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Thornton Davidson #166487
THORNTON DAVIDSON, P.C.
1195 W. Shaw Ave., Suite A
Fresno, California 93711
Tel: (559) 476-5064
Fax: (559) 421-0368
E-mail: thornton@thorntondavidsonlaw.com
Pamela D. Simmons #160523
LAW OFFICE OF SIMMONS & PURDY
2425 Porter Street, Suite 10
Soquel, California 95073
Tel: (831) 464-6884
Fax: (831) 464-6885
E-mail: pamela@pamelaw.com
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Attorneys for Plaintiff JASON NEEL
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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
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IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ
13 ORK RR
14 JASON NEEL, Case No.: 22CV01758
15 Plaintiff,
Vv. DECLARATION OF GUARDIAN AD
16 LITEM, BRANDI JONES CONFIRMING
SUPERIOR LOAN SERVICING; ASSET DELIVERY OF ALL OUTSTANDING
17 DEFAULT MANAGEMENT, INC.; UNITED DISCOVERY RESPONSES, INCLUDING
STATES REAL ESTATE CORPORATION; RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S
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CNA EQUITIES GROUP, LLC; REQUEST TO HAVE CERTAIN
19 AND RUSHMYFILE, BUSINESS MATTERS DEEMED ADMITTED
ENTITY FORM UNKNOWN, and
20 VIGIL REAL ESTATE, BUSINESS ENTITY Date: September 12, 2023
FORM UNKNOWN, and DOES 1 to 50, Time: 8:30 a.m.
21 Dept.: 5
inclusive,
22 Defendants.
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24 I, BRANDI JONES, declare and say:
25 1 Tam adult residing in the County of Santa Cruz and Guardian ad Litem for the
26 Plaintiff Jason Neel in the above-referenced matter.
27 2. If called upon to testify as to the matters stated herein, I would testify willingly
28 and competently.
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DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM
3 The matters stated herein are based on my personal knowledge. Those which are
not are stated on information and belief to the best of my ability.
4, I was appointed Guardian ad Litem for Plaintiff on May 19, 2023. At the time I
was appointed, responses to Defendant Rushmyfile’s discovery had been due on May 4, 2023,
which was later moved to June 2, 2023, to give me additional time to familiarize myself with the
file.
5 Given the depth, volume and thoroughness of the discovery, which included the
Requests for Admission, I felt that reviewing the documents was not enough. Firstly, there were
several discovery requests and questions which could not be answered by documents in the file.
Although I consulted with Mr. Neel’s counsel, Thornton Davidson and Simmons & Purdy, I felt it
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was necessary to attempt to meet (or at least talk) with Mr. Neel, especially to discuss his
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interactions with his former attorney, Donald Schwartz, who had engaged Cross-Defendant Cody
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Molica to serve as his Attorney-in-Fact. This resulted in Mr. Molica stealing over $1M from Mr.
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Neel. It was also Mr. Schwartz who commenced the current actions but was later substituted out
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in favor.of Mr. Davidson and Simmons & Purdy.
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6. Starting in June I attempted to contact Mr. Neel, as did Mr. Neel’s counsel. There
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were multiple periods of time over the last several months when Mr. Neel was incarcerated both
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in the County Jail and several mental health facilities which made him unreachable. When he
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was finally released and returned home, I attempted to contact him via email and mail. I never
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heard from Mr. Neel nor, as I understand it, have his counsel.
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7 Therefore, over 1,000 pages of documents, including the files from the 2019 loan,
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(which the subject 2020 loan was refinance of) had to be reviewed. Those files had been
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produced by Defendants U.S. Real Estate Corporation, CNA Equities Group, Rushmyfile, and
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Donald Schwartz, and third-party witnesses/entities Saxe Mortgage and two title company files.
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It was necessary as well to discuss the deposition of Jesus Vigil with Mr. Neel’s counsel.
25 8 Responses were prepared in late August and early September, which I verified.
26 All outstanding discovery responses, including Rushmyfile’s Requests for Admissions have been
27 served on the Defendants.
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DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM
9 My apologies to the Court and Rushmyfile and its counsel for the delay in
providing these responses. There was no intent to delay; due to the complicated nature of this
matter, it just took a long time to assemble all the important facts to provide verified responses.
10. I understand that Rushmyfile has requested attorney’s fees of $3,500.00 in
sanctions as part of its motion. Under the circumstances, I do not believe that I should be
assessed those sanctions.
11. Given the delay in providing the discovery, Mr. Neel’s counsel have offered to
reimburse Rushmyfile $1,000.00 to offset the cost of their counsel’s work.
12. Again, my apologies to the Court and Rushmyfile for the delay occasioned by my
lack of familiarity with this extensive case file.
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I declare under penalty of perjury according to the laws of the State of California.
il
12 Brandi Jones
Dated: September 7, 2023
13 Brandi Jones
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DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM
PROOF OF SERVICE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA _ )
COUNTY OF FRESNO ) Ss.
I certify and declare as follows:
I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of the County aforesaid; I am over the age|
of eighteen years and not a party to the within above entitled action; my business address is 1195
W. Shaw Ave., Ste. A, Fresno, California 93711, which is located in the county where the mailing
described below took place.
I am readily familiar with the business practice at my place of business for collection and
processing of correspondence for mailing with the United Stated Postal Service. Correspondence
so collected and processed is deposited with the United States Postal Service that same day in the
10 ordinary course of business.
11 On September 8, 2023, at my place of business in Fresno, California, I served the within:
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DECLARATION OF GUARDIAN AD LITEM, BRANDI JONES CONFIRMING
13 DELIVERY OF ALL OUTSTANDING DISCOVERY RESPONSES, INCLUDING
RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO HAVE CERTAIN MATTERS
14 DEEMED ADMITTED
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as follows:
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Edward Egan Smith Attorney for Defendant United States Real
17 STEYER LOWENTHAL BOODROOKAS Estate Corporation
ALVAREZ & SMITH LLP
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235 Pine Street, 15" floor
19 San Francisco, CA 94104
smith@steyerlaw.com
20 mdelbridge@steyerlaw.com
(Email only)
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Jacoby Perez Attorney for Defendant United States Real
22 Geraci Law Firm and Conferences Estate Corporation
90 Discovery
23 Irvine, CA 92618
j-perez@geracillp.com
24 concierge@geracillp.com
25 (Email only)
Michael Beuselinck Attorney for CNA Equity Group, LLC
26 Michael Beuselinck, P.C.
490 43" St., #37
27 Oakland, CA 94609
28 mike@lawmtb.com
(Email only)
PROOF OF SERVICE
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Kristi M. Wells Attorney for Asset Default Management, Inc.
LAW OFFICE OF EDWARD T. WEBER
17151 Newhope St., Ste. 203
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
kristi@eweberlegal.com
ed@eweberlegal.com
(Email only)
Mark J. Sarni Attorney for Rush My File
SOUTH BAY ADR
3424 Carson Street, Ste 350
Torrance, CA 90503
southbayadr@gmail.com
(Email and mail)
[Xx] BY EMAIL: I electronically transmitted a true and correct copy thereof to the
10 interested parties’ electronic notification address(es) of record before close of business for the
purpose of effecting service and the transmission was reported as complete and without error.
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12 [xX] BY U.S. MAIL: I placed a true and correct copy thereof enclosed in a sealed
envelope with postage thereon fully prepaid in the United States at Fresno, California
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U] BY OVERNIGHT MAIL: I caused each envelope with postage thereon fully
14 prepaid, to be sent by overnight express delivery carrier
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t] BY FACSIMILE: I caused a true and correct copy thereofto be sent by facsimile
16 transmission to the above-listed numbers.
17 [] BY HAND DELIVERY: I caused a true and correct thereof to be delivered by hand
to the offices listed above.
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19 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
foregoing is true and correct.
-
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Execyfed on ptemb 2023, at Fresno, California.
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, Letitia Sanches
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PROOF OF SERVICE
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Thornton Davidson #166487 THORNTON DAVIDSON, P.C. 1195 W. Shaw Ave., Suite A Fresno, California 93711 Tel: (559) 476-5064 Fax: (559) 421-0368 E-mail: thornton@thorntondavidsonlaw.com Pamela D. Simmons #160523 LAW OFFICE OF SIMMONS & PURDY 2425 Porter Street, Suite 10 Soquel, California 95073 Tel: (831) 464-6884 Fax: (831) 464-6885 E-mail: pamela@pamelaw.com 10 Attorneys for Plaintiff JASON NEEL 11 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 12 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ 13 ORK RR 14 JASON NEEL, Case No.: 22CV01758 15 Plaintiff, Vv. DECLARATION OF GUARDIAN AD 16 LITEM, BRANDI JONES CONFIRMING SUPERIOR LOAN SERVICING; ASSET DELIVERY OF ALL OUTSTANDING 17 DEFAULT MANAGEMENT, INC.; UNITED DISCOVERY RESPONSES, INCLUDING STATES REAL ESTATE CORPORATION; RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S 18 CNA EQUITIES GROUP, LLC; REQUEST TO HAVE CERTAIN 19 AND RUSHMYFILE, BUSINESS MATTERS DEEMED ADMITTED ENTITY FORM UNKNOWN, and 20 VIGIL REAL ESTATE, BUSINESS ENTITY Date: September 12, 2023 FORM UNKNOWN, and DOES 1 to 50, Time: 8:30 a.m. 21 Dept.: 5 inclusive, 22 Defendants. 23 24 I, BRANDI JONES, declare and say: 25 1 Tam adult residing in the County of Santa Cruz and Guardian ad Litem for the 26 Plaintiff Jason Neel in the above-referenced matter. 27 2. If called upon to testify as to the matters stated herein, I would testify willingly 28 and competently. 1 DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM 3 The matters stated herein are based on my personal knowledge. Those which are not are stated on information and belief to the best of my ability. 4, I was appointed Guardian ad Litem for Plaintiff on May 19, 2023. At the time I was appointed, responses to Defendant Rushmyfile’s discovery had been due on May 4, 2023, which was later moved to June 2, 2023, to give me additional time to familiarize myself with the file. 5 Given the depth, volume and thoroughness of the discovery, which included the Requests for Admission, I felt that reviewing the documents was not enough. Firstly, there were several discovery requests and questions which could not be answered by documents in the file. Although I consulted with Mr. Neel’s counsel, Thornton Davidson and Simmons & Purdy, I felt it 10 was necessary to attempt to meet (or at least talk) with Mr. Neel, especially to discuss his 11 interactions with his former attorney, Donald Schwartz, who had engaged Cross-Defendant Cody 12 Molica to serve as his Attorney-in-Fact. This resulted in Mr. Molica stealing over $1M from Mr. 13 Neel. It was also Mr. Schwartz who commenced the current actions but was later substituted out 14 in favor.of Mr. Davidson and Simmons & Purdy. 15 6. Starting in June I attempted to contact Mr. Neel, as did Mr. Neel’s counsel. There 16 were multiple periods of time over the last several months when Mr. Neel was incarcerated both 17 in the County Jail and several mental health facilities which made him unreachable. When he 18 was finally released and returned home, I attempted to contact him via email and mail. I never 19 heard from Mr. Neel nor, as I understand it, have his counsel. 20 7 Therefore, over 1,000 pages of documents, including the files from the 2019 loan, 21 (which the subject 2020 loan was refinance of) had to be reviewed. Those files had been 22 produced by Defendants U.S. Real Estate Corporation, CNA Equities Group, Rushmyfile, and 23 Donald Schwartz, and third-party witnesses/entities Saxe Mortgage and two title company files. 24 It was necessary as well to discuss the deposition of Jesus Vigil with Mr. Neel’s counsel. 25 8 Responses were prepared in late August and early September, which I verified. 26 All outstanding discovery responses, including Rushmyfile’s Requests for Admissions have been 27 served on the Defendants. 28 2 DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM 9 My apologies to the Court and Rushmyfile and its counsel for the delay in providing these responses. There was no intent to delay; due to the complicated nature of this matter, it just took a long time to assemble all the important facts to provide verified responses. 10. I understand that Rushmyfile has requested attorney’s fees of $3,500.00 in sanctions as part of its motion. Under the circumstances, I do not believe that I should be assessed those sanctions. 11. Given the delay in providing the discovery, Mr. Neel’s counsel have offered to reimburse Rushmyfile $1,000.00 to offset the cost of their counsel’s work. 12. Again, my apologies to the Court and Rushmyfile for the delay occasioned by my lack of familiarity with this extensive case file. 10 I declare under penalty of perjury according to the laws of the State of California. il 12 Brandi Jones Dated: September 7, 2023 13 Brandi Jones 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22, 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 DECLARATION OF BRANDI JONES, GUARDIAN AD LITEM PROOF OF SERVICE STATE OF CALIFORNIA _ ) COUNTY OF FRESNO ) Ss. I certify and declare as follows: I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of the County aforesaid; I am over the age| of eighteen years and not a party to the within above entitled action; my business address is 1195 W. Shaw Ave., Ste. A, Fresno, California 93711, which is located in the county where the mailing described below took place. I am readily familiar with the business practice at my place of business for collection and processing of correspondence for mailing with the United Stated Postal Service. Correspondence so collected and processed is deposited with the United States Postal Service that same day in the 10 ordinary course of business. 11 On September 8, 2023, at my place of business in Fresno, California, I served the within: 12 DECLARATION OF GUARDIAN AD LITEM, BRANDI JONES CONFIRMING 13 DELIVERY OF ALL OUTSTANDING DISCOVERY RESPONSES, INCLUDING RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO HAVE CERTAIN MATTERS 14 DEEMED ADMITTED 15 as follows: 16 Edward Egan Smith Attorney for Defendant United States Real 17 STEYER LOWENTHAL BOODROOKAS Estate Corporation ALVAREZ & SMITH LLP 18 235 Pine Street, 15" floor 19 San Francisco, CA 94104 smith@steyerlaw.com 20 mdelbridge@steyerlaw.com (Email only) 21 Jacoby Perez Attorney for Defendant United States Real 22 Geraci Law Firm and Conferences Estate Corporation 90 Discovery 23 Irvine, CA 92618 j-perez@geracillp.com 24 concierge@geracillp.com 25 (Email only) Michael Beuselinck Attorney for CNA Equity Group, LLC 26 Michael Beuselinck, P.C. 490 43" St., #37 27 Oakland, CA 94609 28 mike@lawmtb.com (Email only) PROOF OF SERVICE 1 Kristi M. Wells Attorney for Asset Default Management, Inc. LAW OFFICE OF EDWARD T. WEBER 17151 Newhope St., Ste. 203 Fountain Valley, CA 92708 kristi@eweberlegal.com ed@eweberlegal.com (Email only) Mark J. Sarni Attorney for Rush My File SOUTH BAY ADR 3424 Carson Street, Ste 350 Torrance, CA 90503 southbayadr@gmail.com (Email and mail) [Xx] BY EMAIL: I electronically transmitted a true and correct copy thereof to the 10 interested parties’ electronic notification address(es) of record before close of business for the purpose of effecting service and the transmission was reported as complete and without error. 11 12 [xX] BY U.S. MAIL: I placed a true and correct copy thereof enclosed in a sealed envelope with postage thereon fully prepaid in the United States at Fresno, California 13 U] BY OVERNIGHT MAIL: I caused each envelope with postage thereon fully 14 prepaid, to be sent by overnight express delivery carrier 15 t] BY FACSIMILE: I caused a true and correct copy thereofto be sent by facsimile 16 transmission to the above-listed numbers. 17 [] BY HAND DELIVERY: I caused a true and correct thereof to be delivered by hand to the offices listed above. 18 19 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. - 20 Execyfed on ptemb 2023, at Fresno, California. 21 22 , Letitia Sanches 23 24 25 26 27 28 PROOF OF SERVICE 2