BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1183|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1183
Author: Jones (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/4/13
AYES: Evans, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/15/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Civil discovery: motion to compel further response
SOURCE : Conference of California Bar Associations
DIGEST : This bill provides that the 45-day period from
service of a response or supplemental response in which notice
of a motion to compel further response to discovery or must
occur, begins to run after the receipt of a verified response or
supplemental verified response.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. The Civil Discovery Act sets forth the scope, procedures, and
timeframes by which parties may conduct discovery. (Code
Civil Procedure [CCP] Section 216.010)
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2. The Civil Discovery Act, authorizes a party to a civil action
to obtain discovery, as specified, by inspecting documents,
electronically stored information, tangible things, and land
or other property in the possession of any other party to the
action. (CCP Section 2017.010)
3. Provides that any party may obtain discovery as follows:
A. By propounding to any other party to the action
written interrogatories to be answered under oath. (CCP
Section 2030.010(a))
B. By inspecting, copying, testing, or sampling
documents, tangible things, land or other property, and
electronically stored information in the possession,
custody, or control of any other party to the action.
(CCP Section 2031.010(a))
C. By a written request that any other party to the
action admit the genuineness of specified documents, or
the truth of specified matters of fact, opinion relating
to fact, or application of law to fact. A request for
admission may relate to a matter that is in controversy
between the parties. (CCP Section 2033.010(a))
4. Requires a party to whom the above requests are directed to
respond within 30 days after service of requests, as
specified, unless the court has shortened or extended the
time for response. (CCP Sections 2030.260(a), (c);
2031.250(a), 2033.250(a))
5. Requires that the party to whom the above requests are
directed sign the response under oath, unless the response
contains only objections, in which case the attorney must
sign the response under oath. (CCP Sections 2030.250(a),
(c); 2031.250(a), (c); 2033.240(a), (c))
6. Provides that upon receipt of a response to the above
discovery requests, the requesting party may move for an
order compelling further response to the demand under
specified circumstances. (CCP Sections 2030.300(a),
2033.290(a))
7. Provides that unless notice of a motion to compel further
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response is given within 45-days of service of the response,
or any supplemental response, or on or before any specific
later date to which the requesting party and the responding
party have agreed in writing, the requesting party waives any
right to compel a further response to the demand. (CCP
Sections 2030.300(c), 2031.310(c), 2033.290(c))
This bill amends the above sections to instead specify that
unless notice of the motion is given within 45-days of the
service of the verified response, or any supplemental verified
response, or on or before any specific date to which the
requesting party and the responding party have agreed in
writing, the requesting party waives any right to compel a
further response to the demand.
Background
Discovery is the formal exchange of evidentiary information and
materials between parties to a pending action. Generally,
California's Civil Discovery Act permits any party to a civil
action to obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged,
that is relevant to the subject matter in the pending action or
to the determination of any motion made in that action, if the
matter either is admissible in evidence or appears reasonably
calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
Under that Act, discovery can be obtained by inspecting
documents, electronically stored information, tangible things,
and land or other property in the possession of any other party
to the action. Primary devices to conduct discovery include
interrogatories, depositions, requests for admissions, and
requests for production.
Under existing law, the party who receives an interrogatory,
demand for inspection, copying, testing or sampling of
documents, or request for admission, must respond to the request
within 30 days and must verify their response (or, in the case
wherein only objections to the request are made, their attorney
must verify the response). Separately, existing law provides
that upon receipt of a response to a party's request for
interrogatories, production of evidence, and admissions, the
requesting party may move to compel further response under
certain circumstances, such as where the response was incomplete
or evasive. The requesting party, however, must make the motion
to compel further response within 45-days of service of the
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response or supplemental response to their request, or else will
be deemed to have waived any right to make this motion.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/4/13)
Conference of California Bar Associations (source)
California Chamber of Commerce
Civil Justice Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
The purpose of [this bill] is to help decrease abuses of
the discovery process. The only way that discovery can
work effectively is if responses to discovery demands are
made under penalty of perjury. However, it currently is
not clear whether a propounding party is at risk of losing
his right to compel further responses if he chooses to
wait for promised verifications. There is [case law]
authority that an unsworn response is tantamount to no
response at all (see Appleton v. Superior Court (1988) 206
Cal.App.3d 632, 636), which many practitioners hold by.
However, the law in this area simply is not clear, which
allows for attempted games-playing by some practitioners.
AB 1183 would amend Code of Civil Procedure [Secs.]
2030.300, 2031.310, [and] 2033.290 to specify that the
time to bring motions to compel further responses to
requests for responses to interrogatories, for document
production[,] and for admissions, begins to run only after
verified responses are received.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/15/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
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Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harkey, Lowenthal, Vacancy
AL:d 6/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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