Defendant’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Provide Responses to Defendant’s Form Interrogatories (Set Two) and Request for Sanctions; Defendant’s Motion for Order that Matters in Request for Admission, Set One, be Deemed Admitted and Request for Sanctions
June 5, 2026 Law and Motion Calendar
HONORABLE MICHAEL L. MAU, Department 20 ________________________________________________________________________ Case Title / Nature of Case 9:00 AM Line 1 22-CIV-02018 NEVILLE WRIGHT VS. DOLLAR TREE STORES INC., ET AL
NEVILLE WRIGHT PRO SE DOLLAR TREE STORES INC. DAVID A. NAPPER
Defendant’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Provide Responses to Defendant’s Form Interrogatories (Set Two) and Request for Sanctions
TENTATIVE RULING:
The unopposed motion to compel is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall provide verified responses, without objection to defendant’s Form Interrogatories, Set Two, within 14 days.
The request for sanctions is GRANTED but only in part.
Defendant seeks a total of $1,590.00 in attorney time and a $60.00 filing fee. The declaration of David Napper indicates this amount includes one hour of his time which he anticipates spending to attend the hearing on this motion, which is unnecessary given this tentative. Mr. Napper further indicates the motion was prepared by a different attorney, Sebastian Melo-Ortiz, who spent at least three hours preparing the motion and anticipates spending another two hours to prepare a reply and notice of ruling which two hours is disallowed as unnecessary given this tentative.
Mr. Melo-Ortiz has not provided a separate declaration, which the Court advises should have been included. However, Mr. Napper’s declaration provides an adequate basis for the requested fees. Sanctions are thus awarded in the amount of $795.00 + the $60.00 filing fee against Plaintiff Neville Wright, payable to defense counsel within thirty days of service of the Order after hearing.
Any party who contests a tentative ruling must email Dept20@sanmateocourt.org with a copy to all other parties by 4:00 p.m. stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests.
If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the Court by Minute Order and via the proposed Order already submitted.
June 5, 2026 Law and Motion Calendar
HONORABLE MICHAEL L. MAU, Department 20 ________________________________________________________________________ 9:00 AM Line 2 22-CIV-02018 NEVILLE WRIGHT VS. DOLLAR TREE STORES INC., ET AL
NEVILLE WRIGHT PRO SE DOLLAR TREE STORES INC. DAVID A. NAPPER
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Defendant’s Motion for Order that Matters in Request for Admission, Set One, be Deemed Admitted and Request for Sanctions
TENTATIVE RULING:
After review of all relevant filed pleadings, Plaintiff’s Motion to Deem Requests for Admissions (Set One) as Admitted, is GRANTED.
Proof of service was filed demonstrating service of the motion pleadings on the Defendant, but the Motion was unopposed. Per Plaintiff, Defendant has failed to respond at all to this discovery. MPA, pg. 4, lines 3-9; Napper Decl., ¶ 9.
CCP 2033.280(b) allows the court to enter an order deeming facts in the Request for admissions to be admitted if the party to whom requests for admission are directed fails to serve a timely response. The court shall make this order, unless it finds that the party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with Section 2033.220. “[A] deemed admitted order establishes, by judicial fiat, that a nonresponding party has responded to the requests by admitting the truth of all matters contained therein.” Wilcox v. Birtwhistle (1999) 21 Cal.4th 973, 979.
Therefore, Plaintiff’s unopposed Motion to Deem Requests for Admissions (Set One) as Admitted, is GRANTED. As a proposed Order was submitted with the motion and the motion is unopposed, the Court will sign the proposed Order, modified as necessary.
Any party who contests a tentative ruling must email Dept20@sanmateocourt.org with a copy to all other parties by 4:00 p.m. stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests.
If the tentative ruling is uncontested, it shall become the order of the Court by Minute Order and via the proposed Order already submitted.