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SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
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Apr-15-2011 4:14 pm
Case Number: PES-10-293505
Filing Date: Apr-15-2011 4:14
Juke Box: 001 Image: 03184388
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
IN RE; STAN KWONG IRREVOCABLE TRUST II
001P03184388
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RICHARD M. BRYAN (SBN 34556)
CAROLINE K. HINSHAW (SBN 95020)
LINDA C. GARRETT (SBN 214521) ©
BRYAN + HINSHAW 2 :
‘A Professional Corporation an Francigeo Caunty Suparior Court
425 California Street, #900 , APR 1 5 2011
San Francisco, CA 94104
Telephone: (415) 296-0800
Facsimile: (415) 296-0812
ik OF THE COURT
puly Clerk
Attomeys for Cross-Respondent
FENG OUYANG
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
JENNIFER SHUK-HAN KWOK, ) Case No.: PES-10-293505
Petitioner, . )
. VS. )
JEANNE WONG, individually and as a former ) MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND
Trustee of the Stan Wong Irrevocable Trust 11, ) AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG
) OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
Respondent. )
)
JEANNE WONG, ) Date: May 12, 2011
Cross-Petitioner, ) Time: 10:00 A.M.
vs. ) Dept: 613
FENG OUYANG, individually and as a trustee.) Judge: Ernest H. Goldsmith
of
The Stan Wong Irrevocable Trust I, ;
JENNIFER )
SHUK-HAN KWOCK, GARY C. WONG, and )
Roes 1 through 20, inclusive, )
Cross-Respondents. )
FENG OUYANG individually and as trustee of )
The Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I,
Cross-Petitioner,
Vs.
JEANNE KWONG, GARY C. WONG and
DOES 1 thru 20, inclusive,
Cross-Respondents. )
wee
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
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GARY WONG,
Cross-Petitioner,
Vs.
)
)
)
}
FENG OUYANG, individually and as Trustee )
of The Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I, )
JENNIFER )SHUK-HAN KWOK, JEANNE)
KWONG, Individually and as trustee ofthe)
Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I, and )
DOES 1 through 20, Inclusive, )
Cross-Respondents. )
)
)
)
)
AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS
ROLE OF CROSS DEFENDANT FENG OUYANG IN THIS LITIGATION.
Ms. Ouyang is a party in Action # PES-10-293505, hereinafter referred to as “the Insurance
Trust case”. She has no beneficial interest in the estate or trusts of Stan Kwong or the claims of the
Kwong family against Stan Kwong’s widow and children.
Ms. Ouyang is merely a friend of Jennifer Kwok and the decedent Stanley Kwong. During the
process of Stan Kwong’s estate planning, J ennifer and Stan asked that she act as trustee of a life
insurance trust to pay out insurance proceeds to J ennifer and the children in the event of Stan’s death.
At the time, she was told that Stan was engaged in estate planning and was setting up a trust that would
receive proceeds of a life insurance policy in the event of his death. She was also asked to sign a paper
agreeing to be a trustee. She was told that Stan was setting up the policies and there was nothing for her
to do at the time.
Later, she learned of Stan Kwong’s death. Prior to Stan’s death, she was not informed or advised
of any activity or actions regarding any life insurance policies that Stan was purchasing or using to fund
his trust. She merely assumed that Stan was taking care of setting up life insurance as part of his overall
estate planning. Upon his death, she learned that no policies had named the Life Insurance Trust as a
beneficiary.
After Stan Kwong’s death, Ms. Ouyang was informed that Stan bad made the trust an owner of a
Lincoln National life policy and that Stan, his sister Jeanne Kwong, and an insurance broker, Gary
Wong, had all engaged in activity to transfer ownership of the policy to the trust. But, they never made
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
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the Life Insurance Trust a beneficiary of the policy. Ms. Ouyang did notify Lincoln National Life that
she believed that a mistake had been made and the Life Insurance Trust should be the beneficiary.
However, Lincoln National honored only the beneficiary designation and paid the funds to Stan
Kwong’s elderly mother. Thus the trust never was funded with the proceeds and Ms. Ouyang never had
any Lincoln National policy proceeds to administer as a trustee of the must,
The beneficiaries of the Life Insurance Trust (Jennifer Kwok and her children) sued Jeanne
Kwong and Gary Wong claiming that they handled the transfer of ownership but negligently failed to
change the beneficiary. Jeanne Kwong named Feng Ouyang as a cross defendant alleging that Feng
Ouyang was named as a trustee of the Life Insurance Trust even though Feng Ouyang was never
involved with the transfer of the Lincoln policy to the trust or even made aware of the actions of Stan
Kwong, Jeanne Kwong, or Gary Wong prior to Stan’s death. Accordingly, Feng Ouyang cross
complained against Jeanne Kwong and Gary Wong claiming that her liability, if any, derives from the
active fault of Jeanne Kwong, Gary Wong, or others.
Ms. Ouyang is unable to respond financially to the claims by Jeanne Kwong for indemnity in this
case and has limited funds. She is unable to engage in any active role in the litigation and has been “on
the sidelines” appearing in Court only as mandated by the law. In summary, Ms.Ouyang had no active
or passive involvement in the problems that led to the failure to change the life insurance beneficiary.
She simply was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and has been drug into a much larger dispute
that does not relate to her or anything she has done.
PROPOSAL FOR TRIAL OF THE INSURANCE TRUST CASE.
The insurance trust litigation should be tried last, if at all.
The insurance trust case, although technically a discreet matter, is really the “tail of a larger
dog”. Although there are multiple “cases”, the consolidated litigation is really one large dispute
between Stan Kwong’s extended family on the one hand and his wife and children on the other hand:
The insurance trust issues are simply one dimension of the overall battle. This group of consolidated
matters is effectively one case which will probably be settled on a “global” settlement basis of all issues
(including the life insurance trust issues).
It will waste judicial resources to try the life insurance trust as one of the first trials which could
Jead to an unnecessary trial on a discrete issue. If the Court sets the insurance trust for trial, first, the
issues in the insurance trust are not sufficiently global to induce the parties to settle the entire case. By
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
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contrast, the issues in the larger case are broad enough that the parties will want to include the insurance
trust litigation as part of a larger global settlement. Stated otherwise, the insurance trust case is too
small ofa tail to “wag the dog”, but the other litigation is a large enough dog to wag the insurance trust
tail. :
From the perspective of Feng Ouyang a trial would be extremely burdensome financially, and
she would like to avoid incurring the extra fees and costs if that can be avoided. In the probate court and]
in the JAMS mediation, the court and the mediator have accommodated Ms.Ouyang’s need to avoid
running up legal bills by limiting appearance and actions except when the insurance trust issues are
involved.
Respectfully submitted,
BRYAN ¢ HINSHAW, A PROF. CORP.
Attomeys for Feng Ouyang
Dated: April 14, 2011 By: Meat MM. Cigar
Richard M. Bryan
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
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RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS
sealed envelope addressed as follows:
Paul and Christine Tour-Sarkissian
Tour-Sarkissian Law Offices
211 Gough Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415)626-8189
Daniel Bernhard
Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP
150 Spear Street, Suite 1800
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415)495-4332
Tam employed in the city and county of San Francisco, California. I am over the age of 18 and
am not a party to the within action. My business address is 425 California Street, Suite 900, San
Francisco, California 94104. On April 15, 2011, I served the document described as:
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG
on the interested parties in this action by placing a true and correct copy thereof enclosed in a
Don C. Lippenberger
Lippenberger, Thompson, Welch,
Sokoro & Gilbert LLC
201 Tamat Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
(415)927-5210
Edward Zusman
Markun Zusman Compton LLP
465 California Street, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415)434-4505
Xx (BY MAIL) In accordance with the regular mail collection and processing
practices of Bryan * Hinshaw, with which I am familiar, by means of which mail
is deposited postage paid with the U.S. Postal Service at San Francisco, California
that same day in the ordinary course of business. I deposited such sealed
envelope for mailing on this same date following ordinary business practices.
(BY EXPRESS MAIL OR OVERNIGHT DELIVERY) By placing such sealed
envelope, delivery fees paid, in a facility regularly maintained by the USPS for
receipt of express mail; or by placing such sealed envelope, delivery fees paid, in
a facility regularly maintained by an overnight delivery service for receipt of such
documents. (CCP § 1013). :
PROOF OF SERVICE,Oo Oo IN KAA BF WN
wn nn NN NNN YD SF PF SFP ee Te Se Ors
S&S SS ADA EGEH KH SCO wOAAN RE WH HS
woe
x (BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION) by transmitting to a facsimile machine
maintained by the recipient at the facsimile machine telephone number as to SEE
(41 5)626-8189, (415)495-4332. (415)927-5210 and (415)434-4505 only.
(BY PERSONAL SERVICE)
By personally delivering copies to the person served.
_ I delivered such envelope by hand to the offices of the addressee pursuant
to CCP = 1011.
I caused such envelope to be delivered by hand to the office of addressee.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above
is true and correct. Executed on April 15, 2011, at San Frapejs
CAROL WHITNEY
PROOF OF SERVICE
Preview
AEM SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO Document Scanning Lead Sheet Apr-15-2011 4:14 pm Case Number: PES-10-293505 Filing Date: Apr-15-2011 4:14 Juke Box: 001 Image: 03184388 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN RE; STAN KWONG IRREVOCABLE TRUST II 001P03184388 Please place this sheet on top of the document to be scanned.ew oN AH WN 10 te RICHARD M. BRYAN (SBN 34556) CAROLINE K. HINSHAW (SBN 95020) LINDA C. GARRETT (SBN 214521) © BRYAN + HINSHAW 2 : ‘A Professional Corporation an Francigeo Caunty Suparior Court 425 California Street, #900 , APR 1 5 2011 San Francisco, CA 94104 Telephone: (415) 296-0800 Facsimile: (415) 296-0812 ik OF THE COURT puly Clerk Attomeys for Cross-Respondent FENG OUYANG SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY JENNIFER SHUK-HAN KWOK, ) Case No.: PES-10-293505 Petitioner, . ) . VS. ) JEANNE WONG, individually and as a former ) MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND Trustee of the Stan Wong Irrevocable Trust 11, ) AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG ) OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS Respondent. ) ) JEANNE WONG, ) Date: May 12, 2011 Cross-Petitioner, ) Time: 10:00 A.M. vs. ) Dept: 613 FENG OUYANG, individually and as a trustee.) Judge: Ernest H. Goldsmith of The Stan Wong Irrevocable Trust I, ; JENNIFER ) SHUK-HAN KWOCK, GARY C. WONG, and ) Roes 1 through 20, inclusive, ) Cross-Respondents. ) FENG OUYANG individually and as trustee of ) The Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I, Cross-Petitioner, Vs. JEANNE KWONG, GARY C. WONG and DOES 1 thru 20, inclusive, Cross-Respondents. ) wee MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS 1we won nw es wWwN = 10 GARY WONG, Cross-Petitioner, Vs. ) ) ) } FENG OUYANG, individually and as Trustee ) of The Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I, ) JENNIFER )SHUK-HAN KWOK, JEANNE) KWONG, Individually and as trustee ofthe) Stan Kwong Irrevocable Trust I, and ) DOES 1 through 20, Inclusive, ) Cross-Respondents. ) ) ) ) ) AND CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS ROLE OF CROSS DEFENDANT FENG OUYANG IN THIS LITIGATION. Ms. Ouyang is a party in Action # PES-10-293505, hereinafter referred to as “the Insurance Trust case”. She has no beneficial interest in the estate or trusts of Stan Kwong or the claims of the Kwong family against Stan Kwong’s widow and children. Ms. Ouyang is merely a friend of Jennifer Kwok and the decedent Stanley Kwong. During the process of Stan Kwong’s estate planning, J ennifer and Stan asked that she act as trustee of a life insurance trust to pay out insurance proceeds to J ennifer and the children in the event of Stan’s death. At the time, she was told that Stan was engaged in estate planning and was setting up a trust that would receive proceeds of a life insurance policy in the event of his death. She was also asked to sign a paper agreeing to be a trustee. She was told that Stan was setting up the policies and there was nothing for her to do at the time. Later, she learned of Stan Kwong’s death. Prior to Stan’s death, she was not informed or advised of any activity or actions regarding any life insurance policies that Stan was purchasing or using to fund his trust. She merely assumed that Stan was taking care of setting up life insurance as part of his overall estate planning. Upon his death, she learned that no policies had named the Life Insurance Trust as a beneficiary. After Stan Kwong’s death, Ms. Ouyang was informed that Stan bad made the trust an owner of a Lincoln National life policy and that Stan, his sister Jeanne Kwong, and an insurance broker, Gary Wong, had all engaged in activity to transfer ownership of the policy to the trust. But, they never made MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS . 2Card Aue WN ee Bw mwnN RYN HNN KN DK TTF e EP ee CH rs SB RRR BREAN SEO wWADAH EWN HS ~~ the Life Insurance Trust a beneficiary of the policy. Ms. Ouyang did notify Lincoln National Life that she believed that a mistake had been made and the Life Insurance Trust should be the beneficiary. However, Lincoln National honored only the beneficiary designation and paid the funds to Stan Kwong’s elderly mother. Thus the trust never was funded with the proceeds and Ms. Ouyang never had any Lincoln National policy proceeds to administer as a trustee of the must, The beneficiaries of the Life Insurance Trust (Jennifer Kwok and her children) sued Jeanne Kwong and Gary Wong claiming that they handled the transfer of ownership but negligently failed to change the beneficiary. Jeanne Kwong named Feng Ouyang as a cross defendant alleging that Feng Ouyang was named as a trustee of the Life Insurance Trust even though Feng Ouyang was never involved with the transfer of the Lincoln policy to the trust or even made aware of the actions of Stan Kwong, Jeanne Kwong, or Gary Wong prior to Stan’s death. Accordingly, Feng Ouyang cross complained against Jeanne Kwong and Gary Wong claiming that her liability, if any, derives from the active fault of Jeanne Kwong, Gary Wong, or others. Ms. Ouyang is unable to respond financially to the claims by Jeanne Kwong for indemnity in this case and has limited funds. She is unable to engage in any active role in the litigation and has been “on the sidelines” appearing in Court only as mandated by the law. In summary, Ms.Ouyang had no active or passive involvement in the problems that led to the failure to change the life insurance beneficiary. She simply was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and has been drug into a much larger dispute that does not relate to her or anything she has done. PROPOSAL FOR TRIAL OF THE INSURANCE TRUST CASE. The insurance trust litigation should be tried last, if at all. The insurance trust case, although technically a discreet matter, is really the “tail of a larger dog”. Although there are multiple “cases”, the consolidated litigation is really one large dispute between Stan Kwong’s extended family on the one hand and his wife and children on the other hand: The insurance trust issues are simply one dimension of the overall battle. This group of consolidated matters is effectively one case which will probably be settled on a “global” settlement basis of all issues (including the life insurance trust issues). It will waste judicial resources to try the life insurance trust as one of the first trials which could Jead to an unnecessary trial on a discrete issue. If the Court sets the insurance trust for trial, first, the issues in the insurance trust are not sufficiently global to induce the parties to settle the entire case. By MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS 3wo wndnau pp BNE Wyn ve PNR NNRNKYD EET eFPe reper s SBRBARKARBBEHKRF SEM AA HWEHWNHH DO ~~ ue contrast, the issues in the larger case are broad enough that the parties will want to include the insurance trust litigation as part of a larger global settlement. Stated otherwise, the insurance trust case is too small ofa tail to “wag the dog”, but the other litigation is a large enough dog to wag the insurance trust tail. : From the perspective of Feng Ouyang a trial would be extremely burdensome financially, and she would like to avoid incurring the extra fees and costs if that can be avoided. In the probate court and] in the JAMS mediation, the court and the mediator have accommodated Ms.Ouyang’s need to avoid running up legal bills by limiting appearance and actions except when the insurance trust issues are involved. Respectfully submitted, BRYAN ¢ HINSHAW, A PROF. CORP. Attomeys for Feng Ouyang Dated: April 14, 2011 By: Meat MM. Cigar Richard M. Bryan MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS 4Oo wo TA HW PWN on Nowe RE SEQUENCING OF TRIALS sealed envelope addressed as follows: Paul and Christine Tour-Sarkissian Tour-Sarkissian Law Offices 211 Gough Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94102 (415)626-8189 Daniel Bernhard Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP 150 Spear Street, Suite 1800 San Francisco, CA 94105 (415)495-4332 Tam employed in the city and county of San Francisco, California. I am over the age of 18 and am not a party to the within action. My business address is 425 California Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, California 94104. On April 15, 2011, I served the document described as: MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES ON BEHALF OF FENG OUYANG on the interested parties in this action by placing a true and correct copy thereof enclosed in a Don C. Lippenberger Lippenberger, Thompson, Welch, Sokoro & Gilbert LLC 201 Tamat Vista Blvd. Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415)927-5210 Edward Zusman Markun Zusman Compton LLP 465 California Street, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 (415)434-4505 Xx (BY MAIL) In accordance with the regular mail collection and processing practices of Bryan * Hinshaw, with which I am familiar, by means of which mail is deposited postage paid with the U.S. Postal Service at San Francisco, California that same day in the ordinary course of business. I deposited such sealed envelope for mailing on this same date following ordinary business practices. (BY EXPRESS MAIL OR OVERNIGHT DELIVERY) By placing such sealed envelope, delivery fees paid, in a facility regularly maintained by the USPS for receipt of express mail; or by placing such sealed envelope, delivery fees paid, in a facility regularly maintained by an overnight delivery service for receipt of such documents. (CCP § 1013). : PROOF OF SERVICE,Oo Oo IN KAA BF WN wn nn NN NNN YD SF PF SFP ee Te Se Ors S&S SS ADA EGEH KH SCO wOAAN RE WH HS woe x (BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION) by transmitting to a facsimile machine maintained by the recipient at the facsimile machine telephone number as to SEE (41 5)626-8189, (415)495-4332. (415)927-5210 and (415)434-4505 only. (BY PERSONAL SERVICE) By personally delivering copies to the person served. _ I delivered such envelope by hand to the offices of the addressee pursuant to CCP = 1011. I caused such envelope to be delivered by hand to the office of addressee. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct. Executed on April 15, 2011, at San Frapejs CAROL WHITNEY PROOF OF SERVICE