§ 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
In one sentenceSection 2031.310 lets the demanding party move to compel a further response when a statement of compliance is incomplete, an inability-to-comply representation is evasive, or an objection lacks merit, within 45 days of the verified response, applying the same ESI accessibility and proportionality framework and mandatory sanctions used elsewhere in the chapter.
(a)On receipt of a response to a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling, the demanding party may move for an order compelling further response to the demand if the demanding party deems that any of the following apply:
(1)A statement of compliance with the demand is incomplete.
(2)A representation of inability to comply is inadequate, incomplete, or evasive.
(3)An objection in the response is without merit or too general.
(b)A motion under subdivision (a) shall comply with each of the following:
(1)The motion shall set forth specific facts showing good cause justifying the discovery sought by the demand.
(2)The motion shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.
(3)In lieu of a separate statement required under the California Rules of Court, the court may allow the moving party to submit a concise outline of the discovery request and each response in dispute.
(c)Unless notice of this motion is given within 45 days of the service of the verified response, or any supplemental verified response, or on or before any specific later date to which the demanding party and the responding party have agreed in writing, the demanding party waives any right to compel a further response to the demand.
(d)In a motion under subdivision (a) relating to the production of electronically stored information, the party or affected person objecting to or opposing the production, inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of electronically stored information on the
(e)If the party or affected person from whom discovery of electronically stored information is sought establishes that the information is from a source that is not reasonably accessible because of the undue burden or expense, the court may nonetheless order discovery if the demanding party shows good cause, subject to any limitations imposed under subdivision (g).
(f)If the court finds good cause for the production of electronically stored information from a source that is not reasonably accessible, the court may set conditions for the discovery of the electronically stored information, including allocation of the expense of discovery.
(g)The court shall limit the frequency or extent of discovery of electronically stored information, even from a source that is reasonably accessible, if the court determines that any of the following conditions exists:
(1)It is possible to obtain the information from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.
(2)The discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative.
(3)The party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain the information sought.
(4)The likely burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs the likely benefit, taking into account the amount in controversy, the resources of the parties, the importance of the issues in the litigation, and the importance of the requested discovery in resolving the issues.
(h)Except as provided in subdivision (j), the court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel further response to a demand, unless it finds that the one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
(i)Except as provided in subdivision (j), if a party fails to obey an order compelling further response, the court may make those orders that are just, including the imposition of an issue sanction, an evidence sanction, or a terminating sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010). In lieu of, or in addition to, that sanction, the court may impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010).
(j)(1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (h) and (i), absent exceptional circumstances, the court shall not impose sanctions on a party or any attorney of a party for failure to provide electronically stored information that has been lost, damaged, altered, or overwritten as the result of the routine, good faith operation of an electronic information system.
(2) This subdivision shall not be construed to alter any obligation to preserve discoverable information.
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.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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