YALONG DONG ET AL VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion / Discovery calendar for Tuesday, June 24, 2025, Line 6. DEFENDANT CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO's Motion For Protective Order Re: Plaintiffs April 2025 Discovery Requests.

Defendant City and County of San Francisco's motion for protective order is denied. The City fails to show that responding to the recent discovery propounded by the plaintiffs would cause it unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression or undue burden and expense. That the City has already responded to a large number of discovery requests and produced a large number of documents and that this case is about an incident involving a single tree on one day is not, without more, sufficient to show that the City needs protection from responding to plaintiffs' recent discovery.

Nor is the fact that in many cases the recent discovery appears to very finely parse its requests rather than posing more general requests. Nor has the City shown that plaintiffs should be limited to 35 requests for admissions and special interrogatories. If the City has already provided all responsive information to a particular request, the City can and should say so in its responses to the recent discovery.

Because the City did not lack substantial justification regarding this motion, especially given its rebuffed efforts to seek a narrowing of the recent discovery, plaintiffs' request for monetary sanctions is denied.

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