CCP § 2023.040 Was The Key Statutory Provision.
Just to show you that technicalities can matter in the discovery area, the First District, Division 2 reversed a $2,500 discovery sanction against ex-wife in Marriage of Stupp v. Schilders, Case No. A154396 (1st Dist., Div. 2 July 10, 2019) (unpublished). What happened is that a party moving to compel discovery responses lost, and the lower court awarded the successful responding party with $2,500 in discovery sanctions. This one had to be reversed because the trial judge, earlier, had stricken a declaration filed by the responding party because it was not signed by the actual declarant and that was the only proof of what was expended in responding to the motion to compel. Given the lack of evidence on expenses incurred in responding to the discovery motion, the sanction award had no support at all. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2023.040.)