CYROUS SAHEBGHALAM vs GELENA B GUTLIN

2025CLBC048835: CYROUS SAHEBGHALAM vs GELENA B GUTLIN 06/03/2026 in Department 43 Motion to Vacate Order Deeming Admissions Admitted or in the Alternative to Withdraw Deemed Admissions

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Motion: Defendant’s Motion to Vacate Order Deeming the Truth of the Matters in Plaintiff’s Requests for Admission

2025CLBC048835: CYROUS SAHEBGHALAM vs GELENA B GUTLIN

Tentative Ruling: Defendant’s Motion to Vacate Order Deeming the Truth of the Matters in Plaintiff’s Requests for Admission is DENIED with prejudice. Defendant seeks relief from matters deemed admitted at a hearing before this Court in January. Her motion is based on her sworn declaration claiming that she served the responses to requests for admission on September 25, 2025. She argues that the Court should grant relief based in part on Code of Civil Procedure § 2033.280(c) which provides that matters should not be deemed admitted if substantially compliant responses are served before the hearing on the motion.

These statements, signed under penalty of perjury, are in direct conflict with her declaration signed under penalty of perjury filed on January 12, 2026, in opposition to the Motion to Deem Matters Admitted, which states the following:

I, Gelena B. Gutlin, declare: 1. I am the Defendant in this action.

2. This case was originally filed as an unlawful detainer and was later converted and reclassified into a general civil case.

3. Plaintiff served Requests for Admissions titled “REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS – UNLAWFUL DETAINER.” 4. Plaintiff did not re-serve those Requests for Admissions after conversion of the case.

5. I declined to respond to those Requests because they were no longer procedurally proper.

6. I acted in good faith and without intent to obstruct discovery. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on January 12, 2026 at Freiburg, Germany. /s/ GGutlin Gelena B. Gutlin

To summarize, in January 2026, Defendant filed a declaration with the court, swearing under penalty of perjury that she did not respond to the Requests for Admissions that are at issue here, because she (incorrectly) believed she was not required to. It is important to note that after the service of the motion to deem matters admitted, when she still had an opportunity to respond before the hearing, she chose not to and opposed the motion contending she was not required to respond.

On April 13, 2026, and again on May 29, 2026, she filed declarations with the court swearing under penalty of perjury that she did respond to the Requests for Admissions that are at issue here in September. There is no explanation for the conflicting statements, and the Court cannot imagine that there could be.

The Court believes that Defendant was truthful in her January declaration. If she had served the responses in September as she now claims, she would not have said in January that she did not respond. The Court believes that her current statements are false and made in an effort to deceive the Court and obtain a favorable ruling. THE MOTION IS DENIED WITH PREJUDICE.

2025CLBC048835: CYROUS SAHEBGHALAM vs GELENA B GUTLIN

The motion is DENIED WITH PREJUDICE.

Plaintiff is ordered to serve notice of the Court’s ruling.

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