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1 William L. Adams, Esq. (SBN 166027)
JOHNSTON | THOMAS, Attorneys at Law, P.C.
2 1400 N. Dutton Avenue, Suite 21
Santa Rosa, California 95401
3 Telephone: (707) 545-6542
Facsimile: (707) 545-1522
4 E-mail: wadams@johnstonthomas.com
5 Counsel for Defendant
TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
6 in consolidated Case No. SCV-266225 and new Case No. SCV-270339
7 Counsel for Defendant THOMPSONGAS, LLC
in Case No. SCV-270322
8
9 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
10 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SONOMA
11 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and
ASTRID SCHMID, consolidated action SCV-266731
12
Plaintiffs, TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
13 DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS
vs. LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT
14 MOTION WITH DEFENDANT COUNTY
OF SONOMA’S MOTION TO VACATE
15 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE TRIAL DATE; TO ESTABLISH CUT-OFF
DEPARTMENT, A California Nonprofit Public DATES AND RE-OPEN DISCOVERY;
16 Benefit Corporation, AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS
17 Defendant. Hearing Date: July 27, 2022
Time: 3:00 p.m.
18 Dept: 19
19 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTION. Trial Date: November 4, 2022
20
21 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD:
22 This is a straightforward neighbor property dispute that has spawned seven (7) concurrent
23 lawsuits (six State Court cases and one federal case) from Plaintiffs against multiple defendants,
24 arising out of the same facts and circumstances, and involving the same subject fire station project,
25 property and parties. Due to the multiplicity of lawsuits filed by Plaintiffs, Defendants jointly
26 County requested Plaintiffs consolidate the six (6) State Court matters. Plaintiffs refused.
27 As set forth below, there is good cause for the Court to grant Defendants’ joint Motion. All
28 affected parties and counsel have had months of notice regarding the request and rationale for
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TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT
MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS
1 continuance of trial and consolidation. Plaintiffs (who are self-represented in all of the concurrent
2 lawsuits they have initiated) have deliberately elected to file a compounded network of lawsuits,
3 with interrelated and potentially conflicting and/or dispositive results. All parties for all the State
4 Court lawsuits were at the table for a comprehensive mediation on July 12, 2022 with JAMS, and
5 negotiations continue. The following points are provided to address misstatements in Plaintiffs’
6 Opposition.
7 A. Procedural Chronology documenting Plaintiffs’ compounded network of lawsuits.
8 As set forth below, despite Plaintiffs assertion in the Opposition that these six State County
9 lawsuits are not interrelated and could not result in dispositive or conflicting factual and legal
10 findings, they are inextricably-connected. These lawsuits routinely start with the same several
11 pages of factual allegations and project summary that reference and reiterate the 2018 fire station
12 project Use Permit issues and numerous overlapping Sonoma County zoning and building codes.
13 The need for judicial intervention and consolidation is the cumulative result of Plaintiffs’ tactics to
14 incrementally file a compounded network of successive lawsuits.
15 On April 15, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a verified Complaint in TRVFD lawsuit #1, Case No.
16 SCV-266225, alleging violations of Sonoma County Use Permit 18-0068 (the “Use Permit”) and
17 numerous Sonoma County zoning and building code violations (the “code violations”); as well as
18 resulting public and private nuisance, and trespass. The verified Complaint includes in the prayer
19 Plaintiffs’ request for an “award of general and special damages against TRVFD for nuisance
20 and trespass.” (Complaint filed 4/15/20, p. 16, lines 11-12 (emphasis added)).
21 On July 16, 2020, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #1, Case No. SCV-266731, alleging
22 similar violations of the Use Permit and eight (8) counts of overlapping code violations taken
23 directly from the TRVFD lawsuit #1, and seeking writ of mandate relief.
24 In September 2020, Plaintiffs, TRVFD and the County stipulated to consolidate Case No.
25 SCV-266731 with Case No. SCV-266225, which is assigned to Department 19.
26 In or about October 2021, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #2, a federal civil rights lawsuit
27 against the County in the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:21-cv-01920-JD. The County
28 has made several successful motions to dismiss.
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TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT
MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS
1 On March 4, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against ThompsonGas, LLC (a contractor which
2 performed work on the fire station project), Case No. SCV 270322, alleging similar violations of
3 the terms of the Use Permit, several code violations related to the allegations against TRVFD and
4 the County, as well as public and private nuisance. ThompsonGas filed a demurrer which is set for
5 hearing in Department 19 on August 31, 2022.
6 On March 7, 2022, Plaintiffs filed TRVFD lawsuit #2, Case No. SCV-270339, alleging
7 further violations of the Use Permit based on additional theories of fraud and negligent
8 misrepresentation in obtaining Plaintiffs’ written waiver of the setback distances that was included
9 in the Use Permit, and seeking $500,000 in damages for alleged diminution in property value.
10 TRVFD filed an Answer in this case on July 18, 2022, which is assigned to Department 18.
11 On April 11, 2022, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #3 against the County and Air Exchange
12 (another contractor which performed work on the fire station project), Case No. SCV-270568,
13 reprising several Use Permit allegations and related code violations, and also alleging CEQA
14 violations against the County and Air Exchange. The County has filed a demurrer which is set for
15 hearing in Department 19 on October 26, 2022; and defendant Air Exchange filed a separate
16 demurrer on July 18, 2022, also to be heard in Department 19, but no hearing date has been set yet.
17 On May 9, 2022, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #4, Case No. SCV-270771, reprising
18 allegations of violations of the Use Permit, as well as related substantive and procedural code
19 violations; and seeking additional writ of mandate relief. The County has not yet appeared, but this
20 case is assigned to Department 19.
21 B. Court has set consolidated cases SCV-266225 and SCV-266731 for a jury trial.
22 Despite Plaintiffs repeated erroneous assertions in the Opposition that this case is set for a
23 bench trial, at the Case Management Conference on March 24, 2022, Judge Nadler expressly set
24 consolidated case numbers SCV- 266225 and SCV-266731 for a 3-5 day jury trial commencing
25 November 4, 2022; as shown by the Minute Order from the March 24, 2022 Case Management
26 Conference, which expressly states: “Case shall be set for jury trial on Friday, 11/4/22 at 8:30 am,
27 in Department 19.”, attached as Exhibit A to the supporting declaration of Two Rock VFD counsel,
28 William L. Adams.
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TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT
MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS
1 C. Parties’ have begun comprehensive mediation to address all concurrent cases.
2 On July 12, 2022, in an effort to reach a comprehensive resolution of the inter-related issues
3 and claims; all parties in these seven lawsuits participated in a half-day mediation through JAMS
4 with retired Napa County Superior Court Judge Scott Snowden. Although no resolution was
5 reached, progress was made. Additional negotiations are underway for either a holistic
6 comprehensive resolution or incremental resolution. This is another reason supporting
7 consolidation of these six State Court actions.
8 CONCLUSION
9 The Court is respectfully requested to grant Defendants’ joint Motion to vacate the November
10 4, 2022 trial date; establish cut-off dates and reopen discovery; and consolidate all there concurrent
11 Dated: July 19, 2022 JOHNSTON | THOMAS, Attorneys at Law, PC
12
13 By:
William L. Adams, Counsel for Defendant
14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
in Cases No. SCV-266225 and SCV-270322
15
Counsel for Defendant THOMPSONGAS, LLC
16 in Case No. SCV-270322
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TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT
MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS
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1 William L. Adams, Esq. (SBN 166027) JOHNSTON | THOMAS, Attorneys at Law, P.C. 2 1400 N. Dutton Avenue, Suite 21 Santa Rosa, California 95401 3 Telephone: (707) 545-6542 Facsimile: (707) 545-1522 4 E-mail: wadams@johnstonthomas.com 5 Counsel for Defendant TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT 6 in consolidated Case No. SCV-266225 and new Case No. SCV-270339 7 Counsel for Defendant THOMPSONGAS, LLC in Case No. SCV-270322 8 9 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SONOMA 11 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and ASTRID SCHMID, consolidated action SCV-266731 12 Plaintiffs, TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE 13 DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS vs. LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT 14 MOTION WITH DEFENDANT COUNTY OF SONOMA’S MOTION TO VACATE 15 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE TRIAL DATE; TO ESTABLISH CUT-OFF DEPARTMENT, A California Nonprofit Public DATES AND RE-OPEN DISCOVERY; 16 Benefit Corporation, AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS 17 Defendant. Hearing Date: July 27, 2022 Time: 3:00 p.m. 18 Dept: 19 19 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTION. Trial Date: November 4, 2022 20 21 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 22 This is a straightforward neighbor property dispute that has spawned seven (7) concurrent 23 lawsuits (six State Court cases and one federal case) from Plaintiffs against multiple defendants, 24 arising out of the same facts and circumstances, and involving the same subject fire station project, 25 property and parties. Due to the multiplicity of lawsuits filed by Plaintiffs, Defendants jointly 26 County requested Plaintiffs consolidate the six (6) State Court matters. Plaintiffs refused. 27 As set forth below, there is good cause for the Court to grant Defendants’ joint Motion. All 28 affected parties and counsel have had months of notice regarding the request and rationale for -1- TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS 1 continuance of trial and consolidation. Plaintiffs (who are self-represented in all of the concurrent 2 lawsuits they have initiated) have deliberately elected to file a compounded network of lawsuits, 3 with interrelated and potentially conflicting and/or dispositive results. All parties for all the State 4 Court lawsuits were at the table for a comprehensive mediation on July 12, 2022 with JAMS, and 5 negotiations continue. The following points are provided to address misstatements in Plaintiffs’ 6 Opposition. 7 A. Procedural Chronology documenting Plaintiffs’ compounded network of lawsuits. 8 As set forth below, despite Plaintiffs assertion in the Opposition that these six State County 9 lawsuits are not interrelated and could not result in dispositive or conflicting factual and legal 10 findings, they are inextricably-connected. These lawsuits routinely start with the same several 11 pages of factual allegations and project summary that reference and reiterate the 2018 fire station 12 project Use Permit issues and numerous overlapping Sonoma County zoning and building codes. 13 The need for judicial intervention and consolidation is the cumulative result of Plaintiffs’ tactics to 14 incrementally file a compounded network of successive lawsuits. 15 On April 15, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a verified Complaint in TRVFD lawsuit #1, Case No. 16 SCV-266225, alleging violations of Sonoma County Use Permit 18-0068 (the “Use Permit”) and 17 numerous Sonoma County zoning and building code violations (the “code violations”); as well as 18 resulting public and private nuisance, and trespass. The verified Complaint includes in the prayer 19 Plaintiffs’ request for an “award of general and special damages against TRVFD for nuisance 20 and trespass.” (Complaint filed 4/15/20, p. 16, lines 11-12 (emphasis added)). 21 On July 16, 2020, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #1, Case No. SCV-266731, alleging 22 similar violations of the Use Permit and eight (8) counts of overlapping code violations taken 23 directly from the TRVFD lawsuit #1, and seeking writ of mandate relief. 24 In September 2020, Plaintiffs, TRVFD and the County stipulated to consolidate Case No. 25 SCV-266731 with Case No. SCV-266225, which is assigned to Department 19. 26 In or about October 2021, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #2, a federal civil rights lawsuit 27 against the County in the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:21-cv-01920-JD. The County 28 has made several successful motions to dismiss. -2- TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS 1 On March 4, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against ThompsonGas, LLC (a contractor which 2 performed work on the fire station project), Case No. SCV 270322, alleging similar violations of 3 the terms of the Use Permit, several code violations related to the allegations against TRVFD and 4 the County, as well as public and private nuisance. ThompsonGas filed a demurrer which is set for 5 hearing in Department 19 on August 31, 2022. 6 On March 7, 2022, Plaintiffs filed TRVFD lawsuit #2, Case No. SCV-270339, alleging 7 further violations of the Use Permit based on additional theories of fraud and negligent 8 misrepresentation in obtaining Plaintiffs’ written waiver of the setback distances that was included 9 in the Use Permit, and seeking $500,000 in damages for alleged diminution in property value. 10 TRVFD filed an Answer in this case on July 18, 2022, which is assigned to Department 18. 11 On April 11, 2022, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #3 against the County and Air Exchange 12 (another contractor which performed work on the fire station project), Case No. SCV-270568, 13 reprising several Use Permit allegations and related code violations, and also alleging CEQA 14 violations against the County and Air Exchange. The County has filed a demurrer which is set for 15 hearing in Department 19 on October 26, 2022; and defendant Air Exchange filed a separate 16 demurrer on July 18, 2022, also to be heard in Department 19, but no hearing date has been set yet. 17 On May 9, 2022, Plaintiffs filed County lawsuit #4, Case No. SCV-270771, reprising 18 allegations of violations of the Use Permit, as well as related substantive and procedural code 19 violations; and seeking additional writ of mandate relief. The County has not yet appeared, but this 20 case is assigned to Department 19. 21 B. Court has set consolidated cases SCV-266225 and SCV-266731 for a jury trial. 22 Despite Plaintiffs repeated erroneous assertions in the Opposition that this case is set for a 23 bench trial, at the Case Management Conference on March 24, 2022, Judge Nadler expressly set 24 consolidated case numbers SCV- 266225 and SCV-266731 for a 3-5 day jury trial commencing 25 November 4, 2022; as shown by the Minute Order from the March 24, 2022 Case Management 26 Conference, which expressly states: “Case shall be set for jury trial on Friday, 11/4/22 at 8:30 am, 27 in Department 19.”, attached as Exhibit A to the supporting declaration of Two Rock VFD counsel, 28 William L. Adams. -3- TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS 1 C. Parties’ have begun comprehensive mediation to address all concurrent cases. 2 On July 12, 2022, in an effort to reach a comprehensive resolution of the inter-related issues 3 and claims; all parties in these seven lawsuits participated in a half-day mediation through JAMS 4 with retired Napa County Superior Court Judge Scott Snowden. Although no resolution was 5 reached, progress was made. Additional negotiations are underway for either a holistic 6 comprehensive resolution or incremental resolution. This is another reason supporting 7 consolidation of these six State Court actions. 8 CONCLUSION 9 The Court is respectfully requested to grant Defendants’ joint Motion to vacate the November 10 4, 2022 trial date; establish cut-off dates and reopen discovery; and consolidate all there concurrent 11 Dated: July 19, 2022 JOHNSTON | THOMAS, Attorneys at Law, PC 12 13 By: William L. Adams, Counsel for Defendant 14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT in Cases No. SCV-266225 and SCV-270322 15 Counsel for Defendant THOMPSONGAS, LLC 16 in Case No. SCV-270322 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -4- TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THOMPSONGAS LLC’S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF JOINT MOTION TO VACATE TRIAL DATE AND TO CONSOLIDATE ACTIONS