transcripts.pdf

Exhibit I)

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KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490OFFICIAL. RPR & CP

IN THE SUPERIORIN AND

COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIAFOR THE COUNTY OF TULARE

DEPARTMENT 7 HONORABLE PAUL A. VORTMANN, JUDGE

COURTNEY GI LLESPI E .Pl ai nti ff,

VS.

NICKLAS HOFFMAN.NO, VCU238961

Defendant.

Vi sa1 i a, Cal i forni a October 5, 2010November 5, 2010November 1 6, 2010Januarv 1 8. 2011Apr.i I 15, 2011Julv 12, 2011Feb-ruary 14 , 2012

REPORTER' S TRANSCRI PT

APPEARANCES :

For the Pl ai nti ff: IN PRO PER

For the Defendant: ROBERT FLETCHER. ESQ.P.0. Box 824Tu1 are, CA 93275-0824

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I NDEX

DATE PAGE

October 5, 2010November 5, 2010November 1 6, 2010January 1 B, 2011Apr.i I 15,2011Ju1 y 12, 2011February 14, 2012

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October 5, 2010MORNING SESSION

(l,r/hereupon , the fol I owi ngproceedi ngs were hel d j n opencourt, to wi t: )THE COURT: Gi 1 1 espi e versus Ni ckl as

Hoffman. The tentati ve becomes the order of theCourt.

MR, FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor.Robert Fl etcher on behal f of the defendant.

0n Friday we did file a demurrerantjcipating that thjs was a different kind ofheari ng than what i t has ended up bei ng, Sj nce al Iparti es are present i n court, perhaps we coul d setthe hear-i ng on that demurrer on calendar now.

THE CLERK: It wasn't fi I edMS. GILLESPIE: We checked the record,

Your Honor, on Fri day and there was nothi ngTHE COURT: Let's get the appearances,

p1 ease, You are?MS. GILLESPIE: My name js Melody

Gillespie.'MR. GILLESPIE: I am Courtney Gi I I espi e.MS . GI LLESPI E : We never rece'i ved

anythi ng, any k-i nd of response.THE COURT: D-i d you read my tentative

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ru1 i ng?MS, GILLESPIE: I -- the record wasn't

here. There was nothi ng for usTHE COURT: It' s on the court 's websi te,

It's avai I abl e on the tel ephone. The rul e of courti n the State of Cal j forni a provi des for theissuance of tentative rulings in law and motionmatters . I 'i ssued a tentat j ve ru-l i ng yesterday.0nce jt's jssued, you need to listen to it, and ifyou di sagree wj th i t, you have to noti fy the Courtby 4:00 o'cl ock and noti fy counsel of your i ntentto argue -i t .

MS, GILLESPIE: I had I have receivedno response. I di dn't even know there was acounsel ,

THE C0URT: You di dn 't know there was atentat i ve?

MS. GILLESPIE: I didn't know there wasa tentati ve, I di dn't even know there was acounsel , and we checked the record, there wasnothi ng j n the record that showed that there was aresponse.

THE COURT: Well, I have no officialnoti fi cati on or there's not an appearance that Ihave. You say you have fi I ed an appearance?

MR. FLETCHER: We fjled an appearance

3THE C0URT: It's not in our casemanagement system so the cl erk's offi ce hasn'tgotten around to recording it and putting jt in oursystem.

MR. FLETCHER: I understand, Your Honor,and we can we can go through the process ofsetting it for hearing and giving notice or, sinceal I parti es are here, perhaps under CCP 1 005, wecan just set it on the Court's calendar now.

THE C0URT: Wel I , here's the probl em, i sI have a cl erk that si ts down i n 201 that I i mi tsthe number of cases that I handl e on any Tuesday j nI aw and moti on, and she gets upset when 1 awyersj ust set thi ngs wi thout her noti ce, and I'm sureshe gets upset i f I do that.

MR, FLETCHER: ThenTHE C0URT: So you're going to have to

noti ce the moti on.MR. FLETCHER: We'll do that, Your

Honor.THE COURT: But the tentative becomes

the order "of the Court.MR. FLETCHER: Thank You, Your Honor.MS. GILLESPIE: There was some I had

some po-l i ce records subpoenaed . May I have a copy?THE COURT: Al I that was on cal endar

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thi s morni ng was your moti on. I j ssued thetentati ve, There was no request for oral argument ,The tentati ve becomes the order of the Court.

(Whereupon, the proceedi ngswere concl uded. )

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KATHY l"l . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490OFFICIAL. RPR & CP

November 5, 2010['4ORNING SESSION

(Whereupon, the fol I ow-i ngproceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to wi t: )THE C0URT: I'll call the ex Parte

cal endar, Gj I I espi e 'versus Hof fman. CourtneyGj I I esp'i e and Mel ody Gi I I espi e.

MR, GILLESPIE: Yes.MR, FLETCHER: And Robert Fletcher

appeari ng on behal f of Mr. Hoffman, Your Honor.THE COURT: I di dn't understand thi s

ex parte request . Let me tel I you why I di dn'tunderstand . As sel f- represented I i ti gants , youcannot i ssue subpoenas. Lawyers can, but youcannot. I have to i ssue those subpoenas pursuantto your request.

You apparently 'i ssued a subpoena onyour own. At I east I don't see a record j n thecourt's file that I rev'i ewed it and issued thesubpoena, is that correct?

'MS. GILLESPIE: It's there.THE COURT: Who i ssued the subPoena?lvls, GILLESPIE: The cl erk. She stamped

it andTHE COURT: No, the clerk gives you a

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subpoena to i ssue but i t has to be endorsed wi th asignature. Did you sign it yourself?

MS. GILLESPIE: No, The sheri ff di d.THE COURT: No, ilo. The sheri ff doesn't

s-i gn the subpoena. The sherjff responded to thesubpoena.

The point is that in self-representedI j ti gants the Court has the obl i gat-i on to moni torsubpoenas that are i ssued. The code provi des thatattorneys can jssue subpoenas, but self-representedI i ti gants cannot.

You i ssued a subpoena, as Iunderstand 'i t, at least I didn't review it, there'sno record of i t i n the fi I e, and the sheri ff'sdepartment responded to that subpoena and del j veredthose records to the court. I have not seen a copyof that subooena.

Now, what you've done is you've askedthe Court to rel ease those records to you and youdon't set forth any justification, number one, whythe subpoena was i ssued i n the f i rst p'l ace and,two, why I' shoul d rel ease the records to you, andyou provi de me no authori ty.

So tel I me what these records are,how they pertai n to thi s I awsui t, and why I shoul drelease them to you,

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MS, GILLESPIE: It's it has to dowith it has to do

THE COURT: You have a copy of thesubpoena?

MS, GILLESPIE: No, I don't .THE COURT: You have a copy of the

subpoena, si r?MR, GILLESPIE: No, si r.THE COURT: You dj dn 't keep a copy of

the subpoena you served? It was a subpoena ducestecum, wasn't j t?

MS. GILLESPIE: Yes no wel I , yesVeS, i t was.

THE COURT: Okay. BecauseMS. GILLESPIE: I gave the courtTHE COURTT -- it had a list of the

documents you wanted produced.MS, GILI-ESPIE: I gave the court the

only copy I had.THE COURT: You gave the clerk the only

copy?MS. GILLESPIE: Well, the one that was

fi I e stamped by the court, I have the I et's see,THE COURT: You know, I have no subpoena

jn the file. What I have is your Comp-l aint, theproof of servi ce. I have your request for

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i nj uncti on whi ch the Court deni ed on October sth.The demurrer that has been fi I ed al ong wi th thesupporti ng documents and the opposi ti on to thedemurrer whi ch was fi I ed November 2nd. Thatheari ng i s set for the 1 6th of November.

Di d you get a copy of the subpoena?MR. FLETCHER: I have not seen that,

Your Honor.THE C0URT: Wel I , we' re not goi ng

through thj s here. I 'm j ust goi ng to deny therequest because there's been no affirmatjve showingthat the records that have been produced by thesheri ff's department to the court are rel evant tothe i ssues rai sed i n thi s case.

I don't have a copy of thedecl arati on i n support of the subpoena. I don'thave a decl arati on that says why these records arerel evant and why the court shoul d rel ease them, soj t's denj ed wj thout prej udj ce.

MR, FLETCHER: Thank you, your Honor.THE COURT: The 1 6th i s the heari ng on

the demurrer. The Court wi I I 'i ssue a tentati veru1 i ng.

(Whereupon, the proceed'i ngswere concl uded. )

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November 1 6, 2010MORNING SESSION

(Whereupon, the fol I owi ngproceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to w-i t:)THE C0URT: In the case of Gillespie

versus Ni ckl as Hoffman, there was no request fororal argument. The tentative becomes the order ofthe Court,


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January 1 B, 2011MORNING SESSION

(Whereupon, the fol I owi ngproceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to wi t: )THE COURT: f'm goi ng to cal I Gi I I espie

versus HoffmanMR. FLETCHER: Yes. Good morning, Your

Honor, Robert Fl etcher on behal f of Mr. Hoffmanwho's present j n court, Your Honor.

MS, GILLESPIE: Courtney and Me-l odyGillespie,

THE C0URT: The p'l ai nti f f 's demurrer tothe answer, the Court is adopting its tentativeru1-i ng. I recei ved yesterday a request f or oralargument. It wasn't timely. So the tentative isadopted.

The on1 y i ssue we have thi s morni ngj s the case management conference. Both defendantand plaintiff demand jury. Two- to three-dayesti mate by both, ol though an amendment to the casemanagement' statement by the p1 ai nti ff i ndi cates twoweeks .

MR. FLETCHER: Excuse me, Your Honor.Defendant di d not demand a j ury.

THE C0URT: I 'm sorry. Non-j ury.

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Defendant's non-j ury.

wrong,

MR. FLETCHER: Non-jury, that's correct.THE COURT: You're right. I read it

My N looks l-i ke a J.lvledi ati on or j udi ci al arbi trati on by

defendant , Med j ati on j ni ti a'l 1y by the p'l ai nt j f f ,but i n the amendment to- the case managementconference statement i t says none, Why thei ncrease from two to three days to two weeks?

MS. GILLESPIE: Because when I startedafter I got the Cross-Complaint and I started to

analyze what was gonna potenti a1 1 y go on i n thecase, then I realtzed it could become a complexcase and may become more i nvol ved than what I hadori gi na1 1 y thought,

THE COURT: Wel I , my revi ew of the fi I ei ndi cates that we're goi ng to set the matter for athree-day setting. We can address the length ofthe tri al at the settl ement conference fol I owi ngcompl eti on of the di scovery and there's somequestion as to whether that -l ength is going to besuf f i ci ent". The purpose of the 'l ength , f or themost part , i s so the j ury can be advi sed as to how'l ong they' re go'i ng to be expected to be here.

The Compl aj nt was fi I ed onAugust 26th of 2010, I don't determi ne thi s 'i s a

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compl ex case. I 'm goi ng to set i t wi thi n one year.The 22nd of August, i s that agreeabl e?

MR. FLETCHER: That's fi ne, Your Honor,MS. GILLESPIE: The what was that

agai n?THE COURT: August 22nd.MS. GILLESPIE: For what?THE COURT: Tr-i al , August 22nd at

1 0:00 o'cl ock i n thi s department, ?ssi gned here foral I purposes. I'm goi ng to schedul e a readi nessconference for the 1 gth of August at 9:00 o'cl ock.Moti ons i n I j mi ne to be served and fj I ed fi ve daysbefore that readi ness conference, I'l I rul e onthose motjons at that time. Lodge wjth the Courtproposed j ury -i nstructi ons and verdi ct f orms at thereadi ness conference.

I'm going to set an ear'l y settlementconference for the 12th of Ju1 y at B:30 i n thi sdepartment. Settl ement conference statements to be1 odged wi th the Court and served fi ve days befonethe settl ement conference.

A waj ver of ti me and p1 ace of tri albecause of counsel 's appearance i n theseproceedi ngs. I'm not goi ng to set the matter formedi ati on or arbi trati on.

Any questions?

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MR. FLETCHER: Thank you, Your Honor.MS. GILLESPIE: What was July?THE CLERK: Ju1 y 12th.MS. GI LLESPI E : 12th, okay .THE COURT: At 8: 30 .MS. GILLESPIE: I object to the Court's

rul i ng that p-l a'i nt-i f f 's request was I ate because wehad to fax jt in and jt was at a quarter to 4:00and accordi ng to the I ocal court rul es i t says4: 00 o'cl ock,

THE COURT: Yesterday was a ho1 i day so-i t had to be i n by Fri day at 4 : 00 o' cl ock.


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April 15,2011(Whereupon , the f ol I ow-i ng

proceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to wi t: )THE COURT: I'l I cal I the case of

Gjllespie versus Hoffman.THE CLERK: Come forward to the table.

pl ease, It doesn't real 1 y matter whj ch one.MR. FLETCHER: Good morn-i ng , Your Honor,THE C0URT: Good morning,MR. FLETCHER: Robert Fletcher on behalf

of Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Hoffman i s present i n court.THE C0URT: And Melody and Courtney

G1 llespie.MR, GILLESPIE: Gi I I espi e.MS. GILLESPIE: Good morning, Your

Honor.THE COURT: Thi s i s p1 ai nti ff's I

understand there's two motions on calendar. One isfor reconsideration. The other's to strike tneCross - Comp-l a-i nt .

'MS , GI LLESPI E : Yes .

THE C0URT: You may address the i ssues.MS , GI LLESPI E : And a cl ari f i cat-ion of

the tentative order.THE COURT: You may address the -i ssues .

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MS . GI LLESPI E : Okay . The the mot.ionfor re-consideration was for the demurrer to theanswer whi ch j n your tentati ve ru1 i ng you statedthat that that we needed to answer theCross-Compl ai nt forthwi th.

We di dn't understand what that meantor why you needed to have an answen before a motjonto stri ke or demurrer, We di d the moti on to stri keand demurrer. And the moti on to stri ke i s theenti re Compl ai nt because everythi ng has ai readybeen addressed in Porterville Case Number 1 --

THE COURT: Let me take you back a step.What occurred i s you fi I ed a demurrer to theanswer.

MS. GILLESPIE: Right.THE COURT: That's what you fj I ed, I

i ssued a tentati ve rui i ng. The I ocal rul es requi reonce the tentative is issued, if you take -i ssuewi th the Court's tentati ve ru1 i ng, you have torequest oral argument . You appeared i n the morn'i ngand were unaware of the rul e that you had torequest oral argument. You apparentl y wereprepared to argue the case, ?S I understand i t.That's a I ocal rul e that's consi stent wi th theRul es of Court, and, I adopted the tentatj ve ru1 i ngbecause no one di d request oral argument. So

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that's what occurred at that heari ng back onJanuary 1 Bth. That's when that occurred.

You had made a mot'i on for me toreconsjder that. Now, that was timely filed. Froma procedural standpoint, Vou have to comp-l y withthe code because you j ust can't ask to reconsi der,there has to be a basi s for requesti ng thereconsi derati on.

There are essentially two factorsthat can be consi dered by the Court i n a moti on forreconsj derati on. They're poi nted out byMr. Fl etcher i n hi s memorandum of authori ti es andhe makes reference to 1008 of the Code of CivilProcedure. But one i s that there are new factsthat I have become aware of that I was not aware ofat the time of the decision of the Court and theCourt needs to take i nto consi derati on these newfacts.

In a demurrer, we rarel y consi derfacts because j t's an attack on the p1 eadi ng fromthe standpoi nt of whether the p1 eadi ng j ssufficient', USually it's a Complaint, but in th-i scase an answer, So new facts aren't an i ssue.

The question js, is there new law?And what occurs frequentl y when thi s type of motj oni s made on that ground, the appel I ate court or the

supreme court has rendered a deci si on after theCourt's dec'i si on and bef ore the runni ng of the ti mefor reconsi derati on and the Court takes i ntoconsideration that new law,

Nei ther factor i s present here. Andwi thout one of those factors bei ng present , theon'l y one that can reconsider the dec'i sion is theCourt on i ts own motj on. And I can do that at anytj me. But you have to overcome that proceduraldi ffi cu1 ty before I'm goi ng to address thereconsi derati on of my ru1 i ng whj ch essenti a1 1 y wasto overrul e your motj on to deny your moti on oryour demurrer to the answer.

MS. GI LLESPI E : TheTHE C0URT: You didn't attack the

Cross-Compl ai nt so that's why I sai d forthwj th,because you had chal 1 enged the answer, but youdidn't challenge the Cross-Complaint and the answerto the Cross-Complaint was overdue at that t'i me.So that's why I ordered jt forthw-i th.

MS. GILLESPIE: The motion forreconsi derati on was based on exi gent andextenuati ng ci rcumstances and there are thereare excepti ons to that rul e.

The trj al court's i nherent power tore-consi der i ts ru1 i ng whj ch remai ns i n effect

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unti I the entry of j udgment i s wel I establ j shed.THE C0URT: That's what I told you

about. The Court can do it on its own motion butthere's a limitation under the code as to when youcan do i t and the grounds on whi ch you can bri ngthat moti on for reconsi derati on before the Court.And I don't see the grounds here.

MS. GILLESPIE: Jud-i ci al noti ce -i sone

THE COURT: f'm not inclined to do it onmy own because I believe it was the right decjsion.

MS. GILLESPIE: The j udi ci al noti ce-i s one of the except-i ons to Rul e 1 - - 1008, Andbut the the part that we wanted you toreconsi der was was to put j n the answer wi thoutputti ng j n a motj on to stri ke or demurrer becausethey weren't due unti I the fol I owi ng Monday, andthat would have been the time that we got served,We had 30 days accordi ng to the accor di ng to thecode of civil Procedure and the court rules and sotherefore that was the clarjficatjon we needed, whyyou requested it ear'l y, and 'i f forthwith meant thatsame day or we di d coul d do i t wi thi n that ti me,but we di d put i n the moti on to stri ke anddemurrer. And whi ch i sn't whi ch i sn't ananswer according to 1aw, but we needed the

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cl ari fi cati on on that .So are you does that affect our

moti on to stri ke and demurrer?THE COURT: Does what affect your

moti on?MS. GILLESPIE: Your tentati ve ru1 i ng,THE COURT :' The tentat i ve ru1 i ng i s the

tentat-i ve rul i ng. The tentati ve rul i ng was to denythe demurrer.

MS, GILLESPIE: No, I'm ta1 ki ng aboutfor the Cross-Complaint, not for the answer. Therewas two d'i fferent demurrers in there.

THE COURT: The Court issued an orderthat you are to answer the Cross-Complaintforthwi th .

MS. GILLESPIE: Which we did a few dayslater but it wasn't it was a motion to strikeand a demurrer , And the tentat j ve ru'l i ng actual -l yWAS WAS

THE C0URT: You know, you ' re gett-i ngs j detracked a I j ttl e bi t because what we're ta-l ki ngabout i s whether you have the ri ght under the Codeof Cj vi I Procedure to even bri ng thi s moti on forreconsi derat'i on.

There's a prel i mi nary fact the Courthas to determi ne, and that i s that there's new I aw

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or new facts, And you have to tel I me what the newI aw or new facts are.

MS. GILLESPIE: 0h, okay, The it wasthat the j udi ci al noti ce had not been consj deredand it was due to exigent and extenuat-i ngci rcumstances, we weren't abl e to get that i n onti me

THE COURT: Well, that's not new law ornew facts. Those are thi ngs that were i n exi stenceat the ti me you're say'i ng that I j ust di dn't havetj me to get i t done.

MS. GILLESPIE: And the part that ourCross-Complaint our motion to strike anddemurrer against the Cross-Complaint wasn't due fora few days and we sti I I had about four more days toget i t j n. And you rul ed that we had to put ananswer i n forthwi th when we wanted to exerci sewe wanted and needed to exercjse our right to tohave the 30 full 30 days, and which we did putthat j fl, but we can't unti I the parts that are

the parts that are strj cken that need to bestrj cken because they don't coi nci de w-i th previ ouscourt hearj ngs , prev-i ous testi mony, and prev.i ousevi dence brought forth i n other cases. There's noway we can provi de an answer. So we're ki nd of i na quandary on that because that has to be revi ewed

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by the Court and we need a determi nati on on themoti on to stri ke.

THE COURT: Mj ss Gi I I espi e, thi s i s thepleading stage we're ta-l king about now. I mean,that ' s al I we're tal k-i ng about .

MS, GILLESPIE: Uh-huh.THE C0URT: We're addressi ng, the

Court's address'i ng the issue of whether thep1 eadi ngs are suffi ci ent, not whether the facts al Isubstanti ate the a1 1 egati ons of the p1 eadi ng, butjust the question of as a matter of 1aw, are thep1 eadi ngs such so we can go forward?

There's goi ng to be a tri al on thi scase. A j ury or the Court's goi ng to make adetermination as to what the facts are, t{e're onlyta1 ki ng about the suffi ci ency of the p1 eadi ngs.And the Court had anal yzed j ni t-i a1'l y andre-analyzed because of the motjons you've made herebefore the Court, you and your husband, and f'm noti ncl i ned to change the tentati ve ruf i ng.

MS, GILLESPIE: Okay. How does thati mpact our' moti on to stri ke and demurrer agai nstthe Cross-Compl ai nt?

THE C0URT: Wel I , the order of the Courtwas to answer f orthw'i th so you need to answer,

MS. GILLESPIE: So

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THE COURT:any comments?

|\4r. Fl etcher, do you have

MR. FLETCHER: Wel I , Your Honor, wewoul d subm-i t on the basi s of our opposi t j on.

THE COURT: lul-i ss Gi I I esPi e, here'sreal 1 y I mean, there's a factual di spute,there' s no questi on 'about j t . There' s a quest-i onas to the rel ati onshi p between the parti es and theownershi p of the property and whether some type ofl ega'l ri ght exi sts by one party as opposed to theother, And we're goi ng to strai ghten al I thi s outas we go through . But the pl eadi ngs , i t1 theCourt's opi ni on as refl ected i n the tentatj veru1 i ng, i s suffi ci ent to bri ng those i ssues beforethe Court. They're not defective as a matter oflaw. So we need to get the answer on file and weneed to get the matter set for i s i t set fortri al ?

MR. FLETCHER: Yes .THE C0URT: It is set for trial, So,

you know, you should be proceeding with discovery.You shoul d be maki ng a determi nati on as to whatwi tnesses you're goi ng to need. You shoul d beprepari ng to di scuss wi th the Court at a settl ementconference ways i n whi ch thj s matter can beresolved. Because the Court expects at the time

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the matter's set for tri al , the parti es are goi ngto be prepared to put on ev'i dence , to provi deappropri ate l aw to the Court so that we can getthi s matter resol ved.

There's no questi on a di spute ex-i sts.And the Court's opi ni on as refl ected j n thetentative rule is the pleadings are sufficient toput the parti es on noti ce as to what the questi onsof fact and the theori es for recovery are by theparti es. So the Court's goi ng to deny your moti onfor recons'i deration and the motion to strike andyou're to answer the Cross-Complaint. You need toanswer the Cross-Compl aj nt,

MS. GILLESPIE: Okay, I obj ect tothat

THE COURT: Wel I , I know you do .MS, GILLESPIE: andTHE C0URT: And you have an opportunity

to have al I my orders revi ewed.MS. GILLESPIE: Uh-huh.THE COURT: And I wel come the

opportuni fy to have you peti ti on to have themrevi ewed, But based on the evi dence that I have,and, you know, th-i s is a pretty substantial fjlea'l ready, I bel i eve that my deci s j on was correct andthat there' s no -l egal basi s for you under the Code

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of Ci vj I Procedure to bri ng a moti on forreconsi derati on,

MS, GILLESPIE: I would like a minuteorder so that and gi ve my noti ce of appeal .

THE COURT: You're not requesti ng. TheCourt, i n due course, wi I I have a mi nute orderprepared by the cl erk. The court reporter i staki ng down the testi mony or the arguments and theCourt's comments here whi ch i s avai I abl e to you.You'd have to contact the reporter. And I'm notgoi ng to gi ve you advi ce as to what to do because Ican't. But the moti on i s deni ed.

MS, GILLESPIE: Both motions? Bothmoti ons are deni ed?

MR. FLETCHER: Thank you, Your Honor.(Whereupon, the proceedi ngs

were concl uded. )-o0o-

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July 12, 2011MORNING SESSION

(Whereupon, the fol I owi ngproceed-i ngs were held in opencourt, to wi t: )THE COURT: Gi 1 'l espi e versus Hof f man .

Let ' s see . We have Me'l ody Gi I I espi e and CourtneyGjllespie.

MS, GILLESPIE: Yes.lVlR. GILLESPIE: Present.THE C0URT: Just have a seat right here

at counsel tabl e.MR. FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor.

Robert Fl etcher a1 ong wi th Mr. Hoffman.THE COURT: I didn't receive a

settl ement conference statement for ei ther of voutwo ,

MS, GILLESPIE: The the attorney thatwas to represent us i n a settl ement conference j sout of town unti I the 25th and al I we coul d do i smake an oral mot'i on before the Court.

'THE C0URT: You ' re representi ng yoursel fthough.

MS, GILLESPIE: For the settlementbetween for the settl ement between us we neededto have an attorney because I ast ti me we were i n a

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settl ement wi th them we got screwed real 1 y bad.THE COURT: You got what?MS. GILLESPIE: We got screwed with the

other si de.THE COURT: Well, they can't sue You

over what happens j n the court . But you'rerepresenti ng yoursel f . You're requi red to comp'l ywi th the rul es of court . I have recei ved asettl ement conference statement from Mr. Fl etcher.You got a copy of it I assume.

MR. GILLESPIE: YES,MS. GILLESPIE: Yesterday evening or

yesterday morni ng.THE COURT: You got a copy of that, I

needed somethi ng from you.Now, you know, he tells me that

there's some probl ems wi th your cl ai m. He tel I s methat there was no agreement that was fi nal i zed.Real property transacti ons requi re a wri ttenagreement. You can't do i t ora-l 1y. It's cal I ed Ithi nk the statute of frauds. It requj res theagreement"to be jn wrjting. And real propertytransacti ons, for the most part, are recorded. Sosomeone gi ves you a deed or you enter i nto acontract to sal e, most peopl e record those so thatthey have an i nterest i n property that someone el se

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can't get priority because of a ljen, you know,that someone p'l edged the property f or a I oan .

Mr. Fl etcher al so poi nts out that wehave a probl em wj th the subdi vl s'i on map act becausethi s i s one conti nuous pi ece of property, andbefore i t can be di vi ded, you have to survey i t,you have to get approval from the county.Dependi ng on the zoni ng, i t mi ght not be abl e to bedone because of acreage I i mi tati ons . And I don'tknow any of those th'i ngs. Al I I know i s what heputs i n a settl ement conference. I don't haveanythi ng from your standpoi nt.

Now, I know we've been i nvol ved i n alot of discovery jn this case. This is a prettythi ck f -i I e. And we're schedul ed to go to tri al onthj s case. And I want to assi st the parti es i ntryi ng to resol ve i t, but I can't resol ve i t i f youdon't give me the information that tells me thjs jswhy we thi nk we shoul d prevai i ; these are thesettlement discussjons we've had to date; these arethe th-i ngs that we think are necessary before wecan get th"is resolved, And then I can he1 p theparti es to try to get together to resol ve j t. Imean, that's my j ob 'i n a settl ement conf erence. Idon't make orders i n a settl ement conference. Itry to he1 p faci I j tate resol uti on through

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settlement, but it's difficult for me to do thatMS. GILLESPIE: We could have it in

today.THE C0URT: -- when I only have one

s-i de.MS, GILLESPIE: We can have it in today,THE COURT: This is the settlement

conference. The case management conference washel d months ago. And what we dj d j s we set threedates I thj nk at the case management conference,We set a tri al date. We set a settl ementconference. I thi nk we set a readi ness conferencedate, di dn't we, Mr. Fl etcher?

MR, FLETCHER: We di d .THE CLERK: Yes .THE COURT: Demand for jury in this

case.

MR, FLETCHER: Their demand,THE COURT: You made a demand for jury.MS . GI LLESPI E : Uh - huh .THE COURT: And those dates that were

set by the' agreement of counsel thi s Court I ooks atas pretty i mportant dates to maj ntaj n.

MS, GILLESPIE: OhTHE C0URT: There has to beMS, GILLESPIE: I mi sunderstood.

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THE COURT:change those dates.

an excel I ent reason to

MS. GILLESPIE: I misunderstood. Ithought i t was after we had the conference we puti n our statements and

THE COURT: Well, you need tofami I i ari ze yoursel f wi th the rul es of court.That's not what the rul es say, And when yourepresent yoursel f, you're obl i gated to fol I ow therul es.

I can't di sregard the rul es for somepeopl e and not f or others . And when peop'l e chooseto represent themsel ves, they have to makethemsel ves aware of the rul es.

Now, f 'm a little lenjent maybe fori ndi vi dual s that aren ' t trai ned i n the -l aw, but therul es of court are desi gned so that i t's a I evelp1 ayi ng fi el d. And i f everybody knows what therul es are and fol I ows the rul es, i t's tru-l y fa1 r.But when one s'i de doesn't fol I ow the rul es, i tprevents the Court from 1 ooki ng at the matter andsayi ng i t's fai r to both si des from a proceduralstandpoi nt. So that's the reason you have to knowthe rul es.

And when we get to trj al , j f we getto trj al j n thi s case, you're goi ng to have to

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sel ect a j ury; you're goi ng to have to askquesti ons of the j ury; you're goi ng to have toprovi de me wi th j ury i nstructi ons and verdi ctforms; you're goi ng to have to be abl e to questi onboth on direct and cross-examination of witnesses;you're goi ng to have to know what the evi dence codei s so you don't ask the wrong questi ons. I 'm goi ngto make rulings on motions in limine, things youcan't tal k about that you mi ght thi nk you'1 1 beabl e to tal k about but the rul es say you can't. Soi t's a compl ex process as we go through j t .

What you've been i nvol ved i n so fari s j ust the di scovery process and you've stumbl edi n the di scovery process i n my revj ew of the fi I e,

So how are we goi ng to resol ve thi scase? I mean, you have some suggest-i ons on what wecan do to try to get jt resolved? There's been anoffer made.

MS, GILLESPIE: Yes.THE COURT: That was it has actually

been wi thdrawn, i s that ri ght, Mr. Fl etcher?MR, FLETCHER: Wel I , Your Honor, we

tr j ed to get settl ement negot'i ati ons goi ng backI ast November.

THE COURT: I know you did.MR. FLETCHER: And I - -

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THE C0URT: I read that in yoursettl ement conference statement.

MR, FLETCHER: Ri ght.THE C0URT: But you'd stjll l'i ke to

resol ve the case, your cl i ent woul d ,MR. FLETCHER: Well, we would, but the

number woul d have to necessari '1 y change.THE COURT: No, I understand . At the

ri ght pri ce you want to resol ve i t.MR. FLETCHER: That's true, Your Honor,THE COURT: That ' s what we' re 1 ooki ng

for, You're 1 ooki ng to see i f we can get the ri ghtpri ce, You're sti I I on the propeFty, correct?

MS. GILLESPIE: Yes.MR. GILLESPIE: Yes. And we're willinq

to resol ve thi s, too.THE C0URT: How?MS. GILLESPIE: Well, the for one

thi ng, he he a1 ready owed us $4, 000 j n j ustcourt I osses, And then he says $4,000 and we have$1 00,000 i nvestment i n the property.

THE COURT: He doesn'tMS GILLESPIE: We bui I t thi s house,THE COURT: He doesn't owe you any court

costs unless you prevai"l after trial ,MR. GILLESPIE: We did two of them.

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MS. GI LLESPI E : We d'i d i n two previ ousheari ngs ,

THE COURT: 0h .MR. GILLESPIE: One in Hicks' court was

2,800, and one wasTHE C0URT: Oh , , sancti on orders ,MR. GI LLESPI E: One was a TRO , and th-i s

is what he's countjng, which was 2,800, and thenGl ade Roper's court was 1 ,200.

THE COURT: Judge Roper's court js notthi s case, Judge Hi cks was hand'l -i ng thi s case whenI was

MR. GILLESPIE: No, he was handling aTRO .

THE C0URT: A di fferent case?MR. GILLESPIE: Yes.MS. GILLESPIE: A di fferent case, Both

of them are di fferent cases, but when he offered usthe 4,000, h already owed us 4,000 as ordered bythe Court.

THE COURT: Tel I me what k'i nd of ademand you'thjnk is fa-i r jn order to get this caseresol ved? I mean, you want to stay on the propertyor you're wi-l ling to move jf the price is right?

MR, GILLESPIE: We're wi 1 1 i ng to move i fthe pri ce i s ri ght.

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THE COURT: What's the right price?MR. GILLESPIE: 60,000 and give us

90 days to get off.THE COURT: Okay. Al I ri ght . What I

want to do -i s I'm going to meet with each side andI 'm goi ng to start w1 th Mr. Fl etcher and hi sclient. And f 'm go-ing to do it in my chambers.And then I'm goi ng to send them back out and I'l Ital k to the two of you. 0kay, And what we tal kabout i s goi ng to be ki nd of j n confi dence. AndI'm going to try to get this case resolved

MR. GILLESPIE: Thank you, Your Honor.THE COURT: -- if I can. Okay.

lvlr. Fl etcher, 1et me see you i n chambers wi th yourclient.

(Whereupon, di scussj ons werehel d i n chambers off the record. )

(Whereupon, the fol I owi ngproceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to wi t: )THE COURT: In Gi I I espi e versus Hoffman.

Mr. Fl etcher, I thi nk my bai I i ffshoul d have returned to you that

MR, FLETCHER: He d'i d .THE C0URT: -- petition of bankruptcy,

I've conf i rmed that Mi ss Gi I I espi e has fi I ed a

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bankruptcy peti ti on. That's goi ng to stay al Ithese proceedi ngs pursuant to the automatj c stay,I'm vacati ng al I tri al dates, and I'l I wai t wordfrom the bankruptcy court as to whether thi s i sgoi ng to be consi dered an asset of the bankruptcyand prosecuted by the trustee or -i f they're goingto say you're on your own, So I have to wait untilI receive notification from the bankruptcy court.

MR. FLETCHER: Your Honor, I believethere i s a I aw and moti on matter on August the 2ndor the sth.

THE COURT:al I off cal endar.

It's off cal endar. TheY're

MR. FLETCHER: That's off cal endar.THE C0URT: No further act-i on bY the

Court. So no dates are set at the present ti me.They'1 1 be reset when I recei ve some notj fi catj onfrom the bankruptcy court. I have a copy of yourrecei pt from the bankruptcy peti ti on, has thebankruptcy number on i t . The Court 's goi ng to f i I ethat so we have that i nformati on.


-o0o-

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February 14, 2012MORN I NG SESSION

(Whereupon, the fol I owi ngproceedi ngs were hel d i n opencourt, to wi t: )THE C0URT: Gillespie versus Hoffman and

the rel ated cross-acti on.MR. FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor,

And I djd see the tentatjve ruling. The on'l y thingj s, Your Honor, i s that I have a schedul i ngconfl i ct on Apri I the 1 Oth, And I was wonderi ng i fwe coul d schedul e i t ei ther the Tuesday before orthe Tuesday after.

THE C0URT: No , we can .MR. FLETCHER: We cannot?THE COURT: You know, it's rea11y a

status to fi nd out because a chapter proceedi ngunder 13 was filed previously and an applicationwas made to the bankruptcy court for some rel i ef,and f'm sure that opportuni ty i s stj I I avaj I abl e toyou, But I et's I ook at the 17th of Apri 1 .

'MR. FLETCHER: That would be wonderful ,Your Honor.

THE COURT: Provide notice to theparti es.

MR. FLETCHER: I will do that, Your

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Honor.THE COURT REPORTER: Counsel, can I get

your name?MR. FLETCHER: Robert Fletcher, on

behal f of the Hoffmans.THE COURT REPORTER: Thank you .MR. FLETCFIER: Thank you .

(hlhereupon, the proceedi ngswere concl uded. )

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STATE OF CALIFORNIACOUNTY OF TULARE

SS.

I. KATHY l!|. CORREIA, an Offic.i al CertifiedShorthand Reporter of the Superj or Court of theState of Cal'j forni a, do hereby certi fy:

That the foregoi ng acti on enti tl ed COURTNEYGILLESPIE, PLAINTIFF, VETSUS NICKLAS HOFFMAN,DEFENDANT, was taken down i n stenognaph'i c shorthandwriting and thereafter transcribed intotypewri ti ng, pages 1 through 36, and that thef oregoi ng transcri pt const'i tutes a f ul I , true, andcorrect transcri pt of sai d proceedi ngs.

Dated thj s 1 8th day of Apri 1 , 2012.

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