MIGUEL NIC VILLANUEVA ET AL VS. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. ET AL

Matter on calendar for Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Line 5, PLAINTIFF MIGUEL VILLANUEVA, INGRID MUKUL's Motion To Compel Further Discovery Responses From Defendant, And Request For Sanctions - First Set Of Requests For Production Of Documents.

3 - Plaintiff's motion to compel further responses to Special Interrogatories, Set 1 is GRANTED. Plaintiff's meet and confer was reasonable. The request at issue, Special Interrogatory No. 10, is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible. (See CCP Section 2017.010.)

Plaintiff has shown Defendant's response is incomplete. Instead of stating all facts which support its contention that the vehicle does not qualify for repurchase, Defendant merely refers Plaintiff to the vehicle's service records that have been or will be produced in discovery. This reference does not identify which particular facts Defendant believes support its opinion re repurchase. Defendant's response is evasive. Its boiler-plate objections lack merit. Nor does CCP 2030.230 apply. Special interrogatory no. 10 does not ask Defendant to summarize the vehicle repurchase history but rather to select the facts supporting its contentions. Plaintiff has asked for the facts Defendant believes support its contention, and he cannot select these facts on Defendant's behalf.

The court orders Defendant to provide further responses to special interrogatories set 1, no. 10, with a verification no later than ten court days from notice of this order. The court does not find Defendant acted with substantial justification. Defendant shall pay $2,060 to Plaintiff in sanctions, payment no later than 10 court days from notice of this order.

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. =(302/JMQ). |