ABIMBOLA AJAYI VS. CITY & COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Thursday January 15, 2026, Line 10. Plaintiff Abimbola Ajayi's motion for a protective order from Defendants Shreya Patel and the Regents of the University of California's notice of taking deposition of Plaintiff with production of documents is DENIED.

Plaintiff moves under Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.420. "Before, during, or after a deposition, any party, any deponent, or any other affected natural person or organization may promptly move for a protective order. The motion shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040." (Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.420(a).) A court, for good cause shown, may make any order that justice requires to protect any party or deponent from "unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression, or undue burden and expense." (Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.420(b).)

Here, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate good cause warranting a protective order. The requests for documents do not amount to the level of being so unreasonable as to be oppressive or causing undue burden or expense. If Plaintiff has objections to the scope of the requests for production, she may respond to the requests stating those objections and meeting and conferring with Defendant to potentially limit the scope of the requests for production of documents.

The parties are ordered to meet and confer regarding the location of the deposition and give serious consideration to moving it to a location in San Francisco. AT the same time, the court finds Plaintiff did not meet and confer on this issue and the court will not order relief on a discovery request where the party seeking relief has failed to satisfy their meet and confer duties. Plaintiff's request for sanctions against Defendant is denied.

For the 9:00 a.m. calendar, all attorneys and parties may appear in Department 302 remotely or in person. Remote hearings will be conducted by videoconference using Zoom. (Dept. 302 Zoom ID 160 409 7690; Passcode 516287.) To appear remotely at the hearing, go to the court's website at sfsuperiorcourt.org under "Online Services," navigate to "Tentative Rulings," and click on the appropriate link, or dial the corresponding phone number.

Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. The text of the email shall include the name and contact information, including email address, of the attorney or party who will appear at the hearing.

Counsel for the prevailing party is required to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the substantive portion of the tentative ruling and must email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the hearing even if the tentative ruling is not contested.

The court no longer provides a court reporter in the Law & Motion Department. Parties may retain their own reporter, who may appear in the courtroom or remotely. A retained reporter must be a California certified court reporter (CSR), for only a CSR's transcript may be used in California courts. If a CSR is being retained, include in your email all of the following: their name, CSR and telephone numbers, and their individual work email address.