Robin Kimball vs CVS Pharmacy Inc et al

Case Number

22CV02905

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 02/28/2024 - 10:00

Nature of Proceedings

Motions to compel discovery responses (form and special interrogatories, and demand for production) and deemed admissions

Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff by Igor Fradkin.

Defendant Garfield Beach and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling CVS by Traci Lagasse, Jennifer Hamilton, Austin Wallick.

Brenda Roe was dismissed.

Issue

Motions to compel discovery responses (form and special interrogatories, and demand for production) and deemed admissions.

RULING

This is a slip and fall case filed 7/27/22.

Plaintiff served Defendant Garfield Beach CVS, LLC with Form Interrogatories (Set 1), Special Interrogatories (Set 1), Request for Production of Documents (Set 1), and Request for Admissions (Set 1) on July 18, 2023. Extensions of time were provided to Defendant’s prior attorney, who then served unverified responses primarily containing objections.

Upon substituting into the action, Defendant’s current counsel requested an extension of time to respond to the discovery to November 10, 2023, which was granted, and counsel began to work with his client to obtain the information necessary to respond to the discovery. Proper verified responses were not provided by November 10, 2023, and apparently no further request for extension of time to respond was requested.

Plaintiff filed the current motions to compel responses to the form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents, and motion for deemed admissions, when no responses had been provided by January 24, 2024. The motions do not seek sanctions.

Defendant opposed each of the motions, contending that he has been diligently working with his client to provide verified supplemental responses, and intends to serve them upon Plaintiff by February 21, 2024. Defendant further contended that the motions were procedurally defective in failing to reflect any meet and confer efforts by Plaintiff, and in failing to include separate statements.

As noted by Plaintiff’s reply, unverified responses are tantamount to no responses at all, and the proper motion to file was therefore a motion to compel verified responses - which does not require prior meet and confer efforts and does not require a separate statement.

The Court has no information on whether Defendant provided verified, code-compliant responses to the discovery by the date it promised in its opposition.

If verified responses to each discovery device have been provided by Defendant prior to the hearing on these motions, the motions will be denied, and any claimed deficiencies in the responses will need to be addressed, if at all, in a subsequently filed motion to compel further responses.

If verified responses have not been provided prior to the hearing on these motions, the motions will all be granted, including orders (1) compelling Defendant to provide verified responses to the form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and request for production of documents no later than and Defendant will be ordered to provide verified responses no later than March 8, 2024; and (2) deeming admitted the matters set forth in the requests for admissions.

The mandatory settlement conference date of 3/29/24 and the SJ Motion date of 4/3/24 and trial date of 4/24/24 at 11:30 are confirmed – again [see the Minute Orders of 5/17/23 and 12/6/23].

NOTICE: We will not have a court reporter for your case. We will have electronic recording which the Court thinks works very well and you might want to check it out. There can only be one official record of court proceedings, and only a reporter appointed by the court may report a court proceeding.  Only one reporter will be allowed to report a court proceeding at any given time.  If the parties cannot agree on a reporter, the Court will make the selection after you submit the name and address of the Court reporter each counsel has engaged. Counsel will notify the Court 10 days in advance of the trial date if you are going to provide a court reporter. Otherwise, the Court and counsel will rely on the electronic recording.