Opinion
CASE NO. C10-5481BHS
12-20-2011
GEOFFREY ROBERT LAWSON, Plaintiff, v. OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC, et al., Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC's ("Ocwen") motion to compel (Dkt. 78). The Court has reviewed the brief filed in support of the motion and the remainder of the file and hereby grants the motion for the reasons stated herein.
I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On July 21, 2010, Plaintiff Geoffrey Robert Lawson ("Lawson") filed his second amended complaint. Dkt. 10. On September 24, 2010, Defendants Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Inc Trust 2001-NC3, Ocwen FSB, Ocwen Financial Corporation, and Ocwen filed a motion to dismiss. Dkt. 25. Quality Loan Services Corporation of Washington joined in the motion to dismiss. Dkts. 27 & 28. On February 10, 2011, the Court granted in part and denied in part the motion. Dkt. 49.
On May 31, 2011, Lawson filed a Third Amended Complaint against Defendants Ocwen; Ocwen FSB; Ocwen Financial Corporation; Ocwen; New Century Mortgage Corporation; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I, Inc. Trust 2001-nc3, Mortgage Pass-through Certificates, Series 2001-nc3; Regional Trustee Services Corporation; Quality Loan Services Corporation of Washington; Assignees; Affiliates and Representatives. Dkt. 62.
On November 21, 2011, Ocwen filed a motion to compel. Dkt. 78. Lawson did not respond.
II. DISCUSSION
As a threshold matter, the Court may consider failure to respond to a motion as an admission that the motion has merit. Local Rule 7(b)(2). Lawson did not respond to Ocwen's motion. Therefore, the Court considers Lawson's failure as an admission that Ocwen's motion has merit.
A Court may order appropriate sanctions for a party's failure to produce documents or attend a deposition. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37. In this case, Ocwen asserts that Lawson has failed to both respond to requests for production and attend his deposition. Lawson failed to respond to these assertions. Therefore, the Court grants Ocwen's motion and orders Lawson to respond to Ocwen's discovery requests. Failure to comply with this order may result in further sanctions, including dismissal of the claims.
III. ORDER
Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that Ocwen's motion to compel (Dkt. 78) is GRANTED. The Court requests a status report regarding compliance with this order no later than January 13, 2012.
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BENJAMIN H. SETTLE
United States District Judge