Failure to Admit Four Specific RFAs Propounded By Defense Justified $7,741.48 in Attorney’s Fees Under CCP § 2033.420.
In our category “Requests for Admissions,” we have explored the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.420 which, in a nutshell, authorizes imposition of fees and costs for denying a request for admission unless there was good cause. Even then, the award is limited to costs-of-proof expenses rather than burdening the losing party with all the fees and costs of a case (unless there is some other fee-shifting clause or statute allowing recoupment by a prevailing party).
The next case demonstrates that a litigant should not deny an admission request dealing with a core issue within the litigant’s knowledge. If this happens and costs-of-proof expenses are allowed, it will be hard to obtain reversal of any adverse award.
In Moore v. California Surety Investigations, Case No. D055253 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 7, 2011) (unpublished), employee filed a disability discrimination and failure to engage in interactive process claims against employer, which asked him to admit that he could no longer physically apprehend bail fugitives without compromising the health/safety of himself or other investigators as a result of a back injury. He denied four specific RFAs on these circumstances, arguing that “physically apprehend” meant only peaceful apprehension so that denial was proper. The trial court disagreed, awarding employer costs-of-proof attorney’s fees of $7,741.48 under section 2033.420.
The appellate court affirmed the costs-of-proof award. The lower court could reasonably find that the term “physically apprehend” was not ambiguous and aimed at obtaining employee’s admission that he could not physically apprehend bail fugitives rather than handle a peaceful surrender by a fugitive. Employee’s reliance on Miller v. American Greetings Corp., 161 Cal.App.4th 1055, 1066 (2008) was found misplaced, because the admissions requested occurred in the context of an unsettled area of the law–hardly the situation at play in Moore. No abuse of discretion attended the lower court’s award.
The Fugitive – Final Episode Epilogue
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