On October 31, 2019 a
Order
was filed
involving a dispute between
Beletsis, Daphne,
Rainey, Yvonne,
Karki, Bobby,
Leitch, John Dylan,
Thomas, Emmanuel,
and
Davis, Zachary Nash,
Garcia, Moises Tenorio,
Garcia, Rafael,
Guevara, Christopher,
Kahlon, Najpreet Singh,
Karki, Bobby,
King, Derek,
Leitch, John Dylan,
Leon, Stefan Matias,
Mclaughlin, Quinn,
Takayama, Jordan Keiichi,
Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc.,
Theta Iota Chapter Of Theta Chi Fraternity,
Thomas, Emmanuel,
Visacki, Brad,
for (23) Unlimited Other PI / PD / WD
in the District Court of Santa Cruz County.
Preview
1 THE FIERBERG NATIONAL LAW GROUP, PLLC
DOUGLAS E. FIERBERG (admitted pro hac vice)
2 dfierberg@tfnlgroup.com
JONATHON N. FAZZOLA (admitted pro hac vice)
3 jfazzola@tfnlgroup.com
161 East Front Street, Suite 200
4 Traverse City, MI 49684
Telephone: (231) 933-0180
5 Fax: (231) 252-8100
6 SAWYER & LABAR LLP
IVO LABAR, State Bar No. 203492
7 labar@sawyerlabar.com
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 108
8 San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 262-3820
9
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
10 DAPHNE BELETSIS
YVONNE RAINEY
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12 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
13 COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ
14 DAPHNE BELETSIS, individually, and as Case No. 19CV03287
Administrator of the ESTATE OF (Assigned to Hon. Paul Marigonda, Dept.
15 ALEXANDER BELETSIS, and 10)
YVONNE RAINEY, surviving parent of
16 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING
ALEXANDER BELETSIS, deceased DEFENDANT THETA CHI
17 FRATERNITY, INC.’S MOTION TO
Plaintiffs, SEVER PLAINTIFFS’ EQUITABLE
18 vs. CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO AND
SUCCESSOR LIABILITY
19 THETA CHI FRATERNITY, INC., et al.,
Hearing Date: December 21, 2022
20 Time: 8:30 a.m.
Defendants. Dept.: 10
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Complaint Filed: October 31, 2019
22 FAC Filed: February 5, 2020
Trial Date: March 14, 2023
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[PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER
1 [PROPOSED] ORDER
2 Defendant Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. filed a Motion to Sever Plaintiffs’ Equitable Claims
3 of Alter Ego and Successor Liability, which was heard by the Court on December 21, 2022. The
4 Court confirmed and adopted its tentative ruling in full as the final ruling, without modification.
5 The Court’s tentative ruling was as follows, and becomes the Order of the Court:
6 MOTION TO SEVER PLAINTIFF’S EQUITABLE CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO
7 AND SUCCESSOR LIABILITY
8 The Court has reviewed all of the pleadings, including Plaintiffs’ Further Opposition and
9 Theta Chi’s Sur-reply.
10 Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. (TCFI) moves to sever Plaintiffs’ equitable claims of alter-ego
11 and successor liability from their legal claims for purposes of trial, and to have the equitable
12 claims tried only after the jury returns a verdict of direct liability against the Chapter. Theta Chi
13 asserts that severance will promote judicial efficiency and economy, avoid confusing the jury, and
14 prevent prejudice to Theta Chi.
15 In addition to their equitable claims against TCFI for alter-ego and successor liability,
16 Plaintiffs claim that TCFI has direct and vicarious liability in this matter, because TCFI had the
17 ability to control the conduct of the Chapter. The evidence which Plaintiffs will present to show
18 TCFI’s ability to control will undoubtedly overlap with their evidence related to their equitable
19 claims of alter-ego and successor liability. The Court is not therefore not persuaded that a
20 severance of the equitable claims from the trial of the legal claims will would further convenience
21 of witnesses or be conducive to judicial economy; or that TCFI will suffer prejudice from the
22 introduction of alter-ego evidence regarding its organizational structure, etc. To the extent that
23 TCFI is concerned that evidence as to its financial condition might be prejudicial, it has available
24 to it a motion to bifurcate the trial of Plaintiffs’ punitive damage claim.
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[PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER
1 IT IS SO ORDERED.
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3 DATED: ______________________
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JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
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[PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER
1 PROOF OF SERVICE
2 At the time of service, I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. I am
employed in the County of San Francisco, State of California. My business address is 1700
3 Montgomery Street, Suite 108, San Francisco, CA 94111.
4 On December 22, 2022, I served true copies of the foregoing document(s) described as
[PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY, INC.’S
5 MOTION TO SEVER PLAINTIFFS’ EQUITABLE CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO AND
SUCCESSOR LIABILITY
6
on the interested parties in this action as follows:
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8 Michael C. Osborne, Esq. Dan Friedenthal, Esq.
Elaine Kobylecki, Esq. Friedenthal, Heffeman & Brown, LLP
9 Cokinos | Young 1520 W. Colorado Blvd., 2nd Floor
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 390 Pasadena, CA 91105
10 San Francisco, CA 94111
mosborne@cokinoslaw.com dfriedenthal@FHBlawyers.com
11 ekobylecki@cokinoslaw.com
Attorney for Defendant Theta Iota Chapter of Theta
Attorneys for Defendant Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. Chi Fraternity
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BY E-MAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION: In accordance with the California
14 Code of Civil Procedure § 1010.6(e), I caused the document(s) to be sent from e-mail address
guzman@sawyerlabar.com to the person(s) at the email address(es) above. No electronic
15 messages or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a
reasonable time after the transmission.
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I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
18 foregoing is true and correct.
19 Executed on December 22, 2022, at San Francisco, California.
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Sarah Guzman
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[PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER
Preview
1 THE FIERBERG NATIONAL LAW GROUP, PLLC DOUGLAS E. FIERBERG (admitted pro hac vice) 2 dfierberg@tfnlgroup.com JONATHON N. FAZZOLA (admitted pro hac vice) 3 jfazzola@tfnlgroup.com 161 East Front Street, Suite 200 4 Traverse City, MI 49684 Telephone: (231) 933-0180 5 Fax: (231) 252-8100 6 SAWYER & LABAR LLP IVO LABAR, State Bar No. 203492 7 labar@sawyerlabar.com 1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 108 8 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 262-3820 9 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 10 DAPHNE BELETSIS YVONNE RAINEY 11 12 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA 13 COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ 14 DAPHNE BELETSIS, individually, and as Case No. 19CV03287 Administrator of the ESTATE OF (Assigned to Hon. Paul Marigonda, Dept. 15 ALEXANDER BELETSIS, and 10) YVONNE RAINEY, surviving parent of 16 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING ALEXANDER BELETSIS, deceased DEFENDANT THETA CHI 17 FRATERNITY, INC.’S MOTION TO Plaintiffs, SEVER PLAINTIFFS’ EQUITABLE 18 vs. CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO AND SUCCESSOR LIABILITY 19 THETA CHI FRATERNITY, INC., et al., Hearing Date: December 21, 2022 20 Time: 8:30 a.m. Defendants. Dept.: 10 21 Complaint Filed: October 31, 2019 22 FAC Filed: February 5, 2020 Trial Date: March 14, 2023 23 24 25 26 27 28 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER 1 [PROPOSED] ORDER 2 Defendant Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. filed a Motion to Sever Plaintiffs’ Equitable Claims 3 of Alter Ego and Successor Liability, which was heard by the Court on December 21, 2022. The 4 Court confirmed and adopted its tentative ruling in full as the final ruling, without modification. 5 The Court’s tentative ruling was as follows, and becomes the Order of the Court: 6 MOTION TO SEVER PLAINTIFF’S EQUITABLE CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO 7 AND SUCCESSOR LIABILITY 8 The Court has reviewed all of the pleadings, including Plaintiffs’ Further Opposition and 9 Theta Chi’s Sur-reply. 10 Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. (TCFI) moves to sever Plaintiffs’ equitable claims of alter-ego 11 and successor liability from their legal claims for purposes of trial, and to have the equitable 12 claims tried only after the jury returns a verdict of direct liability against the Chapter. Theta Chi 13 asserts that severance will promote judicial efficiency and economy, avoid confusing the jury, and 14 prevent prejudice to Theta Chi. 15 In addition to their equitable claims against TCFI for alter-ego and successor liability, 16 Plaintiffs claim that TCFI has direct and vicarious liability in this matter, because TCFI had the 17 ability to control the conduct of the Chapter. The evidence which Plaintiffs will present to show 18 TCFI’s ability to control will undoubtedly overlap with their evidence related to their equitable 19 claims of alter-ego and successor liability. The Court is not therefore not persuaded that a 20 severance of the equitable claims from the trial of the legal claims will would further convenience 21 of witnesses or be conducive to judicial economy; or that TCFI will suffer prejudice from the 22 introduction of alter-ego evidence regarding its organizational structure, etc. To the extent that 23 TCFI is concerned that evidence as to its financial condition might be prejudicial, it has available 24 to it a motion to bifurcate the trial of Plaintiffs’ punitive damage claim. 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 2 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER 1 IT IS SO ORDERED. 2 3 DATED: ______________________ 4 5 JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER 1 PROOF OF SERVICE 2 At the time of service, I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. I am employed in the County of San Francisco, State of California. My business address is 1700 3 Montgomery Street, Suite 108, San Francisco, CA 94111. 4 On December 22, 2022, I served true copies of the foregoing document(s) described as [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY, INC.’S 5 MOTION TO SEVER PLAINTIFFS’ EQUITABLE CLAIMS OF ALTER EGO AND SUCCESSOR LIABILITY 6 on the interested parties in this action as follows: 7 8 Michael C. Osborne, Esq. Dan Friedenthal, Esq. Elaine Kobylecki, Esq. Friedenthal, Heffeman & Brown, LLP 9 Cokinos | Young 1520 W. Colorado Blvd., 2nd Floor One Embarcadero Center, Suite 390 Pasadena, CA 91105 10 San Francisco, CA 94111 mosborne@cokinoslaw.com dfriedenthal@FHBlawyers.com 11 ekobylecki@cokinoslaw.com Attorney for Defendant Theta Iota Chapter of Theta Attorneys for Defendant Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. Chi Fraternity 12 13 BY E-MAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION: In accordance with the California 14 Code of Civil Procedure § 1010.6(e), I caused the document(s) to be sent from e-mail address guzman@sawyerlabar.com to the person(s) at the email address(es) above. No electronic 15 messages or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time after the transmission. 16 17 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the 18 foregoing is true and correct. 19 Executed on December 22, 2022, at San Francisco, California. 20 21 Sarah Guzman 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4 [PROPOSED] ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT THETA CHI FRATERNITY’S MOTION TO SEVER