( August 23, 2024, 2:53 PM EDT) -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Civil Discovery Act gives a trial court the authority to impose sanctions for a pattern of discovery abuse, the California Supreme Court held Aug. 22, reversing an appellate court and reinstating $2.5 million in discovery sanctions imposed by a trial court against Los Angeles in its years-long dispute with the contractor it hired to modernize the billing system for its utilities....