RAYMUNDO U. HERNADEZ ET AL VS. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. ET AL

SF Superior Court - Law & Motion / Discovery Dept 302 - CGC24619770 - December 1, 2025 Hearing date: December 1, 2025 Case number: CGC24619770 Case title: RAYMUNDO U. HERNADEZ ET AL VS. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. ET AL Case Number: | | CGC24619770 | Case Title: | | RAYMUNDO U. HERNADEZ ET AL VS. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. ET AL | Court Date: | | 2025-12-01 09:00 AM | Calendar Matter: | | PLAINTIFF RAYMUNDO HERNADEZ AN INDIVIDUAL, JASMIN SANCHEZ MOTION TO COMPEL CODE-COMPLIANT VERIFICATIONS; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES; SUPPORTING DECLARATION (ADDED TO CALENDAR FOR TENTATIVE RULING ENTRY PURPOSES ONLY) | Rulings: | | (Part 2 of 2, tentative ruling continues from previous entry.)

Plaintiff failed to meet and confer. All parties must make reasonable and good faith efforts to resolve discovery disputes informally amongst themselves before presenting them to the court for resolution. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040.)

The Civil Discovery Act is intended to be self-executing; court involvement is the exception, not the rule. (See Obregon v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 424, 434, quoting Townsend v. Superior Court (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 1431, 1434 ["[I]t is a 'central precept' of the Civil Discovery Act ... that discovery 'be essentially self-executing[.]' "].) Self-execution of the Discovery Act is possible only if the parties work together and engage in reasonable and good faith efforts to informally resolve the discovery disputes before their presentation to the court. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040.)

Here, the record demonstrates Plaintiff failed to make a reasonable and good faith effort to resolve the verification issue with Defendant before filing this motion. The motion is a motion to compel a further response, thus the meet and confer duty clearly attached. Defendant's characterization of the motion as one to compel an initial response to the discovery is unreasonable. The court is quite confident that a reasonable conference between counsel would have led to a resolution of the issue.

"Notwithstanding the outcome of the particular discovery motion, the court shall impose a monetary sanction ordering that any party or attorney who fails to confer as required pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by anyone as a result of that conduct." (Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.020.) Sanctions are mandatory.