Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

You will need your own ex parte to have trial date motion heard sooner. Depending on County, discovery motion and trial date may not be before the same judge. Since the other side won't stipulate to a continuance, you need to move quickly to get a continuance. Your attorney will want to explain in response to the discovery motion that he is new to the case and if you were unrepresented when you failed to show for deposition (or whatever other extenuating circumstances exist). Good luck.

Since you now have an attorney, you should direct your questions to her rather than to us.

The other side's motion to compel your attendance at a deposition and their request for sanctions sound appropriate to me. Your outrage at "this legal assault" is misplaced, since the other side is acting quite properly. You were obliged to attend but didn't, and the other parties spent money for their lawyers and court reporter to be there. Parties who plan not to appear for a properly-noticed deposition should at least notify all the other parties (through their respective lawyers) of their plans ahead of time. Those who don't give such notice are responsible for paying all of the fees and costs the other parties incurred as a result, including those incurred in bringing the motion to compel. Even parties who do give such notice before missing their depositions are properly subject to a motion to compel and will usually be ordered to reimburse the fees and costs associated with the motion, though they won't have to pay for the additional costs of the depo they didn't attend.

In addition to monetary sanctions, your opponents can seek evidentiary or even terminating sanctions. Evidentiary sanctions are orders forbidding you to present certain evidence and directing jurors to resolve certain issues against you. Terminating sanctions are orders dismissing your pleadings and putting an end to your role in the case. If you are the plaintiff, that means you lose. If you are the defendant than the plaintiff will still have to prove his case, but you will not be allowed to contest it. Given how close you were to trial when you missed your deposition, the other side may very well be able to get such sanctions if their motion asks for them.

Good luck.

Bringing in a new attorney does not justify refusing to go to a duly noticed deposition, or refusing to answer discovery. Personally, by changing attorneys just prior to trial, it sounds as though you are changing deck chairs on the Titanic.