Lindgren v. Superior Court

THE COURT

Petition for writ of mandate to require respondent court to vacate its order striking petitioner’s answers to a request for admissions of fact and to deny real party in interest's motion to compel further answers thereto.

Petitioner is the plaintiff in a divorce action pending in the superior court. Defendant wife, the real party in interest, took the deposition of Maria Guiglia who is a prospective witness for the husband. Deponent gave testimony which was very damaging to defendant, particularly testifying to statements of the wife which in effect constituted admissions that she committed adultery in Spain with Pierre Charlier. Guiglia testified that in 1964 she accompanied defendant on a trip to Madrid, Spain, and that they stayed in an apartment with Charlier for approximately two weeks at the end of which time she, Guiglia, left. When asked by defendant’s counsel where she went after leaving the apartment, Guiglia replied, “I went to a hotel called Legunitas.” In response to a query concerning the address of the hotel, she answered, “Legunitas, Avenida, you know, in Spanish, or avenue; Legunitas. ’ ’

On February 26, 1965, defendant served and filed a request for admissions which directed attention to the quoted portion of Guiglia’s deposition and required petitioner to respond to the following requested admissions: “a) during her trip to Madrid, Spain . . . Maria Guglia [sic] (1) did not go to a hotel 'called Legunitas’; (2) never stated [sic] at a hotel

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'called Legunitas’. b) that in all Madrid, Spain, during 1964, there was no hotel 'called Legunitas’.” On March 26, petitioner responded with a sworn statement as follows: “I was not in Madrid, Spain, at any time during the year 1964 and it is, therefore, impossible for me to know whether or not Maria Guglia [sic] went to or stayed at a hotel called ‘Legunitas ’ during her trip to Madrid, Spain .. . and since I was not in Spain in 1964, I have no way of knowing whether or not there was a hotel called ‘Legunitas’.” Thereafter, defendant moved to strike the response or to require further answers, indicating that the purpose of the request for admissions was to establish a basis for impeachment of Guiglia. On May 28, the trial court entered an order striking petitioner’s answer and allowing petitioner to serve and file further responses, “but without objections, after making ‘such reasonable investigation as (he) may deem needed in order for (him) to determine now that, when the trial is held, (he) will, or (he) will not, dispute the matters involved. ’