Responding to Requests for Admission This Guide Includes Instructions and Sample Forms

Sacramento County Public Law Library & Civil Self Help Center 609 9th St. Sacramento, CA 95814 saclaw.org (916) 874-6012 >> Home >> Law 101 DISCOVERY Responding to Requests for Admission This Guide includes instructions and sample forms. Links to download the fillable forms are at the end of this Guide. You may also need… Additional copies of this Guide can be accessed at saclaw.org/respond-req-admissions. Step-by-Step Guides on Making Discovery Requests BACKGROUND Form Interrogatories Requests for admission are used to ask another party to Request for Production of admit that certain facts are true, or that certain documents are Documents and Things authentic. If admitted as true or authentic, these facts and Requests for Admission documents do not need to be proven or authenticated at trial. Special Interrogatories This helps reduce the number of disputed facts that the court needs to decide in the case, making trials quicker and less Step-by-Step Guides on expensive. Responding to Discovery The requests for admission that you receive will include a list Responding to Interrogatories of statements or facts that the other party wishes you to admit Responding to Requests for are true. Your answers must be as complete and Production straightforward as possible (California Code of Civil Other Guides on Discovery Procedure (CCP) § 2033.220), and be accurate to the best of your knowledge. You must sign under penalty of perjury that Depositions your responses are true and correct (CCP § 2033.240). Exchange of Expert Witness Information You have 30 days from the date the requests were served to you (35 if served by mail within California) to serve your Gather Information for your responses to the requests for admission. Case Whether the asking party used the Judicial Council form, Related Videos Request for Admissions (DISC-020), or created their own Introduction to Discovery request on pleading paper, the request will contain a numbered list of facts that you are being asked to admit, and/or a numbered list of documents, which are then also attached, that you are being asked to admit are genuine. You will need to respond to each of the numbered statements. There are three basic responses to a request for admission: Admit. With this answer, you are indicating that the fact is true. If part of a statement is true, you must admit that portion of the statement. Once you admit a fact, it will be considered true throughout the entirety of the case. These facts can only be overturned by filing a complicated motion with the court. Disclaimer: This Guide is intended as general information only. Your case may have factors requiring different procedures or forms. The information and instructions are provided for use in the Sacramento County Superior Court. Please keep in mind that each court may have different requirements. If you need further assistance consult a lawyer. saclaw.org Responding to Requests for Admission >>Home >>Law 101 Deny. With this answer, you are indicating that the fact is not true. This may mean that the entire statement is untrue, or that portions are untrue. If the statement is partially true, you must admit the true part(s) of the fact and deny the false part(s) of the fact (CCP § 2033.220(b)(1) & (2)). For example, if the propounding party asks, “Admit that the accident you were involved in on May 4, 2013, was caused by your negligence,” you could admit that you were involved in an accident on that date, but deny that it was caused by your negligence. If you deny the truthfulness of a fact, the other party will need to prove that fact at trial. DO NOT deny all the requests just to make the other party prove every fact. If you are found to have improperly denied a request, the court may order you to pay all attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the other party to prove the fact at trial (CCP § 2033.420(a)). Additionally, if you purposely deny a fact you know to be true, you are committing perjury and opening yourself to possible criminal charges! Cannot truthfully admit or deny the matters set forth in this request because (s)he does not have knowledge of these matters, and despite reasonable inquiry into the matter by reviewing all of the records and information available to him, to obtain information from which the truth or falsity of the matter might be learned. This is a legalese way of stating that you do not know if the fact is true, and that after carefully reviewing all the evidence available to you, you cannot determine if the fact is true or false. You are required to perform a reasonable investigation of the evidence available to you before making this response (CCP § 2033.220(c)). If you do not, the requesting party may file a motion to have the facts deemed admitted by the court, or a motion to compel further responses, both of which may carry sanctions (monetary penalties) against you. If your failure to investigate results in the fact needing to be proven at trial, the court may order you to pay all attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the other party to prove the fact at trial (CCP § 2033.420(a)). Sometimes, rather than admitting or denying the truthfulness of a fact, you may object to the request on legal grounds. Common objections to requests for admission include: The request is impermissibly compound. The propounding party may ask you to admit only one fact per statement. You may object to any request that asks you to admit two or more different facts in a single request. For example, “Admit that you are the owner of a Toyota Corolla with the license plate 7ABC123, and that you were driving it on Highway 50 at 4pm on May 4, 2013,” is impermissibly compound. It is asking you to admit two separate facts: that you own the vehicle, and that you were driving it at the specified time. The request is vague, ambiguous or unintelligible. Sometimes, it is impossible to determine what the propounding party is asking you to admit. In these situations, you may object to the request on the grounds that it is vague, ambiguous or unintelligible. For example, if the propounding party asks, “Admit you were there,” you may want to object to the request on these grounds. This request is vague, as it does not provide any specifics about the date or location where they wish you to admit you were. The request is not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant, admissible evidence. All requests for admission must be relevant to the issues in the case. If a request does not lead to the discovery of relevant, admissible evidence, you may object. For example, in a car accident case, if the propounding party asks: “Admit that you were wearing purple socks at the time of the accident,” you may want to object to the request. Unless the color of your socks is related to the accident, this request is not likely to lead to relevant evidence in the case. 2 saclaw.org/respond-req-admissions saclaw.org Responding to Requests for Admission >>Home >>Law 101 If only a portion of the request is objectionable, the non-objectionable portion of the request must be answered (CCP § 2033.230(a)). There are many other objections that may be raised in your responses to requests for admission. See the resources listed at the end of this Guide for more information. STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS Step 1: Carefully Review All the Requests Review each request to determine the truth of the statement. Be sure to review all the information, documents, and other evidence available to you before answering, to ensure that your responses are accurate and thorough. You may need to research possible objections. Step 2: Complete Your Response to the Requests for Admission There is no Judicial Council form for this procedure. Instead, the relevant document must be typed on 28-line pleading paper. A customizable template may be downloaded from this link: Response to Requests for Admission Your response must include the names of the requesting party and responding party, and the set number of the request. You must respond to each request individually. You do not need to repeat the text of the request, but your responses must be in the same order as the requests, and each response must be labeled with the same number or letter as the request. A sample response is available at the end of this Guide. You may download a customizable template for your response from the link listed above. Step 3: Make Copies Make a photocopy of your response for yourself and for each party in the case, other than the propounding party. Step 4: Have Your Responses Served Your original response document must be served on the attorney for the propounding party, or directly to the propounding party if he or she is self-represented (in pro per). Courtesy copies should be served on all other attorneys or self-represented parties in the case. Service may be completed by mail, by a person over the age of 18 who is not a party to the case. The person serving your requests must complete a proof of service form, typically a Proof of Service by First Class Mail (POS-030). For more information, see the Step-by-Step guide on Proof of Service by Mail on our website at saclaw.org/mail-service. Step 5: Retain Your Documents A photocopy of your responses and the original signed Proof of Service should be retained for your records.

Brooklyn Law School BrooklynWorks Faculty Scholarship 2012 The hS adow Rules of Joinder Robin Effron Brooklyn Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/faculty Part of the Other Law Commons Recommended Citation 100 Geo. L. J. 759 (2011-2012) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BrooklynWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of BrooklynWorks. The Shadow Rules of Joinder ROBIN J. EFFRON* The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide litigants with procedural devices for joining claims and parties. Several of these rules demand that the claims or parties share a baseline of commonality, either in the form of the same "transactionor occurrence" or a "common question of law or fact." Both phrases have proved to be notoriously tricky in application.Commentators from the academy and the judiciary have attributed these difficulties to the context- specific and discretionary nature of the rules. This Article challenges that wisdom by suggesting that the doctrinal confu- sion can be attributed to deeper theoretical divisions in the judiciary, particu- larly with regardto the role of the ontological categories of "fact" and "law." These theoretical divisions have led lower courtjudges to craft shadow rules of joinder "Redescription" is the rule by which judges utilize a perceived law-fact distinction to characterizea set of facts as falling inside or outside a definition of commonality. "Impliedpredominance" is the rule in which judges have taken the Rule 23(b)(3) class action standard that common questions predominate over individual issues and applied it to other rules of joinder that do not have this express requirement.

Rule 32. Using Depositions in Court Proceedings (a) USING DEPOSITIONS. (1) In General. At a hearing or trial, all or part of a deposition may be used against a party on these conditions: (A) the party was present or represented at the taking of the deposition or had reasonable notice of it; (B) it is used to the extent it would be admissible under the law of evidence if the deponent were present and testifying; and (C) the use is allowed by Rule 32(a)(2) through (9). (2) Impeachment and Other Uses. Any party may use a deposition to contradict or impeach the testimony given by the deponent as a witness, or for any other purpose allowed by the law of evidence. (3) Deposition of Party, Agent, or Designee. An adverse party may use for any purpose the deposition of a party or anyone who, when deposed, was the party’s officer, director, managing agent, or designee under Rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a)(4). (4) Unavailable Witness. A party may use for any purpose the deposition of a witness, whether or not a party, if the court finds: (A) that the witness is dead; (B) that the witness is more than 25 miles from the place of hearing or trial or is outside the United States, unless it appears that the witness’s absence was procured by the party offering the deposition; (C) that the witness cannot attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment; (D) that the party offering the deposition could not procure the witness’s attendance by subpoena; or (E) on motion and notice, that exceptional circumstances make it desirable—in the interest of justice and with due regard to the importance of live testimony in open court—to permit the deposition to be used.

te Trial Process In Virginia A Litigation Boutique THE TRIAL PROCESS IN VIRGINIA table of contents Overview . .3 Significant .MOtiOnS .in .virginia . .4 . Plea .in .Bar . .4 . DeMurrer. .5 . craving .Oyer . .5 Voir .Dire . anD .Jury .SelectiOn .in .virginia . .6 OPening .StateMent . .8 the .receiPt .Of .e viDence . .10 MOtiOnS .tO .Strike . the .eviDence . .12 crOSS-exaMinatiOn . .14 clOSing .arguMent. .15 Jury .inStructiOnS . .17 Making .a .recOrD .fOr .aPP eal . .17 tiMe .liMitS .fOr .nO ting .anD .Perfecting . an .aPPeal . .18 key .tiMe .liMit S .fOr . the .SuPreMe .cOurt .Of .virginia . .19 THE TRIAL PROCESS IN VIRGINIA overview The trial of a civil case in Virginia takes most of its central features from the English court system that was introduced into the “Virginia Colony” in the early 1600s. The core principles of confrontation, the right to a trial by one’s peers, hearsay principles and many other doctrines had already been originated, extensively debated and refined in English courts and Inns of Court long before the first gavel fell in a Virginia case. It is clearly a privilege to practice law in the historically important court system of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and everyone who “passes the bar” and earns the right to sit inside the well of the court literally follows in the footsteps of such groundbreaking pioneers as Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, George Wythe, John Marshall, Lewis Powell and Oliver Hill. However, this booklet is not designed to address either the history or the policy of the law, or to discuss the contributions of these and other legal giants whose legacy is the living system that we enjoy today as professional attorneys.

“CONS” OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION I. FORUMS AND PROCEDURES FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION A. FORUMS 1. Court – A case may be referred by the court to mediation or arbitration, which is usually before an attorney on the court’s mediation/arbitration panel. 2. Contract – The parties to a contract may include a provision that disputes are to be resolved by binding or non-binding mediation and/or arbitration. The parties may specify a forum such as the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), JAMS/Endispute, or other associations. If no forum is specified by the parties, the rules of Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) §1280 et seq. apply. B. PROCEDURES – ADR Path [see Exhibit “A”] 1. Mediation Court – The rules for court-ordered mediation are set forth in CCP § 1775-1775.16, California Rules of Court (“CRC”) 1630- 1639, and in the local court rules. Contract – The rules for “private” mediation (i.e., a mediator required by contract or voluntarily agreed to by the parties) will depend upon the forum specified by the parties, i.e., the AAA, JAMS/Endispute, or other associations and unassociated mediators. 2. Arbitration Court – The procedures for Judicial Arbitration are found in CCP §1141.10 et seq., CRC Rules 1600 et seq., or local court rules. Contract -- If a contract contains a provision requiring disputes to be submitted to arbitration, then the rules governing Document #: 324 1 arbitration are found in CCP §1280 et seq. However, the parties may provide in a contract that disputes are to be submitted to arbitration and then specify the rules applicable to the arbitration.

Civil Dispositive Motions: A Basic Breakdown 1) Simplified Timeline: Motion for 12(b)(6) Motions JNOV** Summary Judgment Motions* Motion for New Trial Motion Motion for D.V. for D.V. (Rul 10 days Discovery and Mediation Plaintiff‟s Defendant‟s Evidence Evidence Process Complaint Trial Jury‟s Entry of Judgment Filed Begins Verdict * Defendant may move at any time. Plaintiff must wait until 30 days after commencement of action. **Movant must have moved for d.v. after close of evidence. 2) Pre-Trial Motions: Rule 12(b)(6) and Summary Judgment A. Rule 12(b)(6) Motions to Dismiss 1. Challenge the sufficiency of the complaint on its face. Movant asks the court to dismiss the complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 2. Standard: The court may grant the motion if the allegations in the complaint are insufficient or defective as a matter of law in properly stating a claim for relief. For example: a) The complaint is for fraud, which requires specific pleading, but a required element of fraud is not alleged. 1 b) The complaint alleges breach of contract, but incorporates by reference (and attaches) a contract that is unenforceable as a matter of law. c) The complaint alleges a claim against a public official in a context in which that official has immunity as a matter of law. 3. The court only looks at the complaint (and documents incorporated by reference). a) If the court looks outside the complaint, the motion is effectively converted to a summary judgment and should be treated under the provisions of Rule 56.

Case 2:16-cv-00438-KG-GJF Document 17 Filed 01/10/17 Page 1 of 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, vs. Civ. No. 16-438 KG/GJF ALMA HELENA CORTES and A.C., a Minor Child, Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER This matter comes before the Court upon Plaintiff The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America’s Combined Motion to Appoint Guardian Ad Litem, for Leave to Deposit Interpleader Funds, and for Dismissal with Prejudice (Motion), filed on October 3, 2016. (Doc. 8). Plaintiff also sought in the Motion an award of $2,000.00 for attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing this interpleader lawsuit, and requested that the award be deducted from the $38,000.00 basic life insurance Benefit at issue in this case. The Court subsequently held a telephonic status hearing on November 10, 2016, at which the Court extended the time for pro se Defendant Alma Helena Cortes (Cortes) to respond to the Motion to November 28, 2016. (Doc. 14) at 2. The Court also required Plaintiff to file a supplemental brief to address the issue of attorney’s fees and costs, including an appropriate affidavit and breakdown of the requested attorney’s fees and costs. Id. at 1. On November 15, 2016, the Court granted the Motion, in part, when it appointed a guardian ad litem for Defendant A. C., Cortes’ child. (Doc. 15). Then, on December 2, 2016, Plaintiff filed Defendant [sic] the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America’s Supplemental Case 2:16-cv-00438-KG-GJF Document 17 Filed 01/10/17 Page 2 of 8 Briefing in Support of its Request to Recover Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Supplemental Brief) in which Plaintiff now seeks $7,064.25 in attorneys’ fees and costs.

Initial Stages of Federal Litigation: Overview MARCELLUS MCRAE AND ROXANNA IRAN, GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP WITH HOLLY B. BIONDO AND ELIZABETH RICHARDSON-ROYER, WITH PRACTICAL LAW LITIGATION A Practice Note explaining the initial steps of a For more information on commencing a lawsuit in federal court, including initial considerations and drafting the case initiating civil lawsuit in US district courts and the major documents, see Practice Notes, Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: procedural and practical considerations counsel Initial Considerations (http://us.practicallaw.com/3-504-0061) and Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: Drafting the Complaint (http:// face during a lawsuit's early stages. Specifically, us.practicallaw.com/5-506-8600); see also Standard Document, this Note explains how to begin a lawsuit, Complaint (Federal) (http://us.practicallaw.com/9-507-9951). respond to a complaint, prepare to defend a The plaintiff must include with the complaint: lawsuit and comply with discovery obligations The $400 filing fee. early in the litigation. Two copies of a corporate disclosure statement, if required (FRCP 7.1). A civil cover sheet, if required by the court's local rules. This Note explains the initial steps of a civil lawsuit in US district For more information on filing procedures in federal court, see courts (the trial courts of the federal court system) and the major Practice Note, Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: Filing and Serving the procedural and practical considerations counsel face during a Complaint (http://us.practicallaw.com/9-506-3484). lawsuit's early stages. It covers the steps from filing a complaint through the initial disclosures litigants must make in connection with SERVICE OF PROCESS discovery.

Case 2:09-cv-02304-JAR Document 77 Filed 09/08/10 Page 1 of 37 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS REGINA DANIELS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 09-2304-JAR ) UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC., ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter comes before the Court upon Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery and for Related Sanctions (Doc. 64). The motion is fully briefed, and the Court is prepared to rule. For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff’s motion is granted in part and denied in part. I. Procedural Requirement to Confer Before considering the merits of Plaintiff’s motion to compel, this Court must first determine whether Plaintiff has complied with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this district’s local rules regarding the movant’s duty to confer with opposing counsel prior to filing a motion to compel. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1) provides that a motion to compel “must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.” D. Kan. R. 37.2 expands on the movant’s duty to confer, stating “[a] ‘reasonable effort to confer’ means more than mailing or faxing a letter to the opposing party. It requires that the parties in good faith converse, confer, compare views, consult and deliberate, or in good faith attempt to do so.” In this case, the parties have exchanged correspondence aimed at attempting to resolve the instant discovery dispute without judicial intervention.

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board Information Sheet No. 5 Discovery Purpose. The purpose of this information sheet is to provide general guidance and background information. It does not represent an official statement approved by the Board itself, and is not intended to provide legal counsel or to be cited as legal authority. Instead, it is intended only to help the public become familiar with the MSPB and its procedures. In all instances, however, the Board’s regulations and current case law control with respect to the matters discussed here. What is discovery? Discovery is the procedure by which you may ask questions, or obtain documents or answers from the opposing party or third parties in order to "discover" information that is calculated to lead the parties to find admissible evidence. How does discovery work? A party must make its first discovery request within 30 days following the date of the Board's Acknowledgment Order in the case. Otherwise, the request will be considered untimely (late), and the other party may be excused from having to answer it. Following receipt of a discovery request, a party must respond to it within 20 days after the date of service. If the response is inadequate, or if the discovery request is ignored, the party that made the discovery request may file a "Motion to Compel Discovery" with the administrative judge (AJ). A Motion to Compel Discovery must be filed within 10 days after the objection or nonconforming response is served, or within 10 days after the time limit for response has expired.

Drafting and Issuing Discovery Subpoenas: Washington, Practical Law State Q&A. Drafting and Issuing Discovery Subpoenas: Washington by John S. Devlin III and Bryan Taylor, Lane Powell PC, with Practical Law Litigation Law stated as of 18 Nov 2019 • United States, Washington A Q&A guide to drafting, issuing, serving, and enforcing a discovery subpoena in a Washington civil proceeding. This Q&A addresses the state statutes and rules governing discovery subpoenas, the types of discovery subpoenas available, the requirements for drafting and serving a discovery subpoena, and the methods of enforcing a discovery subpoena. Answers to questions can be compared across a number of jurisdictions (see Drafting and Issuing Discovery Subpoenas: State Q&A Tool). Overview of Discovery Subpoenas Drafting a Discovery Subpoena Serving a Discovery Subpoena Witness Fees Enforcing a Discovery Subpoena Appealing a Court Decision on a Discovery Subpoena Overview of Discovery Subpoenas 1. What are the laws or rules in your jurisdiction that generally govern subpoenas to non-party witnesses in discovery? The primary body of law governing subpoenas in Washington is the Washington Superior Court Civil Rules. The rules relating to subpoenas are: • Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 30 (oral depositions, subpoenas for depositions). • Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 31 (written depositions, subpoenas for depositions). • Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 37 (motions to compel and sanctions). • Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 45 (subpoenas generally). © 2020 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 1 Drafting and Issuing Discovery Subpoenas: Washington, Practical Law State Q&A. The following provisions of the Washington Revised Code also govern subpoenas: • RCW 2.43.010 to 2.43.090 (providing for interpreters for non-English speaking persons served with subpoenas).

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION OFFICE OF ADMIMSTRATIVE LAW JUDGES In the Matter of 1 PUBLIC VERSION 1 ASPEN TECHNOLOGY, INC., 1 Respondent. Docket No. 93 10 COMPLAINT COUNSEL'S RESPONSE TO RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO COMPEL ADMISSIONS The Commission initiated its pre-complaint investigation of Aspen's consummated acquisition of its chef rival, Hyprotech, in the summer of 2002. During the course of that investigation Respondent provided the Commission with statements fiom various customers in an effort to persuade the Commission to close the investigation. The statements, combined with other information obtained by the Commission, were insufficient to prevent the unanimous Commission from issuing its Complaint. Respondent then deconstructed 64 of these statements to create 753 separate Requests for Admission ("RFA"). Only one of the statements appears to be sworn and at least a dozen were not even signed by the putative authors.' The statements have no value in this proceeding because there is no doubt that they are inadmissible hearsay. They are not business documents entitled to any Lenox pres~mption.~ Most relate primarily to the personal opinions of the authors as individuals, as opposed to expressing an authoritative position on behalf of the respective companies. They bear no other ' Forty of the statements are from witnesses located in foreign countries and, therefore, not subject to the Commission's subpoena power. -See In the Matter of Lenox, Inc., 73 F.T.C. 578,603-04 (1968) (presumption that documents fiom respondent's files are authentic and kept in the regular course of business); see also Rule 3.43(b)(2).

AMADOR SUPERIOR COURT LAW AND MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS Monday, April 19, 2021 TO REQUEST A HEARING ON ANY MATTER ON THIS CALENDAR, YOU MUST CALL THE COURT AT (209) 257-2692 BY 4:00 P.M. ON THE DAY PRECEDING THE HEARING. NOTICE OF THE INTENTION TO APPEAR MUST ALSO BE GIVEN TO ALL OTHER PARTIES. IF THE CLERK IS NOT NOTIFIED OF A PARTY’S INTENTION TO APPEAR, THERE WILL BE NO HEARING AND THE TENTATIVE RULING WILL BECOME THE ORDER OF THE COURT. NO FURTHER NOTICE OF THE COURT’S RULING WILL BE PROVIDED. 19-CVC-11140 LAFRANK, ERICA VS. ATT CORP MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT TENTATIVE RULING: Plaintiff’s Motion for Filing of First Amended Complaint is DENIED. CRC 3.1324(b) provides, in relevant part, “A motion to amend a pleading for trial must be accompanied by a separate declaration and that declaration must specify (3) When the facts giving rise to the amended allegation were discovered; and, (4) The reasons why the request for amendment was not made earlier”. (CRC 3.1324(b)(3) and (4).)(Emphasis added.) Plaintiff’s supporting declaration indicates Plaintiff completed the deposition of Defendant LEITING on June 16, 2020 and that such deposition was delayed by the Covid-19 crisis. (Decl. Lally ¶ 16.) Presumably, the June 16, 2020 date is when the facts giving rise to the amended allegation were discovered, but that is not clear from the declaration. Further, Plaintiff gives no explanation as to why the request for amendment was not made sooner , as the instant motion was not filed until April 9, 2021, nearly ten (10) months after LEITING’s deposition.