HOMESPACE LLC VS. SHIRLEY HARTLING ET AL

Matter on calendar for Friday, June 27, 2025, Line 6, PLAINTIFF HOMESPACE LLC's Motion To Compel Further Discovery Responses And For Monetary Sanctions.

Plaintiff Homespace LLC's Motion To Compel Further Discovery Responses And For Monetary Sanctions is DENIED. The record demonstrates a failure by the moving party to engage in meaningful meet and confer. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040.) The record before the court does not show the moving party made a reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion.

The court finds good cause to require going forward, all meet and confer in this action must occur by Zoom with all sessions recorded. If there is a dispute regarding what occurred, the recording(s) and transcription(s) prepared by a certified court reporter must be submitted. Participate in any such meet and confer session is limited to counsel of record.

Plaintiff is advised stacked discovery motions are strongly disfavored. Going forward, stacked motions will be ordered off calendar in favor of individual motions focused each on a single discovery vehicle (e.g., Frogs, SRogs, RFPs, RFAs, deposition notice) addressed to a single, specific party. The parties are advised if discovery proceeds on this course and disputes persist, the court, at the parties' expense, may appoint a discovery referee. The court may continue the next discovery motion to give the parties time to seek appointment of a referee or to identify referee candidates. The parties, of course, are free to seek appointment of a referee on their own initiative.

The court does not find that Plaintiff and counsel's actions in connection with this discovery were substantially justified. Plaintiff and counsel Lenz H. McElrath III, jointly and severally, shall pay $500 as sanctions, payable to the Clerk of the Court, payment no later than by July 18, 2025, receipt filed no later than July 25, 2025.

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