JUAN CARLOS ARANA VS. SUN & GARDEN, INC., DBA SON & GARDEN BY FARMHOUSE ET AL

Set for Law and Motion/Discovery Calendar on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Line 5. Plaintiff Juan Carlos Arana's Motion For Monetary Sanctions Pursuant To Code of Civil Procedure Section 2023.030(A) is DENIED.

Preliminarily, Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that he timely served the motion. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b) [motion must be filed and served 16 court days before hearing]; Code of Civil Procedure section 1013(a) [service by mail where place of address and place of mailing are within State of adds 5 calendar days to the period of notice]; see Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6(a)(3)(B) [service by email adds two court days to "any period of notice"].) Plaintiff states he served his moving papers on Defendant by email on 3/23/2026, which is not 16 court days plus two court days before 4/15/2026, the hearing date noticed.

Further, the issue of sanctions in connection with a discovery motion is decided at the time the discovery motion is decided. Here, the court declined to award any sanctions in connection with the March 2026 self-incrimination discovery motion. The court is not inclined to revisit the issue on a separate motion.

On the merits, the motion fails. The court denied Defendant's March 2026 self-incrimination discovery motion without prejudice, meaning the issues are preserved for another day (likely for hearing by the trial judge). The court did not-and does not-find that Defendant acted without substantial justification as to that discovery or that motion.

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) | |