Matter Remanded To Decide Sanctions for One Germane RFA.
Appellate courts do scrutinize costs of proof sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.420 carefully, as the next case demonstrates.
The trial court in Windward Capital Management Co. v. Christenson, Case No. B210898 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 13, 2010) (unpublished) imposed costs of proof sanctions under section 2033.420 against defendants for denying seven RFAs. The sanctions award amounted to $177,030.76, prettty heavy hitting when one considers that the total damages awarded only came to about $113,000. The Court of Appeal reversed, finding that the denial of only one RFA was material so that the sanctions had to be recalculated for this single transgression. The other six RFAs were found not to be that important.
Also, a punitive damages award was reversed because alleged false promises made in connection with settlement negotiations were protected by the Civil Code section 47 privilege. That meant that another $37,500 damages component went POOF! too.