BRINGHURST, ET AL. VS. FCA US, LLC, ET AL.

CASE NUMBER: 24CV-0206683 Tentative Ruling on Motion to Compel Further Responses: Defendants FCA US, LLC and Crown Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram seek an order compelling Plaintiffs Chad and Clair Bringhurst to provide further responses to Defendant’s Requests for Production, Set One. Defendants also request monetary sanctions. Plaintiff opposes the motion on the grounds that it is mooted by the service of verified responses on June 2, 2026.

A party has thirty days after service to respond to a Request for Production, Request for Admissions, Form Interrogatories, or Special Interrogatories. CCP §§ 2031.260(a), 2033.250(a), and 2030.260(a). Not providing a timely response to propounded discovery results in a waiver of objections. CCP §§ 2031.300(a). 2033.280(a), and 2030.290(a). If a party to whom a discovery request is directed fails to serve a timely response, the party propounding discovery may move for an order compelling a response. CCP §§ 2031.300(b) and 2030.290(c).

Here, Defendant has provided evidence that it propounded Requests for Production on November of 2025. Plaintiff provided unverified responses on December 15, 2025. When responses are unverified, case law provides that is the same as serving no responses at all. (Appleton v Superior Court (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 632, 636.)

Plaintiff has provided evidence that it served verified responses on June 2, 2026, after this Motion to Compel was filed. While providing verified responses renders the motion to compel moot, sanctions are still available per CRC 3.1348(a). While the Court has considered Plaintiff’s explanation for the failure to serve verified responses, it does not find substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of a monetary sanction unjust. Defendant was forced to bring this motion to prompt compliance. Therefore, sanctions are warranted. Defendant seeks sanctions of $2,260.00. This consists of 5.5 hours attorney hours expected to be spent on this motion at a rate of $400 per hour, plus a $60 filing fee. The Court will reduce the hours by 1 1