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1 JEFFREY E. TSAI (SBN 226081)
jeff.tsai@us.dlapiper.com
2 KATHLEEN S. KIZER (SBN 246035)
kathy.kizer@us.dlapiper.com
3
EMILY ROSE MARGOLIS (SBN 324089)
4 emily.margolis@us.dlapiper.com
DLA PIPER LLP (US)
5 555 Mission Street, Suite 2400
San Francisco, California 94105-2933
6 Tel: 415.836.2500 | Fax: 415.836.2501
7 Attorneys for Defendants
CELESTE WHITE, DR. ROBERT WHITE and
8 THE VALLEY ROCK FOUNDATION
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10 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
11 FOR THE COUNTY OF NAPA
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13 LISA KEITH, an individual, CASE NO. 22CV001269
14 DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION
Plaintiff, FOR AN ORDER SETTING AN EARLIER
15 HEARING DATE AND SHORTENING TIME
v. FOR NOTICE OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION
16 TO EXTEND SUMMARY JUDGMENT
CELESTE WHITE, an individual, ROBERT HEARING DATE
WHITE, an individual, the VALLEY ROCK
17 FOUNDATION, aka THE BAR 49
FOUNDATION, a charitable organization,
18 Date: November 29, 2023
and DOES 1-50, INCLUSIVE, Time: 11:30 a.m.
19 Courtroom A
Defendants. Honorable Cynthia P. Smith
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Complaint Filed: October 25, 2022
21 Trial Date: April 2, 2024
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DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE
CASE NO. 22CV001269
ACTIVE\1605522940.1
1 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD:
2 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, on the date and at the time set forth above, or as soon
3 thereafter as this matter may be heard in Department A of the above-entitled court located at 825
4 Brown Street, Napa, California 94559, Defendants Valley Rock Foundation (“Foundation”), Dr.
5 Robert White, and Celeste White will and hereby do apply for an Order to have Defendants’
6 Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing Date heard on a shortened notice basis.
7 The Code of Civil Procedure provides that motions for summary judgment “shall be heard
8 no later than 30 days before the trial date, unless the court for good cause orders otherwise.” (Code
9 Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (a)(3).) The present case is set for trial on April 2, 2024, setting the
10 statutory deadline to hear motions for summary judgment on February 27, 2024. Correspondingly,
11 December 12, 2023, is the last date such a motion may be served electronically.
12 As detailed in the Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing Date filed herewith,
13 Defendants have worked diligently to complete discovery in this case to develop the factual record
14 necessary to move for summary judgment. Despite discovery motions and extensive efforts to
15 meet and confer, Plaintiff has not produced all documents responsive to the Foundation’s requests.
16 Good cause exists for granting this ex parte application. The December 12, 2023 deadline
17 to serve a summary judgment motion for hearing by the current deadline of February 27, 2024,
18 does not allow sufficient time to resolve both the Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing
19 Date and the Foundation’s pending Motion to Compel, which is set for hearing on December 8,
20 2023. Hearing the present Motion in conjunction with the Motion to Compel Compliance would
21 be in the interests of judicial economy and conserve the parties’ resources. The outcome on the
22 Motion to Compel Compliance will affect Defendants’ ability to complete their summary
23 judgment briefing. A motion noticed on the ordinary schedule would not provide the requested
24 relief in time and, thus, ex parte relief is warranted.
25 Ex Parte Notice: Plaintiff Lisa Keith is represented in this action by John S. Rueppel
26 (john@jkzllp.com) and Angie Lam (angie.lam@jkzllp.com) of Johnston, Kinney, & Zulaica LLP,
27 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, California 94104 (telephone number 415-693-
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DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE
CASE NO. 22CV001269
ACTIVE\1605522940.1
1 0550). As described in the accompanying Declaration of Kathleen S. Kizer, Defendants’ counsel
2 notified Plaintiff’s counsel of this application, including the relief requested and the date, time,
3 and place for presentation of the application, by email on November 28, 2023. (Kizer Declaration,
4 ¶ 5.)
5 This Application is made in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b),
6 Rule 3.1300(b) of the California Rules of Court, and Local Rule 2.5, and is based on this
7 Application, the Declaration of Kathleen S. Kizer, and the proposed order filed concurrently
8 herewith.
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10 Dated: November 29, 2023 DLA PIPER LLP (US)
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By:
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JEFFREY E. TSAI
13 KATHLEEN S. KIZER
EMILY ROSE MARGOLIS
14 Attorneys for defendants
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DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE
CASE NO. 22CV001269
ACTIVE\1605522940.1
1 PROOF OF SERVICE
2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
3 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18
4 and not a party to the within action; my business address is: DLA Piper LLP (US), 2000 Avenue
5 of the Stars, Suite 400N, Los Angeles, CA 90067.
6 On November 29, 2023, I served the foregoing document(s) described as:
7 DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER SETTING AN
8 EARLIER HEARING DATE AND SHORTENING TIME FOR NOTICE AND
MOTION TO EXTEND SUMMARY JUDGMENT HEARING DATE
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on the following:
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11 John S. Rueppel
Angie Lam
12 JOHNSTON, KINNEY & ZULAICA LLP
101 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
13 San Francisco, California 94104
T: 415.693.0550
14 F: 415.693.0500
15 E: john@jkzllp.com
angie.lam@jkzllp.com
16 Attorneys for Plaintiff Lisa Keith
17 I transmitted copies of the document(s) described above via e-mail to the persons at the
18 email addresses set forth above pursuant to the parties’ mutual agreement on or about March 21,
19 2023, to provide service by e-mail.
20 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is
21 true and correct.
22 Executed on November 29, 2023, at Los Angeles, California.
23
Kara Race-Moore
24 [Print Name of Person Executing Proof] [Signature]
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PROOF OF SERVICE
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1 JEFFREY E. TSAI (SBN 226081) jeff.tsai@us.dlapiper.com 2 KATHLEEN S. KIZER (SBN 246035) kathy.kizer@us.dlapiper.com 3 EMILY ROSE MARGOLIS (SBN 324089) 4 emily.margolis@us.dlapiper.com DLA PIPER LLP (US) 5 555 Mission Street, Suite 2400 San Francisco, California 94105-2933 6 Tel: 415.836.2500 | Fax: 415.836.2501 7 Attorneys for Defendants CELESTE WHITE, DR. ROBERT WHITE and 8 THE VALLEY ROCK FOUNDATION 9 10 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 11 FOR THE COUNTY OF NAPA 12 13 LISA KEITH, an individual, CASE NO. 22CV001269 14 DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION Plaintiff, FOR AN ORDER SETTING AN EARLIER 15 HEARING DATE AND SHORTENING TIME v. FOR NOTICE OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION 16 TO EXTEND SUMMARY JUDGMENT CELESTE WHITE, an individual, ROBERT HEARING DATE WHITE, an individual, the VALLEY ROCK 17 FOUNDATION, aka THE BAR 49 FOUNDATION, a charitable organization, 18 Date: November 29, 2023 and DOES 1-50, INCLUSIVE, Time: 11:30 a.m. 19 Courtroom A Defendants. Honorable Cynthia P. Smith 20 Complaint Filed: October 25, 2022 21 Trial Date: April 2, 2024 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE CASE NO. 22CV001269 ACTIVE\1605522940.1 1 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 2 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, on the date and at the time set forth above, or as soon 3 thereafter as this matter may be heard in Department A of the above-entitled court located at 825 4 Brown Street, Napa, California 94559, Defendants Valley Rock Foundation (“Foundation”), Dr. 5 Robert White, and Celeste White will and hereby do apply for an Order to have Defendants’ 6 Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing Date heard on a shortened notice basis. 7 The Code of Civil Procedure provides that motions for summary judgment “shall be heard 8 no later than 30 days before the trial date, unless the court for good cause orders otherwise.” (Code 9 Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (a)(3).) The present case is set for trial on April 2, 2024, setting the 10 statutory deadline to hear motions for summary judgment on February 27, 2024. Correspondingly, 11 December 12, 2023, is the last date such a motion may be served electronically. 12 As detailed in the Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing Date filed herewith, 13 Defendants have worked diligently to complete discovery in this case to develop the factual record 14 necessary to move for summary judgment. Despite discovery motions and extensive efforts to 15 meet and confer, Plaintiff has not produced all documents responsive to the Foundation’s requests. 16 Good cause exists for granting this ex parte application. The December 12, 2023 deadline 17 to serve a summary judgment motion for hearing by the current deadline of February 27, 2024, 18 does not allow sufficient time to resolve both the Motion to Extend Summary Judgment Hearing 19 Date and the Foundation’s pending Motion to Compel, which is set for hearing on December 8, 20 2023. Hearing the present Motion in conjunction with the Motion to Compel Compliance would 21 be in the interests of judicial economy and conserve the parties’ resources. The outcome on the 22 Motion to Compel Compliance will affect Defendants’ ability to complete their summary 23 judgment briefing. A motion noticed on the ordinary schedule would not provide the requested 24 relief in time and, thus, ex parte relief is warranted. 25 Ex Parte Notice: Plaintiff Lisa Keith is represented in this action by John S. Rueppel 26 (john@jkzllp.com) and Angie Lam (angie.lam@jkzllp.com) of Johnston, Kinney, & Zulaica LLP, 27 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, California 94104 (telephone number 415-693- 28 -2- DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE CASE NO. 22CV001269 ACTIVE\1605522940.1 1 0550). As described in the accompanying Declaration of Kathleen S. Kizer, Defendants’ counsel 2 notified Plaintiff’s counsel of this application, including the relief requested and the date, time, 3 and place for presentation of the application, by email on November 28, 2023. (Kizer Declaration, 4 ¶ 5.) 5 This Application is made in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b), 6 Rule 3.1300(b) of the California Rules of Court, and Local Rule 2.5, and is based on this 7 Application, the Declaration of Kathleen S. Kizer, and the proposed order filed concurrently 8 herewith. 9 10 Dated: November 29, 2023 DLA PIPER LLP (US) 11 By: 12 JEFFREY E. TSAI 13 KATHLEEN S. KIZER EMILY ROSE MARGOLIS 14 Attorneys for defendants 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3- DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION TO HEAR MOTION ON SHORTENED NOTICE CASE NO. 22CV001269 ACTIVE\1605522940.1 1 PROOF OF SERVICE 2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 3 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18 4 and not a party to the within action; my business address is: DLA Piper LLP (US), 2000 Avenue 5 of the Stars, Suite 400N, Los Angeles, CA 90067. 6 On November 29, 2023, I served the foregoing document(s) described as: 7 DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER SETTING AN 8 EARLIER HEARING DATE AND SHORTENING TIME FOR NOTICE AND MOTION TO EXTEND SUMMARY JUDGMENT HEARING DATE 9 on the following: 10 11 John S. Rueppel Angie Lam 12 JOHNSTON, KINNEY & ZULAICA LLP 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600 13 San Francisco, California 94104 T: 415.693.0550 14 F: 415.693.0500 15 E: john@jkzllp.com angie.lam@jkzllp.com 16 Attorneys for Plaintiff Lisa Keith 17 I transmitted copies of the document(s) described above via e-mail to the persons at the 18 email addresses set forth above pursuant to the parties’ mutual agreement on or about March 21, 19 2023, to provide service by e-mail. 20 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is 21 true and correct. 22 Executed on November 29, 2023, at Los Angeles, California. 23 Kara Race-Moore 24 [Print Name of Person Executing Proof] [Signature] 25 26 27 28 PROOF OF SERVICE ACTIVE\1605522940.1