Party Losing Party Could Not Prove Joint Tortfeasor Status in Indemnity Action.
In Zoura v. Burns and Sons Trucking, Inc., Case No. D063469 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 17, 2014) (unpublished), plaintiffs suffered a summary judgment in an indemnity action against defendant, with defendant also awarded “costs of proof” sanctions award under CCP § 2033.420, which allows a lower court to award attorney’s fees and costs for improper denial or objections to requests for admissions propounded by a party where certain elements are met and the other side indeed proves facts in derogation of the RFAs to the contrary.
Here, the appellate court affirmed under the abuse of discretion standard. The record demonstrated that plaintiffs had no reasonable grounds to believe the evidence would establish an indemnity claim against the defense, because defendant was not a joint tortfeasor. That justified affirmance of the “costs of proof” sanctions award.