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SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF BUTTE
ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT ATTORNEY (Name, state bar number, and address):
FOR COURT USE ONLY
Raymond L. Sandelman SBN 078020
Attorney at Law
196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225
Chico, CA 95926-2284 Superior Can't Of CIMII
TELEPHONE No: (530) 343-5090 FAX No. (Optional):(530) 343—5091 F F
E-MAIL ADDRESS (Optional): County (I Buns
Raymond@sandclmanlaw.eom I I
Wayne A. Cook, Trustee
ATTORNEY FOR (Name):
L L
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF BUTTE 3/4/2021
D Butte County Courthouse E] North Butte County Courthouse E E
CA 95965
One Court Street, Oroville, 1775 Concord Avenue, Chico, CA 95928 D Ki FIB D
(530) 532-7002 (530) 532-7002
B}!
Eamon-their LED
PETITIONERIPLAINTlFF:Wayne A. Cook, Trustee of the Wayne A.
Cook 1998 Family Trust dated 12/29/98
RESPONDENT/DEFENDANT: Edward F. Nidcrost, Individually et aI.
CASE NUMBER:
REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY
CONFERENCE 20CV00905
E] Plaintiff(s) C] Defendant(s) C] Cross-complainant(s) [Z] Cross—defendant(s) C] Other(s)
Request for a Pretrial Discovery Conference.
A Pretrial Discovery Conference is being requested for the following reasons:
E] A dispute has arisen regarding a request for production of documents.
C] A dispute has arisen regarding form or special interrogatories.
D A dispute has arisen regarding a deposition subpoena.
E] A dispute has arisen regarding a deposition notice, production of documents at a deposition or deposition questions.
{2] A dispute has arisen regarding monetary, issue, evidence or terminating sanctions.
[:I Privilege is the basis for the refusal to produce documents and a privilege log is attached which complies with Local Rule
2.14(c).
The parties have engaged in the following meaningful meet and confer efforts prior to
filing this request: (Describe in detail all
meet and confer efforts including any narrowing of the issues or resolutions reached via these
efforts.)
Defense counsel requested that Dr. Starkey (a defense expert witness) be moved to March 8, 2021. Counsel for Plaintiff has sent four
meet and confer emails explaining why the deposition of Defendants' expert must
go forward on March 8, 2021 and that all experts need to
produce writings in response to a deposition notice three business days prior to the depositions.
Counsel for Mr. Denton has made no effort to obtain a protective order or to file a motion to extend the time for
completing expert
witness depositions. She just states that Dr. Starkey is not available (he was only retained on She has not explained
February 8, 2021).
why her experts do not have to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.415 (producing all documents specified in a deposition
notice three business days before the depositions).
There is an urgency concerning this discovery issue because of the upcoming trial.
Mr. Benton and his counsel have been sanctioned three times in this case for misuses of the Two weeks ago
discovery process.
counsel for Mr. Denton was ordered to comply with the disclosure of documents for
expert witnesses. He has not fiilly complied with the
Court's order. The failure to comply with the expert witness deposition statutes is another misuse of the
discovery process.
Plaintiff seeks an order shortening time for a motion to bar all of Mr. Denton‘s experts from testifying at trial.
(LM.020) REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY
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A brief summary of the dispute, including the facts and legal arguments at issue is as follows: if checked
(Excepting a privilege log
above, no pleadings. exhibits, declarations, or attachments shall be attached.)
Plaintiff seeks to judicially foreclose on real property due to the non-payment of a John Denton, conservator and
promissory note.
successor trustee have filed an Amended Cross Complaint for Elder Abuse,
predatory lending, unconscionability, and cancellation of
instruments.
Counsel for Wayne Cook served a deposition notice for experts disclosed by John Denton, Conservator and Successor
Trustee, and
at the request of Mr. Denton's counsel the deposition of Dr. Starkey was moved to March 2021.
Monday 8, Counsel forMr. Denton then
wanted to move the deposition to a date past the discovery cutoff date, but she has not courtorder for such reliefand
sought any has not
articulated facts supporting the statutory factors in any meet and confer communication. Dr. Starkey is probably not ready because he
was retained on February 8, 2021. But Ms. Knowles signed a declaration that he would be available for a
meaningful deposition. Counsel
for Plaintiff wants to complete expert depositions before the cut off so as to be able to for trial.
Mr. Denton has now objected to
prepare
the taking of the deposition of all of his experts
claiming that deposition subpoenas need to be served on retained expert witnesses and
that the experts do not have to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.415. It is clear that no subpoena is needed for a retained
expert witness (Code Civ. Proc., §2034.460 subd (a)). Weil & Brown, California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (The Rutter
Group 2020) §8:1681 explain that "Parties may also attempt to obtain expert-related documents pursuant to a notice of deposition under
CCP § 2025.220; if they do, the materials, including ESI, must be produced at least 3 business
days before the deposition." Mr. Denton has
previously been ordered to produce all discoverable writing (except work product) of all experts by March 9, 2020. All discoverable
writing is not limited to documents sent by Mr. Denton's counsel to the experts. Plaintiff seeks an order shortening time for a motion to bar
all of Mr. Denton's expert witnesses from testifying at trial as an
expert.
lt is understood that the filing of this Request for a Pretrial
Discovery Conference tolls the time for filing a motion to compel
discovery on the disputed issues for the number of days between the filing of the request and issuance by the Court of a
subsequent order pertaining to the discovery dispute.
Opposing Party was served with a copy of REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCE on: March 3,2021
Date
Pursuant to Local Rule 2.14(b)1, any Opposition to a Request for a Pretrial Discovery Conference must also be filed on an
approved
form and must be filed within five (5) court days of service of the
Request For Pretrial Discovery Conference, extended five (5) days
for service by mail, and must be served on opposing counsel.
l declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.
Date: March 3, 2021
Ravmond I, Sandelman
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(TYPE OR PRINT NAME) (SIGNA TURE OF PARTY/A TTORNE Y FOR PARTY)
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REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY
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PROOF OF SERVICE
I, Raymond L. Sandelman, declare as follows:
I am a resident of the County of Butte, State of California; I am over the age of 18 years and
not a to this action; my business address is 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225, Chico California
party
95926—2284, in said County and State. On March 3, 2021 at 6:33 p.m., I served a copy of the
at the following address(s),
Request for A Pretrial Discovery Conference on the following person(s)
in the manner indicated below:
Sara M. Knowles, Esq.
Leland, Morrissey & Knowles LLP
1660 Humboldt Road, Suite 6
Chico, CA 95928
196 COHASSET ROAD, SUITE 225, CHICO, CA 95926-2284
10
THE ELECTRONICALLY via
(530) 343—5090 / (530) 343-5091 (FAX)
11 BY TRANSMITTING DOCUMENT(S) the following
X email addresses:
RAWOND L. SANDELMAN
sknowles@chicolawyer.com
12
ATTORNEY AT LAw
I under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, and this declaration
l3 certify
of service was executed on March 4% , 2021 at Chico, California.
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m:\0rig_data\w0rk\client directoriesicook,
PROOF OF SERVICE
PROOF OF SERVICE
1, Wendy Hoy, declare as follows:
I am a resident of the County of Butte, State of California; I am over the age of 18 years and
not a party to this action; my business address is 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225, Chico California
95926-2284, in said County and State. On today's date, I served a copy of the Request for A Pretrial
Discovery Conference on the following person(s) at the following address(s), in the manner indicated
below:
Gene Culley Larry Gene Lushanko
2185 Esplanade Law Office of Larry G. Lushanko
Chico, CA 95928 1241 E Mission Rd.
Fallbrook, CA 92028
95926—2284
10
(530) 343-5090 / (530) 343—5091 (FAX)
11 BY TRANSMITTING THE DOCUMENT(S) ELECTRONICALLY via the following
196 COHASSET ROAD, SUITE 225, CHICO, CA
X
RAYMOND L. SANDELMAN
email addresses: office@lushankolaw.com; gculley@sbcglobal.net
12
ATTORN‘EY AT LAW
13 I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing istrue and correct, and this declaration
of service was executed on March «fl , 2021 at Chico, California.
14
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wayne 181411305reqpretrialdiscoveiycory‘ 2 304. docx
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PROOF OF SERVICE
Preview
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF BUTTE ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT ATTORNEY (Name, state bar number, and address): FOR COURT USE ONLY Raymond L. Sandelman SBN 078020 Attorney at Law 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225 Chico, CA 95926-2284 Superior Can't Of CIMII TELEPHONE No: (530) 343-5090 FAX No. (Optional):(530) 343—5091 F F E-MAIL ADDRESS (Optional): County (I Buns Raymond@sandclmanlaw.eom I I Wayne A. Cook, Trustee ATTORNEY FOR (Name): L L SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF BUTTE 3/4/2021 D Butte County Courthouse E] North Butte County Courthouse E E CA 95965 One Court Street, Oroville, 1775 Concord Avenue, Chico, CA 95928 D Ki FIB D (530) 532-7002 (530) 532-7002 B}! Eamon-their LED PETITIONERIPLAINTlFF:Wayne A. Cook, Trustee of the Wayne A. Cook 1998 Family Trust dated 12/29/98 RESPONDENT/DEFENDANT: Edward F. Nidcrost, Individually et aI. CASE NUMBER: REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCE 20CV00905 E] Plaintiff(s) C] Defendant(s) C] Cross-complainant(s) [Z] Cross—defendant(s) C] Other(s) Request for a Pretrial Discovery Conference. A Pretrial Discovery Conference is being requested for the following reasons: E] A dispute has arisen regarding a request for production of documents. C] A dispute has arisen regarding form or special interrogatories. D A dispute has arisen regarding a deposition subpoena. E] A dispute has arisen regarding a deposition notice, production of documents at a deposition or deposition questions. {2] A dispute has arisen regarding monetary, issue, evidence or terminating sanctions. [:I Privilege is the basis for the refusal to produce documents and a privilege log is attached which complies with Local Rule 2.14(c). The parties have engaged in the following meaningful meet and confer efforts prior to filing this request: (Describe in detail all meet and confer efforts including any narrowing of the issues or resolutions reached via these efforts.) Defense counsel requested that Dr. Starkey (a defense expert witness) be moved to March 8, 2021. Counsel for Plaintiff has sent four meet and confer emails explaining why the deposition of Defendants' expert must go forward on March 8, 2021 and that all experts need to produce writings in response to a deposition notice three business days prior to the depositions. Counsel for Mr. Denton has made no effort to obtain a protective order or to file a motion to extend the time for completing expert witness depositions. She just states that Dr. Starkey is not available (he was only retained on She has not explained February 8, 2021). why her experts do not have to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.415 (producing all documents specified in a deposition notice three business days before the depositions). There is an urgency concerning this discovery issue because of the upcoming trial. Mr. Benton and his counsel have been sanctioned three times in this case for misuses of the Two weeks ago discovery process. counsel for Mr. Denton was ordered to comply with the disclosure of documents for expert witnesses. He has not fiilly complied with the Court's order. The failure to comply with the expert witness deposition statutes is another misuse of the discovery process. Plaintiff seeks an order shortening time for a motion to bar all of Mr. Denton‘s experts from testifying at trial. (LM.020) REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCE l‘l'li’l (5P2.9 Mida‘ffyEssen t. CLB ; I Ia_ Cook ceb.com I,EIET-Lrfls. A brief summary of the dispute, including the facts and legal arguments at issue is as follows: if checked (Excepting a privilege log above, no pleadings. exhibits, declarations, or attachments shall be attached.) Plaintiff seeks to judicially foreclose on real property due to the non-payment of a John Denton, conservator and promissory note. successor trustee have filed an Amended Cross Complaint for Elder Abuse, predatory lending, unconscionability, and cancellation of instruments. Counsel for Wayne Cook served a deposition notice for experts disclosed by John Denton, Conservator and Successor Trustee, and at the request of Mr. Denton's counsel the deposition of Dr. Starkey was moved to March 2021. Monday 8, Counsel forMr. Denton then wanted to move the deposition to a date past the discovery cutoff date, but she has not courtorder for such reliefand sought any has not articulated facts supporting the statutory factors in any meet and confer communication. Dr. Starkey is probably not ready because he was retained on February 8, 2021. But Ms. Knowles signed a declaration that he would be available for a meaningful deposition. Counsel for Plaintiff wants to complete expert depositions before the cut off so as to be able to for trial. Mr. Denton has now objected to prepare the taking of the deposition of all of his experts claiming that deposition subpoenas need to be served on retained expert witnesses and that the experts do not have to comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 2034.415. It is clear that no subpoena is needed for a retained expert witness (Code Civ. Proc., §2034.460 subd (a)). Weil & Brown, California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (The Rutter Group 2020) §8:1681 explain that "Parties may also attempt to obtain expert-related documents pursuant to a notice of deposition under CCP § 2025.220; if they do, the materials, including ESI, must be produced at least 3 business days before the deposition." Mr. Denton has previously been ordered to produce all discoverable writing (except work product) of all experts by March 9, 2020. All discoverable writing is not limited to documents sent by Mr. Denton's counsel to the experts. Plaintiff seeks an order shortening time for a motion to bar all of Mr. Denton's expert witnesses from testifying at trial as an expert. lt is understood that the filing of this Request for a Pretrial Discovery Conference tolls the time for filing a motion to compel discovery on the disputed issues for the number of days between the filing of the request and issuance by the Court of a subsequent order pertaining to the discovery dispute. Opposing Party was served with a copy of REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCE on: March 3,2021 Date Pursuant to Local Rule 2.14(b)1, any Opposition to a Request for a Pretrial Discovery Conference must also be filed on an approved form and must be filed within five (5) court days of service of the Request For Pretrial Discovery Conference, extended five (5) days for service by mail, and must be served on opposing counsel. l declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Date: March 3, 2021 Ravmond I, Sandelman (at); u ( r!)\ d '“ (TYPE OR PRINT NAME) (SIGNA TURE OF PARTY/A TTORNE Y FOR PARTY) fiflgfif’i REQUEST FOR A PRETRIAL DISCOVERY (Epglgggfgé 3,..°.'y . CONFERENCE CKB J Essential Cook eeb.com i PROOF OF SERVICE I, Raymond L. Sandelman, declare as follows: I am a resident of the County of Butte, State of California; I am over the age of 18 years and not a to this action; my business address is 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225, Chico California party 95926—2284, in said County and State. On March 3, 2021 at 6:33 p.m., I served a copy of the at the following address(s), Request for A Pretrial Discovery Conference on the following person(s) in the manner indicated below: Sara M. Knowles, Esq. Leland, Morrissey & Knowles LLP 1660 Humboldt Road, Suite 6 Chico, CA 95928 196 COHASSET ROAD, SUITE 225, CHICO, CA 95926-2284 10 THE ELECTRONICALLY via (530) 343—5090 / (530) 343-5091 (FAX) 11 BY TRANSMITTING DOCUMENT(S) the following X email addresses: RAWOND L. SANDELMAN sknowles@chicolawyer.com 12 ATTORNEY AT LAw I under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, and this declaration l3 certify of service was executed on March 4% , 2021 at Chico, California. 14 15 pg Lgijfi‘w l6 Raymond L. Sandelman l7 18 l9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 wayne 1814\p0s reqpretrialdiscoveryconf 304. docx m:\0rig_data\w0rk\client directoriesicook, PROOF OF SERVICE PROOF OF SERVICE 1, Wendy Hoy, declare as follows: I am a resident of the County of Butte, State of California; I am over the age of 18 years and not a party to this action; my business address is 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 225, Chico California 95926-2284, in said County and State. On today's date, I served a copy of the Request for A Pretrial Discovery Conference on the following person(s) at the following address(s), in the manner indicated below: Gene Culley Larry Gene Lushanko 2185 Esplanade Law Office of Larry G. Lushanko Chico, CA 95928 1241 E Mission Rd. Fallbrook, CA 92028 95926—2284 10 (530) 343-5090 / (530) 343—5091 (FAX) 11 BY TRANSMITTING THE DOCUMENT(S) ELECTRONICALLY via the following 196 COHASSET ROAD, SUITE 225, CHICO, CA X RAYMOND L. SANDELMAN email addresses: office@lushankolaw.com; gculley@sbcglobal.net 12 ATTORN‘EY AT LAW 13 I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing istrue and correct, and this declaration of service was executed on March «fl , 2021 at Chico, California. 14 15 f : l / , 0 . fl , 2 V Xi’ 16 Wendy Hoy {j ’15 \4' l7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 m:\orig_datalw0rklclient directorieslcook, wayne 181411305reqpretrialdiscoveiycory‘ 2 304. docx 26 27 28 PROOF OF SERVICE