§ 2031.310.Motion to compel further response; requirements; time to bring motion;
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 14. Inspection, Copying, Testing, Sampling, and Production of Documents, Electronically Stored · Article 2. Response to Inspection Demand · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 29, 2026
Full Text of § 2031.310
Plain-English Summary
A response that technically answers a demand is not always a satisfactory one, and this section gives the demanding party a way to push back on a response that falls short. The demanding party may move for an order compelling a further response if a statement of compliance seems incomplete, a representation of inability to comply seems inadequate, incomplete, or evasive, or an objection seems without merit or too broadly stated.
The motion carries its own procedural requirements: it has to lay out specific facts establishing good cause for the discovery sought, it has to come with a meet and confer declaration, and, in lieu of the separate statement the Rules of Court would otherwise require, the court may allow the moving party to submit a concise outline of the disputed requests and responses instead. Timing is strict: notice of the motion has to go out within 45 days of the verified response, or any supplemental verified response, or by whatever later date the parties agreed to in writing, or the demanding party waives the right to compel a further response altogether.
Where the dispute concerns electronically stored information, the same accessibility and proportionality rules that run through the rest of this chapter apply here too: the party resisting production bears the burden of showing the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or expense, the court can still order discovery on a showing of good cause, and the court has to curb even accessible discovery that is cumulative, more easily obtained elsewhere, already adequately pursued, or disproportionate to the case's stakes. As with the chapter's other compel motions, the losing side faces a mandatory monetary sanction absent substantial justification, and continued disobedience after an order compelling further response opens the door to an issue, evidence, or terminating sanction, subject to the same good-faith electronic-data safe harbor found throughout the chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What deficiencies in a response can support this motion?
An incomplete statement of compliance, an inadequate, incomplete, or evasive representation of inability to comply, or an objection that is without merit or too general.
How long does the demanding party have to bring the motion?
Notice must be given within 45 days of the verified response or supplemental response, or by a later date agreed to in writing, or the right to compel is waived.
What must accompany the motion?
Specific facts showing good cause for the discovery sought and a meet and confer declaration; the court may also allow a concise outline in place of a separate statement.
Who bears the burden on electronically stored information that isn't reasonably accessible?
The party resisting production, though the court may still order discovery on a showing of good cause.
What happens if the party still doesn't comply after the court orders a further response?
The court may impose an issue, evidence, or terminating sanction, in addition to or instead of a further monetary sanction.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005. Amended by Stats.2009, c. 5 (A.B.5), § 21, eff. June 29, 2009; Stats.2013, c. 18 (A.B.1183), § 2; Stats.2018, c. 317 (A.B.2230), § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2019, operative Jan. 1, 2020.)