion to Compel

Tentative Ruling

Daniel Friedlander for Plaintiffs

Bryan Thomas for Brown

David Reid, Eric Arevalo, Priscilla Hernandez for Brown

J. Douglas Kirk for Smokehouse

Issue

Smokehouse’s Motion to Compel

Ruling

For the reasons set out below, Sanctions are awarded in the amount of $2,910. There is a proposed Order submitted that provides:

“1. Plaintiff and Cross-Defendant MARON to answer Form Interrogatories, Set One without objection within ten (10) days; and

2. Cross-Defendant ROBERT MARON is ordered to pay sanctions in the amount of $2,910.00 payable to Cross-Complainant THE SANTA BARBARA SMOKEHOUSE INC. and its counsel of record within ten (10) days of the date of this Order.”

The Court will strike paragraph #1 and sign and date the Order.

3. The Trial Date of 2/28/24 and the MSC Date of 2/2/24 are confirmed.

Analysis

Smokehouse’s Motion

This motion to compel was filed 9/20/23; 35 pages; summarized; reports that on May 12, 2023, Smokehouse’s counsel caused to be served on Maron’s attorney, Daniel A. Friedlander, Form Interrogatories, Set One; served concurrently with Requests for Admission, Set One and required Maron to provide Responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, Number 17.1 as to any Requests for Admission response that was not an unqualified admission.

Interrogatories were due on June 13, 2023; Maron did not respond and did not request an extension; Smokehouse was entitled to bring a motion without engaging in meet and confer; counsel for Smokehouse emailed counsel for Maron on June 23, 2023, regarding Maron’s failure to respond to the Requests for Admission and the Form Interrogatories and notifying him that if Maron did not provide full and complete responses by July 3, 2023, Smokehouse would file this motion; Maron eventually provided Responses to the Requests for Admission after Smokehouse filed a Motion to Deem the Requests Admitted; but refused to provide Responses to Form Interrogatory Number 17.1, even though some of his Responses to the Requests for Admissions were not an unqualified admission; Maron’s counsel provided assurances he would provide Responses to the Form Interrogatories; as of the date of filing the motion, Maron has simply ignored the Form Interrogatories; the Court; should order Maron to provide responses to Form Interrogatories, Set One, Number 17.1; this Motion should never have become necessary; Maron is subject to monetary sanctions in the amount of $2,850 for fees and $60 for costs, for a total of $2,910 incurred by Smokehouse in bringing this Motion.

Maron’s Opposition

Filed 10/19/23; 34 pages; summarized; Maron opposes Smokehouse’s motion, and the motion should be denied, on two grounds; (1) on October 19, 2023, Maron served complete and code compliant verified responses, without objections to Smokehouse’s form interrogatories that are the subject of this motion; the substantive issues in the motion are now moot; (2) Brown’s request for monetary sanctions in the amount of $2,910, for a short, simple, and straight-forward motion to compel responses to form interrogatories, stemming from Maron’s inadvertently missing the deadline to respond, rather than a genuine dispute over the substance of responses, is unreasonable, grossly excessive, and punitive; it is inconceivable that it took 4 hours to prepare the short and simple motion; the sanctions requested by Smokehouse are simply unreasonable and unwarranted; their request for sanctions should be denied in its entirety, or at a minimum, cut down to no more than a reasonable two hours in total.

Smokehouse’s Reply

Filed 10/25/23; 5 pages; summarized; Maron claims that his (months-long) failure to provide responses was a mere “oversight;” that characterization is pure fiction, and in stark contrast to the timeline; Maron blithely ignores (and asks this Court to ignore) both the June 23, 2023, email reminder from

counsel for Smokehouse and the August 28, 2023, email exchange in which

Maron’s counsel specifically assured that Maron would provide responses to the Form Interrogatories. Maron also complains that the sanctions sought are excessive; that is wrong; Maron forced this motion by refusing to provide responses after multiple requests; sought sanctions of only $1,920 for preparing the Motion, Declaration and Proposed Order; amount is reasonable;  Opposition is pure fiction and required Smokehouse to file a Reply and appear for the scheduled hearing; Maron could have obviated the need for this motion entirely and is hardly in a position to complain about the reasonable fees incurred by Smokehouse in doing so; the Court should award the sanctions requested, especially given that (1) Maron’s Opposition admits he refused to provide responses until the day his Opposition to this very Motion was due and (2) Maron’s claim of an “inadvertent” oversight is demonstrably untrue because he was twice reminded in writing. 

The Court’s Conclusions

Smokehouse’s argument is persuasive; sanctions in the amount request should be awarded.