Estate of Raphael Harper, Raquel Harper vs CVS Pharmacy Inc, 2973 State Street LLC

Case Number

24CV00873

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 12/18/2024 - 10:00

Nature of Proceedings

Motions to Compel/Admissions

Tentative Ruling

Plaintiffs: Daniel Moossai

Defendant/Cross Complainant 2973 State Street: Craig Parton, Kristen Blabey, Karen Brockenbrow

Defendant Longs Drug Store: James Yukevich

Issue

Motions to Compel/Admissions.

RULING

On April 25, 2024, Defendant served separate sets of special interrogatories, form interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission on each of the Plaintiffs herein, Raquel Harper, and Estate of Raphael Harper. No responses were ever provided to the discovery.

On October 29, 2024, Defendant filed separate motions to compel each of the Plaintiffs to provide responses to the special interrogatories, form interrogatories, and requests for production, seeking $1,185.00 in sanctions for each motion. On that same date, Defendant filed separate motions for deemed admissions against each of the Plaintiffs, again seeking $1,185.00 in sanctions for each motion, for a total of $9,480.00 in sanctions.

On December 5, 2024, Plaintiffs’ counsel timely filed opposition to the motions for deemed admissions only, asserting that there had been a significant breakdown in the attorney-client relationship that prevented him from ascertaining the status of the discovery responses, that he had filed motions to withdraw as counsel of record on that same date, setting the hearing on each for February 16, 2025, and requesting that the deemed admissions motions be continued to a date after the hearing on his motions to withdraw.

Defense counsel has objected to any such continuance.

The court’s file does not reflect the filing of any motions by Plaintiffs’ counsel for leave to withdraw as counsel of record, either on December 5, 2024, or on any other date, nor have any hearings been scheduled by counsel in this case for such a motion.

The Court will grant the motions to compel responses to the form interrogatories, special interrogatories, and requests for production, and order each Plaintiff to provide verified responses to the discovery, without objection, no later than January 31, 2025.

With respect to the deemed admissions motions, if verified responses are provided no later than the time of the hearing on the two motions, the motions will be denied. If verified responses are not provided by the time of the hearing on these motions, the motions will be granted, and the matters set forth in the requests will be deemed admitted by each of the Plaintiffs.

Defendant has requested a total of $9,480.00 in sanctions for the eight motions, which the Court finds to be excessive for largely duplicative “no response” discovery motions. The Court will therefore award Defendant the total amount of $3,500 in sanctions, for which Plaintiffs and their counsel will be jointly and severally liable.

The request that the court reschedule the deemed admissions motion until after the hearing on the motion to be relieved as counsel is heard is denied.

The trial date of 5/28/25 and the MSC date of 5/2/25 are confirmed.