Los Angeles Cemetery Assn. v. Superior Court

KINGSLEY, J.

Petitioner purchased certain real property which was under lease to Customers Finance Co., Inc. Customers thereafter defaulted in payment of rent on the lease, abandoned the premises and failed in business. Petitioner filed suit against'the vendor and against Thriftimart, Inc., alleging that Customers was a subsidiary of Thriftimart, and that both Thriftimart and the vendor had made fraudulent representations to petitioner as to Customers’ financial status. Subsequently, petitioner amended its pleadings in an attempt to state a cause of action against Thriftimart for the unpaid rent under the lease, on the theory that Customers was a mere

alter ego

of Thriftimart, thereby making the latter directly liable for Customers’ obligations under the lease. A demurrer to this cause of action was sustained with leave to amend. The time within which petitioner may file such amendment has been extended and has not yet expired. Petitioner then served on Thriftimart the interrogatories herein involved, which seek to obtain from Thriftimart information that might enable petitioner to plead its

alter ego

theory with more particularity. These interrogatories remain unanswered. After a hearing, the trial court denied petitioner’s motion for an order to compel answers and granted Thriftimart’s motion for a “protective order” against the interrogatories. Petitioner seeks a writ from us that will compel answers to the interrogatories heretofore served. We grant such a writ.

The action of the trial court was based on the theory that discovery may not be used to secure facts on which a pleading may be based, but only to secure data relevant to a valid pleading already on file. We conclude that, on the facts in the case at bench, that reasoning was erroneous.

Petitioner relies on

McClatchy Newspapers

v.

Superior Court

(1945) 26 Cal.2d 386 [159 P.2d 944], wherein discovery

[494]