Source: http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/pages/motion-to-compel.aspx
Timestamp: 2013-12-11 11:09:37
Document Index: 267312041

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2016', '§ 1005', '§1005', '§1005', '§194', '§13', '§84']

Motion to Compel Discovery Responses
Obtaining an Order that the Opposing Side Respond to Discovery RequestsDisclaimer: This guide is intended as general information only. Your case may have factors requiring different procedures or forms. The information and instructions are provided for use in the Sacramento County Superior Court. Please keep in mind that each court may have different requirements. If you need further assistance, consult a lawyer. Click here to download a pdf version of this guide.
CONTENTS This packet includes: Step by Step Instructions
Sample Notice of Motion and Motion; Points and Authorities; and Declaration Sample "Meet and Confer" Letter
Sometimes, as you conduct discovery in your civil case, the opposing side fails to respond to your formal discovery requests. If the opposing side fails to respond to a Request for Admissions, your remedy is to ask the court for an order to have the facts you sought to have the other side admit deemed true. If the opposing side fails to respond to your Form or Special Interrogatories, or a Request for Production, you may file a motion seeking an order that the opposing party be compelled to respond. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for seeking such an order. This guide is for use when the opposing side fails to respond to interrogatories or a request for production of documents all together. If you are seeking further responses because the responses were served, but were incomplete or otherwise void (e.g., not verified), you would need to file a motion to compel further responses, which is not described in this guide.
Step-by-Step Instructions STEP 1: MEET AND CONFER
Before you file your motion, you should first attempt to "meet and confer" with the opposing counsel or self-represented party. This typically means sending a letter that informs the opposing attorney or self-represented litigant that the deadline to respond has passed, and providing him or her a reasonable time to respond, after which you would file a motion to compel responses. A sample "meet and confer" letter is included as Exhibit B to the Sample Declaration at the end of this guide. You may wish to have someone who can complete a Proof of Service form mail the letter for you so that you can attach the form as an Exhibit to your Motion, if you are forced to take that step. See Step 4 of this Guide for information on Proof of Service.
A reasonable time to respond to your letter could be two weeks, or longer if the interrogatories or requests for production are particularly complicated. The "meet and confer" requirement is your opportunity to demonstrate to the court that you are making a "reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution." California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § 2016.040.
STEP 2: PREPARE THE MOTION
2.1 Modify the Template Motion
Since there are no pre-printed Judicial Council forms for motions to compel responses, you must draft them yourself. Motions must be typed on 28-line pleading paper and follow a specific format. This motion consists of four parts:
Points and Authorities in Support of the Motion; and
Declaration of [Name] in Support of the Motion.
At the end of this guide is a sample motion. It was completed by a hypothetical "Doug Defendant." You may download a customizable template of the motion from our website at http://www.saclaw.org/Uploads/files/Step-by-Step/compel-responses.rtf. You will need to modify the text in blue to fit the specific facts of your case, and change the color of the text from blue to black. The court will not accept blue type in court pleadings. Although this guide is printed double-sided to save paper, you must print your motion single-sided; the court will not accept double-sided documents except for its own double-sided Judicial Council forms.
In the template used in this guide, the four parts listed above have been combined into a single document. Although it is possible to include a proposed formal order, the Sacramento County Superior Court typically issues minute orders in response to motions to compel discovery, and does not require a formal order to be submitted.
2.2 Setting the Date of the Motion
Online Court Date Calculator
The Los Angeles County Superior Court offers a handy "Court Date Calculator" to assist in calculating the number of court days (excluding weekends and holidays) from a given date, counting either forward or backward. In Sacramento, the moving party selects the date of the hearing. You can select whatever date is convenient for you as long as it meets two very important statutory requirements: the filing deadline and the service deadline. Filing Deadline: The Motion to Compel Responses must be filed with the court at least sixteen court days before the hearing. CCP § 1005. Court days are Monday through Friday, excluding court holidays. To determine whether a particular filing date will meet this deadline, start with the first court day after the planned filing date as day one, and count forward sixteen court days. The first possible date the motion can be heard is day sixteen.
For example, suppose you wanted to file a document on May 21, 2012. You would start counting using May 22 as day one. Do not count weekends or court holidays (there is only one court holiday in this example, which is Memorial Day, May 28). If you wanted to file a motion on May 21, 2012, the sixteenth court day after that would be June 13, 2012, which is the earliest date the motion could be heard:
Service Deadline: Prior to filing the motion with the court, all other attorneys or self-represented parties in a case must be served with a copy of the motion. This means that someone over the age of 18 who is not a party in the case must either personally deliver or mail a copy of the motion and related documents to the attorney for the party or the self-represented party by first class mail.
If the motion is personally served, the service must be at least sixteen court days prior to the date of the motion, the same as the minimum filing deadline. CCP §1005. If the motion is served by first-class mail, additional time is added to the calculation, depending on where the mail originates and where it is sent. CCP §1005. For example, if the documents are mailed from California to an address in California, five calendar days are added after the sixteen court days. Calendar days include weekends and holidays, but if the final day lands on a weekend or holiday, it is rolled over to the next court day. So, using May 21, 2012 as the date of mailing, for example, the sixteenth court day remains June 13, 2012, but five more calendar days must be added to determine the earliest motion date. This would make Monday, June 18 the first day the motion could be heard. 2.3 Setting the Location of the Motion
In Sacramento, Motions to Compel Responses to Discovery are heard in either Department 53 or Department 54, located at 800 9th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. The court typically affixes a sticker indicating the "Law and Motion" department on the first page of the Complaint, and additionally includes a sheet stating how to determine your law and motion department.
If your case was filed after January 1, 2013, determining your law and motion department is easy. If your case number ends with an odd number, then your motion will be heard in Department 53 at 2:00 p.m. If your case number ends with an even number or zero ("0"), your motion will be heard in Department 54 at 9:00 a.m.
Make four (4) copies of your documents. One of these copies is to be served on the other side's attorney (or the other side, if the other side does not have an attorney); the original and the other three copies are to be filed with the court. Staple each of the copies, but leave the original unstapled. Sacramento County Superior Court uses an electronic filing system in which documents are scanned in electronically. Stapled originals are not accepted because the staple will jam in the scanner, damaging both the document and the scanner.
Important: If you have any exhibits attached to your motion, Sacramento County Superior Court requires that each of the Exhibits in one of your three sets of copies be separated by a rigid sheet of card stock with a tab identifying the letter of the exhibit on the bottom. Exhibits for the original and other two copies may be separated by pleading paper with "Exhibit A" (or "B," or however the Exhibit is identified) typed or written on the bottom, above the footer. Note: The Law Library sells card stock and tabs for 25¢ each at the Circulation Desk. STEP 4: HAVE THE MOTION SERVED
The person who is serving your Motion for you must complete a proof of service form, typically, either a Proof of Personal Service form or a Proof of Service by First Class Mail form. For more information on these Proofs of Service, see the guides on our website at http://www.saclaw.org/pages/personal-service.aspx (personal) and http://www.saclaw.org/pages/pos-mail.aspx (by mail). The proof of service form should be completely filled out, but not signed. Make a copy of the unsigned proof of service before proceeding.
The person over the age of 18 who is not a party to the case must then personally deliver or mail a copy of the Motion along with a copy of the unsigned proof of service form on other side's attorney (or the other side, if the other side does not have an attorney). The unsigned proof of service form can be attached as the last page of the Motion.
STEP 5: COPY THE SIGNED PROOF OF SERVICE
Make three (3) copies of the signed Proof of Service. It is not necessary to copy the instruction page.
STEP 5: ASSEMBLE YOUR DOCUMENTS FOR FILING
Assemble your packet for filing as follows:
❑ Motion to Compel Responses with Points and Authorities, Declaration, and all exhibits, plus three (3) copies. The original should be unstapled in Sacramento, while each copy is stapled. One of the three copies should have a rigid divider page with a rigid tab on the bottom separating each exhibit. ❑ Completed Proof of Service Form. The original plus three (3) copies. This proof of service can be attached as the last page of the Motion when filing. If this is the case, then the original Proof of Service should be attached to the original Motion, and the Proof of Service copies should be attached to the Motion copies.
STEP 6: FILING/FEES
File your motion the filing counter at 720 Ninth Street, Room 102. Oppositions and replies are also filed at the counter. Do not use the drop box for filing motions, oppositions, or replies, as the delay in processing will prevent the court from timely receiving your document. At this time there is a $60 filing fee, unless your fees were waived. Current fees are available on the Sacramento County Superior Court's website. STEP 7: OPPOSITION AND REPLY
If opposing counsel or self-represented party opposes your motion, he or she may serve and file an opposition at least nine court days prior to your motion date. No fee is required to file an opposition. The opposition contains a memorandum of points and authorities and usually a declaration, but does not need the notice of motion or motion. Be sure to check your mail, and read any documents you receive carefully.
If the opposing attorney or party files an opposition to your motion, you may choose to serve and file a reply to the opposition at least five court days prior to the motion. No fee is required to file a reply. The reply should carefully address any points made by the opposition, especially if that point was not originally addressed in your motion. The reply should also contain a memorandum of points and authorities and usually a declaration.
STEP 8: TENTATIVE RULINGS
Pursuant to Local Rule 1.06 (A), the court will make a tentative ruling on the merits of your matter by 2:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing. You may read the tentative ruling online, or may call 874-8142 to hear it. For information on how to view the ruling online, see the Legal Resource Guide on our website at http://www.saclaw.org/pages/tentative-rulings.aspx. Closely review the tentative ruling. If you filed the motion, you are looking for your motion to be "GRANTED." If you are happy with the tentative ruling, you do not need to do anything unless the court orders you to appear in the tentative ruling or the other side calls you before 4:00 p.m. to request an oral argument in front of the judge. If that happens, you should go to the court hearing and be prepared to argue your case. If you are not happy with the tentative ruling, and wish to present arguments in front of the judge, you must call all opposing counsel, self-represented parties, and the clerk for the department where the motion is scheduled no later than 4:00 p.m. the court day before your motion is scheduled and state that you are requesting oral argument on the motion. If neither you nor the opposing counsel or self-represented party requests oral argument, the court will make the tentative ruling the order of the court. FOR HELP
Visit the Sacramento County Civil Self-Help Center, located in the Sacramento County Public Law Library. Same-day appointments are made in-person by lottery at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The Civil Self-Help Center also offers two Discovery sessions:
Introduction to Written Discovery Class: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, 1st & 3rd Thursdays. Come to understand what discovery is, how to answer questions you received, and how you can use discovery yourself.Bring a USB flash drive to download sample forms. Arrive by 1:20 p.m. Discovery Lab: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, 2nd & 4th Thursdays. Work on your discovery requests or responses in this drop-in computer lab. Bring your USB flash drivewith your requests or responses. No entrance after 3:15 pm. Lab closes promptly at 3:30 p.m. The Discovery Workshop is a prerequisite for the Discovery Lab.
FOR MORE INFORMATION At the Law Library: California Civil Discovery Practice Vol. 2, Chap. 15 KFC 1020 .C35Electronic Access: On the Law Library's computers, using OnLaw.
California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial Vol. 2, Chap. 8F-7. KFC 995 .W4Electronic Access: On the Law Library's computers, using WestlawNext.
California Forms of Pleading and Practice Vol. 16, §194.19.KFC 1010 .A65 C3 (Ready Reference)Electronic Access: On the Law Library's computers, using the Matthew Bender CD.
California Civil Practice: Procedure Vol. 2A, §13.143 KFC 995 .A65Electronic Access: On the Law Library's computers, using WestlawNext.
California Points and Authorities KFC 1010 .B4 (Ready Reference)Vol. 8, §84.10, "Discovery: Interrogatories."Electronic Access: On the Law Library's computers, using the Matthew Bender CD.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS GUIDE, OR IF YOU NEED HELP FINDING OR USING THE MATERIALS LISTED, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN. EN 5/2013