Party Discovery: Rodney Abbott, et al vs. Ronald Paul Britschgi, et al

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 1C. Athena Roussos (#192244)
  Attomey at Law
2 9630 Bmceville Road, Suite 106-386                                                2Q1UUG-8 Pni2^ l l
3 Elk Grove, CA 95757                                                                -^CfVvMtNTO cCo
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  Telephone: (916)670-7901                                                               OEPT. #53 #54
4 Facsimile: (916)670-7921
  Email: athena(2),athenaroussoslaw.com
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     Attomey for Plaintiffs
7 Rodney and Florentine Abbott
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9                      SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

10                               FOR THE COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO

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12 RODNEY ABBOTT, et al.,                                 CaseNo. 07AS04450

13                 Plamtiffs,                             DECLARATION OF RODNEY
                                                          ABBOTT IN SUPPORT OF EX
14 vs.                                                    PARTE APPLICATION TO
15   RONALD PAUL BRITSCHGI, et al..                       CONTINUE HEARING ON
                                                          DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR
16                 Defendants.                            ORDER COMPELLING BOND,
                                                          AND FOR LEAVE FOR
17                                                        PLAINTIFFS TO FILE LATE
18                                                        OPPOSITION

19                                                        Date:    August 9, 2011
                                                          Time:    1:30 p.m.
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                                                          Dept.:   43
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            I , Rodney Abbott, declare as follows:
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            1.      I am one of the Plaintiffs in this action, husband of Plaintiff Florentine Abbott.
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     Except where otherwise noted, I have personal knowledge ofthe matters stated in this
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     declaration, and if called upon to do so, could and would testify to these matters.
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                                   DECLARATION OF RODNEY ABBOTT. -1
 1          2.      I am requesting a continuance of the hearing of Defendant CA Constmction's
 2 motion for an order compelling us to obtain a bond on appeal, because of extraordinary
 3 circumstances that have prevented us from being able to oppose this motion in a timely manner.
 4          3.      I am a tile setter and work for my father's business. Since the economy is down,
 5 business is down and I have been busy looking for work.
 6          4.      My wife's brother committed suicide in early June 2011, just two months ago, as
 7 noted in her declaration in support of this ex parte application. The suicide has taken a toll on
 8 our whole family, especially my mother-m-law. We have had to spend significant amounts of
 9 time with my mother-in-law, as she has been in declining health and is currently hospitalized
10 due to lung failure.
11          5.      To make matters worse, my wife and I experienced a breakdown in our
12 relationship with our prior attomey, Stephanie Finelli, over the period from late June to mid-
13 July. Ms. Finelli requested that we agree to allow her to withdraw from the case, and under the
14 cu-cumstances, we felt compelled to agree to her request. We were not aware of any motion
15 pending when we agreed to Ms. Finelli's withdrawal from the case.
16          6.      I did not receive a copy of CA Constmction's motion for an order compelling us
17 to obtain a bond on appeal until sometime in late July. I am not sure of the actual date. I was
18 not personally served with any documents on July 19, 2011 at my residence as stated in CA
19 Constmction's proof of service for the motion. My wife and I were in San Jose on July 19,
20 2011 at our son's championship baseball toumament. We did not get home imtil about
21   midnight that evening. I did not see any documents left for us at our residence. My wife later
22 checked the court's onlme docket and located the motion at that time. We also received a copy
23 in the mail from Ms. Finelli sometime toward the end of July.
24          7.      By the time we realized the motion was filed and an opposition needed to be
25 filed, there was not enough time to locate new counsel in time. Also, I have had to focus on
26 helping my wife and her family get through this difficult time, due to the circumstances
27 discussed above.
28   ///


                                  DECLARATION OF RODNEY ABBOTT. - 2
1           I declare under penalty of perjury under tl)e laws of the State ofCalifomia that the
2    foregoing
     roregoing is
               is true
                  true and
                       ana correct. Executed this^
                           correci. Jtxecui             day of August, 2011 at
3              Q^\CC,         , California.
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                                   DECLARATION OF RODNEY ABBOTT. - 3