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  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
  • Dvk Realty Llc v. Cremb Realty, Inc. Other Matters - Contract - Other document preview
						
                                

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FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 EXHIBIT I FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 1 1 2 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 3 COUNTY OF NASSAU 4 -----------------------------------------X 5 DVK REALTY LLC, 6 Plaintiff, 7 -against- Index No. 8 617063/2019 9 CREMB REALTY INC., 10 Defendant. 11 -----------------------------------------X 12 June 15, 2021 13 9:56 a.m. 14 15 ZOOM VIRTUAL EXAMINATION BEFORE TRIAL of 16 CREMB REALTY INC., by ROSE ANN BELLUSO, the 17 Defendant herein, taken by the Plaintiff, 18 pursuant to Article 31 of the Civil Practice Law 19 and Rules of Testimony, and Order, held at the 20 above-mentioned time, virtually before Edward 21 Leto, a Notary Public of the State of New York. 22 23 24 25 Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 2 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S: 3 4 RIVKIN RADLER LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff 5 926 RXR Plaza, West Tower, 9th Floor Uniondale, New York 11556-3823 6 BY: JEREMY HONIG, ESQ. 7 (via Zoom videoconference) 8 9 LAW OFFICE OF JAMES F. O'BRIEN Attorneys for Defendant 10 500 North Broadway, Suite 105 Jericho, New York 11753-2111 11 BY: JAMES F. O'BRIEN, ESQ. 12 (via Zoom videoconference) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 3 1 2 S T I P U L A T I O N S 3 IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by the 4 attorneys for the respective parties hereto, 5 that: 6 All rights provided by the C.P.L.R., and 7 Part 221 of the Uniform Rules for the Conduct of 8 Depositions, including the right to object to 9 any question, except as to form, or to move to 10 strike any testimony at this examination is 11 reserved; and in addition, the failure to object 12 to any question or to move to strike any 13 testimony at this examination shall not be a bar 14 or waiver to make such motion at, and is 15 reserved to, the trial of this action. 16 This deposition may be sworn to by the 17 witness being examined before a Notary Public 18 other than the Notary Public before whom this 19 examination was begun, but the failure to do so 20 or to return the original of this deposition to 21 counsel, shall not be deemed a waiver of the 22 rights provided by Rule 3116 of the C.P.L.R., 23 and shall be controlled thereby. 24 The filing of the original of this 25 deposition is waived. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 4 1 2 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED, that a copy of 3 this examination shall be furnished to the 4 attorney for the witness being examined without 5 charge. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 5 1 R. Belluso 2 THE REPORTER: Due to the 3 need for this deposition to take 4 place remotely because of the 5 Government’s order for social 6 distancing, the parties will 7 stipulate that the court reporter 8 may swear in the witness over the 9 Veritext virtual videoconference 10 and that the witness has verified 11 that she is in fact Rose Ann 12 Belluso. 13 Counsel, do you so 14 stipulate? 15 MR. O'BRIEN: So 16 stipulated. 17 MR. HONIG: Yes. 18 R O S E A N N B E L L U S O, the Witness 19 herein, having been first duly sworn by a 20 Notary Public in and of the State of New 21 York, was examined and testified as 22 follows: 23 EXAMINATION BY 24 MR. HONIG: 25 Q Please state your full name for Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 6 1 R. Belluso 2 the record. 3 A Rose Ann Frontero Belluso. 4 Q What is your current address? 5 A 1612 Wolfe Lane, Dowingtown, 6 Pennsylvania 19335. 7 Q Good morning, Ms. Belluso. 8 A Good morning. 9 Q My name is Jeremy Honig. I'm an 10 attorney with Rivkin Radler. We represent the 11 Plaintiff DVK Realty LLC in a lawsuit that it 12 commenced against CREMB Realty Inc. I'm going 13 to be asking you some questions this morning 14 regarding the subject matter of the lawsuit. 15 I ask that you please keep your 16 answers verbal. You see we have a court 17 reporter who cannot take down nods of the head 18 or any similar gestures. Please allow me to 19 finish my question before you begin your answer 20 and I will allow you to complete your answer 21 before I ask the next question, so that way we 22 have a nice clean transcript. 23 If you don't understand one of my 24 questions, please let me know and I'll be happy 25 to rephrase it. If you answer a question, I'm Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 7 1 R. Belluso 2 going to assume that you've understood it. If 3 you need a break at any time, just let me know 4 and as long as there isn't a question 5 outstanding, we can take a break. 6 Do you understand these 7 instructions? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Have you ever testified at a 10 deposition before? 11 A No. 12 Q Have you ever testified at trial 13 before? 14 A No. 15 Q By whom are you currently 16 employed? 17 A I'm really -- I don't understand 18 that question. I mean, employment, I act as -- 19 I don't know. 20 Q Do you have a job? 21 A I don't know how to answer the 22 question. 23 Q Do you have a job? 24 A I have a job, yes. But it's -- I 25 have a job. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 8 1 R. Belluso 2 Q Okay. And by whom are you 3 employed? 4 A Well, I'm not -- employment to me 5 indicates I would receive a W-2. 6 Q Are you self-employed? 7 A I'm self-employed. 8 Q And what is your occupation? 9 A One, I'm treasurer of CREMB Realty 10 Inc. 11 Q Do you have any other employment 12 other than as treasurer of CREMB Realty Inc.? 13 A Yes. 14 Q What is that employment? 15 A I work for Ringo Starr Art. 16 Q Ringo Starr Art? 17 A Correct. 18 Q Is that an art gallery? 19 A No, it's for Ringo Starr, the 20 Beatle. 21 Q And what is your job title? 22 A Sales and public relations. 23 Q And what is your highest level of 24 education? 25 A I have an associate's degree. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 9 1 R. Belluso 2 Q Did you review any documents in 3 preparation for today's deposition? 4 A No. 5 Q Did you speak to anyone other than 6 your attorney in preparation for today's 7 deposition? 8 A No. 9 Q Do you know someone by the name of 10 Bernadette Frontero? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Are you related to her? 13 A Yes. 14 Q How are you related to her? 15 A We're first cousins. 16 Q Are you aware that she testified 17 at a deposition a few weeks ago in this matter? 18 A Yes. 19 Q Did she tell you about that 20 deposition? 21 A No. She told me she testified. 22 Q Did she tell you anything about 23 the questions that I asked or the answers that 24 she gave? 25 A No. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 10 1 R. Belluso 2 Q Did she tell you about any of the 3 documents that I may have shown her during the 4 deposition? 5 A No. 6 Q Did you talk to her about your 7 testimony today? 8 A Just that I was -- she knows that 9 I'm being deposed. 10 Q But you didn't talk about what 11 questions might be asked or what your answers 12 might be or anything like that? 13 A Just that I'm appearing as 14 treasurer. 15 Q Did you talk about the subject 16 matter of the litigation at all? 17 A For this hearing? I mean, 18 obviously we've talked about the subject matter 19 of this litigation, but not in preparation for 20 this hearing. 21 Q I was asking specifically in 22 preparation for this deposition whether you had 23 spoken about the subject matter, not in general? 24 A Oh, in general, yes. 25 Specifically, no. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 11 1 R. Belluso 2 Q Are you an officer of the entity 3 known as CREMB Realty Inc.? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Do you have a specific position 6 with CREMB Realty Inc.? 7 A Yes, I'm treasurer. 8 Q Moving forward, I'm going to refer 9 to CREMB Realty Inc. as "CREMB," okay? 10 A Got it. 11 Q How long have you been the 12 treasurer of CREMB Realty Inc.? 13 A 21 years. 14 Q And what are your duties as 15 treasurer of CREMB? 16 A I'm responsible for the corporate 17 books and accounting. I receive rent checks 18 from two properties. Deposit them. Write 19 distribution checks to the shareholders in their 20 pro rata shares. Pay the expenses of the 21 corporation, if we have any. I hire an 22 accountant once a year, a CPA to file our 23 corporate tax return, and I issue K-1s to the 24 shareholders. 25 Q How many shareholders are there Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 12 1 R. Belluso 2 for CREMB? 3 A Six. 4 Q And how many officers are there? 5 A Four. Four officers and a 6 chairman of the board. 7 Q Can you name the officers and 8 their positions currently? 9 A Yes. Maria Vitale is president, 10 Cecilia Frontero is vice president, Carlo Vitale 11 is secretary and I am the treasurer. 12 Q How long has Maria Vitale been the 13 president of CREMB? 14 A 21 years. 15 Q How long has Cecilia Frontero been 16 vice president of CREMB? 17 A 21 years. 18 Q Have the officers and their 19 positions remained the same for the past 21 20 years? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Have there ever been any other 23 officers of CREMB other than the ones you just 24 named? 25 A No. Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 13 1 R. Belluso 2 Q Does CREMB have corporate meetings 3 on a regular basis? 4 A No. 5 Q Has CREMB ever had any corporate 6 meetings? 7 A Yes, early on in the inception of 8 the corporation we did. The first couple of 9 years until we got kind of jelled into what the 10 entity was which we realized was very simple and 11 really I'm the only active -- somebody doing 12 something active which is payments. 13 So, I mean, no, we don't have 14 regular meetings, but if there's an issue we can 15 get together. But it's not official, official 16 meetings. I would say we haven't done that in 17 quite a -- many, many years. 18 Q When you did have official 19 meetings, were there meeting minutes that were 20 kept? 21 A No. 22 Q Were any resolutions ever passed 23 with respect to CREMB, corporate resolutions? 24 A Not that I recall. 25 Q Is there a shareholders agreement Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 14 1 R. Belluso 2 for CREMB? 3 A Yes. 4 Q Do you have a copy of that 5 shareholders agreement? 6 A Yes. 7 MR. HONIG: I would ask 8 that you turn that over to counsel 9 and, Counsel, I ask that that be 10 produced, please. 11 MR. O'BRIEN: Jeremy, 12 again, I'm going to take that 13 under advisement and ask you after 14 the deposition just send it under 15 separate cover. 16 MR. HONIG: Can we 17 stipulate that everything that I 18 request you're going to request 19 that I put in writing? 20 MR. O'BRIEN: Yes. 21 MR. HONIG: Okay. 22 Q What year was CREMB Realty Inc. 23 incorporated? 24 A 2000. 25 Q What is the business of CREMB Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 15 1 R. Belluso 2 Realty Inc.? 3 A To accept rent checks. 4 Q For? 5 A Two properties. 6 Q Where are those two properties 7 located? 8 A Oyster Bay. 9 Q Do they have addresses that 10 they're known by? 11 A I refer to them as Pine Hollow 12 Road. 13 Q If I told you that one of them was 14 245 Pine Hollow Road, would that refresh your 15 recollection of the address of one of the 16 properties? 17 A I wouldn't dispute you but I 18 couldn't concur that I know that for sure. 19 Q And how about 151-179 Pine Hollow 20 Road, is that the other address -- 21 A Again -- 22 Q Hold on. Let me just finish. 23 A Yes. 24 Q Is that the address of one of the 25 properties? Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 16 1 R. Belluso 2 A Again, I wouldn't dispute you but 3 I couldn't confirm it. You know, I just know 4 them as Pine Hollow Road. 5 Q Can you describe the two 6 properties? 7 A Do you mean -- 8 Q Well, I'll ask a more specific 9 question. Are these commercial properties or 10 residential properties? 11 A Commercial property. 12 Q Are there stores or restaurants or 13 businesses that are being operated out of those 14 properties? 15 A Yes. 16 Q Do you know what stores or 17 restaurants currently are being operated from 18 those properties? 19 A Well, currently I couldn't tell 20 you for sure because I haven't been out to the 21 properties in a number of years and I don't know 22 what businesses are currently operating there. 23 Q What about the last you knew, what 24 businesses were operating there? 25 A The last I'm aware of, one Veritext Legal Solutions 212-267-6868 www.veritext.com 516-608-2400 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 07/12/2022 02:37 PM INDEX NO. 617063/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 76 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/12/2022 Page 17 1 R. Belluso 2 property has a McDonald's, the DVK property, and 3 the other property, the Bay Auto Mall had a 4 flagship CVS, a Dunkin Donuts, a pet store of 5 some sort. So, it's a bigger -- yeah, a strip 6 mall. 7 Q Now, you referred to one of the 8 properties as "the DVK property." What did you 9 mean by that? 10 A The one that's owned -- the one 11 that's -- we have two separate tenants. One 12 tenant is DVK and the other -- that's the lease 13 and the other one is Bay Auto Mall. That's what 14 I get two checks from. I said I receive two 15 checks every month. 16 Q So CREMB Realty Inc. has a tenant 17 in each of the properties, correct? 18 A Has a what?