California Code of Civil Procedure 2023.050 – (a) Notwithstanding any other law, and in addition to any other …
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and in addition to any other sanctions imposed pursuant to this chapter, a court shall impose a one-thousand-dollar ($1,000) sanction, payable to the requesting party, upon a party, person, or attorney if, upon reviewing a request for a sanction made pursuant to Section 2023.040, the court finds any of the following:
(1) The party, person, or attorney did not respond in good faith to a request for the production of documents made pursuant to Section 2020.010, 2020.410, 2020.510, or 2025.210, or to an inspection demand made pursuant to Section 2031.010.
Terms Used In California Code of Civil Procedure 2023.050
- Action: includes a civil action and a special proceeding of a civil nature. See California Code of Civil Procedure 2016.020
- Court: means the trial court in which the action is pending, unless otherwise specified. See California Code of Civil Procedure 2016.020
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
- State: includes the District of Columbia and the territories when applied to the different parts of the United States, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
- Writing: includes printing and typewriting. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
(2) The party, person, or attorney produced requested documents within seven days before the court was scheduled to hear a motion to compel production of the records pursuant to Section 2025.450, 2025.480, or 2031.320 that is filed by the requesting party as a result of the other party’s, person’s, or attorney’s failure to respond in good faith.
(3) The party, person, or attorney failed to confer in person, by telephone, letter, or other means of communication in writing, as defined in § 250 of the Evidence Code, with the party or attorney requesting the documents in a reasonable and good faith attempt to resolve informally any dispute concerning the request.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (o) of § 6068 of the Business and Professions Code, the court may, in its discretion, require an attorney who is sanctioned pursuant to subdivision (a) to report the sanction, in writing, to the State Bar within 30 days of the imposition of the sanction.
(c) The court may excuse the imposition of the sanction required by subdivision (a) if the court makes written findings that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
(d) Sanctions pursuant to this section shall be imposed only after notice to the party, person, or attorney against whom the sanction is proposed to be imposed and opportunity for that party, person, or attorney to be heard.
(e) For purposes of this section, there is a rebuttable presumption that a natural person acted in good faith if that person was not represented by an attorney in the action at the time the conduct that is sanctionable under subdivision (a) occurred. This presumption may only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 284, Sec. 3. (SB 235) Effective January 1, 2024.)