Party Discovery: Fidelity National Title Insurance Company-V-Gonzalez, Et Al Print

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                                ELECTRONICALLY FILED
               1     Mary Ann Rousso (SBN 289426)                                 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
                     FIDELITY NATIONAL LAW GROUP                                  COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
               2                                                                  SAN BERNARDINO DISTRICT
                     601 So. Figueroa Street, Suite 4025
                     Los Angeles, CA 90017                                        2/7/2024 10:05 PM
               3     Telephone: (213) 438-4416
                     Facsimile: (213) 438-4417                                    By: Abrianna Rodriguez, DEPUTY
               4     Email: mary-ann.rousso@fnf.com
               5     Attorney for Plaintiff, FIDELITY NATIONAL
                     TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY
               6
               7

               8                        SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

               9                       COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO, CENTRAL DISTRICT

              10
                     FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE                    Case No: CIVSB2130313
              11     COMPANY,
             12                                                           [Assigned to the Honorable Donald Alvarez,
                                         Plaintiffs,                       Department S23-SBJC]
              13
                     vs.                                                  [Complaint filed October 22, 2021]
             14
                     CESAR MONTANO, aka CESAR MONTANO,                    PLAINTIFF'S OPPOSITION TO
              15     JR., an individual; GOLDEN RULE LENDING,             DEFENDANT GOLDEN RULE LENDING,
                     LLC, a California Limited Liability Company;         LLC'S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA
             16      DOES I through I 00, inclusive.                      OF RECORDS TO WELLS FARGO BANK;
                                                                          MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND
             17
                                         Defendants.                      AUTHORITIES; DECLARATION OF
             18                                                           MARY ANN ROUSSO IN SUPPORT
                                                                          THEREOF
             19

             20                                                           Date: February 22, 2024
                                                                          Time: 8:30 a.m.
             21                                                           Dept.: S23-SBJC
             22

             23               COMES NOW Plaintiff, FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY

             24      ("Plaintiff' or "FIDELITY") and opposes GOLDEN RULE LENDING, LLC'S motion to quash a

             25      subpoena issued to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. for Production of Business Records for the

             26      production of the banking records for a California limited liability company called Golden Rule

             27      Lending, LLC, a defendant in this action.
                                                                      1
             28            PLAINTIFF'S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT GOLDEN RULE LENDING, LLC'S MOTION TO QUASH
DOCUMENT PREPARED          SUBPOENA OF RECORDS TO WELLS FARGO BANK; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES;
 ON RECYCLED PAPER         DECLARATION OF MARY ANN ROUSSO IN SUPPORT THEREOF
               1     I.      INTRODUCTION

               2             Defendant Golden Rule Lending, LLC (sometimes referred to herein as "Defendant
               3     LLC") or "GRC" or "GRL") seeks to quash Plaintiffs Subpoena for Defendant LLC's business
               4     banking records with Wells Fargo Bank. Defendants LLC's alleges that:
               5             The scope of Plaintiffs inquiry under the Subpoena is " ... well beyond any reasonable
               6     discovery time line or basis ...." [see Defendant LLC's Motion to Quash Deposition Subpoena

               7     ("Motion") at 3:21-24; see also 5:5-12.] because "Plaintiff alleges a fraudulent transaction
               8     that involves only one purported payment to GRC" [see Motion, 5:9-10.] and "[t]he entirety

               9     of the complaint deals with this one-month time frame as it relates to GRC." Based thereon,

             10      Defendant LLC argues that Plaintiff is only entitled to the discovery of "the single payment"
             11      ($87,573.00 paid to Defendant LLC from the sale proceeds of the Colton Property) or the "one
             12      month when the payment was issued." Defendant LLC argues that all other information is
             13      protected by Defendant's privacy privilege and thus not subject to discovery.
             14              Defendants' Motion is meritless. First, Plaintiff has adequately alleged, among other
             15      things, (1) its First Cause of Action for Fraud against Defendant LLC and Montano (through an
             16      alter ego theory of liability) for their participation in the creation, execution and recording of the
             17      forged Grant Deed [Exhibit 6 to Complaint, attached as Exhibit A to the RJN.]; (2) its Second

             18      Cause of action for Fraud against said Defendants based on the fraudulent Deed of Trust
             19      alleging the existence of an imaginary promissory note for $85,000.00 [see Exhibit 4 to
             20      Complaint, attached as Exhibit A to RJN] and; (3) its Third Cause of Action alleging a conspiracy
             21      among Defendants LLC, Montano and Gonzales to defraud the Insured into buying the Colton
             22      Property from the Defendants, with the intent to deceive and defraud the Insured and Plaintiff. In
             23      sum, the core of Plaintiffs Complaint seeks to hold the Defendant LLC liable for the full extent
             24      the fraud has damaged Plaintiff and extend the liability to Montano based on an alter ego theory
             25      of liability.   As such, Plaintiffs Complaint does not seek to merely disgorge Defendant LLC of
             26      its ill-gotten gain of $87,753.00. Accordingly, the permissible scope of discovery available to
             27
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             28           PLAINTIFF'S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT GOLDEN RULE LENDING, LLC'S MOTION TO QUASH
DOCUMENT PREPARED         SUBPOENA OF RECORDS TO WELLS FARGO BANK; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES;
 ON RECYCLED PAPER        DECLARATION OF MARY ANN ROUSSO IN SUPPORT THEREOF