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F Superior Court of California F
County of Butte
Trevor Quirk (SBN: 241626) | |
Leonidas Nicol (SBN: 309190) L 2/3/2021 L
QUIRK LAW Firm, LLP
877 S. Victoria Ave., Suite 111
D xntopreul Cork D
Ventura, CA 93003
By Deputy
Tel: (805) 650-7778 Electronically FILED
Fax: (866) 728-7721
Attorneys for Plaintiffs Adriana Margarita Reynoso, Jose Gonzalez and Carlos Gonzalez
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR THE COUNTY OF BUTTE
ADRIANA MARGARITA REYNOSO, an Case No.: 18CV01433
individual, JOSE GONZALEZ, an individual;
10
CARLOS GONZALEZ, JR., minor, by and Unlimited Jurisdiction
11 through his guardian ad litem ADRIANA
MARGARITA REYNOSO, DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL
12 IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO
Plaintiffs, DEFENDANTS ROCKEY DEAN BURCH’S
13
Vv, MOTION FOR SUMMARY
ADJUDICATION
ROCKEY DEAN BURCH, an individual,
RICHARD THOMPSON, an individual, Hearing Date: February 17, 2021
a MARY LAKE-THOMPSON, an individual, Time: 9:00 a.m.
DOES | through 10 and ROE Corporations 1 Dept: 1
17 through 10, Inclusive,
Trial Date: March 22, 2021
18 Defendants
19
20 I, Leonidas Nicol, Declare:
21 1 lam an attorney licensed to practice law in California. Iam a Partner at Quirk Law
22 Firm, LLP, counsel for Plaintiffs in this matter. I have personal knowledge of the following facts
23 and would testify to those facts if called as a witness in this proceeding.
24 2 Attached as Exhibit | is a true and correct copies of the relevant portions of the
25 deposition of Vidal Gonzalez Rodrigues.
26 3 Attached as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of Adriana Reynoso and Decedent
27 Carlos Gonzalez’ marriage certificate.
28 4 Attached as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Adriana
DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY
DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Page 1 of3
Reynoso’s Responses to Special Interrogatories.
5 Attached as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Carlos
Gonzalez Jr.’s Responses to Special Interrogatories.
6 Attached as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Mrs.
Mary Lake-Thompson’s deposition transcript.
7 Attached as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Jose
Gonzalez’s Responses to Special Interrogatories.
8 Attached as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Mary
Lake-Thompson’s deposition transcript.
10 9 Attached as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Rockey
11 Dean Burch’s Response to Request for Admission.
12 10. Attached as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
13 Deposition of Rockey Dean Burch.
11. Attached as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
Deposition of Officer Caleb Stewart.
a 12. Attached as Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Exhibit
17 1 to Officer Caleb Stewart’s Deposition [Traffic Collision Report].
18 13. Attached as Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
19 Trial Testimony of Officer Caleb Stewart from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial
20 regarding this matter.
21 14. Attached as Exhibit 13 are true and correct copies of Exhibits 2-7 from Officer
22 Caleb Stewart’s Deposition.
23 15. Attached as Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of
24 Rockey Dean Burch’s Response to Form Interrogatories.
25 16. Attached as Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
26 Trial Testimony of Rockey Dean Burch from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial
27 regarding this matter.
28 17. Attached as Exhibit 16 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY
DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Page 2 of3
Trial Testimony of Sergeant Don Pederson from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial
regarding this matter.
18. Attached as Exhibit 17 is a true and correct copy of the Forensic Autopsy Report
of Thomas K. Resk, M.D.
19. Attached as Exhibit 18 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the
Trial Testimony of Vidal Gonzalez Rodrigues from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal
trial regarding this matter.
20. Attached as Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of the Carlos Gonzalez’s Death
Certificate.
10 21. Attached as Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of the Rockey Dean Burch’s
11 Criminal Case Disposition taken from Butte County Superior Court’s Case Inquiry.
12
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of California that the foregoing is true
13
and correct and that this Declaration was executed in Ventura, California.
Dated: February 3, 2021.
a
* a.
17 “
< x z
18
By:
Quirk Law Firm, LLP
19 Leonidas Nicol, Esq
Attorney for Plaintiffs
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY
DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Page 3 of3
EXHIBIT 1
Page 26
some siblings that live in Los Angeles and that's
where he arrived first.
Q Okay. And do you have any understanding,
estimate, as to how long he'd been in Los Angeles
before he came up here to see you?
A Well, I don't know exactly but I would
guess around two or three weeks as well, I believe.
Q All right. Was there any particular
reason -- uh, well, let me back up. Had he visited
10 you, uh, before 2018? Um, had he visited you here
11 before 2018?
12 A Yes. He had come here before for two or
13 three weeks as well.
14 Q Okay. And I guess what I'm trying to
15 figure out is whether there was any particular
16 reason why he came to visit you or it was just a
17 brother coming to visit his brother just to see him?
18 A Yeah. He just came to visit me.
19 Q Now, on the day of the accident, it's my
(20 understanding he was, uh, out at the Thompsons and
in and around the Thompsons’ property helping you do
22 your work; is that true?
23 A Yes.
24 Q Were you -- were you paying him anything,
25 uh, for the work he was doing with you?
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No.
No
A He would always go with me. It would be
Q So I take it that he'd been with you, um,
10 at the Thompsons' before the date of the accident?
11 A Yes.
12 Q And was he also with you when you went to
13 some of the other houses and homes that you worked
14 at at that time?
15 A Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't.
16 Q And, um, in 2018 when he was with you when
17 you would go to your job sites with you, did you pay
18 him at all, uh, for that work?
19 A No.
20 Q Do you know, um, did the Thompsons ever
21 pay him at any time in 2018 when he was there
22 helping you do work?
23 A No.
24 Q Do you know if the Thompsons, either
25 Richard or Mary Lake, had they ever met Carlos?
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A It's not very much. Maybe some five
minutes or six.
Q And tell me -- well, let me ask you this.
Did Carlos tell you where he was going to do this
additional weed-eating that he was going to go do?
A Yes. Yes, he told me.
Q Once you got to the place where you were
A When I arrived at the place where I was
‘the -- the crash. That's when I heard the sounds.
Q And, um, were you out of your truck at
A TI had just gotten out of the pickup.
Q And can you describe for me a little bit
A The blow. That's all. The blow when they
Q All right. Um, what did you do next?
A I--- I was going to stay right there and
unload the trailer. I was still standing there, but
Q And was the truck on the road when you saw
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a A It was going down the road. It went by.
3 Q = Foothill Boulevard?
4 A Yes.
5 Q = So what did you do then?
6 A I saw the truck that had -- had been
8 Q Did the truck seem to -- other than the
A I heard a noise that it made, like, the
Q Okay. Did you notice anything else other
A No. I just thought that they had had an
accident.
18 Q Okay. And tell me what happened next?
19 A That's when I ran because I couldn't see
20 where he was. I couldn't see him. I was farther
21 away.
22 Q And "him" and "he," are you talking about
23 Carlos?
24 A Yes.
25 Q When you started to run, was that -- was
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that running across the ranch property?
A Yes.
Q And did you have an idea of where -- where
you were running to on the property?
A Who, me?
Q Yes.
A Yes.
Q And where on the property was it that you
9 were planning on running?
10 A To where I had heard the accident.
11 Q All right. And is the location generally
12 where we see in Exhibit 4 that location as you
13 understood it?
14 A Yes.
i Q How long did it take you to run from your:
(16 truck to get to the scene of the accident?
a7 A Just a little, some three minutes.
18 Q Um, briefly, if you will, tell me what you
19 saw when you got to the scene.
20 A My brother thrown on the ground.
21 Q Okay. Do we need to take a break?
22 A No. It's fine.
23 Q Okay. Showing you what's been marked as
24 Exhibit 8, does that -- can you see in that
25 photograph the place where your brother was when you
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Q And he lived in -- where did he live in
April of 2018? I heard you say he lived at your
house when he came there, but where did he actually
live?
A In Mexico.
Q Right. And then he came into the United
States to make money and send back to his kids and
wife, didn't he?
A I don't know. Most likely.
Q Well, you know that to be true because he
was
brother,
your don't you?
A Yes.
13 Q Okay. And so he had been doing that for
14 how long before April of 2018? When I say that,
15 that means coming into the United States, making
16 money and sending to his kids and wife. How long
17 had he -- he been doing that?
18 A Well, he came to Los Angeles; but, here,
19 he just came to visit me for a few weeks.
20 Q Let me try the question again.
21 Mr. Gonzalez, how long had Mr Reynoso
22 been coming into the United States from Mexico,
23 making money and sending it back to his wife; couple
24 years, five years, ten years, how long?
25 A I don't know. He didn't come that often.
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A Well, at that time he was going on three weeks and
he was about to go, he was just about to go back.
Q And before that visit, the April 2018 visit, when
was the last time he came up to see you?
A I don't remember. It had been about two or three
years. I don't remember exactly.
Q Who planned the trip for him to come up in April
2018, who planned that?
A Well, he did.
10 Q How was that planned?
11 A I don't know.
12 Q How did you know he was coming?
(13, ‘A. He was coming from Los Angeles. He came from there
and came to visit me.
Q. How did you know he was coming?
‘16 A. To visit
come me?”
i Q. Yes.
(18 ‘A. Because he called me and said he was going to come
and visit me.
20 Q. How far in advance did he call you and say he was:
coming to visit you?
(22 ‘A. Well, a week or two.
23 Q. Where was he when he called you and said he was
coming
to visit you?
25 A. In Los Angeles with his siblings. He arrived there.
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1 Q How long had he been in Los Angeles, if you know?
2 A. I don't know. That's where he stayed. He would
3 | come and visit me here for a while and then he would go back
4) down there maybe two months or three months. I don't know.
5 Qe ‘Do you know if your brother had papers?
6 AL ‘Yes.
@ Qe ‘How do you know that?
He was a citizen. He became a citizen.
AL Well, yes.
Qe When did he show you his passport?
21 A Well, not long after he became a citizen. I don't
22 remember what year it was.
23 Q Was it more than five years ago?
24 A I don't remember exactly.
25 Q You can estimate for me. Like how about -- your
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A Does that seem a low amount to you?
Q Your mom and dad were very busy parents, I imagine.
I have three, and I can only imagine 13. That's incredible.
A Families used to be much larger. There used to be a
lot of large families. In my wife's family there are 12.
Q In your family there's only four, right, you said?
A Yes.
Q Who was closest to Carlos? Out of all your brothers
and sisters, who was closest to him?
10 A Well, we all got a long well. We would all get
11 together in groups and we all just got along fine together.
12 Q Right. But so -- how old are you, Vidal?
13 A I'm 62 now, going to be 63 in October.
14 Q How old was Carlos?
15 A He was 46 or 47. Around there.
16 Q Yeah. He was younger than you, considerably
17 younger, right? That's like 15 years or something? 10? I
18 don't know.
19 A Yes. Around there.
20 Q So when you were growing up, who was he closest to?
21 Like in the family, who did he hang out with the most?
22 A Well, I came here when I was younger and they stayed
23 there behind in Mexico, so they...
24 Q How old were you when you came to the U.S.?
25 A But he would spend time with everyone.
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A Well, in Juchipila, Zacatecas.
Q And where is that in Mexico in relation to Los
Angeles? How far away?
A Well, I don't know.
Q. Is it more than an hour away?
A. 3,000 miles? Around 30 hours in a car.
Q. How did your brother get from Zacatecas to Los
Angeles in 2018, if you know?
A. No, I don't know.
Q. How did your brother get from Los Angeles to your
home
Palermo
in in 20187
‘A. He came on a bus.
Q. Did you pick him up from the bus stop?
A. Yes.
15 Q When you picked him up at the bus stop did he have
16 luggage with him?
17 A Yes.
18 Q How many bags?
19 A One.
20 Q Was it like a backpack or something that you roll on
21 the ground? What was it?
22 A It was a small valise.
23 Q A small -- I'm sorry?
24 THE INTERPRETER: Valise, V-A-L-I-S-E.
25 BY MR. QUIRK: Q What is that?
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Well, it's like a backpack.
Okay. What did he have in it, if you know?
Well, he had clothing with him.
Did he have work boots?
No.
Q. When you picked him up from the bus stop, do you
‘remember what day of the week that was?
AL No, no. We're talking about almost three years ago.
Qa Right. Where did you take him?
AL ‘To
house.
my
Qe ‘How
bedrooms
many is your house?
AL ‘Three.
Qe And he stayed in one of those bedrooms, right?
AL ‘Yes.
15 Q And did he help you do work around your house while
16 he was staying there?
17 A Yes. Well, he cut the yard there too, but -- well,
18 it's small.
19 Q Was your brother a tradesman, like he was good at
20 any particular trade like, for example, he was a carpenter or
21 a plumber or a welder or something like that?
22 A No.
23 Q What was he good at?
24 A Well, he works like we did, the way we were taught
25 to, working in the fields.
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Q Was he a hard worker?
A Well, he did not come up here too much, but I
imagine he worked in Mexico and he worked in Los Angeles.
Q When he worked with you, was he a hard worker?
A Yes.
MR. MULLER: Objection. Vague.
BY MR. QUIRK: Q Did you talk with him about his
family?
No, no. We didn't talk about that much.
10 Did you talk with him about his wife?
11 No. Well, he had plans to come here with his family
12 though
Q. So you talked to him about his wife?
A. Yes, he wanted to bring his family here so that his
children could learn English. That was his plan, but it never
17 Q Was that like one of his dreams?
18 A Yes, that was his dream.
19 Q And was he working in the United States to make that
20 dream happen or what was he doing?
21 MR. MULLER: Objection. Form, foundation.
22 THE WITNESS: How's that?
23 BY MR. QUIRK: Q You said his dream was to bring
24 his family from Mexico to the United States so his kids could
25 learn English, right?
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Q. And did he tell you that one of the reasons he
‘A. No, you don't earn much down there.
Q. Did he tell you that?
A. Yes.
Q And that's one of the reasons he wanted to come
here, correct?
A Yes.
10 Q You and he talked about that, right?
11 A Yes.
12 Q Did he tell you what part he -- of the U.S. he
13 wanted to come to?
14 A Yes, he likes it up here, up in the north, up here
15 where I am.
16 Q Did he tell you, I want to bring my wife and kids up
17 to Northern California and live close to you?
18 A Uh-huh, yes.
19 Q When did he tell you that?
20 A Well, during those days when he was here.
21 Q In April of 2018?
22 A Yes.
23 Q. Did he tell you about his children? His boys?
24 A. Yes, he wanted to bring them here so that they could)
(25) go
school.
to
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Yes.
Q And you saw Carlos there?
A Yes. We went here and there together.
Q And did you see his wife and kids when you went
there in January of 2018?
A Yes.
@ Q. Where were they Living?
8 A. Well, they were there in Juchipila, Zacatecas. IT
9 don't know the exact address, but that's where they were
(10 living.
11 Q Were they living in a house or apartment? What?
12 In a house.
13 Did he own the house, if you know?
14 A I don't know.
15 Q Who did he live with in that house other than his
16 wife and kids, if anybody?
17 A No, I don't know.
18 Q How big was the house? Describe it.
19 A Well, I never slept there. I imagine two bedrooms.
20 I don't know.
21 Q Well, you saw it, right?
22 A Yes.
23 Q Is it -- was it in a big city or was it out in the
24 country?
25 A It was in a little town there. Well, it's a large
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His boys were teenagers, correct?
Yes.
His boys were not working, were they?
I -- I don't know. I don't know.
Q Was he working in January of 2018 in Mexico?
A I don't know. I was only there for a week, but he
did have a small piece of an orchard there so I imagine he
worked there also.
Q Was he rich?
10 A No, not rich at all.
11 Q Was he poor?
12 A Well, yes. We have been poor our entire lives.
13, Q. And that's why he was talking to you about that
14 dream of his of bringing his family over and living in
i Palermo, right?
16 AL Yes.
17 Q Do you know if his wife is a United States citizen?
18 A I don't know.
19 What about his kids; do you know that?
20 No.
21 Are you?
22 I just recently became a United States citizen,
23 about two years ago.
24 Q Congratulations.
25 At the time of this incident in April of 2018 were
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MR QUIRK: Just state your objection, Counsel.
MR MULLER: I'm sorry, I thought that's what you
were asking. Apologize.
MR QUIRK: No problem.
Q Mr Vidal, is there any part of that that I got
wrong?
A Just like you're saying that he was working. He
wasn't working there. He wasn't working there earning money;
he was just there helping me.
Q. Your testimony is that he was there helping you for
AL
Qe
AL
Qa
AL
Qe
AL
Qe
AL No.
Qe Why didn't you offer to pay him?
(22 AL Because he did not come there to work. He was just
23 accompanying
me. That's all.
24 Q How much were the Thompsons paying you at that time?
25 A They were paying me $25 an hour.
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EXHIBIT 2
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Identificador Electrénico
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——
Entidad de Registro iF
Nox
Acta de Matrimonio ZACATECAS
Municipio de Registro Kou)
Pex
i JUCHIPILA
Fecha de Inscripcién del Matrimonio
:
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Oficialia
30/05/1996
Libro Namero de Acta y
a 0001 4 00075 x son
23 SPECIAL INTERROGATORY NO. 64:
24 For each individual identified in your answer to interrogatory number 62, state the
25 amount of financial support provided by decedent.
26 Mt
27 Ml
28
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, 16
VERIFICATION BY PARTY - PURSUANT TO CCP 446
| ~—————-Reynoso,
et al v. Burch, et-al, County
of Butte; Case No.: 18€V0433—- a
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET
ONE
1 am the plaintiff in this action. I am familiar with the contents of the foregoing responses t
discovery. The information supplied therein is based on my own personal knowledge and/or was supplied
by my attorneys or other agents and/or compiled from available documents and is therefore provided ag
required by law. The information contained in the foregoing document is true, except as to the matters
10 which were provided by my attorneys or other agents or compiled from available documents. The
li information contained within the foregoing document is limited to our present knowledge as required b:
12
the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.060(g); therefore, all of these responses ard
13
necessarily subject to further investigation and discovery and this party is under no legal or other obligatio1
14
to supplement or correct such responses.
15
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true
16
and correct.
17
18
19 Date: A ; x IO §
JOSE GONZALEZ
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
EXHIBIT6
17 SPEAKER 4: THANKS.
18 BY SPEAKER 1:
19 Q NOW, DID YOU HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH YOUR
20 HUSBAND HOW MUCH HE WAS EARNING WORKING FOR VIDAL?
21 A NO, HE JUST TOLD ME HE WAS EARNING MORE BUT HE
22 DIDN'T TELL ME HOW MUCH.
23 Q SO VIDAL WOULD BE THE ONE WHO WOULD KNOW HOW
24 MUCH HE WAS EARNING?
25 I THINK WE ARE FROZEN AGAIN. MISINTERPRET
17
TERM, CAN WE CHECK IF
Preview
F Superior Court of California F County of Butte Trevor Quirk (SBN: 241626) | | Leonidas Nicol (SBN: 309190) L 2/3/2021 L QUIRK LAW Firm, LLP 877 S. Victoria Ave., Suite 111 D xntopreul Cork D Ventura, CA 93003 By Deputy Tel: (805) 650-7778 Electronically FILED Fax: (866) 728-7721 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Adriana Margarita Reynoso, Jose Gonzalez and Carlos Gonzalez SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF BUTTE ADRIANA MARGARITA REYNOSO, an Case No.: 18CV01433 individual, JOSE GONZALEZ, an individual; 10 CARLOS GONZALEZ, JR., minor, by and Unlimited Jurisdiction 11 through his guardian ad litem ADRIANA MARGARITA REYNOSO, DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL 12 IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO Plaintiffs, DEFENDANTS ROCKEY DEAN BURCH’S 13 Vv, MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION ROCKEY DEAN BURCH, an individual, RICHARD THOMPSON, an individual, Hearing Date: February 17, 2021 a MARY LAKE-THOMPSON, an individual, Time: 9:00 a.m. DOES | through 10 and ROE Corporations 1 Dept: 1 17 through 10, Inclusive, Trial Date: March 22, 2021 18 Defendants 19 20 I, Leonidas Nicol, Declare: 21 1 lam an attorney licensed to practice law in California. Iam a Partner at Quirk Law 22 Firm, LLP, counsel for Plaintiffs in this matter. I have personal knowledge of the following facts 23 and would testify to those facts if called as a witness in this proceeding. 24 2 Attached as Exhibit | is a true and correct copies of the relevant portions of the 25 deposition of Vidal Gonzalez Rodrigues. 26 3 Attached as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of Adriana Reynoso and Decedent 27 Carlos Gonzalez’ marriage certificate. 28 4 Attached as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Adriana DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Page 1 of3 Reynoso’s Responses to Special Interrogatories. 5 Attached as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Carlos Gonzalez Jr.’s Responses to Special Interrogatories. 6 Attached as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Mrs. Mary Lake-Thompson’s deposition transcript. 7 Attached as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Jose Gonzalez’s Responses to Special Interrogatories. 8 Attached as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Mary Lake-Thompson’s deposition transcript. 10 9 Attached as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Rockey 11 Dean Burch’s Response to Request for Admission. 12 10. Attached as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the 13 Deposition of Rockey Dean Burch. 11. Attached as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the Deposition of Officer Caleb Stewart. a 12. Attached as Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of Exhibit 17 1 to Officer Caleb Stewart’s Deposition [Traffic Collision Report]. 18 13. Attached as Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the 19 Trial Testimony of Officer Caleb Stewart from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial 20 regarding this matter. 21 14. Attached as Exhibit 13 are true and correct copies of Exhibits 2-7 from Officer 22 Caleb Stewart’s Deposition. 23 15. Attached as Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of 24 Rockey Dean Burch’s Response to Form Interrogatories. 25 16. Attached as Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the 26 Trial Testimony of Rockey Dean Burch from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial 27 regarding this matter. 28 17. Attached as Exhibit 16 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Page 2 of3 Trial Testimony of Sergeant Don Pederson from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial regarding this matter. 18. Attached as Exhibit 17 is a true and correct copy of the Forensic Autopsy Report of Thomas K. Resk, M.D. 19. Attached as Exhibit 18 is a true and correct copy of the relevant portions of the Trial Testimony of Vidal Gonzalez Rodrigues from Defendant Rocky Dean Burch’s criminal trial regarding this matter. 20. Attached as Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of the Carlos Gonzalez’s Death Certificate. 10 21. Attached as Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of the Rockey Dean Burch’s 11 Criminal Case Disposition taken from Butte County Superior Court’s Case Inquiry. 12 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of California that the foregoing is true 13 and correct and that this Declaration was executed in Ventura, California. Dated: February 3, 2021. a * a. 17 “ < x z 18 By: Quirk Law Firm, LLP 19 Leonidas Nicol, Esq Attorney for Plaintiffs 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DECLARATION OF LEONIDAS NICOL IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT ROCKEY DEAN BURCH MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Page 3 of3 EXHIBIT 1 Page 26 some siblings that live in Los Angeles and that's where he arrived first. Q Okay. And do you have any understanding, estimate, as to how long he'd been in Los Angeles before he came up here to see you? A Well, I don't know exactly but I would guess around two or three weeks as well, I believe. Q All right. Was there any particular reason -- uh, well, let me back up. Had he visited 10 you, uh, before 2018? Um, had he visited you here 11 before 2018? 12 A Yes. He had come here before for two or 13 three weeks as well. 14 Q Okay. And I guess what I'm trying to 15 figure out is whether there was any particular 16 reason why he came to visit you or it was just a 17 brother coming to visit his brother just to see him? 18 A Yeah. He just came to visit me. 19 Q Now, on the day of the accident, it's my (20 understanding he was, uh, out at the Thompsons and in and around the Thompsons’ property helping you do 22 your work; is that true? 23 A Yes. 24 Q Were you -- were you paying him anything, 25 uh, for the work he was doing with you? Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 27 No. No A He would always go with me. It would be Q So I take it that he'd been with you, um, 10 at the Thompsons' before the date of the accident? 11 A Yes. 12 Q And was he also with you when you went to 13 some of the other houses and homes that you worked 14 at at that time? 15 A Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't. 16 Q And, um, in 2018 when he was with you when 17 you would go to your job sites with you, did you pay 18 him at all, uh, for that work? 19 A No. 20 Q Do you know, um, did the Thompsons ever 21 pay him at any time in 2018 when he was there 22 helping you do work? 23 A No. 24 Q Do you know if the Thompsons, either 25 Richard or Mary Lake, had they ever met Carlos? Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 41 A It's not very much. Maybe some five minutes or six. Q And tell me -- well, let me ask you this. Did Carlos tell you where he was going to do this additional weed-eating that he was going to go do? A Yes. Yes, he told me. Q Once you got to the place where you were A When I arrived at the place where I was ‘the -- the crash. That's when I heard the sounds. Q And, um, were you out of your truck at A TI had just gotten out of the pickup. Q And can you describe for me a little bit A The blow. That's all. The blow when they Q All right. Um, what did you do next? A I--- I was going to stay right there and unload the trailer. I was still standing there, but Q And was the truck on the road when you saw Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 42 a A It was going down the road. It went by. 3 Q = Foothill Boulevard? 4 A Yes. 5 Q = So what did you do then? 6 A I saw the truck that had -- had been 8 Q Did the truck seem to -- other than the A I heard a noise that it made, like, the Q Okay. Did you notice anything else other A No. I just thought that they had had an accident. 18 Q Okay. And tell me what happened next? 19 A That's when I ran because I couldn't see 20 where he was. I couldn't see him. I was farther 21 away. 22 Q And "him" and "he," are you talking about 23 Carlos? 24 A Yes. 25 Q When you started to run, was that -- was Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 43 that running across the ranch property? A Yes. Q And did you have an idea of where -- where you were running to on the property? A Who, me? Q Yes. A Yes. Q And where on the property was it that you 9 were planning on running? 10 A To where I had heard the accident. 11 Q All right. And is the location generally 12 where we see in Exhibit 4 that location as you 13 understood it? 14 A Yes. i Q How long did it take you to run from your: (16 truck to get to the scene of the accident? a7 A Just a little, some three minutes. 18 Q Um, briefly, if you will, tell me what you 19 saw when you got to the scene. 20 A My brother thrown on the ground. 21 Q Okay. Do we need to take a break? 22 A No. It's fine. 23 Q Okay. Showing you what's been marked as 24 Exhibit 8, does that -- can you see in that 25 photograph the place where your brother was when you Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 57 Q And he lived in -- where did he live in April of 2018? I heard you say he lived at your house when he came there, but where did he actually live? A In Mexico. Q Right. And then he came into the United States to make money and send back to his kids and wife, didn't he? A I don't know. Most likely. Q Well, you know that to be true because he was brother, your don't you? A Yes. 13 Q Okay. And so he had been doing that for 14 how long before April of 2018? When I say that, 15 that means coming into the United States, making 16 money and sending to his kids and wife. How long 17 had he -- he been doing that? 18 A Well, he came to Los Angeles; but, here, 19 he just came to visit me for a few weeks. 20 Q Let me try the question again. 21 Mr. Gonzalez, how long had Mr Reynoso 22 been coming into the United States from Mexico, 23 making money and sending it back to his wife; couple 24 years, five years, ten years, how long? 25 A I don't know. He didn't come that often. Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 78 A Well, at that time he was going on three weeks and he was about to go, he was just about to go back. Q And before that visit, the April 2018 visit, when was the last time he came up to see you? A I don't remember. It had been about two or three years. I don't remember exactly. Q Who planned the trip for him to come up in April 2018, who planned that? A Well, he did. 10 Q How was that planned? 11 A I don't know. 12 Q How did you know he was coming? (13, ‘A. He was coming from Los Angeles. He came from there and came to visit me. Q. How did you know he was coming? ‘16 A. To visit come me?” i Q. Yes. (18 ‘A. Because he called me and said he was going to come and visit me. 20 Q. How far in advance did he call you and say he was: coming to visit you? (22 ‘A. Well, a week or two. 23 Q. Where was he when he called you and said he was coming to visit you? 25 A. In Los Angeles with his siblings. He arrived there. Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 79 1 Q How long had he been in Los Angeles, if you know? 2 A. I don't know. That's where he stayed. He would 3 | come and visit me here for a while and then he would go back 4) down there maybe two months or three months. I don't know. 5 Qe ‘Do you know if your brother had papers? 6 AL ‘Yes. @ Qe ‘How do you know that? He was a citizen. He became a citizen. AL Well, yes. Qe When did he show you his passport? 21 A Well, not long after he became a citizen. I don't 22 remember what year it was. 23 Q Was it more than five years ago? 24 A I don't remember exactly. 25 Q You can estimate for me. Like how about -- your Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 85 A Does that seem a low amount to you? Q Your mom and dad were very busy parents, I imagine. I have three, and I can only imagine 13. That's incredible. A Families used to be much larger. There used to be a lot of large families. In my wife's family there are 12. Q In your family there's only four, right, you said? A Yes. Q Who was closest to Carlos? Out of all your brothers and sisters, who was closest to him? 10 A Well, we all got a long well. We would all get 11 together in groups and we all just got along fine together. 12 Q Right. But so -- how old are you, Vidal? 13 A I'm 62 now, going to be 63 in October. 14 Q How old was Carlos? 15 A He was 46 or 47. Around there. 16 Q Yeah. He was younger than you, considerably 17 younger, right? That's like 15 years or something? 10? I 18 don't know. 19 A Yes. Around there. 20 Q So when you were growing up, who was he closest to? 21 Like in the family, who did he hang out with the most? 22 A Well, I came here when I was younger and they stayed 23 there behind in Mexico, so they... 24 Q How old were you when you came to the U.S.? 25 A But he would spend time with everyone. Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 90 A Well, in Juchipila, Zacatecas. Q And where is that in Mexico in relation to Los Angeles? How far away? A Well, I don't know. Q. Is it more than an hour away? A. 3,000 miles? Around 30 hours in a car. Q. How did your brother get from Zacatecas to Los Angeles in 2018, if you know? A. No, I don't know. Q. How did your brother get from Los Angeles to your home Palermo in in 20187 ‘A. He came on a bus. Q. Did you pick him up from the bus stop? A. Yes. 15 Q When you picked him up at the bus stop did he have 16 luggage with him? 17 A Yes. 18 Q How many bags? 19 A One. 20 Q Was it like a backpack or something that you roll on 21 the ground? What was it? 22 A It was a small valise. 23 Q A small -- I'm sorry? 24 THE INTERPRETER: Valise, V-A-L-I-S-E. 25 BY MR. QUIRK: Q What is that? Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 91 Well, it's like a backpack. Okay. What did he have in it, if you know? Well, he had clothing with him. Did he have work boots? No. Q. When you picked him up from the bus stop, do you ‘remember what day of the week that was? AL No, no. We're talking about almost three years ago. Qa Right. Where did you take him? AL ‘To house. my Qe ‘How bedrooms many is your house? AL ‘Three. Qe And he stayed in one of those bedrooms, right? AL ‘Yes. 15 Q And did he help you do work around your house while 16 he was staying there? 17 A Yes. Well, he cut the yard there too, but -- well, 18 it's small. 19 Q Was your brother a tradesman, like he was good at 20 any particular trade like, for example, he was a carpenter or 21 a plumber or a welder or something like that? 22 A No. 23 Q What was he good at? 24 A Well, he works like we did, the way we were taught 25 to, working in the fields. Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 92 Q Was he a hard worker? A Well, he did not come up here too much, but I imagine he worked in Mexico and he worked in Los Angeles. Q When he worked with you, was he a hard worker? A Yes. MR. MULLER: Objection. Vague. BY MR. QUIRK: Q Did you talk with him about his family? No, no. We didn't talk about that much. 10 Did you talk with him about his wife? 11 No. Well, he had plans to come here with his family 12 though Q. So you talked to him about his wife? A. Yes, he wanted to bring his family here so that his children could learn English. That was his plan, but it never 17 Q Was that like one of his dreams? 18 A Yes, that was his dream. 19 Q And was he working in the United States to make that 20 dream happen or what was he doing? 21 MR. MULLER: Objection. Form, foundation. 22 THE WITNESS: How's that? 23 BY MR. QUIRK: Q You said his dream was to bring 24 his family from Mexico to the United States so his kids could 25 learn English, right? Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 94 Q. And did he tell you that one of the reasons he ‘A. No, you don't earn much down there. Q. Did he tell you that? A. Yes. Q And that's one of the reasons he wanted to come here, correct? A Yes. 10 Q You and he talked about that, right? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Did he tell you what part he -- of the U.S. he 13 wanted to come to? 14 A Yes, he likes it up here, up in the north, up here 15 where I am. 16 Q Did he tell you, I want to bring my wife and kids up 17 to Northern California and live close to you? 18 A Uh-huh, yes. 19 Q When did he tell you that? 20 A Well, during those days when he was here. 21 Q In April of 2018? 22 A Yes. 23 Q. Did he tell you about his children? His boys? 24 A. Yes, he wanted to bring them here so that they could) (25) go school. to Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 96 Yes. Q And you saw Carlos there? A Yes. We went here and there together. Q And did you see his wife and kids when you went there in January of 2018? A Yes. @ Q. Where were they Living? 8 A. Well, they were there in Juchipila, Zacatecas. IT 9 don't know the exact address, but that's where they were (10 living. 11 Q Were they living in a house or apartment? What? 12 In a house. 13 Did he own the house, if you know? 14 A I don't know. 15 Q Who did he live with in that house other than his 16 wife and kids, if anybody? 17 A No, I don't know. 18 Q How big was the house? Describe it. 19 A Well, I never slept there. I imagine two bedrooms. 20 I don't know. 21 Q Well, you saw it, right? 22 A Yes. 23 Q Is it -- was it in a big city or was it out in the 24 country? 25 A It was in a little town there. Well, it's a large Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 98 His boys were teenagers, correct? Yes. His boys were not working, were they? I -- I don't know. I don't know. Q Was he working in January of 2018 in Mexico? A I don't know. I was only there for a week, but he did have a small piece of an orchard there so I imagine he worked there also. Q Was he rich? 10 A No, not rich at all. 11 Q Was he poor? 12 A Well, yes. We have been poor our entire lives. 13, Q. And that's why he was talking to you about that 14 dream of his of bringing his family over and living in i Palermo, right? 16 AL Yes. 17 Q Do you know if his wife is a United States citizen? 18 A I don't know. 19 What about his kids; do you know that? 20 No. 21 Are you? 22 I just recently became a United States citizen, 23 about two years ago. 24 Q Congratulations. 25 At the time of this incident in April of 2018 were Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 Page 114 MR QUIRK: Just state your objection, Counsel. MR MULLER: I'm sorry, I thought that's what you were asking. Apologize. MR QUIRK: No problem. Q Mr Vidal, is there any part of that that I got wrong? A Just like you're saying that he was working. He wasn't working there. He wasn't working there earning money; he was just there helping me. Q. Your testimony is that he was there helping you for AL Qe AL Qa AL Qe AL Qe AL No. Qe Why didn't you offer to pay him? (22 AL Because he did not come there to work. He was just 23 accompanying me. That's all. 24 Q How much were the Thompsons paying you at that time? 25 A They were paying me $25 an hour. Veritext Legal Solutions 800-567-8658 973-410-4098 EXHIBIT 2 a a] oe pets uy Pn Identificador Electrénico Ny E ——> ry 32023000120180002617 Ae Lh ee Upmetl J 3G —_= CTO TC ELS xen we Clave Unica de Registro de Poblacion de los : a ad Estados Unidos Mexicanos eat .k Pa —— Entidad de Registro iF Nox Acta de Matrimonio ZACATECAS Municipio de Registro Kou) Pex i JUCHIPILA Fecha de Inscripcién del Matrimonio : eeon xox? Oficialia 30/05/1996 Libro Namero de Acta y a 0001 4 00075 x son 23 SPECIAL INTERROGATORY NO. 64: 24 For each individual identified in your answer to interrogatory number 62, state the 25 amount of financial support provided by decedent. 26 Mt 27 Ml 28 PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, 16 VERIFICATION BY PARTY - PURSUANT TO CCP 446 | ~—————-Reynoso, et al v. Burch, et-al, County of Butte; Case No.: 18€V0433—- a PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSES TO DEFENDANT’S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET ONE 1 am the plaintiff in this action. I am familiar with the contents of the foregoing responses t discovery. The information supplied therein is based on my own personal knowledge and/or was supplied by my attorneys or other agents and/or compiled from available documents and is therefore provided ag required by law. The information contained in the foregoing document is true, except as to the matters 10 which were provided by my attorneys or other agents or compiled from available documents. The li information contained within the foregoing document is limited to our present knowledge as required b: 12 the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.060(g); therefore, all of these responses ard 13 necessarily subject to further investigation and discovery and this party is under no legal or other obligatio1 14 to supplement or correct such responses. 15 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true 16 and correct. 17 18 19 Date: A ; x IO § JOSE GONZALEZ 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 EXHIBIT6 17 SPEAKER 4: THANKS. 18 BY SPEAKER 1: 19 Q NOW, DID YOU HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH YOUR 20 HUSBAND HOW MUCH HE WAS EARNING WORKING FOR VIDAL? 21 A NO, HE JUST TOLD ME HE WAS EARNING MORE BUT HE 22 DIDN'T TELL ME HOW MUCH. 23 Q SO VIDAL WOULD BE THE ONE WHO WOULD KNOW HOW 24 MUCH HE WAS EARNING? 25 I THINK WE ARE FROZEN AGAIN. MISINTERPRET 17 TERM, CAN WE CHECK IF