Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions
| CV-25-004507 - VALVERDE, ANTHONY vs SILVA, EMANUEL - Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Defendant Emmanuel Silva to Provide Further Written Responses to Requests for Production of Documents, Set One, and Production of Cell Phone Records; and Request for Sanctions - GRANTED, in part. The Court finds that Plaintiff has demonstrated good cause for the production of Defendant Silva's cell phone records relative to the occurrence of the accident, as the evidence establishes that Defendant had his cell phone in the vehicle at the time and cannot recall whether he used the phone within the 20-minute period before the accident.
Additionally, there appears to be no other method by which to obtain relevant information that the subject records may disclose, i.e. the existence of additional witnesses, the existence of potential distractions, and the like. However, the Court is mindful of the law's protection of Plaintiff's privacy interests in his cell phone usage, as well as the information reflected thereby, and of the Court's duty to balance the respective rights of the parties in this situation to reach a proper resolution of the issue.
Therefore, the Court finds that good cause exists to compel limited production of the requested records, to include records evidencing Defendant Silva's cell phone activity within the 20 minute periods occurring immediately before and after the time of the accident. Therefore, Defendant shall provide verified further responses identifying any responsive materials within the above-defined parameters within 14 days. The Court declines to award sanctions. CV-25-001828 - CHAVOLLA, EVA vs DARLING INGREDIENTS INC - Defendant's Petition to Compel Arbitration and Stay Civil Court Proceedings - DENIED, without prejudice, as premature.
The Court notes that the arguments relative to the instant petition reference allegations made in Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, which is not contained in the Court's file. Therefore, the motion is premature at this juncture, as the state of the pleadings appears to be unsettled herein. The following are the tentative rulings for cases calendared before Judge Sonny S. Sandhu in Department 24: CV-23-004665 - PAULEEN BAJWA & MCKELLAR ENTERPRISES vs RAS AUTOMOTIVE INC - Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions Against Defendant's RAS Automotive Inc., Harinderjit Kaur, and Vik Randhawa; and Their Counsel Philip Minter Esq.
Pursuant to CCP 128.5 and 128.7 - DENIED. The motion is procedurally defective in several respects. Plaintiff improperly combines requests for sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure Sec.Sec. 128.5 and 128.7 into a single motion, contrary to the statutory requirement that such requests be made separately. (See Code Civ. Proc., Sec.Sec. 128.5, subd. (f)(1)(A), 128.7, subd. (c)(1).) Additionally, the motion improperly seeks Sec. 128.7 sanctions against represented parties in a manner inconsistent with the statute. (See Code Civ.
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Proc., Sec. 128.7, subd. (b).) Further, Plaintiff has not demonstrated strict compliance with the safe harbor provisions. The version of the motion served during the safe harbor period does not appear to be identical to the motion filed, and there is an insufficient showing that a complete, properly noticed motion was served at least 21 days before filing. (See Galleria Plus, Inc. v. Hanmi Bank (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 535, 538 (Galleria Plus).) The above procedural defects are fatal. Strict compliance with the procedural rules governing sanctions motions is a necessary precursor to granting them.
Statutory non-compliance subjects a sanctions order to reversal. (See Galleria Plus, supra, 179 Cal.App.4th at p. 538; see also Martorana v. Marlin & Saltzman (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 685, 698-700 [noncompliance with Section 128.7(c)(1) may be raised for first time on appeal in appropriate situations].) Even so, the Court notes that it would decline to impose sanctions on the merits. The filing of Defendants' motion under Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 664.6, though unsuccessful, does not demonstrate that it was presented for an improper purpose or in bad faith within the meaning of Sec.Sec. 128.5 or 128.7.
For the above reasons, the motion for sanctions is DENIED. CV-23-006303 - HILMAR CHEESE COMPANY INC vs FERREIRA, TIMOTHY - Plaintiff's Motion to Enforce