Motion to Compel Independent Mental Examination
TENTATIVE RULING(S) FOR August 14, 2026 Department S37 – Judge Winston Keh This court follows California Rules of Court, rule 3.1308(b) for tentative rulings. (See San Bernardino Superior Court Local Emergency Rule 8.) Tentative rulings for each law & motion will be posted on the internet (https://www.sb-court.org) by 3:00 p.m. on the court day immediately before the hearing.
You may appear in person at the hearing although remote appearance by CourtCall is preferred. (See www.sb-court.org/general-information/remote-access).
If you do not have Internet access or if you experience difficulty with the posted tentative ruling, you may obtain the tentative ruling by calling the department (S-37) at (909) 708-8707 or the Administrative Assistant (909) 708-8756, who prepared the ruling.
If you (or both parties) wish to submit on the Tentative, notify the other party and call the department by 4:00 pm the day before and your appearance may be excused unless the Court orders you to appear.
You must appear at the hearing if you are so directed by the court in the tentative ruling. Be prepared to address those issues set forth by the court in its ruling.
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, THE PREVAILING PARTY IS TO GIVE NOTICE OF THE
RULING.
Tavares v. Astorga et al
__________________________________________________________________________
TENTATIVE RULING(S):
Before the Court is Defendant Walmart’s Motion to Compel Independent Mental Examination
(“IME”) of Plaintiff. On July 31, Astorga joined Walmart’s motion.
On August 4, this Court held an ex parte hearing and moved up the date for hearing on the
pending motion. The Court required Plaintiff to file any opposition by August 10, 2026, and
required Defendants to file any reply by August 12, 2026.
Plaintiff filed her opposition on August 10, 2026. Plaintiff represents that she has agreed to the
at-issue IME with Defendants’ chosen expert, Dr. Judy Ho, and that she will appear on August
Looking for case law or statutes not cited here? Search published authorities
Examples: “Why did the court rule this way?” · “What were the procedural grounds?” · “Is appearance required?”
17, 2026—the date selected by Walmart. Plaintiff contends that the remaining dispute concerns
limitations on the terms and scope of the IME, including the length of the examination, exchange
of test data, and related scheduling and reporting deadlines.
Defendants filed a reply. Defendants contend Plaintiff’s proposed limitations are not workable
under professional and ethical standards and submit a declaration from Dr. Ho in response.
After consideration of the parties’ briefing and submissions, the Court finds good cause to grant
Defendants’ motion.
I. Summary of Positions
In opposition, Plaintiff states that she does not dispute that an IME should occur. Plaintiff instead
seeks to finalize terms governing the examination and proposes a compromise position that
includes, among other things: (1) a seven-hour examination exclusive of breaks; (2) an expert-
to-expert-only exchange of raw test data; and (3) a report deadline intended to allow Dr. Ho
more than three weeks to prepare her report while ensuring production at least two business
days before the September 15, 2026 mediation. Plaintiff further proposes that Dr. Ho be
permitted to administer the full testing battery originally proposed by Walmart, subject to a
seven-hour examination limit, with Dr. Ho allocating time among the tests as she deems
appropriate.
In reply, Defendants argue Plaintiff’s proposed modifications do not meet appropriate
professional and ethical standards and request that Plaintiff proceed to the IME in accordance
with Dr. Ho’s original joint stipulation conditions and the Stipulation and Highly Sensitive
Protective Order.
II. Merits
Plaintiff does not contest the merits of the motion as to whether an IME should be compelled,
given Plaintiff’s mental health condition and the mental health damages at issue in the
underlying action.
Plaintiff further argues the Court should not consider Dr. Ho’s declaration submitted with
Defendants’ reply. However, the Court has discretion to accept reply declarations. See Jay v.
Mahaffey (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1538; RGC Gaslamp, LLC v. Ehmcke Sheet Metal Co.,
Inc. (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 413, 432 (holding that reply briefs that do “not contradict” earlier
statements, but “instead offer[] texture to rebut” are permitted); Alliant Ins. Services, Inc. v.
Gaddy (2008) 159 Cal.App.4th 1292, 1308.)The Court, in its discretion, considers and relies
upon the declaration submitted with the reply. Dr. Ho’s declaration addresses why certain
elements of testing and data are necessary for her to complete a sufficient examination.
The Court finds that Defendants have established good cause and produced specific facts
justifying the requested discovery and that the inquiry is relevant to the subject matter of the
action or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
Accordingly, the Court declines to adopt Plaintiff’s contested compromise limitations and instead
orders the IME on the terms that allow a seven-hour examination exclusive of breaks and
implement Dr. Ho’s medical standard of testing.
RULING
Defendant Walmart’s Motion to Compel Mental Examination is GRANTED.
1. Plaintiff shall submit to a mental examination by Defendants’ retained expert, Dr. Judy
Ho, on August 17, 2026, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
2. The IME shall be limited to a seven-hour examination exclusive of breaks.
3. The IME shall proceed using Dr. Ho’s medical standard of testing, including
administration of the applicable testing battery as required for a sufficient evaluation,
subject to the seven-hour limit.
4. Astorga’s joinder is GRANTED.