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1 William L. Adams SBN 166027
WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC
2 P.O. BOX 1050
Windsor, CA 95492-1050
3 Telephone: (707) 236-2176
Email: bill@wladamspc.com
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Attorneys for Defendant
5 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
9 COUNTY OF SONOMA
10 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and consolidated
ASTRID SCHMID, actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339
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Plaintiffs,
12 DECLARATON OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS
v. IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO
13 ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO
14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
DEPARTMENT, TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION
15 OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN
Defendant. CONDUCTED AUGUST 24, 2022
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17 Ex Parte Date: October 23, 2022
Hearing Time: 10:30 a.m.
18 Department: 19
19 Trial Call: November 4, 2022
Time: 8:30 a.m.
20 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS. Department: 19
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22 I, WILLIAM L. ADAMS, declare:
23 1. I am an attorney duly licensed to practice in the Courts in the State of California
24 and attorney of record for Defendant Two Rock Volunteer Fire Department (“Two Rock Fire”)
25 in this consolidated case. I am competent to testify to these matters from my personal knowledge.
26 Pursuant to Evidence Code section 451 et seq., the Court is respectfully requested to take judicial
27 notice of the documents provided with this declaration, as well as the Court’s own files and
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DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN
1 records in this consolidated case.
2 2. This declaration is provided in support of Two Rock Fire’s Opposition to
3 Plaintiffs’ ex parte application to compel the continued deposition of non-party Paul Martin,
4 which was conducted on August 24, 2022.
5 3. On July 27, 2022, Plaintiffs noticed the deposition of Paul Martin for August 24,
6 2022, as an individual. The deposition notice was not to Two Rock Fire for a “person most
7 knowledgeable” pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.230, to produce testimony and
8 documents that could bind entity Defendant Two Rock Fire. The one and only category of
9 documents called for in Mr. Martin’s deposition notice were documents “defendant Two Rock
10 Fire Department contends supports any defense in its answer dated July 18, 2022 to the complaint
11 herein”. (Depo Notice to Non-Party Paul Martin p. 2, lines 15-16.) Defendant Two Rock Fire
12 filed its First Amended Answer on August 23, 2022, rendering this request that was not made to
13 the Defendant moot in any event. A true and correct copy of Plaintiffs’ deposition notice to non-
14 party Paul Martin is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.
15 4. On August 24, 2022, counsel for Defendants County of Sonoma and Two Rock
16 Fire attended Paul Martin’s deposition for nearly two hours. After Plaintiffs refused to conduct
17 examination as permitted as trial (CCP 2025.330(d)); refused to respect assertions of privilege;
18 were abusive and argumentative with the deponent; and continued with improper questions as if
19 the deposition notice was to Two Rock Fire under CCP 2025.230, Two Rock Fire adjourned the
20 deposition to meet and confer with Plaintiffs regarding proper conduct of a deposition. These
21 meet and confer communications are documented in the email chain between me and Plaintiffs
22 attached hereto as Exhibit 2, including Two Rock Fire’s written proposal on September 12, 2022
23 (three weeks ago) to continue Mr. Martin’s non-party deposition provided Plaintiffs conduct the
24 examination of Mr. Martin as permitted at trial; refrain from asking questions in areas in which
25 privilege was asserted; ask only proper, non-contention type questions; and acknowledge that
26 Mr. Martin was being deposed as a non-party individual, rather than under CCP section 2025,230.
27 Plaintiffs did not respond to Two Rock Fire’s proposal for protections that were entirely
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DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN
1 consistent with provisions CCP section 2025.420.
2 5. Two Rock Fire requested a copy of the deposition transcript at the adjournment
3 of the deposition on August 24, 2022, but have not received a copy. This fact was noted to
4 Plaintiffs in the meet and confer correspondence in Exhibit 2. It was thus a surprise that Plaintiffs
5 have included selective excerpts of Mr. Martin’s 69- page deposition transcript (pages 42-49 and
6 62-69) which has not been seen or reviewed by Defendant Two Rock Fire, Defendant County of
7 Sonoma, or, most significantly, non-party deponent Paul Martin. Additionally, Two Rock Fire
8 objects to and moves to strike Plaintiffs’ submittal of this partial, selective, and incomplete
9 deposition transcript, which omits numerous and recurring objections concerning the requirement
10 that examination proceed as if at trial, Mr. Martin’s non-party status and that the deposition notice
11 was not for a person most knowledgeable under CCP section 2025.230 (see Evidence Code
12 sections 356, 412).
13 6. Relevant to Plaintiffs’ lack of diligence related to this ex parte application, after
14 Plaintiffs refused to attend their depositions notice for August 26, 2022, Two Rock Fire filed a
15 Motion to exclude testimony or compel Plaintiffs depositions a week later, on September 2, 2022.
16 Once the parties learned this motion had been set for hearing on February 1, 2022, Two Rock
17 Fire immediately filed an ex parte application (which was unopposed by Plaintiffs) to advance
18 the hearing date to October 14, 2022. The Court issued its Order granting this unopposed request
19 on September 26, 2022. Rather than following the example of Two Rock Fire to timely address
20 and resolve pretrial discovery issues over the past month, Plaintiffs have waited until the last
21 minute, seeking to shorten time and force Two Rock Fire to file pleadings during a period of
22 previously announced unavailability of counsel.
23 7. Having previously notified Plaintiffs that I would traveling and unavailable from
24 October 5-9, 2022, inclusive, on September 27, 2022, I served Plaintiff with a Notice of
25 Unavailability, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 3. Additionally, I learned over the
26 weekend that non-party Paul Martin will be traveling out of town from October 13-22, 2022.
27 8. As of 9:00 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2022, when Two Rock Fire’s Opposition
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DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN
1 and this declaration are being completed (12 hours before Plaintiffs’ ex parte application is to
2 submitted), I have neither received Plaintiffs’ ex parte application nor any any supporting
3 pleadings or documents in support thereof. (Cf. CRC 3.1206 requiring the ex parte application
4 to be served “at the first reasonable opportunity”.) Accordingly, out of an abundance of caution,
5 Two Rock Fire is forced to present its Opposition without seeing the relief requested.
6 9. When I arrived at my office at 7:30 a.m. on Monday October 3, 2022, was the first
7 time I learned that Plaintiffs had sent their ex parte documents at 9:36 p.m. on Sunday night –
8 clearly intended to provide the minimum possible notice to Defendants Two Rock Fire and
9 County of Sonoma. There is no claim or rationale for this purposeful delay, other than to
10 prejudice Defendants ability to respond.
11 10. Attached hereto are true and correct copies of:
12 Exhibit 1: Copy of Plaintiffs’ deposition notice to Paul Martin dated July 27, 2022
13 Exhibit 2: My email chain with Plaintiffs ending with my request at 3:42 pm on Friday
September 30, 2022 for a copy of Plaintiffs’ ex parte application and all supporting
14 papers.
15 Exhibit 3: Notice of Unavailability served on Plaintiffs on September 27, 2022.
16 I declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
17 foregoing is true and correct. Executed in Windsor, California.
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Dated: October 3, 2022
19 William L. Adams
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DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN
EXHIBIT 1
EXHIBIT 2
Jacqueline Schaap
From: William Adams
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 3:42 PM
To: Frear Stephen Schmid
Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap
Subject: RE: Schmid v. TRVFD, consolidated case no. SCV-266225 ; Plaintiffs Notice of filing motion to compel
deposition of Paul Martin
Attachments: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Volunteer Fire Department, consolidated case no. SCV- 266225-
continued deposition of Paul Martin
Dear Plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs. Schmid –
As you know, Defendant Two Rock Fire filed a Substitution of Attorney on 9/13/22, which designates counsel as William
L. Adams, PC in this consolidated case. Please update your email addresses accordingly. Also, as you are further aware,
in the Court’s Order after Hearing entered on 7/29/22, the Court identified Defendant “Two Rock Volunteer Fire
Department“ as the defendant for this consolidated case. Thus, your assertions that there is some lack of
representation by counsel of record of the named Defendant Two Rock Fire are entirely without basis in fact or law. The
Court has not and does not concur with your assertions about any lack of representation or lack of standing (see, e.g.,
the Court’s Order on 9/26/22 advancing the hearing date for Defendant Two Rock Fire’s Motions to exclude Plaintiffs’
testimony for failure to attend depositions).
Secondly, for the several reasons outlined in my attached emails sent on 9/12/22 and 9/29/22; Defendant Two Rock
Fire will oppose Plaintiffs’ ex parte application for an order shortening time to file a motion regarding the individual
deposition of Paul Martin, as referenced in your email below. As required by CRC 3.1206, please provide all
pleadings, declarations and supporting documents regarding your proposed ex parte application at the first reasonable
opportunity.
William L. Adams, PC
P.O. Box 1050
Windsor, CA 95492-1050
(707) 236-2176
bill@wladamspc.com
From: Frear Stephen Schmid
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 8:36 AM
To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap
Cc: wadams@johnstonthomas.com; jschaap@johnstonthomas.com; rthomas@johnstonthomas.com;
rjohnston@johnstonthomas.com; michael.king@sonoma‐county.org
Subject: Schmid v. TRFD, SCV‐266225 and consolidated actions SCV‐266731 and SCV ‐270339, NOTICE of ex parte
application to Dept. 19 on October 3,2022 re compelling deposition of Paul Martin and production of documents thereat
To defendant Two Rock Fire Department and its counsel and to all parties and their counsel in Case
No. SCV-266225 and consolidated actions SCV-266731 and SCV -270339:
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NOTICE is hereby given that on October 3, 2022, before 10:30 a.m. pursuant to California Rule
of Court 3.1200 et seq, plaintiffs Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid in action SCV -
270339 will apply ex parte to the Judge of Dept. 19, of Sonoma Superior Court for an
order compelling Paul Martin, an officer (vice president) of defendant
corporation, Two Rock Fire Department, to appear in person and answer
questions at a deposition on October 11 or 12 starting at 10 a.m. at
One Willowbrook Court, Petaluma, CA and also for an order to compel
him to produce thereat the documents requested in the deposition notice
to him dated and served on July 27,2022 ; or in the alternative for an
order setting the motion to compel the deposition of Paul Martin as an
officer of the defendant corporation, Two Rock Fire Department, and
production of documents thereat for hearing in Department 19 on October
14, 2022 or such other date or department as the court may properly set in view
of the Nov. 4, 2022 trial date . A motion to compel a witness to appear and
answer questions at a deposition and produce documents thereat may be
sought and granted on an ex parte basis. Parker v. Wolters Kluwer United
States, Inc.(2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 285, 295-296. Here, the ex parte
application is most appropriate due to trial being scheduled for Nov.
4,2022, 1 month from now, and discovery motions must be heard 15 days
before trial. Kaplan v. Mamelak ( 2008) 162 Cal. App. 4th 637.
Please advise if you intend to oppose the ex parte application.
Very truly yours,
Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid
7585 Valley Ford Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel: 415-788-5957
e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com
++++++++++++++++++++
This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein
and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient
of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail,
and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us
immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the
original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof.
2
Jacqueline Schaap
From: William Adams
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 3:03 PM
To: Frear Stephen Schmid
Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap
Subject: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Volunteer Fire Department, consolidated case no. SCV- 266225-
continued deposition of Paul Martin
Attachments: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department consolidated case no SCV- 266225 - status of deposition of
Paul Martin
Dear Plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs. Schmid –
At this point, I suppose I should not be surprised, but, as shown by the attached email exchange, I note that you are
manufacturing a false record below by omitting my response on Monday 9/12/22 to your email of Saturday 9/10/22 –
appearing intent on making a claim to the Court that Defendant Two Rock Fire did not respond.
Additionally, I note that you have again omitted Deputy County Counsel Mike King from your email in this consolidated
case no. SCV‐266225, despite the fact that the County is a Defendant represented by Mr. King, as well as the fact that
Mr. King attended Mr. Martin’s deposition on 8/24/22. I have copied Deputy County Counsel King on this email.
Although you noticed the deposition of Mr. Martin and I requested a copy of the transcript from the Court Reporter at
the deposition, as noted in my email sent more than two weeks ago, I have not seen a transcript of the 2 hours of Mr.
Martin’s 8/24/22 deposition. In the event you have somehow obtained a copy of the deposition transcript in the interim
for your ex parte application (and have for some reason precluded Defendant Two Rock Fire from receiving a copy), I
request ‐ again – that Defendant Two Rock Fire receive a copy of Mr. Martin’s deposition transcript.
As you were informed in my attached email more than two weeks ago, if both Plaintiffs provide Mr. King and I with a
written stipulation confirming that: Mr. Martin’s deposition was noticed to him as an individual (not as a Personal Most
Knowledgeable on behalf of Defendant Two Rock Fire pursuant to CCP section 2025.230); that Plaintiffs will not pursue
improper questions; that Plaintiffs will not seek privileged information once objections and assertions of privilege are
made; and that Plaintiffs will abide by the limited scope of discovery pursuant to the Court’s Order after Hearing entered
on 7/29/22, I will consult with Mr. Martin to ascertain his availability for further deposition.
Finally, with regard to an ex parte application that you might present on Monday 10/3/22, since there not a pending
Motion by Plaintiffs, the relief available for Plaintiff would be a request for an order shortening notice for some future
Motion to Compel to be filed by Plaintiffs (See CCP section 2025.480). As you know from a very recent example in this
consolidated case, when both of you as Plaintiffs did not attend your depositions on 8/26/22, Defendant Two Rock Fire
filed a Motion pursuant to CCP section 2025.480 on 9/2/22, which was set for hearing on 2/1/23; then Defendant Two
Rock Fire made an unopposed ex parte application on 9/19/22 to advance the hearing date in order to have those
Motions heard before trial – and they are now set for 10/14/22.
Please advise if Plaintiffs will provide the written stipulation outlined above.
William L. Adams, PC
P.O. Box 1050
Windsor, CA 95492-1050
(707) 236-2176
1
bill@wladamspc.com
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 12:15 PM
To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap
Subject: Re: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV‐ 270339‐ resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of
Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin
Hi Bill- this is a further meet and confer regarding the deposition of TRFD Officer Paul Martin. Despite
your statements that you would be seeking a protective order, you have failed to do so. The simple
truth is there was no basis for you unilaterally leaving the deposition of Mr. Martin. and disrupting
plaintiffs' right to his testimony, and you have provided no justification for your conduct. Your
assertions of objections during the questioning of Paul served only to needlessly derail questioning,
and even had the objections been proper, none would allow you to break off the deposition. Thus,
please agree as to a date for the resumption of Paul's deposition. If you don't agree this is to give
notice that on Oct 3,2022 plaintiffs will be making an ex parte application in Dept 19 compelling the
resumption thereof and the production of the documents requested. We will seek the depo date of
October 11 or 12.
Very truly yours,
Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid
7585 Valley Ford Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel: 415-788-5957
e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com
++++++++++++++++++++
This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein
and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient
of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail,
and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us
immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the
original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof.
-----Original Message-----
From: Frear Stephen Schmid
To: bill@wladamspc.com ; jacqueline@wladamspc.com
Sent: Sat, Sep 10, 2022 3:10 pm
Subject: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV- 270339- resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of Two
Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin
Hi Bill- during your meritless interruption of the duly noticed deposition of Two Rock Fire Department
Vice President Paul Martin and your unjustified storming out therefrom on August 24, you stated that
you wanted an expedited transcript, and you would be seeking a protective order on an ex parte
basis. Apparently, you have abandoned this ill-conceived plan and your disruption of the deposition
as legally and factually unsustainable and unjustified. Please confirm, so we can resume Paul's
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deposition. Also please confirm Paul will produce the documents requested in the deposition notice,
as no objection thereto was ever asserted, and thus any possible objections were and have been
waived.
Thanks for your prompt attention hereto.
Very truly yours,
Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid
7585 Valley Ford Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel: 415-788-5957
e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com
++++++++++++++++++++
This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein
and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient
of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail,
and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us
immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the
original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof.
3
Jacqueline Schaap
From: William Adams
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2022 5:05 PM
To: Frear Stephen Schmid
Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap
Subject: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department consolidated case no SCV- 266225 - status of deposition of
Paul Martin
Plaintiffs Schmid –
I have not seen a copy of the transcript. If both Plaintiffs will stipulate in writing that Mr. Martin’s deposition was
noticed to him as an individual, that Plaintiffs will not pursue improper questions, that Plaintiffs will not seek privileged
information once objections are made, and that Plaintiffs will abide by the limited scope of discovery pursuant to the
Court’s Order entered on 7/29/22, please let me know some suggested dates to conclude Mr. Martin’s deposition. I
note you have omitted counsel for County, Mr. King, in your email below, so I have included him here as required by CCP
2025.
We have already informed you that Mr. Martin does not have documents called for in deposition notice.
I am at conference in Sacramento the next few days, but will have sporadic occasion to check email.
William L. Adams, PC
P.O. Box 1050
Windsor, CA 95492-1050
(707) 236-2176
bill@wladamspc.com
From: Frear Stephen Schmid
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2022 3:10 PM
To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap
Subject: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV‐ 270339‐ resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of Two
Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin
Hi Bill- during your meritless interruption of the duly noticed deposition of Two Rock Fire Department
Vice President Paul Martin and your unjustified storming out therefrom on August 24, you stated that
you wanted an expedited transcript, and you would be seeking a protective order on an ex parte
basis. Apparently, you have abandoned this ill-conceived plan and your disruption of the deposition
as legally and factually unsustainable and unjustified. Please confirm, so we can resume Paul's
deposition. Also please confirm Paul will produce the documents requested in the deposition notice,
as no objection thereto was ever asserted, and thus any possible objections were and have been
waived.
Thanks for your prompt attention hereto.
Very truly yours,
1
Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid
7585 Valley Ford Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel: 415-788-5957
e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com
++++++++++++++++++++
This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein
and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient
of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail,
and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us
immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the
original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof.
2
EXHIBIT 3
1 William L. Adams SBN 166027
WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC
2 P.O. BOX 1050
Windsor, CA 95492-1050
3 Telephone: (707) 236-2176
Email: bill@wladamspc.com
4
5 Attorneys for Defendant
TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
9 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SONOMA
10 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and consolidated
ASTRID SCHMID, actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339
11
Plaintiffs, NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF
12 COUNSEL
v.
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Trial Call: November 4, 2022
14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE Time: 8:30 a.m.
DEPARTMENT, Department: 19
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Defendant.
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17 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS.
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19 TO ALL PARTIES HEREIN AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD:
20 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that counsel for Defendant TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE
21 DEPARTMENT, will be unavailable for all purposes, including, but not limited to, receiving
22 notice of any kind, appearing in court, responding to ex parte applications, or attending
23 depositions, and proceedings of any nature as follows:
24 October 5, 2022, through October 9, 2022.
25 Purposely scheduling a conflicting proceeding without good cause is conduct subject to
26 sanctions (Tenderloin Housing Clinic v. Sparks (1992) 8 Cal.App.4th 299).
27 ///
28 ///
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NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL
1 Dated: September 27, 2022 WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC
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3 By:
William L. Adams, Counsel for Defendant
4 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL
PROOF OF SERVICE
1 Schmid v. Two Rock Volunteer Fire Department.
Sonoma County Superior Court Case NO. SCV-266225 and consolidated
2 actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339
3 I, the undersigned, declare:
4 I am over the age of 18 and not a party to this action. I am employed in the county where
the mailing occurred and my business address is: William L. Adams PC, P.O. Box 1050, Windsor,
5 CA 95492-1050
6 On, September 27, 2022, I served the parties indicated below the foregoing documents(s)
described as:
7
8 NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL
9 On the parties involved addressed as follows:
10 Frear Stephen Schmid Plaintiff in Pro Per
7585 Valley Ford Road
11 Petaluma, CA 94952
frearschmid@aol.com
12
13 Astrid Schmid Plaintiff in Pro Per
7585 Valley Ford Road
14 Petaluma, CA 94952
frearschmid@aol.com
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16 Michael A. King Counsel for Defendant County of Sonoma
Deputy County Counsel
17 County of Sonoma
575 Administration Drive, Room 105-A
18 Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Michael.King@sonoma-county.org
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20 [X] BY ELECTRONIC SERVICE – Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and
California Rules of Court section 2.251, I affected electronic service of the documents
21 indicated above to the email address(es) listed above by submitting an electronic PDF
version of the document(s) to Microsoft Outlook, through the user interface at
22 wladamspc.com. My eService address is: jacqueline@wladamspc.com.
23 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above
is true and correct. Executed on September 27, 2022, at Windsor, California.
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Jacqueline Schaap, Paralegal
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PROOF OF SERVICE
Preview
1 William L. Adams SBN 166027 WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC 2 P.O. BOX 1050 Windsor, CA 95492-1050 3 Telephone: (707) 236-2176 Email: bill@wladamspc.com 4 Attorneys for Defendant 5 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT 6 7 8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 9 COUNTY OF SONOMA 10 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and consolidated ASTRID SCHMID, actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339 11 Plaintiffs, 12 DECLARATON OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS v. IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO 13 ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO 14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION DEPARTMENT, TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION 15 OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN Defendant. CONDUCTED AUGUST 24, 2022 16 17 Ex Parte Date: October 23, 2022 Hearing Time: 10:30 a.m. 18 Department: 19 19 Trial Call: November 4, 2022 Time: 8:30 a.m. 20 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS. Department: 19 21 22 I, WILLIAM L. ADAMS, declare: 23 1. I am an attorney duly licensed to practice in the Courts in the State of California 24 and attorney of record for Defendant Two Rock Volunteer Fire Department (“Two Rock Fire”) 25 in this consolidated case. I am competent to testify to these matters from my personal knowledge. 26 Pursuant to Evidence Code section 451 et seq., the Court is respectfully requested to take judicial 27 notice of the documents provided with this declaration, as well as the Court’s own files and 28 1 DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN 1 records in this consolidated case. 2 2. This declaration is provided in support of Two Rock Fire’s Opposition to 3 Plaintiffs’ ex parte application to compel the continued deposition of non-party Paul Martin, 4 which was conducted on August 24, 2022. 5 3. On July 27, 2022, Plaintiffs noticed the deposition of Paul Martin for August 24, 6 2022, as an individual. The deposition notice was not to Two Rock Fire for a “person most 7 knowledgeable” pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.230, to produce testimony and 8 documents that could bind entity Defendant Two Rock Fire. The one and only category of 9 documents called for in Mr. Martin’s deposition notice were documents “defendant Two Rock 10 Fire Department contends supports any defense in its answer dated July 18, 2022 to the complaint 11 herein”. (Depo Notice to Non-Party Paul Martin p. 2, lines 15-16.) Defendant Two Rock Fire 12 filed its First Amended Answer on August 23, 2022, rendering this request that was not made to 13 the Defendant moot in any event. A true and correct copy of Plaintiffs’ deposition notice to non- 14 party Paul Martin is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. 15 4. On August 24, 2022, counsel for Defendants County of Sonoma and Two Rock 16 Fire attended Paul Martin’s deposition for nearly two hours. After Plaintiffs refused to conduct 17 examination as permitted as trial (CCP 2025.330(d)); refused to respect assertions of privilege; 18 were abusive and argumentative with the deponent; and continued with improper questions as if 19 the deposition notice was to Two Rock Fire under CCP 2025.230, Two Rock Fire adjourned the 20 deposition to meet and confer with Plaintiffs regarding proper conduct of a deposition. These 21 meet and confer communications are documented in the email chain between me and Plaintiffs 22 attached hereto as Exhibit 2, including Two Rock Fire’s written proposal on September 12, 2022 23 (three weeks ago) to continue Mr. Martin’s non-party deposition provided Plaintiffs conduct the 24 examination of Mr. Martin as permitted at trial; refrain from asking questions in areas in which 25 privilege was asserted; ask only proper, non-contention type questions; and acknowledge that 26 Mr. Martin was being deposed as a non-party individual, rather than under CCP section 2025,230. 27 Plaintiffs did not respond to Two Rock Fire’s proposal for protections that were entirely 28 2 DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN 1 consistent with provisions CCP section 2025.420. 2 5. Two Rock Fire requested a copy of the deposition transcript at the adjournment 3 of the deposition on August 24, 2022, but have not received a copy. This fact was noted to 4 Plaintiffs in the meet and confer correspondence in Exhibit 2. It was thus a surprise that Plaintiffs 5 have included selective excerpts of Mr. Martin’s 69- page deposition transcript (pages 42-49 and 6 62-69) which has not been seen or reviewed by Defendant Two Rock Fire, Defendant County of 7 Sonoma, or, most significantly, non-party deponent Paul Martin. Additionally, Two Rock Fire 8 objects to and moves to strike Plaintiffs’ submittal of this partial, selective, and incomplete 9 deposition transcript, which omits numerous and recurring objections concerning the requirement 10 that examination proceed as if at trial, Mr. Martin’s non-party status and that the deposition notice 11 was not for a person most knowledgeable under CCP section 2025.230 (see Evidence Code 12 sections 356, 412). 13 6. Relevant to Plaintiffs’ lack of diligence related to this ex parte application, after 14 Plaintiffs refused to attend their depositions notice for August 26, 2022, Two Rock Fire filed a 15 Motion to exclude testimony or compel Plaintiffs depositions a week later, on September 2, 2022. 16 Once the parties learned this motion had been set for hearing on February 1, 2022, Two Rock 17 Fire immediately filed an ex parte application (which was unopposed by Plaintiffs) to advance 18 the hearing date to October 14, 2022. The Court issued its Order granting this unopposed request 19 on September 26, 2022. Rather than following the example of Two Rock Fire to timely address 20 and resolve pretrial discovery issues over the past month, Plaintiffs have waited until the last 21 minute, seeking to shorten time and force Two Rock Fire to file pleadings during a period of 22 previously announced unavailability of counsel. 23 7. Having previously notified Plaintiffs that I would traveling and unavailable from 24 October 5-9, 2022, inclusive, on September 27, 2022, I served Plaintiff with a Notice of 25 Unavailability, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 3. Additionally, I learned over the 26 weekend that non-party Paul Martin will be traveling out of town from October 13-22, 2022. 27 8. As of 9:00 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2022, when Two Rock Fire’s Opposition 28 3 DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN 1 and this declaration are being completed (12 hours before Plaintiffs’ ex parte application is to 2 submitted), I have neither received Plaintiffs’ ex parte application nor any any supporting 3 pleadings or documents in support thereof. (Cf. CRC 3.1206 requiring the ex parte application 4 to be served “at the first reasonable opportunity”.) Accordingly, out of an abundance of caution, 5 Two Rock Fire is forced to present its Opposition without seeing the relief requested. 6 9. When I arrived at my office at 7:30 a.m. on Monday October 3, 2022, was the first 7 time I learned that Plaintiffs had sent their ex parte documents at 9:36 p.m. on Sunday night – 8 clearly intended to provide the minimum possible notice to Defendants Two Rock Fire and 9 County of Sonoma. There is no claim or rationale for this purposeful delay, other than to 10 prejudice Defendants ability to respond. 11 10. Attached hereto are true and correct copies of: 12 Exhibit 1: Copy of Plaintiffs’ deposition notice to Paul Martin dated July 27, 2022 13 Exhibit 2: My email chain with Plaintiffs ending with my request at 3:42 pm on Friday September 30, 2022 for a copy of Plaintiffs’ ex parte application and all supporting 14 papers. 15 Exhibit 3: Notice of Unavailability served on Plaintiffs on September 27, 2022. 16 I declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the 17 foregoing is true and correct. Executed in Windsor, California. 18 Dated: October 3, 2022 19 William L. Adams 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4 DECLARATION OF WILLIAM L. ADAMS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO COMPEL CONTINUED DEPOSITION OF NON-PARTY PAUL MARTIN EXHIBIT 1 EXHIBIT 2 Jacqueline Schaap From: William Adams Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 3:42 PM To: Frear Stephen Schmid Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap Subject: RE: Schmid v. TRVFD, consolidated case no. SCV-266225 ; Plaintiffs Notice of filing motion to compel deposition of Paul Martin Attachments: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Volunteer Fire Department, consolidated case no. SCV- 266225- continued deposition of Paul Martin Dear Plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs. Schmid – As you know, Defendant Two Rock Fire filed a Substitution of Attorney on 9/13/22, which designates counsel as William L. Adams, PC in this consolidated case. Please update your email addresses accordingly. Also, as you are further aware, in the Court’s Order after Hearing entered on 7/29/22, the Court identified Defendant “Two Rock Volunteer Fire Department“ as the defendant for this consolidated case. Thus, your assertions that there is some lack of representation by counsel of record of the named Defendant Two Rock Fire are entirely without basis in fact or law. The Court has not and does not concur with your assertions about any lack of representation or lack of standing (see, e.g., the Court’s Order on 9/26/22 advancing the hearing date for Defendant Two Rock Fire’s Motions to exclude Plaintiffs’ testimony for failure to attend depositions). Secondly, for the several reasons outlined in my attached emails sent on 9/12/22 and 9/29/22; Defendant Two Rock Fire will oppose Plaintiffs’ ex parte application for an order shortening time to file a motion regarding the individual deposition of Paul Martin, as referenced in your email below. As required by CRC 3.1206, please provide all pleadings, declarations and supporting documents regarding your proposed ex parte application at the first reasonable opportunity. William L. Adams, PC P.O. Box 1050 Windsor, CA 95492-1050 (707) 236-2176 bill@wladamspc.com From: Frear Stephen Schmid Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 8:36 AM To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap Cc: wadams@johnstonthomas.com; jschaap@johnstonthomas.com; rthomas@johnstonthomas.com; rjohnston@johnstonthomas.com; michael.king@sonoma‐county.org Subject: Schmid v. TRFD, SCV‐266225 and consolidated actions SCV‐266731 and SCV ‐270339, NOTICE of ex parte application to Dept. 19 on October 3,2022 re compelling deposition of Paul Martin and production of documents thereat To defendant Two Rock Fire Department and its counsel and to all parties and their counsel in Case No. SCV-266225 and consolidated actions SCV-266731 and SCV -270339: 1 NOTICE is hereby given that on October 3, 2022, before 10:30 a.m. pursuant to California Rule of Court 3.1200 et seq, plaintiffs Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid in action SCV - 270339 will apply ex parte to the Judge of Dept. 19, of Sonoma Superior Court for an order compelling Paul Martin, an officer (vice president) of defendant corporation, Two Rock Fire Department, to appear in person and answer questions at a deposition on October 11 or 12 starting at 10 a.m. at One Willowbrook Court, Petaluma, CA and also for an order to compel him to produce thereat the documents requested in the deposition notice to him dated and served on July 27,2022 ; or in the alternative for an order setting the motion to compel the deposition of Paul Martin as an officer of the defendant corporation, Two Rock Fire Department, and production of documents thereat for hearing in Department 19 on October 14, 2022 or such other date or department as the court may properly set in view of the Nov. 4, 2022 trial date . A motion to compel a witness to appear and answer questions at a deposition and produce documents thereat may be sought and granted on an ex parte basis. Parker v. Wolters Kluwer United States, Inc.(2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 285, 295-296. Here, the ex parte application is most appropriate due to trial being scheduled for Nov. 4,2022, 1 month from now, and discovery motions must be heard 15 days before trial. Kaplan v. Mamelak ( 2008) 162 Cal. App. 4th 637. Please advise if you intend to oppose the ex parte application. Very truly yours, Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid 7585 Valley Ford Road Petaluma, CA 94952 Tel: 415-788-5957 e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++ This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof. 2 Jacqueline Schaap From: William Adams Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 3:03 PM To: Frear Stephen Schmid Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap Subject: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Volunteer Fire Department, consolidated case no. SCV- 266225- continued deposition of Paul Martin Attachments: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department consolidated case no SCV- 266225 - status of deposition of Paul Martin Dear Plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs. Schmid – At this point, I suppose I should not be surprised, but, as shown by the attached email exchange, I note that you are manufacturing a false record below by omitting my response on Monday 9/12/22 to your email of Saturday 9/10/22 – appearing intent on making a claim to the Court that Defendant Two Rock Fire did not respond. Additionally, I note that you have again omitted Deputy County Counsel Mike King from your email in this consolidated case no. SCV‐266225, despite the fact that the County is a Defendant represented by Mr. King, as well as the fact that Mr. King attended Mr. Martin’s deposition on 8/24/22. I have copied Deputy County Counsel King on this email. Although you noticed the deposition of Mr. Martin and I requested a copy of the transcript from the Court Reporter at the deposition, as noted in my email sent more than two weeks ago, I have not seen a transcript of the 2 hours of Mr. Martin’s 8/24/22 deposition. In the event you have somehow obtained a copy of the deposition transcript in the interim for your ex parte application (and have for some reason precluded Defendant Two Rock Fire from receiving a copy), I request ‐ again – that Defendant Two Rock Fire receive a copy of Mr. Martin’s deposition transcript. As you were informed in my attached email more than two weeks ago, if both Plaintiffs provide Mr. King and I with a written stipulation confirming that: Mr. Martin’s deposition was noticed to him as an individual (not as a Personal Most Knowledgeable on behalf of Defendant Two Rock Fire pursuant to CCP section 2025.230); that Plaintiffs will not pursue improper questions; that Plaintiffs will not seek privileged information once objections and assertions of privilege are made; and that Plaintiffs will abide by the limited scope of discovery pursuant to the Court’s Order after Hearing entered on 7/29/22, I will consult with Mr. Martin to ascertain his availability for further deposition. Finally, with regard to an ex parte application that you might present on Monday 10/3/22, since there not a pending Motion by Plaintiffs, the relief available for Plaintiff would be a request for an order shortening notice for some future Motion to Compel to be filed by Plaintiffs (See CCP section 2025.480). As you know from a very recent example in this consolidated case, when both of you as Plaintiffs did not attend your depositions on 8/26/22, Defendant Two Rock Fire filed a Motion pursuant to CCP section 2025.480 on 9/2/22, which was set for hearing on 2/1/23; then Defendant Two Rock Fire made an unopposed ex parte application on 9/19/22 to advance the hearing date in order to have those Motions heard before trial – and they are now set for 10/14/22. Please advise if Plaintiffs will provide the written stipulation outlined above. William L. Adams, PC P.O. Box 1050 Windsor, CA 95492-1050 (707) 236-2176 1 bill@wladamspc.com Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 12:15 PM To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap Subject: Re: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV‐ 270339‐ resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin Hi Bill- this is a further meet and confer regarding the deposition of TRFD Officer Paul Martin. Despite your statements that you would be seeking a protective order, you have failed to do so. The simple truth is there was no basis for you unilaterally leaving the deposition of Mr. Martin. and disrupting plaintiffs' right to his testimony, and you have provided no justification for your conduct. Your assertions of objections during the questioning of Paul served only to needlessly derail questioning, and even had the objections been proper, none would allow you to break off the deposition. Thus, please agree as to a date for the resumption of Paul's deposition. If you don't agree this is to give notice that on Oct 3,2022 plaintiffs will be making an ex parte application in Dept 19 compelling the resumption thereof and the production of the documents requested. We will seek the depo date of October 11 or 12. Very truly yours, Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid 7585 Valley Ford Road Petaluma, CA 94952 Tel: 415-788-5957 e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++ This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof. -----Original Message----- From: Frear Stephen Schmid To: bill@wladamspc.com ; jacqueline@wladamspc.com Sent: Sat, Sep 10, 2022 3:10 pm Subject: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV- 270339- resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin Hi Bill- during your meritless interruption of the duly noticed deposition of Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin and your unjustified storming out therefrom on August 24, you stated that you wanted an expedited transcript, and you would be seeking a protective order on an ex parte basis. Apparently, you have abandoned this ill-conceived plan and your disruption of the deposition as legally and factually unsustainable and unjustified. Please confirm, so we can resume Paul's 2 deposition. Also please confirm Paul will produce the documents requested in the deposition notice, as no objection thereto was ever asserted, and thus any possible objections were and have been waived. Thanks for your prompt attention hereto. Very truly yours, Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid 7585 Valley Ford Road Petaluma, CA 94952 Tel: 415-788-5957 e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++ This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof. 3 Jacqueline Schaap From: William Adams Sent: Monday, September 12, 2022 5:05 PM To: Frear Stephen Schmid Cc: michael.king@sonoma-county.org; Jacqueline Schaap Subject: RE: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department consolidated case no SCV- 266225 - status of deposition of Paul Martin Plaintiffs Schmid – I have not seen a copy of the transcript. If both Plaintiffs will stipulate in writing that Mr. Martin’s deposition was noticed to him as an individual, that Plaintiffs will not pursue improper questions, that Plaintiffs will not seek privileged information once objections are made, and that Plaintiffs will abide by the limited scope of discovery pursuant to the Court’s Order entered on 7/29/22, please let me know some suggested dates to conclude Mr. Martin’s deposition. I note you have omitted counsel for County, Mr. King, in your email below, so I have included him here as required by CCP 2025. We have already informed you that Mr. Martin does not have documents called for in deposition notice. I am at conference in Sacramento the next few days, but will have sporadic occasion to check email. William L. Adams, PC P.O. Box 1050 Windsor, CA 95492-1050 (707) 236-2176 bill@wladamspc.com From: Frear Stephen Schmid Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2022 3:10 PM To: William Adams ; Jacqueline Schaap Subject: Schmid v. Two Rock Fire Department SCV‐ 270339‐ resumption of the improperly disrupted deposition of Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin Hi Bill- during your meritless interruption of the duly noticed deposition of Two Rock Fire Department Vice President Paul Martin and your unjustified storming out therefrom on August 24, you stated that you wanted an expedited transcript, and you would be seeking a protective order on an ex parte basis. Apparently, you have abandoned this ill-conceived plan and your disruption of the deposition as legally and factually unsustainable and unjustified. Please confirm, so we can resume Paul's deposition. Also please confirm Paul will produce the documents requested in the deposition notice, as no objection thereto was ever asserted, and thus any possible objections were and have been waived. Thanks for your prompt attention hereto. Very truly yours, 1 Frear Stephen Schmid and Astrid Schmid 7585 Valley Ford Road Petaluma, CA 94952 Tel: 415-788-5957 e-mail: frearschmid@aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++ This e-mail and any attachments thereto is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify us immediately either by return e-mail or by telephone at 415-788-5957 and permanently delete the original, any copy of any e-mail, and any printout thereof. 2 EXHIBIT 3 1 William L. Adams SBN 166027 WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC 2 P.O. BOX 1050 Windsor, CA 95492-1050 3 Telephone: (707) 236-2176 Email: bill@wladamspc.com 4 5 Attorneys for Defendant TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT 6 7 8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 9 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SONOMA 10 FREAR STEPHEN SCHMID AND Case No. SCV-266225 and consolidated ASTRID SCHMID, actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339 11 Plaintiffs, NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF 12 COUNSEL v. 13 Trial Call: November 4, 2022 14 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE Time: 8:30 a.m. DEPARTMENT, Department: 19 15 Defendant. 16 17 AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS. 18 19 TO ALL PARTIES HEREIN AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 20 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that counsel for Defendant TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE 21 DEPARTMENT, will be unavailable for all purposes, including, but not limited to, receiving 22 notice of any kind, appearing in court, responding to ex parte applications, or attending 23 depositions, and proceedings of any nature as follows: 24 October 5, 2022, through October 9, 2022. 25 Purposely scheduling a conflicting proceeding without good cause is conduct subject to 26 sanctions (Tenderloin Housing Clinic v. Sparks (1992) 8 Cal.App.4th 299). 27 /// 28 /// 1 NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL 1 Dated: September 27, 2022 WILLIAM L. ADAMS, PC 2 3 By: William L. Adams, Counsel for Defendant 4 TWO ROCK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL PROOF OF SERVICE 1 Schmid v. Two Rock Volunteer Fire Department. Sonoma County Superior Court Case NO. SCV-266225 and consolidated 2 actions SCV-266731 and SCV-270339 3 I, the undersigned, declare: 4 I am over the age of 18 and not a party to this action. I am employed in the county where the mailing occurred and my business address is: William L. Adams PC, P.O. Box 1050, Windsor, 5 CA 95492-1050 6 On, September 27, 2022, I served the parties indicated below the foregoing documents(s) described as: 7 8 NOTICE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF COUNSEL 9 On the parties involved addressed as follows: 10 Frear Stephen Schmid Plaintiff in Pro Per 7585 Valley Ford Road 11 Petaluma, CA 94952 frearschmid@aol.com 12 13 Astrid Schmid Plaintiff in Pro Per 7585 Valley Ford Road 14 Petaluma, CA 94952 frearschmid@aol.com 15 16 Michael A. King Counsel for Defendant County of Sonoma Deputy County Counsel 17 County of Sonoma 575 Administration Drive, Room 105-A 18 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Michael.King@sonoma-county.org 19 20 [X] BY ELECTRONIC SERVICE – Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and California Rules of Court section 2.251, I affected electronic service of the documents 21 indicated above to the email address(es) listed above by submitting an electronic PDF version of the document(s) to Microsoft Outlook, through the user interface at 22 wladamspc.com. My eService address is: jacqueline@wladamspc.com. 23 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct. Executed on September 27, 2022, at Windsor, California. 24 25 Jacqueline Schaap, Paralegal 26 27 28 3 PROOF OF SERVICE