MPLI CAPITAL HOLDINGS IV vs MACEDO, CYNTHIA

defect in service is waived.

Merits Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.300 permits withdrawal or amendment of admissions where the admissions resulted from mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect and where the party who obtained the admissions will not be substantially prejudiced in maintaining the action on the merits. The Court finds Respondent has made a sufficient showing that her failure to timely serve responses was the result of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. Respondent has submitted a declaration explaining the circumstances surrounding the default and has provided proposed responses. Although the showing is not particularly strong, the Court is mindful of California's policy favoring resolution of cases on their merits.

The Court further finds Petitioner has not demonstrated substantial prejudice within the meaning of Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.300. The loss of the evidentiary benefit associated with deemed admissions does not alone constitute substantial prejudice. Accordingly, the June 12, 2026 order deeming admitted the matters contained in Petitioner's Requests for Admission, Set One, is vacated.

With that stated, the Court observes that the moving party did not seek, nor does the Court grant, relief from any waiver of objections from the submission of untimely responses. (See Code Civ. Proc., Sec. 2033.280(a).) Accordingly, within 14 days of service of the order, the moving party shall serve verified, code-compliant responses without objections to the propounding party's Requests for Admission, Set One. To the extent the proposed responses omit responses to any requests or fail to comply with the Civil Discovery Act, amended responses are required.

Sanctions The Court declines to award sanctions in connection with this motion.

Objections The Court reserves on Petitioner's evidentiary objections to the extent necessary. Any objections directed to matters irrelevant to the present motion are sustained on relevance grounds. The remaining objections need not be reached.

The following are the tentative rulings for cases calendared before Judge Clifford Tong in Department 23:

CV-25-008062 - MPLI CAPITAL HOLDINGS IV vs MACEDO, CYNTHIA - Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings - GRANTED, and unopposed. Plaintiff's request for judicial notice is granted. Based on the moving papers and the Court's 3-12-26 order deeming matters admitted, the Court finds that the Complaint states facts sufficient to constitute the stated causes of action against Defendant, and Defendant's Answer does not state facts sufficient to constitute a defense. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 438(c)(1)(A).)