Most discovery disputes involve requests for production of documents. This is because there are specific requirements for a party to properly respond to the request which has been the subject of many of my blogs, including a responding party’s obligation to state whether the documents you are seeking ever existed and where they are now as
Katherine Gallo, Esq. Blogs
Latest from Katherine Gallo, Esq.
Is Insurance Information Discoverable?
California law expressly provides for discovery of information about the evidence and contents of any insurance agreement under which a carrier may be liable to satisfy all or part of a potential judgement or to indemnify or reimburse payments made to satisfy the judgment. C.C.P. §2017.210. The statute also provides for discovery of whether coverage
The Court has Inherent Power to Impose Discovery Sanctions
In the case of City of L.A. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (2024) 17 C5th 46 the California Supreme Court unanimously held that the Discovery Act gives courts independent authority to impose sanctions for discovery abuses and patterns of discovery abuse provisions. This was a complete reversal of the Court of Appeal’s decision which had limited the
ZOOM DEPOSITIONS—What is the Protocol
We all have been doing Zoom depositions for the last four years. As we have limped along, we have developed implied rules and protocols for having these depositions, but there are no written rules or guidance on how these depositions should be conducted.
Justice James Lambden (Ret.) who often is appointed as a Discovery Referee, has
Should I have been Sanctioned?
I recently received an inquiry regarding Code of Civil Procedure section 2023.050, which now states that the court SHALL impose sanctions of $1000 payable to the requesting party regarding requests for production of documents in deposition notices or document demands. These were the facts:
Plaintiff brought a Motion to Compel Further Responses to Requests for Production of
Can I Reference Documents When Answering Interrogatories?
Consider the following question I received from a defense attorney.
“Plaintiff timely served updated verified responses to Form Interrogatories, Set #1, #6.4, 8.4, 8.6, 16.1- 16.8 and 17.1 (RFA #5) pursuant to a Supplemental Interrogatory request. Instead of providing the information requested in the interrogatories, Plaintiff responded to each of the interrogatories with the following response:
Changes in Attitude—Nothing Remains Quite the Same
There are two significant changes to the Discovery Act this year: C.C.P. §2016.090 and C.C.P. §2023.050. My California Civil Discovery: Chart for the Everyday Litigator has been updated to reflect these changes.
Can a Court Sanction a Party $1000 Per Day Until They Comply with Court Orders?
According to the Second District Court of Appeal in the family law case of In re Marriage of Rangell decided on September 28, 2023 the answer is YES! The Court of Appeal found that the husband had violated numerous family court orders for over two years and that the court’s imposition of sanctions pursuant to Family
Proving That the Opposing Party’s Accusations are False–Like Peeling an Onion
Proving allegations are false is like peeling an onion. You need to have a specific discovery plan to attack the falsity of the claims.
When Money is Not Enough–The Request for “Drastic Sanctions”
Many motions for terminating sanctions are denied due to the papers being deficient due to a lack of a showing of abuse and prejudice.