In Benavidez v. San Jose Police Dept. (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 853, the court addressed the issue of using a declaration to defeat a summary judgment motion. The rule is well settled that "a party cannot create an issue of fact by a declaration which contradicts his prior discovery responses." ( Id. at p. 860.) When trying to determine if any triable issues exist for summary judgment purposes, the trial court can "give great weight to admissions made in depositions and disregard contradictory and self-serving affidavits of the party." (Ibid.) This is because admissions are highly valued and the court is "'forced to conclude there is no substantial evidence of the existence of a triable issue of fact notwithstanding a contradictory declaration in opposition to summary judgment.'" ( Id. at p. 861.)