Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Responses and for Sanctions
July 17, 2026 Law and Motion Calendar
HONORABLE MICHAEL L. MAU, Department 20 ________________________________________________________________________
9:00 AM Line 10 / UD Line 1 26-UDL-00109 EPA CAN DO VS. ELAINE JOHNSON, ET AL
EPA CAN DO DEREK W. CHANTLER ELAINE JOHNSON PRO SE
Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Responses and for Sanctions
TENTATIVE RULING:
The unopposed motion to compel is GRANTED.
A party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action. Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) Section 2017.010(a). For discovery purposes, information should be regarded as “relevant to the subject matter” if it might reasonably assist a party in evaluating the case, preparing for trial, or facilitating settlement thereof. (City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2017) 9 Cal.App.5th 272, 288, emphasis added.); in accord, Gonzalez v. Superior Court (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1539, 1546. Code-compliant responses that are complete and substantively responsive are required. See, Deyo v. Kilbourne (1978) 84 Cal.App.3d 771, 783 and 789.
Defendant failed to respond at all to any of Plaintiff’s Form Interrogatories-General and Form Interrogatories-Unlawful Detainer (Sets One). See, Chantler Declaration filed on 6/16/2026. Discovery responses are mandatory for the various types of discovery allowed. See, CCP §§ 2017.010, 2030.210, 2031.210 and 2033.210. Due to the complete failure to respond, all objections have been waived. CCP §§ 2030.290
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Plaintiff has also requested monetary sanctions for having to bring the motion, and sanctions are allowed under the code but are in the discretion of the Court. Cornerstone Realty Advisors, LLC v. Summit Healthcare REIT, Inc. (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 771, 791. “The principle of reasonableness means a trial court has discretion to reduce the amount of fees and costs requested as a discovery sanction in order to reach a reasonable award.” Id. at 791(citations omitted). Nevertheless, the court is authorized to award as sanctions the moving party's “reasonable expenses,” including attorney fees for time spent in research and preparation of the motion and court time in connection with the motion. (Ghanooni v.
Super Shuttle of Los Angeles (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 256, 262.) The discovery motions were accompanied by a proper declaration of counsel establishing the claim for attorney’s fees and costs, at reasonable hourly rates, though the Court is using its discretion to reduce the sanctions to a reasonable amount.
Plaintiff requested total fees for 6 hours at $450.00 hourly, plus the $60.00 motion cost. The request for sanctions is GRANTED. Defendant shall pay plaintiff $1,860.00 within 30 days.
The motion to compel is GRANTED. Defendant shall provide verified responses, without objection, to plaintiff’s Form Interrogatories-General, Set One, and Form Interrogatories- Unlawful Detainer, Set One, within 5 days of service of the Order after hearing.