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Filing # 191296904 E-Filed 02/05/2024 07:17:05 PM
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: “AF”
CASE NO.: 502023CA015733XXXAMB
BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR
ROBINS, individually and on behalf
of others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual; ROBERT
THOM aka ROB THOM, an individual;
ANTHONY DiGENNARO, an individual;
ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN, an
individual; THOMAS ALDRIDGE, an
individual; ROCHELLE COHEN, an
individual; JANICE SMITH, aka YAHUDA
ISRAEL aka TIRTZHAH ISRAEL, an
individual; NUMBER 2 CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION - PALM GREENS AT
VILLA DEL RAY, INC., a Florida Not For
Profit Corporation; BECKER BALLOT, aka
BECKERBALLOT.COM, an entity form
unknown; and BECKER & POLIAKOFF,
P.A., a Florida professional corporation,
Defendants.
_____________________________________________/
DECLARATION OF ELAD BOTWIN IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ REQUEST FOR
SCHEDULING ORDER AND DE FACTO MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER
I, Elad Botwin, declare:
1. I am an attorney at law duly licensed to practice in the State of Florida and am Of
Counsel to the law firm of Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Gomez & Machado, LLP,
1
FILED: PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL, JOSEPH ABRUZZO, CLERK, 02/05/2024 07:17:05 PM
and we represent the interests of Plaintiffs – who are elderly homeowners – on a purely pro bono
basis.
2. I am counsel for Plaintiffs in this action, and in that capacity I have established
attorney client relationships with numerous putative class members who have contacted me in
good faith about this action. My law firm is handling this matter pro bono as a result of the
extraordinary harm to elderly Florida citizens that threatens them as a result of the circumstances
set forth in our pleadings. We felt a moral and legal imperative to communicate with those
homeowners who have contacted us seeking our help.
3. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is the resume of Marge Fattori, which she
authenticated at her deposition. Ms. Fattori testified that she placed highlighting on this resume
herself.
4. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is the cover page of Fattori's deposition and excerpts
where she admits that she is aware of no documents supporting her claims that Mr. Robins forged
documents, as stated in her resume.
5. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 are cover pages and excerpts of two depositions where
the witnesses (including Fattori) testified that they destroyed all their emails.
6. I have read opposing counsel's explanation for why they are now dealing in my
attorney client privileged communications, Exhibit D to their motion. I state unequivocally that a
substantial number of recipients of the email, Exhibit D, are persons who have expressly written
to me or otherwise informed me that they wish to receive my advice in this matter. I further state
that for those who have not so stated, I have been informed that they nevertheless wish to receive
my and my law firm's work product information. In camera, we are more than willing to provide
the Court with proof of the foregoing in connection with what unfortunately appears to be a
2
mandatory motion to disqualify opposing counsel in view of the fact that opposing counsel is
openly and serially attempting to recover our firm's attorney client privileged and attorney work
product protected emails.
Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing declaration and that the
facts stated in it are true and correct.
Dated: February 5, 2024 /s/ El’ad D. Botwin
ELAD BOTWIN
3
EXHIBIT 1
MARGE FATTORI
CANDIDATE FOR REC BOARD
Palm Greens Condo 2
My name is Marge Fattori, I live on Sugar Palm Court. I am a full-time
resident in Palm Greens.
I am running for the Recreation Board to be more involved in this
community and to stop the deceitfulness of the current Rec Board. In the
last 4 years the current Rec Board has held very few open board meetings. Rec Board
Association documents have been altered without a public vote, consent forms are used to
push through topics and agendas, again without a public vote. It's time for a change of our
Condo 2 representatives. No more changes without open board meetings and votes. I am
committed to working with and supporting all clubs and events equally, I will not show any
favoritism.
I think at the present time our community is divided and in shambles. We have let ourselves
become divided by gossip and false information. I am trying to be as objective and reasonable
as possible. I do not think that the best interest of this community is being represented by the
people that are spreading gossip and false information and suing members of the board. It
seems to be a clear conflict of interest between holding office and litigation. They are telling
you that these lawsuits are pro bono "free" but as a reasonable person who can logically think
things through to the end, the end is the community pays through our condo fees.
I want Palm Greens to be the best community to live in. The key to a great community is
everyone working together along with an accessible and transparent board. I will be hands on
with listening to your suggestions and taking them to the other members of the board for
discussion.
I'm motivated, have a lot of energy and am well organized and educated. I worked in the
Criminal Justice System of New Jersey for 28 years, retiring in 2012 from my position as
Supervising Senior Probation Officer. In 2014 I began a second career in the Insurance industry
with AAA specializing in Medicare plans and financial planning for seniors and retired from that
in 2018.
I enjoy golf, reading, traveling and most of all cooking for a captive audience.
I hope you will consider voting for me for the rec board of this community.
It's time to stop the chaos.
EXHIBIT 2
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND
FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF"
CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB
BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR
ROBINS, individually and on
behalf of others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
-vs-
SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual;
ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an
individual, ANTHONY
DiGENNARO, an individual; and
ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN,
an individual,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
Zoom Videoconference,
Palm Beach, Florida,
Tuesday, 10:05 a.m.,
January 23, 2024.
D E P O S I T I O N
of
MARJORIE FATTORI
taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs
pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition
[VIA ZOOM]
_ _ _
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
2
1 APPEARANCES:
2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA,
LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by
3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq.,
Attorneys for Plaintiffs.
4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201
Coral Gables, FL 33134
5 Telephone: 305.377.1000
Facsimile: 844.273.9076
6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com
7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by
KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and
8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq.,
Attorneys for Defendants.
9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394
10 Telephone: 954.302.2360
Facsimile: 888.464.7982
11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com
Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com
12
ALSO PRESENT:
13
SANDRA KLIMAS
14 ROBERT THOM
ANTHONY DiGENNARO
15 ROBERT STERN
- - -
16
INDEX OF EXAMINATION
17
WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS
18
MARJORIE FATTORI
19 [BY MR. BOTWIN] 6 ---
[BY MR. YOMBOR] 29 ---
20
INDEX OF EXHIBITS
21
NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAGE
22
1 Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition 7
23 2 Resume of Marge Fattori 15
3 Verified First Amended Complaint 25
24 4 Joint Resolution 35
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
15
1 ask: Are the answers you just gave me with respect to
2 Request Number 9, would they be the same for the others?
3 A. Yes, they would.
4 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form.
5 [The Resume referred to below was
6 marked for identification as Exhibit No.
7 2.]
8 BY MR. BOTWIN:
9 Q. Okay. I will stop sharing the screen.
10 And bear with me for a moment while I pull up
11 that resume.
12 I'm attaching this as Exhibit 2 to the
13 transcript.
14 This is a resume that you submitted in
15 connection with the board.
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And the first question I would like to ask is:
18 Have you ever seen this document before, Miss Fattori?
19 A. I wrote this document.
20 Q. Well, that answers my second question.
21 But, just to be clear, who prepared this
22 document?
23 A. I did.
24 MR. YOMBOR: Eli, can I make a quick
25 inquiry, just could I make a quick notice
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
16
1 for the record?
2 The highlation, is that part of the
3 original document, or is that post?
4 MR. BOTWIN: No. I don't think so.
5 BY MR. BOTWIN:
6 Q. Actually, Miss Fattori, is the highlighting
7 original or not?
8 A. It's original to my resume for running for
9 board through this year.
10 Q. Okay. So you're saying that you did apply this
11 highlighting yourself?
12 A. Yes, I did.
13 Q. Okay. Thank you.
14 MR. BOTWIN: Thank you, Kevin. That
15 clears things up.
16 BY MR. BOTWIN:
17 Q. Did you have any help in preparing this resume,
18 Miss Fattori?
19 A. I had some conversations with other people,
20 yes.
21 Q. Would you be able to tell me who those people
22 were?
23 A. I had conversations with Rob Thom concerning my
24 running for the board.
25 Q. Did you speak to anybody else with respect to
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
17
1 preparing this resume?
2 A. No.
3 Q. Would I be correct to say that Mr. Thom
4 assisted you in preparing this resume?
5 A. If you mean assisted by writing it, no, that
6 would not be correct.
7 Q. Okay. Did he assist you in terms of
8 information that you've put on this resume?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Okay. Thank you.
11 Would you be able to specify which parts of the
12 resume that he provided you information in connection to?
13 A. He told me about the Rec Board using consent
14 documents to push things through without all of the board
15 knowing about it.
16 Q. Okay.
17 A. In so many--in so many words.
18 Q. I understand.
19 So would I be correct that the highlighted
20 section here that reads, "Rec Board Association documents
21 have been altered without a public vote, consent forms
22 are used to push through topics and agendas, again
23 without a public vote." That was a statement made with
24 information from Mr. Thom?
25 A. That was a decision I made to put that
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
18
1 statement in there with information I was given.
2 Q. Okay. Thank you.
3 I would like to ask: Did you produce any
4 documents that--or, I'm sorry.
5 Did you produce any copies of the documents
6 that you say were altered without a public vote?
7 MR. YOMBOR: Objection.
8 A. No.
9 BY MR. BOTWIN:
10 Q. Do you know of the existence of those
11 documents?
12 A. No, I don't.
13 Q. Are you aware of any particular documents that
14 you say were altered without a public vote?
15 A. No.
16 Q. Now, with respect to that, to your knowledge,
17 do you know who was involved in altering these Rec Board
18 documents without a public vote?
19 A. The president of the Rec Board, Mr. Robins.
20 Q. Okay. And is there anybody else that you
21 suspect may have been involved in altering the Rec Board
22 Association's documents without a public vote?
23 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of
24 the question.
25 THE WITNESS: I'm sorry. I didn't
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
19
1 hear what he said.
2 MR. YOMBOR: For me or for Eli?
3 THE WITNESS: For you, Kevin.
4 MR. YOMBOR: Oh. Oh, I just objected
5 to the form of the question, but you can
6 still answer the question.
7 A. I would suspect other members of the Rec Board
8 whose names I don't know.
9 BY MR. BOTWIN:
10 Q. Okay. Thank you. That would answer my
11 immediate question of who do you think...
12 All right. Thank you.
13 Do you believe that Rob Thom could have been
14 one of them?
15 A. He was not on, on the Rec Board.
16 Q. Okay. Thank you.
17 And, again, the one person that you can name in
18 your belief that Rec Board documents have been altered
19 without a public vote is Art Robins. Is that correct?
20 A. That's correct.
21 Q. And I think I asked--actually, it's kind of
22 related to my previous questions, but would you be able
23 to describe exactly what documents were altered without a
24 public vote?
25 A. No.
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
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1 Q. Can you give me any idea of what documents you
2 think were altered without a public vote?
3 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of
4 the question.
5 A. Not at this time.
6 BY MR. BOTWIN:
7 Q. And with respect to the altering of documents,
8 Rec Board documents without a public vote, is this an
9 allegation that you believe in good faith?
10 Or, let me rephrase.
11 Do you have a good faith belief that Rec Board
12 documents have been altered without a public vote?
13 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of
14 the question.
15 BY MR. BOTWIN:
16 Q. If you understand you may answer.
17 A. Repeat the question.
18 Q. Do you believe in good faith that Rec Board
19 documents have been altered without a public vote?
20 MR. YOMBOR: Same objection.
21 A. Yes, I do.
22 BY MR. BOTWIN:
23 Q. And as you sit here today you still stick by
24 that statement that you made in the resume.
25 Is that correct?
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
21
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Have you told people in the community of this
3 opinion regarding Rec Board documents being altered
4 without a public vote?
5 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of
6 the question.
7 A. Well, being that everyone in the community got
8 this resume with their package to vote, I would say yes.
9 BY MR. BOTWIN:
10 Q. Okay. Sounds good.
11 Okay. Then I'll move on to another--actually,
12 it's kind of part of what we covered, but I want to go
13 toward the matter with the consent forms specifically.
14 And specifically in your resume you state that,
15 quote, "Consent forms are used to push through topics and
16 agendas, again without a public vote." End quote.
17 I'd first like to ask: Did you produce these
18 consent forms today?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Have you ever seen those consent forms?
21 A. No, I have not.
22 Q. Did you ever have possession of those consent
23 forms?
24 A. No, I have not.
25 Q. Do you know why you have never seen those
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
52
1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2
THE STATE OF FLORIDA )
3
COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE )
4
I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary
5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do
hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum
6 For Deposition in the above-entitled cause, MARJORIE
FATTORI was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to
7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully
examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the
8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word
under my personal supervision and that the said
9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony
given by the witness.
10
I further certify that the said deposition was
11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and
that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of
12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of
the cause.
13
The foregoing certification of this transcript
14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any
means unless under the direct control and/or direction of
15 the certifying reporter.
16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City
of Miami, County of Dade, State of Florida, this 29th day
17 of January, 2024.
18
19
20 ________________________________
MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter
21 Notary Public - State of Florida
My Commission # HH 278429
22 Expires: June 24, 2026
23
24
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
EXHIBIT 3
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND
FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF"
CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB
BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR
ROBINS, individually and on
behalf of others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
-vs-
SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual;
ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an
individual, ANTHONY
DiGENNARO, an individual; and
ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN,
an individual,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
Zoom Videoconference,
Palm Beach, Florida,
Tuesday, 10:05 a.m.,
January 23, 2024.
D E P O S I T I O N
of
MARJORIE FATTORI
taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs
pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition
[VIA ZOOM]
_ _ _
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
2
1 APPEARANCES:
2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA,
LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by
3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq.,
Attorneys for Plaintiffs.
4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201
Coral Gables, FL 33134
5 Telephone: 305.377.1000
Facsimile: 844.273.9076
6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com
7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by
KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and
8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq.,
Attorneys for Defendants.
9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394
10 Telephone: 954.302.2360
Facsimile: 888.464.7982
11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com
Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com
12
ALSO PRESENT:
13
SANDRA KLIMAS
14 ROBERT THOM
ANTHONY DiGENNARO
15 ROBERT STERN
- - -
16
INDEX OF EXAMINATION
17
WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS
18
MARJORIE FATTORI
19 [BY MR. BOTWIN] 6 ---
[BY MR. YOMBOR] 29 ---
20
INDEX OF EXHIBITS
21
NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAGE
22
1 Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition 7
23 2 Resume of Marge Fattori 15
3 Verified First Amended Complaint 25
24 4 Joint Resolution 35
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
8
1 And I will now attach as Exhibit 1 to this
2 transcript that subpoena.
3 And let me pull it up real quick.
4 This is the subpoena.
5 Please confirm if you can see this on your
6 screens?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Okay. Great.
9 Now, as of today our offices have not received
10 any documents from you as were requested in the subpoena,
11 and my first question is to say with that: First
12 question is: Do you have any documents with you today?
13 A. No, I don't.
14 Q. Okay. Have you sent any documents to my office
15 or in the process of doing so?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Okay. Thank you.
18 I'm going to just scroll down through these
19 requests real quick and then ask a few quick questions.
20 I would like to first ask why you don't have
21 any documents with you today?
22 A. Because I routinely do not keep emails for
23 longer than 7 to 10 days; any emails that I receive.
24 Q. So, what you are saying is that you delete
25 emails in every 7 to 10 days or emails that are---
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
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1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Okay.
3 So, in other words, if you had any emails that
4 were responsive to these requests they would be no older
5 than about ten days?
6 A. That would be correct.
7 Q. Okay. And how long has it been your personal
8 policy, I suppose, to delete emails every 7 to 10 days?
9 A. Years.
10 Q. Okay. But, in any case, you've certainly been
11 doing it before, say, November of last year?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And before 2022?
14 A. Before '21; before 2022.
15 Q. Okay. Thank you.
16 I just wanted to make sure I'm extra clear and
17 I'm not missing anything here.
18 Okay. Now, let me check this.
19 I will now ask with respect to these requests
20 that are on your screen: Did you search for documents
21 regarding or relating to each of these requests?
22 A. Yes, I did. I searched all the boxes--the
23 in-box, the--all mail; the trash, the spam, everything in
24 the emails and there's nothing in there.
25 There's nothing in there prior to--the only
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
10
1 thing that's in there, and I'll tell you exactly what it
2 is, 'cause from 2021 and it's documents pertaining to the
3 purchase of this home that I was buying when I was moving
4 down here to Florida.
5 Q. Okay. And that, I guess, would be considered
6 personal in nature?
7 A. Yes, it would.
8 Q. Okay. And your purchase did not--did it
9 involve the Boards, either of Condo---
10 A. No, it didn't.
11 Q. Okay. I just want to make sure. Thank you.
12 And you're saying that is the only document
13 that you found that may possibly bear on the requests
14 that were included in the subpoena?
15 A. No. That's not what I'm saying.
16 What I'm saying is that they're the only
17 documents that were in the emails that were dated prior
18 to the date of the subpoena.
19 Once I got the subpoena I stopped deleting any
20 emails, including bills, thank you for your payments, all
21 those kinds of things and--but prior to January 5th I was
22 cleaning out my emails on a regular basis, as I stated
23 before.
24 Q. Okay. Thank you.
25 And I do appreciate that clarification since
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
11
1 that helps a lot.
2 And I do appreciate your reaction to preserve
3 anything that you received upon receipt of the subpoena.
4 Let me just check my notes and see if there's
5 anything I want to ask further about the document
6 production since I think you've pretty much covered what
7 I wanted to learn about.
8 I just have a few quick questions regarding--I
9 guess these documents may no longer be in existence since
10 you say that you delete anything from before the date of
11 the subpoena with the exception of the documents related
12 to the purchase of your home in 2021, and I just want to
13 ask a few quick questions about documents that were
14 called for via subpoena.
15 And, first of all, I'd like to ask: Have you
16 ever emailed Rob Thom?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And has Mr. Thom ever emailed you?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Have you ever emailed Sandra Klimas?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Has Miss Klimas ever emailed you?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Have you ever emailed Mr. Kevin Yombor, the
25 attorney sitting here today?
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
52
1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2
THE STATE OF FLORIDA )
3
COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE )
4
I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary
5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do
hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum
6 For Deposition in the above-entitled cause, MARJORIE
FATTORI was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to
7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully
examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the
8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word
under my personal supervision and that the said
9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony
given by the witness.
10
I further certify that the said deposition was
11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and
that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of
12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of
the cause.
13
The foregoing certification of this transcript
14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any
means unless under the direct control and/or direction of
15 the certifying reporter.
16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City
of Miami, County of Dade, State of Florida, this 29th day
17 of January, 2024.
18
19
20 ________________________________
MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter
21 Notary Public - State of Florida
My Commission # HH 278429
22 Expires: June 24, 2026
23
24
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND
FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF"
CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB
BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR
ROBINS, individually and on
behalf of others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
-vs-
SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual;
ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an
individual, ANTHONY
DiGENNARO, an individual; and
ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN,
an individual,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
Zoom Videoconference,
Palm Beach, Florida,
Wednesday, 1:10 p.m.,
February 2, 2024.
D E P O S I T I O N
of
SUSAN R. HERMAN
taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs
pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition
[VIA ZOOM]
_ _ _
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
2
1 APPEARANCES:
2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA,
LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by
3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq.,
Attorneys for Plaintiffs.
4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201
Coral Gables, FL 33134
5 Telephone: 305.377.1000
Facsimile: 844.273.9076
6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com
7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by
KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and
8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq.,
Attorneys for Defendants.
9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394
10 Telephone: 954.302.2360
Facsimile: 888.464.7982
11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com
Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com
12
ALSO PRESENT:
13
SANDRA KLIMAS
14 ROBERT THOM
ANTHONY DiGENNARO
15 ROBERT STERN
16 - - -
17
INDEX OF EXAMINATION
18
WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS
19
SUSAN R. HERMAN
20
[BY MR. BOTWIN] 5 ---
21 [BY MR. CHOUDHRY] 66 ---
22
23
24
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
9
1 [The Subpoena Duces Tecum referred to
2 was marked for identification as Exhibit
3 No. 1.]
4 BY MR. BOTWIN:
5 Q. And, speaking of the subpoena, I do want to
6 refer to that real quick.
7 I'm going to attach it real quick as Exhibit 1
8 to this deposition and I will put it up on the screen.
9 And this will be a good way to test if you're able to see
10 documents on the screen because if there are any issues
11 we can rectify them now.
12 And this is the copy of the subpoena.
13 Let me know if it's legible to you.
14 A. It's legible. A little small.
15 Q. Okay. Then I'll zoom it in further.
16 A. Thank you.
17 Q. Okay. So that will make things easier.
18 I'm going to just quickly scroll down to the
19 requests just so it's here.
20 And you did say that you looked at the subpoena
21 before this deposition.
22 Did you also review the document requests?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Okay. And I will stop sharing the screen.
25 At this point our offices have only received a
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
10
1 handful of text messages. Is that correct?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. You have not produced or turned over any emails
4 at this time. Is that correct?
5 A. Correct. Yes.
6 Q. And why is it that you haven't produced any
7 emails in response to the subpoena?
8 A. Because I don't have any.
9 Q. And why is it that you don't have any emails?
10 A. Because I regularly erase my emails.
11 I am a private citizen currently. I'm no
12 longer on any board or committee and I did not feel the
13 need to keep any emails.
14 Q. Okay. And, for regularly deleting emails, is
15 that something you normally do or is this more special
16 with respect to the board matters?
17 MR. CHOUDHRY: Objection. Form.
18 BY MR. BOTWIN:
19 Q. Do you understand?
20 MR. CHOUDHRY: Go ahead. You can
21 answer it.
22 THE WITNESS: Oh, oh. Okay.
23 MR. CHOUDHRY: Once in a while I might
24 say I might say objection object to the
25 form, but you can answer.
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
11
1 A. I regularly delete emails and texts.
2 BY MR. BOTWIN:
3 Q. Okay. How long have you been doing that
4 practice?
5 A. Well, I've always had that practice, but when I
6 was on the board or when I was on the PGCA I kept the
7 texts and the emails.
8 Q. Okay. Very well.
9 Now, other than emails and texts are you in
10 possession of any physical documents that would be
11 responsive to the subpoena?
12 A. Yes. I have a copy of the lawsuit and the
13 subpoena.
14 Q. Oh, let me clarify. I'm saying that other than
15 emails and texts do you have any physical documents that
16 would be responsive to the document requests that were
17 set forth in the subpoena?
18 A. No, I do not.
19 Q. Did you ever have possession of any documents
20 in the past before the subpoena?
21 A. Yes, I did. And when I got off the PGCA Board
22 I left the box with the Recreation Association. The box
23 of my documents and a flash drive.
24 Q. Okay. Thank you.
25 And now I just want to ask real quick about
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
87
1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2
THE STATE OF FLORIDA )
3
COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE )
4
I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary
5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do
hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum
6 for Deposition in the above-entitled cause, SUSAN R.
HERMAN was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to
7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully
examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the
8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word
under my personal supervision and that the said
9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony
given by the witness.
10
I further certify that the said deposition was
11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and
that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of
12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of
the cause.
13
The foregoing certification of this transcript
14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any
means unless under the direct control and/or direction of
15 the certifying reporter.
16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City
of Miami, County of Miami-Dade, State of Florida, this
17 4th day of February, 2024.
18
19
20 ________________________________
MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter
21 Notary Public - State of Florida
My Commission # HH 278429
22 Expires: June 24, 2026
23
24
25
BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340
Preview
Filing # 191296904 E-Filed 02/05/2024 07:17:05 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: “AF” CASE NO.: 502023CA015733XXXAMB BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR ROBINS, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual; ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an individual; ANTHONY DiGENNARO, an individual; ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN, an individual; THOMAS ALDRIDGE, an individual; ROCHELLE COHEN, an individual; JANICE SMITH, aka YAHUDA ISRAEL aka TIRTZHAH ISRAEL, an individual; NUMBER 2 CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION - PALM GREENS AT VILLA DEL RAY, INC., a Florida Not For Profit Corporation; BECKER BALLOT, aka BECKERBALLOT.COM, an entity form unknown; and BECKER & POLIAKOFF, P.A., a Florida professional corporation, Defendants. _____________________________________________/ DECLARATION OF ELAD BOTWIN IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ REQUEST FOR SCHEDULING ORDER AND DE FACTO MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER I, Elad Botwin, declare: 1. I am an attorney at law duly licensed to practice in the State of Florida and am Of Counsel to the law firm of Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Gomez & Machado, LLP, 1 FILED: PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL, JOSEPH ABRUZZO, CLERK, 02/05/2024 07:17:05 PM and we represent the interests of Plaintiffs – who are elderly homeowners – on a purely pro bono basis. 2. I am counsel for Plaintiffs in this action, and in that capacity I have established attorney client relationships with numerous putative class members who have contacted me in good faith about this action. My law firm is handling this matter pro bono as a result of the extraordinary harm to elderly Florida citizens that threatens them as a result of the circumstances set forth in our pleadings. We felt a moral and legal imperative to communicate with those homeowners who have contacted us seeking our help. 3. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is the resume of Marge Fattori, which she authenticated at her deposition. Ms. Fattori testified that she placed highlighting on this resume herself. 4. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is the cover page of Fattori's deposition and excerpts where she admits that she is aware of no documents supporting her claims that Mr. Robins forged documents, as stated in her resume. 5. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 are cover pages and excerpts of two depositions where the witnesses (including Fattori) testified that they destroyed all their emails. 6. I have read opposing counsel's explanation for why they are now dealing in my attorney client privileged communications, Exhibit D to their motion. I state unequivocally that a substantial number of recipients of the email, Exhibit D, are persons who have expressly written to me or otherwise informed me that they wish to receive my advice in this matter. I further state that for those who have not so stated, I have been informed that they nevertheless wish to receive my and my law firm's work product information. In camera, we are more than willing to provide the Court with proof of the foregoing in connection with what unfortunately appears to be a 2 mandatory motion to disqualify opposing counsel in view of the fact that opposing counsel is openly and serially attempting to recover our firm's attorney client privileged and attorney work product protected emails. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing declaration and that the facts stated in it are true and correct. Dated: February 5, 2024 /s/ El’ad D. Botwin ELAD BOTWIN 3 EXHIBIT 1 MARGE FATTORI CANDIDATE FOR REC BOARD Palm Greens Condo 2 My name is Marge Fattori, I live on Sugar Palm Court. I am a full-time resident in Palm Greens. I am running for the Recreation Board to be more involved in this community and to stop the deceitfulness of the current Rec Board. In the last 4 years the current Rec Board has held very few open board meetings. Rec Board Association documents have been altered without a public vote, consent forms are used to push through topics and agendas, again without a public vote. It's time for a change of our Condo 2 representatives. No more changes without open board meetings and votes. I am committed to working with and supporting all clubs and events equally, I will not show any favoritism. I think at the present time our community is divided and in shambles. We have let ourselves become divided by gossip and false information. I am trying to be as objective and reasonable as possible. I do not think that the best interest of this community is being represented by the people that are spreading gossip and false information and suing members of the board. It seems to be a clear conflict of interest between holding office and litigation. They are telling you that these lawsuits are pro bono "free" but as a reasonable person who can logically think things through to the end, the end is the community pays through our condo fees. I want Palm Greens to be the best community to live in. The key to a great community is everyone working together along with an accessible and transparent board. I will be hands on with listening to your suggestions and taking them to the other members of the board for discussion. I'm motivated, have a lot of energy and am well organized and educated. I worked in the Criminal Justice System of New Jersey for 28 years, retiring in 2012 from my position as Supervising Senior Probation Officer. In 2014 I began a second career in the Insurance industry with AAA specializing in Medicare plans and financial planning for seniors and retired from that in 2018. I enjoy golf, reading, traveling and most of all cooking for a captive audience. I hope you will consider voting for me for the rec board of this community. It's time to stop the chaos. EXHIBIT 2 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF" CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR ROBINS, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, -vs- SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual; ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an individual, ANTHONY DiGENNARO, an individual; and ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN, an individual, Defendants. ____________________________________/ Zoom Videoconference, Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, 10:05 a.m., January 23, 2024. D E P O S I T I O N of MARJORIE FATTORI taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition [VIA ZOOM] _ _ _ BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 2 1 APPEARANCES: 2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA, LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by 3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq., Attorneys for Plaintiffs. 4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201 Coral Gables, FL 33134 5 Telephone: 305.377.1000 Facsimile: 844.273.9076 6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com 7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and 8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq., Attorneys for Defendants. 9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 10 Telephone: 954.302.2360 Facsimile: 888.464.7982 11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com 12 ALSO PRESENT: 13 SANDRA KLIMAS 14 ROBERT THOM ANTHONY DiGENNARO 15 ROBERT STERN - - - 16 INDEX OF EXAMINATION 17 WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS 18 MARJORIE FATTORI 19 [BY MR. BOTWIN] 6 --- [BY MR. YOMBOR] 29 --- 20 INDEX OF EXHIBITS 21 NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAGE 22 1 Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition 7 23 2 Resume of Marge Fattori 15 3 Verified First Amended Complaint 25 24 4 Joint Resolution 35 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 15 1 ask: Are the answers you just gave me with respect to 2 Request Number 9, would they be the same for the others? 3 A. Yes, they would. 4 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form. 5 [The Resume referred to below was 6 marked for identification as Exhibit No. 7 2.] 8 BY MR. BOTWIN: 9 Q. Okay. I will stop sharing the screen. 10 And bear with me for a moment while I pull up 11 that resume. 12 I'm attaching this as Exhibit 2 to the 13 transcript. 14 This is a resume that you submitted in 15 connection with the board. 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. And the first question I would like to ask is: 18 Have you ever seen this document before, Miss Fattori? 19 A. I wrote this document. 20 Q. Well, that answers my second question. 21 But, just to be clear, who prepared this 22 document? 23 A. I did. 24 MR. YOMBOR: Eli, can I make a quick 25 inquiry, just could I make a quick notice BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 16 1 for the record? 2 The highlation, is that part of the 3 original document, or is that post? 4 MR. BOTWIN: No. I don't think so. 5 BY MR. BOTWIN: 6 Q. Actually, Miss Fattori, is the highlighting 7 original or not? 8 A. It's original to my resume for running for 9 board through this year. 10 Q. Okay. So you're saying that you did apply this 11 highlighting yourself? 12 A. Yes, I did. 13 Q. Okay. Thank you. 14 MR. BOTWIN: Thank you, Kevin. That 15 clears things up. 16 BY MR. BOTWIN: 17 Q. Did you have any help in preparing this resume, 18 Miss Fattori? 19 A. I had some conversations with other people, 20 yes. 21 Q. Would you be able to tell me who those people 22 were? 23 A. I had conversations with Rob Thom concerning my 24 running for the board. 25 Q. Did you speak to anybody else with respect to BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 17 1 preparing this resume? 2 A. No. 3 Q. Would I be correct to say that Mr. Thom 4 assisted you in preparing this resume? 5 A. If you mean assisted by writing it, no, that 6 would not be correct. 7 Q. Okay. Did he assist you in terms of 8 information that you've put on this resume? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. Okay. Thank you. 11 Would you be able to specify which parts of the 12 resume that he provided you information in connection to? 13 A. He told me about the Rec Board using consent 14 documents to push things through without all of the board 15 knowing about it. 16 Q. Okay. 17 A. In so many--in so many words. 18 Q. I understand. 19 So would I be correct that the highlighted 20 section here that reads, "Rec Board Association documents 21 have been altered without a public vote, consent forms 22 are used to push through topics and agendas, again 23 without a public vote." That was a statement made with 24 information from Mr. Thom? 25 A. That was a decision I made to put that BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 18 1 statement in there with information I was given. 2 Q. Okay. Thank you. 3 I would like to ask: Did you produce any 4 documents that--or, I'm sorry. 5 Did you produce any copies of the documents 6 that you say were altered without a public vote? 7 MR. YOMBOR: Objection. 8 A. No. 9 BY MR. BOTWIN: 10 Q. Do you know of the existence of those 11 documents? 12 A. No, I don't. 13 Q. Are you aware of any particular documents that 14 you say were altered without a public vote? 15 A. No. 16 Q. Now, with respect to that, to your knowledge, 17 do you know who was involved in altering these Rec Board 18 documents without a public vote? 19 A. The president of the Rec Board, Mr. Robins. 20 Q. Okay. And is there anybody else that you 21 suspect may have been involved in altering the Rec Board 22 Association's documents without a public vote? 23 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of 24 the question. 25 THE WITNESS: I'm sorry. I didn't BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 19 1 hear what he said. 2 MR. YOMBOR: For me or for Eli? 3 THE WITNESS: For you, Kevin. 4 MR. YOMBOR: Oh. Oh, I just objected 5 to the form of the question, but you can 6 still answer the question. 7 A. I would suspect other members of the Rec Board 8 whose names I don't know. 9 BY MR. BOTWIN: 10 Q. Okay. Thank you. That would answer my 11 immediate question of who do you think... 12 All right. Thank you. 13 Do you believe that Rob Thom could have been 14 one of them? 15 A. He was not on, on the Rec Board. 16 Q. Okay. Thank you. 17 And, again, the one person that you can name in 18 your belief that Rec Board documents have been altered 19 without a public vote is Art Robins. Is that correct? 20 A. That's correct. 21 Q. And I think I asked--actually, it's kind of 22 related to my previous questions, but would you be able 23 to describe exactly what documents were altered without a 24 public vote? 25 A. No. BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 20 1 Q. Can you give me any idea of what documents you 2 think were altered without a public vote? 3 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of 4 the question. 5 A. Not at this time. 6 BY MR. BOTWIN: 7 Q. And with respect to the altering of documents, 8 Rec Board documents without a public vote, is this an 9 allegation that you believe in good faith? 10 Or, let me rephrase. 11 Do you have a good faith belief that Rec Board 12 documents have been altered without a public vote? 13 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of 14 the question. 15 BY MR. BOTWIN: 16 Q. If you understand you may answer. 17 A. Repeat the question. 18 Q. Do you believe in good faith that Rec Board 19 documents have been altered without a public vote? 20 MR. YOMBOR: Same objection. 21 A. Yes, I do. 22 BY MR. BOTWIN: 23 Q. And as you sit here today you still stick by 24 that statement that you made in the resume. 25 Is that correct? BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 21 1 A. Yes. 2 Q. Have you told people in the community of this 3 opinion regarding Rec Board documents being altered 4 without a public vote? 5 MR. YOMBOR: Objection to the form of 6 the question. 7 A. Well, being that everyone in the community got 8 this resume with their package to vote, I would say yes. 9 BY MR. BOTWIN: 10 Q. Okay. Sounds good. 11 Okay. Then I'll move on to another--actually, 12 it's kind of part of what we covered, but I want to go 13 toward the matter with the consent forms specifically. 14 And specifically in your resume you state that, 15 quote, "Consent forms are used to push through topics and 16 agendas, again without a public vote." End quote. 17 I'd first like to ask: Did you produce these 18 consent forms today? 19 A. No. 20 Q. Have you ever seen those consent forms? 21 A. No, I have not. 22 Q. Did you ever have possession of those consent 23 forms? 24 A. No, I have not. 25 Q. Do you know why you have never seen those BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 52 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 THE STATE OF FLORIDA ) 3 COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE ) 4 I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary 5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum 6 For Deposition in the above-entitled cause, MARJORIE FATTORI was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to 7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the 8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word under my personal supervision and that the said 9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony given by the witness. 10 I further certify that the said deposition was 11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of 12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of the cause. 13 The foregoing certification of this transcript 14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means unless under the direct control and/or direction of 15 the certifying reporter. 16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City of Miami, County of Dade, State of Florida, this 29th day 17 of January, 2024. 18 19 20 ________________________________ MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter 21 Notary Public - State of Florida My Commission # HH 278429 22 Expires: June 24, 2026 23 24 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 EXHIBIT 3 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF" CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR ROBINS, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, -vs- SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual; ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an individual, ANTHONY DiGENNARO, an individual; and ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN, an individual, Defendants. ____________________________________/ Zoom Videoconference, Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, 10:05 a.m., January 23, 2024. D E P O S I T I O N of MARJORIE FATTORI taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition [VIA ZOOM] _ _ _ BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 2 1 APPEARANCES: 2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA, LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by 3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq., Attorneys for Plaintiffs. 4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201 Coral Gables, FL 33134 5 Telephone: 305.377.1000 Facsimile: 844.273.9076 6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com 7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and 8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq., Attorneys for Defendants. 9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 10 Telephone: 954.302.2360 Facsimile: 888.464.7982 11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com 12 ALSO PRESENT: 13 SANDRA KLIMAS 14 ROBERT THOM ANTHONY DiGENNARO 15 ROBERT STERN - - - 16 INDEX OF EXAMINATION 17 WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS 18 MARJORIE FATTORI 19 [BY MR. BOTWIN] 6 --- [BY MR. YOMBOR] 29 --- 20 INDEX OF EXHIBITS 21 NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAGE 22 1 Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition 7 23 2 Resume of Marge Fattori 15 3 Verified First Amended Complaint 25 24 4 Joint Resolution 35 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 8 1 And I will now attach as Exhibit 1 to this 2 transcript that subpoena. 3 And let me pull it up real quick. 4 This is the subpoena. 5 Please confirm if you can see this on your 6 screens? 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. Okay. Great. 9 Now, as of today our offices have not received 10 any documents from you as were requested in the subpoena, 11 and my first question is to say with that: First 12 question is: Do you have any documents with you today? 13 A. No, I don't. 14 Q. Okay. Have you sent any documents to my office 15 or in the process of doing so? 16 A. No. 17 Q. Okay. Thank you. 18 I'm going to just scroll down through these 19 requests real quick and then ask a few quick questions. 20 I would like to first ask why you don't have 21 any documents with you today? 22 A. Because I routinely do not keep emails for 23 longer than 7 to 10 days; any emails that I receive. 24 Q. So, what you are saying is that you delete 25 emails in every 7 to 10 days or emails that are--- BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 9 1 A. Yes. 2 Q. Okay. 3 So, in other words, if you had any emails that 4 were responsive to these requests they would be no older 5 than about ten days? 6 A. That would be correct. 7 Q. Okay. And how long has it been your personal 8 policy, I suppose, to delete emails every 7 to 10 days? 9 A. Years. 10 Q. Okay. But, in any case, you've certainly been 11 doing it before, say, November of last year? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. And before 2022? 14 A. Before '21; before 2022. 15 Q. Okay. Thank you. 16 I just wanted to make sure I'm extra clear and 17 I'm not missing anything here. 18 Okay. Now, let me check this. 19 I will now ask with respect to these requests 20 that are on your screen: Did you search for documents 21 regarding or relating to each of these requests? 22 A. Yes, I did. I searched all the boxes--the 23 in-box, the--all mail; the trash, the spam, everything in 24 the emails and there's nothing in there. 25 There's nothing in there prior to--the only BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 10 1 thing that's in there, and I'll tell you exactly what it 2 is, 'cause from 2021 and it's documents pertaining to the 3 purchase of this home that I was buying when I was moving 4 down here to Florida. 5 Q. Okay. And that, I guess, would be considered 6 personal in nature? 7 A. Yes, it would. 8 Q. Okay. And your purchase did not--did it 9 involve the Boards, either of Condo--- 10 A. No, it didn't. 11 Q. Okay. I just want to make sure. Thank you. 12 And you're saying that is the only document 13 that you found that may possibly bear on the requests 14 that were included in the subpoena? 15 A. No. That's not what I'm saying. 16 What I'm saying is that they're the only 17 documents that were in the emails that were dated prior 18 to the date of the subpoena. 19 Once I got the subpoena I stopped deleting any 20 emails, including bills, thank you for your payments, all 21 those kinds of things and--but prior to January 5th I was 22 cleaning out my emails on a regular basis, as I stated 23 before. 24 Q. Okay. Thank you. 25 And I do appreciate that clarification since BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 11 1 that helps a lot. 2 And I do appreciate your reaction to preserve 3 anything that you received upon receipt of the subpoena. 4 Let me just check my notes and see if there's 5 anything I want to ask further about the document 6 production since I think you've pretty much covered what 7 I wanted to learn about. 8 I just have a few quick questions regarding--I 9 guess these documents may no longer be in existence since 10 you say that you delete anything from before the date of 11 the subpoena with the exception of the documents related 12 to the purchase of your home in 2021, and I just want to 13 ask a few quick questions about documents that were 14 called for via subpoena. 15 And, first of all, I'd like to ask: Have you 16 ever emailed Rob Thom? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. And has Mr. Thom ever emailed you? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. Have you ever emailed Sandra Klimas? 21 A. No. 22 Q. Has Miss Klimas ever emailed you? 23 A. No. 24 Q. Have you ever emailed Mr. Kevin Yombor, the 25 attorney sitting here today? BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 52 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 THE STATE OF FLORIDA ) 3 COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE ) 4 I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary 5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum 6 For Deposition in the above-entitled cause, MARJORIE FATTORI was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to 7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the 8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word under my personal supervision and that the said 9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony given by the witness. 10 I further certify that the said deposition was 11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of 12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of the cause. 13 The foregoing certification of this transcript 14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means unless under the direct control and/or direction of 15 the certifying reporter. 16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City of Miami, County of Dade, State of Florida, this 29th day 17 of January, 2024. 18 19 20 ________________________________ MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter 21 Notary Public - State of Florida My Commission # HH 278429 22 Expires: June 24, 2026 23 24 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION: "AF" CASE NO. 502023CA015733XXXAMB BETH SAFFER and ARTHUR ROBINS, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, -vs- SANDRA KLIMAS, an individual; ROBERT THOM aka ROB THOM, an individual, ANTHONY DiGENNARO, an individual; and ROBERT STERN aka BOB STERN, an individual, Defendants. ____________________________________/ Zoom Videoconference, Palm Beach, Florida, Wednesday, 1:10 p.m., February 2, 2024. D E P O S I T I O N of SUSAN R. HERMAN taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum for Deposition [VIA ZOOM] _ _ _ BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 2 1 APPEARANCES: 2 SANCHEZ-MEDINA, GONZALEZ, QUESADA, LAGE, GOMEZ & MACHADO, LLP, by 3 ELAD D. BOTWIN, Esq., Attorneys for Plaintiffs. 4 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1201 Coral Gables, FL 33134 5 Telephone: 305.377.1000 Facsimile: 844.273.9076 6 Email: Ebotwin@smgqlaw.com 7 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH, LLP, by KEVIN P. YOMBOR, Esq., and 8 LABEED A. CHOUDHRY, Esq., Attorneys for Defendants. 9 100 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Suite 1500 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 10 Telephone: 954.302.2360 Facsimile: 888.464.7982 11 Email: Kyombor@kdvlaw.com Secondary Email: Labeed.choudhry@kdvlaw.com 12 ALSO PRESENT: 13 SANDRA KLIMAS 14 ROBERT THOM ANTHONY DiGENNARO 15 ROBERT STERN 16 - - - 17 INDEX OF EXAMINATION 18 WITNESS DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS 19 SUSAN R. HERMAN 20 [BY MR. BOTWIN] 5 --- 21 [BY MR. CHOUDHRY] 66 --- 22 23 24 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 9 1 [The Subpoena Duces Tecum referred to 2 was marked for identification as Exhibit 3 No. 1.] 4 BY MR. BOTWIN: 5 Q. And, speaking of the subpoena, I do want to 6 refer to that real quick. 7 I'm going to attach it real quick as Exhibit 1 8 to this deposition and I will put it up on the screen. 9 And this will be a good way to test if you're able to see 10 documents on the screen because if there are any issues 11 we can rectify them now. 12 And this is the copy of the subpoena. 13 Let me know if it's legible to you. 14 A. It's legible. A little small. 15 Q. Okay. Then I'll zoom it in further. 16 A. Thank you. 17 Q. Okay. So that will make things easier. 18 I'm going to just quickly scroll down to the 19 requests just so it's here. 20 And you did say that you looked at the subpoena 21 before this deposition. 22 Did you also review the document requests? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. Okay. And I will stop sharing the screen. 25 At this point our offices have only received a BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 10 1 handful of text messages. Is that correct? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. You have not produced or turned over any emails 4 at this time. Is that correct? 5 A. Correct. Yes. 6 Q. And why is it that you haven't produced any 7 emails in response to the subpoena? 8 A. Because I don't have any. 9 Q. And why is it that you don't have any emails? 10 A. Because I regularly erase my emails. 11 I am a private citizen currently. I'm no 12 longer on any board or committee and I did not feel the 13 need to keep any emails. 14 Q. Okay. And, for regularly deleting emails, is 15 that something you normally do or is this more special 16 with respect to the board matters? 17 MR. CHOUDHRY: Objection. Form. 18 BY MR. BOTWIN: 19 Q. Do you understand? 20 MR. CHOUDHRY: Go ahead. You can 21 answer it. 22 THE WITNESS: Oh, oh. Okay. 23 MR. CHOUDHRY: Once in a while I might 24 say I might say objection object to the 25 form, but you can answer. BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 11 1 A. I regularly delete emails and texts. 2 BY MR. BOTWIN: 3 Q. Okay. How long have you been doing that 4 practice? 5 A. Well, I've always had that practice, but when I 6 was on the board or when I was on the PGCA I kept the 7 texts and the emails. 8 Q. Okay. Very well. 9 Now, other than emails and texts are you in 10 possession of any physical documents that would be 11 responsive to the subpoena? 12 A. Yes. I have a copy of the lawsuit and the 13 subpoena. 14 Q. Oh, let me clarify. I'm saying that other than 15 emails and texts do you have any physical documents that 16 would be responsive to the document requests that were 17 set forth in the subpoena? 18 A. No, I do not. 19 Q. Did you ever have possession of any documents 20 in the past before the subpoena? 21 A. Yes, I did. And when I got off the PGCA Board 22 I left the box with the Recreation Association. The box 23 of my documents and a flash drive. 24 Q. Okay. Thank you. 25 And now I just want to ask real quick about BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340 87 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 THE STATE OF FLORIDA ) 3 COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE ) 4 I, MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter and Notary 5 Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do hereby certify that, pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum 6 for Deposition in the above-entitled cause, SUSAN R. HERMAN was by me first duly cautioned and sworn to 7 testify the whole truth, and upon being carefully examined testified as is hereinabove shown, and the 8 testimony of said witness was reduced to written word under my personal supervision and that the said 9 deposition constitutes a true record of the testimony given by the witness. 10 I further certify that the said deposition was 11 taken at the time and place specified hereinabove and that I am neither of counsel nor solicitor to either of 12 the parties in said suit nor interested in the event of the cause. 13 The foregoing certification of this transcript 14 does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means unless under the direct control and/or direction of 15 the certifying reporter. 16 WITNESS my hand and official seal in the City of Miami, County of Miami-Dade, State of Florida, this 17 4th day of February, 2024. 18 19 20 ________________________________ MIREYA VEGA, Court Reporter 21 Notary Public - State of Florida My Commission # HH 278429 22 Expires: June 24, 2026 23 24 25 BRUMM, VEGA & ASSOCIATES, INC. (305) 374-3340