Exhibit I)

1 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

2 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF TULARE
3

4 DEPARTMENT 7 HONORABLE PAUL A. VORTMANN, JUDGE

5

6 COURTNEY GI LLESPI E .
7 Pl ai nti ff,
B VS. NO, VCU238961
9 NICKLAS HOFFMAN.
10 Defendant.
11

12 Vi sa1 i a, Cal i forni a October 5, 2010

November 5, 2010
13 November 6, 2010
1
Januarv 8. 2011
1
14 Apr.i I 15, 2011
Julv 12, 2011
15 Feb-ruary 14 , 2012
16
17
REPORTER' S TRANSCRI PT
18
19
20 APPEARANCES :

21 For the Pl ai nti ff: IN PRO PER

22
23
For the Defendant: ROBERT FLETCHER. ESQ.
24 P.0. Box 824
Tu1are, CA 93275-0824
25
26

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 I NDEX
2
DATE PAGE
3
October5, 2010 1
4
November 5, 2010 5
5
November 6, 2010
1 I
6
January 1 B, 2011 10
7
Apr.i I 15,2011 14
8
Ju1 y 12, 2011 25
I
February 14, 2012 35
10
11

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 1

1 October 5, 2010
2 MORNING SESSION
3 (l,r/hereupon , the fol I owi ng
4 proceedi ngs were hel d j n open
5 court, to wi t: )
6 e versus Ni ckl as
THE COURT: Gi 1 1 espi
7 Hoffman. The tentati ve becomes the order of the
B Court.
I MR, FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor.
10 Robert Fl etcher on behal f of the defendant.
11 0n Friday we did file a demurrer
12 antjcipating that thjs was a different kind of
13 heari ng than what i t has ended up bei ng, Sj nce al I
14 parti es are present i n court, perhaps we coul d set
15 the hear-i ng on that demurrer on calendar now.
16 THE CLERK: It wasn't fi I ed
17 MS. GILLESPIE: We checked the record,
1B Your Honor, on Fri day and there was nothi ng
19 THE COURT: Let's get the appearances,
20 p1 ease, You are?
21 MS. GILLESPIE: My name js Melody
22 Gillespie.'
23 MR. GILLESPIE: I am Courtney Gi I I espi e.
24 MS . GI LLESPI E : We never rece'i ved
25 anythi ng, any k-i nd of response.
26 THE COURT: D-i d you read my tentative

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 ru1 i ng?
2 I -- the record wasn't
MS, GILLESPIE:
3 here. There was nothi ng for us
4 THE COURT: It' s on the court 's websi te,
5 It's avai I abl e on the tel ephone. The rul e of court
6 i n the State of Cal j forni a provi des for the
7 issuance of tentative rulings in law and motion
8 matters . I 'i ssued a tentat j ve ru-l i ng yesterday.
I 0nce jt's jssued, you need to listen to it, and if
10 you di sagree wj th i t, you have to noti fy the Court
11 by 4:00 o'cl ock and noti fy counsel of your i ntent
12 to argue t -i
.

13 MS, GILLESPIE: I had I have received

14 no response. I di dn't even know there was a
15 counsel ,

16 THE C0URT: You di dn 't know there was a

17 tentat i ve?
1B MS. GILLESPIE: I didn't know there was
19 a tentati ve, I dn't
even know there was a
di
20 counsel , and we checked the record, there was
21 nothi ng j n the record that showed that there was a
22 response.
23 Well, I have no official
THE COURT:
24 noti fi cati on or there's not an appearance that I
25 have. You say you have fi I ed an appearance?
26 MR. FLETCHER: We fjled an appearance

KATHY M . CORREIA. CSR NO . 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 3

C0URT: It's not in our case

THE
management system so the cl erk's offi ce hasn't
3 gotten around to recording it and putting jt in our
4 system.
5 MR. FLETCHER: I
understand, Your Honor,
6 and we can we can go through the process of
7 setting it for hearing and giving notice or, since
8 al I parti es are here, perhaps under CCP 1 005, we
I can just set it on the Court's calendar now.
10 THE C0URT: Wel I , here's the probl em, i s
11 I have a cl erk that si ts down i n 201 that I i mi ts
12 the number of cases that I handl e on any Tuesday j n
13 I aw and moti on, and she gets upset when 1 awyers
14 j ust set thi ngs wi thout her noti ce, and I'm sure
15 she gets upset i f I do that.
16 MR, FLETCHER: Then
17 THE C0URT: So you're going to have to
18 noti ce the moti on.
19 MR. FLETCHER: We'll do that, Your
20 Honor.
21 THE COURT: But the tentative becomes
22 the order "of the Court.
23 MR. FLETCHER: Thank You, Your Honor.
24 MS. GILLESPIE: There was some I had
25 some po-l i ce records subpoenaed . May I have a copy?
26 THE COURT: Al I that was on cal endar

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 4

1 thi s morni ng was your moti on. I j ssued the

2 tentati ve, There was no request for oral argument ,

3 The tentati ve becomes the order of the Court.

4 (Whereupon, the proceedi ngs
5 were concl uded. )
6 -o0o-
7

I
I
10
11

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0, 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 November 5, 2010
2 ['4ORNING SESSION

3 (Whereupon, the fol I ow-i ng

4 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
5 court, to wi t: )

6 THE C0URT: I'll call the ex Parte

7 cal endar, Gj I I espi e 'versus Hof fman. Courtney
8 Gj I I esp'i e and Mel ody Gi I I espi e.
I MR, GILLESPIE: Yes.
10 MR, FLETCHER: And Robert Fletcher
11 appeari ng on behal f of Mr. Hoffman, Your Honor.
12 THE COURT: I di dn't understand thi s
13 ex parte request . Let me tel I you why I di dn't
14 understand . As sel f- represented I i ti gants , you
15 cannot i ssue subpoenas. Lawyers can, but you
16 cannot. I have to i ssue those subpoenas pursuant
17 to your request.
18 You apparently 'i ssued a subpoena on
19 your own. At I east I don't see a record j n the
20 court's file that I rev'i ewed it and issued the
21 subpoena, is that correct?
22
'MS. GILLESPIE: It's there.

23 THE COURT: Who i ssued the subPoena?

24 lvls, GILLESPIE: The cl erk. She stamped
25 it and
26 THE COURT: No, the clerk gives you a

KATHY l"l . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 6

1 subpoena to i ssue but i t has to be endorsed wi th a

2 signature. Did you sign it yourself?
3 MS. GILLESPIE: No, The sheri ff di d.
4 THE COURT: No, ilo. The sheri ff doesn't
5 s-i gn the subpoena. The sherjff responded to the

6 subpoena.
7 The point is that in self-represented
8 I j ti gants the Court has the obl i gat-i on to moni tor
9 subpoenas that are i ssued. The code provi des that
10 attorneys can jssue subpoenas, but self-represented
11 I i ti gants cannot.
12 You i ssued a subpoena, as I
13 understand 'i t, at least I didn't review it, there's
14 no record of i t i n the fi I e, and the sheri ff's
15 department responded to that subpoena and del j vered
16 those records to the court. I have not seen a copy
17 of that subooena.
1B Now, what you've done is you've asked
19 the Court to rel ease those records to you and you
20 don't set forth any justification, number one, why
21 the subpoena was i ssued i n the f i rst p'l ace and,
22 two, why I' shoul d rel ease the records to you, and
23 you provi de me no authori ty.
24 So tel I me what these records are,
25 how they pertai n to thi s I awsui t, and why I shoul d
26 release them to you,

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 7

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

2 with it has to do
3 THE COURT: You have a copy of the
4 subpoena?
5 MS, GILLESPIE: No, I don't .

6 THE COURT: You have a copy of the

7 subpoena, si r?
B MR, GILLESPIE: No, si r.
9 THE COURT: You dj dn 't keep a copy of
10 the subpoena you served? It was a subpoena duces
11 tecum, wasn't j t?
12 MS. GILLESPIE: Yes no wel I , yes
13 VeS, i t was.
14 THE COURT: Okay. Because
15 MS. GILLESPIE: I gave the court
16 THE COURTT -- it had a list of the
17 documents you wanted produced.
1B MS, GILI-ESPIE: I gave the court the
19 only copy I had.
20 THE COURT: You gave the clerk the only
21 copy?
22 MS. GILLESPIE:Well, the one that was
23 fi I e stamped by the court, I have the I et's see,
24 THE COURT: You know, I have no subpoena
25 jn the file. What I have is your Comp-l aint, the
26 proof of servi ce. I have your request for

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 44gO
OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 8

1 ch the Court deni ed on October sth.

i nj uncti on whi
2 The demurrer that has been fi I ed al ong wi th the
3 supporti ng documents and the opposi ti on to the
4 demurrer whi ch was fi I ed November 2nd. That
5 heari ng i s set for the 1 6th of November.
6 d you get a copy of the subpoena?
Di
7 MR. FLETCHER: I have not seen that,
B Your Honor.
9 THE C0URT: Wel I , we' re not goi ng
10 through thj s here. I 'm j ust goi ng to deny the
11 request because there's been no affirmatjve showing
12 that the records that have been produced by the
13 sheri ff's department to the court are rel evant to
14 the i ssues rai sed i n thi s case.
15 I don't have a copy of the
16 decl arati on i n support of the subpoena. I don't
17 have a decl arati on that says why these records are
18 rel evant and why the court shoul d rel ease them, so
19 j t's denj ed wj thout prej udj ce.
20 MR, FLETCHER: Thank you, your Honor.
21 THE COURT: The 1 6th i s the heari ng on
22 the demurrer. The Court wi I I 'i ssue a tentati ve
23 ru1 i ng.
24 (Whereupon, the proceed'i ngs
25 were concl uded. )
26 -o0o-

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 I
1 November 1 6, 2010
2 MORNING SESSION
3 (Whereupon, the fol I owi ng
4 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
5 court, to t:) w-i

6 THE C0URT: In the case of Gillespie

7 versus ckl as Hoffman, there was no request for
Ni
8 oral argument. The tentative becomes the order of
9 the Court,
10 (Whereupon, the proceedi ngs
11 were concl uded. )
12 -o0o-
13
14
15
16
17
1B

19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 10

1 January 1 B, 2011
2 MORNING SESSION
3 (Whereupon,the fol I owi ng
4 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
5 court, to t: ) wi
6 THE COURT: f'm goi ng to cal I Gi I I espie
7 versus Hoffman
8 MR. FLETCHER: Yes. Good morning, Your
I Honor, Robert Fl etcher on behal f of Mr. Hoffman
10 who's present j n court, Your Honor.
11 MS, GILLESPIE: Courtney and Me-l ody
12 Gillespie,
13 nti f f 's demurrer to
THE C0URT: The p'l ai
14 the answer, the Court is adopting its tentative
15 ru1-i ng. I recei ved yesterday a request f or oral
16 argument. It wasn't timely. So the tentative is
17 adopted.
18 The on1 y i ssue we have thi s morni ng
19 j s the case management conference. Both defendant
20 and plaintiff demand jury.to three-day
Two-
21 esti mate by both, ol though an amendment to the case
22 management' statement by the p1 ai nti ff i ndi cates two
23 weeks .

24 MR. FLETCHER: Excuse me, Your Honor.

25 Defendant di d not demand a j ury.
26 THE C0URT: I 'm sorry. Non-j ury.

KATHY l'l .
CORREIA, CSR NO, 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 11

1 Defendant's non-j ury.

2 MR. FLETCHER: Non-jury, that's correct.
3 THE COURT: You're right. I read it
4 wrong, My N looks l-i ke a J.
5 lvlediati on or j udi ci al arbi trati on by
6 defendant , Med j ati on j ni ti a'l 1y by the p'l ai nt j f f
,

7 but i n the the case management

amendment to-
B conference statement i t says none, Why the
I i ncrease from two to three days to two weeks?
10 MS. GILLESPIE: Because when I started
11 after I got the Cross-Complaint and I started to
12 analyze what was gonna potenti a1 y go on i n the
1

13 case, then I realtzed it could become a complex

14 case and may become more i nvol ved than what I had
15 ori gi na1 y thought,
1

16 THE COURT: Wel I , my revi ew of the fi I e

17 i ndi cates that we're goi ng to set the matter for a
1B three-day setting. We can address the length of
19 the tri al at the settl ement conference fol I owi ng
20 compl eti on of the di scovery and there's some
21 question as to whether that -l ength is going to be
suf f i ci ent". The purpose of the ength , f or the
'l
22
23 most part , i s so the j ury can be advi sed as to how
24
'l
ong they' re go'i ng to be expected to be here.
25 The Compl aj nt was fi I ed on
26 August 26th of 2010, I don't determi ne thi s 'i s a

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO, 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 complex case. I 'm goi ng to set i t wi thi n one year.
The 22nd of August, i s that agreeabl e?
3 MR. FLETCHER: That's fi ne, Your Honor,
4 MS. GILLESPIE: The what was that
5 agai n?
6 THE COURT: August 22nd.
7 MS. GILLESPIE: For what?
8 THE COURT: Tr-i al , August 22nd at
I 1 0:00 o'cl ock i n thi s department, ?ssi gned here for

10 al I purposes. I'm goi ng to schedul e a readi ness

11 conference for the 1 gth of August at 9:00 o'cl ock.
12 Moti ons i n I j mi ne to be served and fj I ed fi ve days
13 before that readi ness conference, I'l I rul e on
14 those motjons at that time. Lodge wjth the Court
15 proposed j ury -i nstructi ons and verdi ct f orms at the
16 readi ness conference.
17 I'm going to set an ear'l y settlement
1B conference for the 12th of Ju1 y at B:30 i n thi s
19 department. Settl ement conference statements to be
20 1 odged wi th the Court and served fi ve days befone

21 the settl ement conference.

22 A waj ver of ti me and p1 ace of tri al
23 because of counsel 's appearance i n these
24 proceedi ngs. I'm not goi ng to set the matter for
25 medi ati on or arbi trati on.
26 Any questions?

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 13

1 MR. FLETCHER: Thank you, Your Honor.

2 MS. GILLESPIE: What was July?
3 THE CLERK: Ju1 y 12th.
4 MS. GI LLESPI E : 12th, okay .

5 THE COURT: At 8: 30 .

6 MS. GILLESPIE: I object to the Court's

7 that p-l a'i nt-i f f 's request was I ate because we
rul i ng
I had to fax jt in and jt was at a quarter to 4:00
I and accordi ng to the I ocal court rul es i t says
10 4: 00 o'cl ock,
11 THE COURT: Yesterday was a ho1 i day so
12 -i
t had to be i n by Fri day at 4 : 00 o' cl ock.
13 (Whereupon, the proceedi ngs
14 were concl uded. )
15 -o0o-
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

"
OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 14

1 April 15,2011
2 (Whereupon , the f ol I ow-i ng
3 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
4 court, to wi t: )
5 THE COURT: I'l I cal I the case of
6 Gjllespie versus Hoffman.
7 THE CLERK: Come forward to the table.
8 pl ease, It doesn't real y matter 1 whj ch one.
9 MR. FLETCHER: Good morn-i ng , Your Honor,
10 THE C0URT: Good morning,
11 MR. FLETCHER: Robert Fletcher on behalf
12 of Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Hoffman i s present i n court.
13 THE C0URT: And Melody and Courtney
14 G1 llespie.
15 MR, GILLESPIE: Gi I I espi e.
16 MS. GILLESPIE: Good morning, Your
17 Honor.
18 s i s p1 ai nti ff's
THE COURT: Thi I
19 understand there's two motions on calendar. One is
20 for reconsideration. The other's to strike tne
21 Cross - Comp-l a-i nt .

22 'MS
, GI LLESPI E : Yes .

23 THE C0URT: You may address the i ssues.

24 MS , GI LLESPI E : And a cl ari f i cat-ion of
25 the tentative order.
26 THE COURT: You may address the -i
ssues .

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 449A

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 15

1 MS . GI LLESPI E :
. The the mot.ion
Okay
2 for re-consideration was for the demurrer to the
3 answer whi ch j n your tentati ve ru1 i ng you stated
4 that that that we needed to answer the
5 Cross-Compl ai nt forthwi th.
6 dn't understand what that meant
We di
7 or why you needed to have an answen before a motjon
8 to stri ke or demurrer, We di d the moti on to stri ke
9 and demurrer. And the moti on to stri ke i s the
10 enti re Compl ai nt because everythi ng has ai ready
11 been addressed in Porterville Case Number 1 --
12 THE COURT: Let me take you back a step.
13 What occurred i s you fi I ed a demurrer to the
14 answer.
15 MS. GILLESPIE: Right.
16 THE COURT: That's what you fj I ed, I
17 i ssued a tentati ve rui i ng. The I ocal rul es requi re
18 once the tentative is issued, if you take -i ssue
19 wi th the Court's tentati ve ru1 i ng, you have to
20 request oral argument . You appeared i n the morn'i ng
21 and were unaware of the rul e that you had to
22 request oral argument. You apparentl y were
23 prepared to argue the case, ?S I understand i t.
24 That's a I ocal rul e that's consi stent wi th the
25 Rul es of Court, and, I adopted the tentatj ve ru1 i ng
26 because no one di d request oral argument. So

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 16

1 that's what occurred at that heari ng back on

2 January 1 Bth. That's when that occurred.
3 You had made a mot'i on for me to
4 reconsjder that. Now, that was timely filed. From
5 a procedural standpoint, Vou have to comp-l y with
6 the code because you j ust can't ask to reconsi der,
7 there has to be a basi s for requesti ng the
B reconsi derati on.
I There are essentially two factors
10 that can be consi dered by the Court i n a moti on for
11 reconsj derati on. They're poi nted out by
12 Mr. Fl etcher i n hi s memorandum of authori ti es and
13 he makes reference to 1008 of the Code of Civil
14 Procedure. But one i s that there are new facts
15 that I have become aware of that I was not aware of
16 at the time of the decision of the Court and the
17 Court needs to take i nto consi derati on these new
18 facts.
19 In a demurrer, we rarel y consi der
20 facts because j t's an attack on the p1 eadi ng from
21 the standpoi nt of whether the p1 eadi ng j s
22 sufficient', USually it's a Complaint, but in th-i s
23 case an answer, So new facts aren't an i ssue.
24 The question js, is there new law?
25 And what occurs frequentl y when thi s type of motj on
26 i s made on that ground, the appel I ate court or the

KATHY M . CORREIA. CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 supreme court has rendered a deci si on after the
Court's dec'i si on and bef ore the runni ng of the ti me

for reconsi derati on and the Court takes i nto

consideration that new law,
5 ther factor i s present here. And
Nei
6 wi thout one of those factors bei ng present , the
7 on'l y one that can reconsider the dec'i sion is the
8 Court on i ts own motj on. And I can do that at any
I tj me. But you have to overcome that procedural
10 di ffi cu1 ty before I'm goi ng to address the
11 reconsi derati on of my ru1 i ng whj ch essenti a1 1 y was
12 to overrul e your motj on to deny your moti on or
13 your demurrer to the answer.
14 MS. GI LLESPI E : The
15 THE C0URT: You didn't attack the
16 Cross-Compl ai nt so that's why I sai d forthwj th,
17 because you had chal 1 enged
the answer, but you
18 didn't challenge the Cross-Complaint and the answer
19 to the Cross-Complaint was overdue at that t'i me.
20 So that'swhy I ordered jt forthw-i th.
21 MS. GILLESPIE: The motion for
22 reconsi derati on was based on exi gent and
23 extenuati ng ci rcumstances and there are there
24 are excepti ons to that rul e.
25 The trj al court's i nherent power to
26 re-consi der i ts ru1 i ng whj ch remai ns i n effect

KATHY t'l . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 1 unti I the entry of j udgment i s wel I establ j shed.
2 THE C0URT: That's what I told you
3 about. The Court can do it on its own motion but
4 there's a limitation under the code as to when you
5 can do i t and the grounds on whi ch you can bri ng
6 that moti on for reconsi derati on before the Court.
7 And I don't see the grounds here.
B MS. GILLESPIE: Jud-i ci al noti ce -i s
I one
10 THE COURT:f'm not inclined to do it on
11 my own because I believe it was the right decjsion.
12 MS. GILLESPIE: The j udi ci al noti ce
13 -i
s one of the except-i ons to Rul e 1 - - 1008, And
14 but the the part that we wanted you to
15 reconsi der was was to put j n the answer wi thout
16 putti ng j n a motj on to stri ke or demurrer because
17 they weren't due unti I the fol I owi ng Monday, and
1B that would have been the time that we got served,
19 We had 30 days accordi ng to the accor di ng to the
20 code of civil
Procedure and the court rules and so
21 therefore that was the clarjficatjon we needed, why
22 you requested it ear'l y, and 'i f forthwith meant that
23 same day or we di d coul d do i t wi thi n that ti me,
24 but we di d put i n the moti on to stri ke and
25 demurrer. And ch i sn't
whi whi ch i sn't an
26 answer according to 1aw, but we needed the

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 19

1 cl ari fi cati on on that .

2 So are you does that affect our

moti on to stri ke and demurrer?
4 THE COURT: Does what affect your
5 moti on?
6 tentati ve ru1 i ng,
MS. GILLESPIE: Your
7 THE COURT :' The tentat i ve ru1 i ng i s the
8 tentat-i ve rul i ng. The tentati ve rul i ng was to deny
9 the demurrer.
10 I'm ta1 ki ng about
MS, GILLESPIE: No,
11 for the Cross-Complaint, not for the answer. There
12 was two d'i fferent demurrers in there.
13 THE COURT: The Court issued an order
14 that you are to answer the Cross-Complaint
15 forthwi th .

16 did a few days

MS. GILLESPIE: Which we
17 later but it wasn't it was a motion to strike
18 and a demurrer , And the tentat j ve ru'l i ng actual -l y
19 WAS WAS

20 THE C0URT: You know, you ' re gett-i ng

21 s j detracked a I j ttl e bi t because what we're ta-l ki ng
22 about i s whether you have the ri ght under the Code
23 of Cj vi I Procedure to even bri ng thi s moti on for
24 reconsi derat'i on.
25 There's a prel i mi nary fact the Court
26 has to determi ne, and that i s that there's new I aw

KATHY t'| . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 1 or new facts, And you have to tel I me what the new
2 I aw or new facts are.
3 MS. GILLESPIE: 0h, okay, The it was
4 that the j udi ci al noti ce had not been consj dered
5 and it was due to exigent and extenuat-i ng
6 ci rcumstances, we weren't abl e to get that i n on
7 ti me
8 THE COURT: Well, that's not new law or
9 new facts. Those are thi ngs that were i n exi stence
10 at the ti me you're say'i ng that I j ust di dn't have
11 tj me to get i t done.
12 MS. GILLESPIE: And the part that our
13 Cross-Complaint our motion to strike and
14 demurrer against the Cross-Complaint wasn't due for
15 a few days and we sti I I had about four more days to
16 get i t j n. And you rul ed that we had to put an
17 answer i n forthwi th when we wanted to exerci se
18 we wanted and needed to exercjse our right to to
19 have the 30 full 30 days, and which we did put
20 that j fl, but we can't unti I the parts that are
21 the parts that are strj cken that need to be
22 strj cken because they don't coi nci de w-i th previ ous
23 court hearj ngs , prev-i ous testi mony, and prev.i ous
24 evi dence brought forth i n other cases. There's no
25 way we can provi de an answer. So we're ki nd of i n
26 a quandary on that because that has to be revi ewed

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 21

1 by the Court and we need a determi nati on on the

2 moti on to stri ke.
3 THE COURT: Mj ss Gi I I espi e, thi s i s the
4 pleading stage we're ta-l king about now. I mean,
5 that ' s al I we're tal k-i ng about .

6 MS, GILLESPIE: Uh-huh.

7 THE C0URT: We're addressi ng, the
B Court's address'i ng the issue of whether the
9 p1 eadi ngs are suffi ci ent, not whether the facts al I

10 substanti ate the a1 1 egati ons of the p1 eadi ng, but

11 just the question of as a matter of 1aw, are the
12 p1 eadi ngs such so we can go forward?

13 There's goi ng to be a tri al on thi s

14 case. A j ury or the Court's goi ng to make a
15 determination as to what the facts are, t{e're only
16 ta1 ki ng about the suffi ci ency of the p1 eadi ngs.
17 And the Court had anal yzed j ni t-i a1'l y and
18 re-analyzed because of the motjons you've made here
19 before the Court, you and your husband, and f'm not
20 i ncl i ned to change the tentati ve ruf i ng.
21 MS, GILLESPIE: Okay. How does that
22 i mpact our' moti on to stri ke and demurrer agai nst
23 the Cross-Compl ai nt?
24 THE C0URT: Wel I, the order of the Court
25 was to answer f orthw'i th so you need to answer,
26 MS. GILLESPIE: So

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 22

1 THE COURT: |\4r. Fl etcher, do you have

2 any comments?
3 MR. FLETCHER: Wel I , Your Honor, we

4 woul d subm-i t on the basi s of our opposi t j on.

5 THE COURT: lul-i ss Gi I I esPi e, here's
6 real y I mean, there's a factual di spute,
1

7 there' s no questi on 'about j t . There' s a quest-i on

8 as to the rel ati onshi p between the parti es and the
I ownershi p of the property and whether some type of
10 l ega'l ri ght exi sts by one party as opposed to the
11 other, And we're goi ng to strai ghten al I thi s out
12 as we go through . But the pl eadi ngs , i t1 the
13 Court's opi ni on as refl ected i n the tentatj ve
14 ru1 i ng, i s suffi ci ent to bri ng those i ssues before
15 the Court. They're not defective as a matter of
16 law. So we need to get the answer on file and we
17 need to get the matter set for i s i t set for
18 tri al ?
19 MR. FLETCHER: Yes .

2A C0URT: It is set for trial, So,

THE
21 you know, you should be proceeding with discovery.
22 You shoul d be maki ng a determi nati on as to what
23 wi tnesses you're goi ng to need. You shoul d be
24 prepari ng to di scuss wi th the Court at a settl ement
25 conference ways i n whi ch thj s matter can be
26 resolved. Because the Court expects at the time

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 23

1 the matter's set for tri al , the parti es are goi ng

2 to be prepared to put on ev'i dence , to provi de
3 appropri ate l aw to the Court so that we can get
4 thi s matter resol ved.
5 There's no questi on a di spute ex-i sts.
6 And the Court's opi ni on as refl ected j n the
7 tentative rule is the pleadings are sufficient to
8 put the parti es on noti ce as to what the questi ons
I of fact and the theori es for recovery are by the
10 parti es. So the Court's goi ng to deny your moti on
11 for recons'i deration and the motion to strike and
12 you're to answer the Cross-Complaint. You need to
13 answer the Cross-Compl aj nt,
14 MS. GILLESPIE: Okay, I obj ect to
15 that
16 , I know you do
THE COURT: Wel I .

17 MS, GILLESPIE: and

18 THE C0URT: And you have an opportunity
19 to have al I my orders revi ewed.
20 MS. GILLESPIE: Uh-huh.
21 THE COURT: And I wel come the
22 opportuni fy to have you peti ti on to have them
23 revi ewed, But based on the evi dence that I have,
24 and, you know, th-i s is a pretty substantial fjle
25 a'l ready, I bel i eve that my deci s j on was correct and
26 that there' s no -l egal basi s for you under the Code

KATHY t'4. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 of vj I Procedure to bri ng a moti on for
Ci
2 reconsi derati on,
3 MS, GILLESPIE: I would like a minute
4 order so that and gi ve my noti ce of appeal .

5 THE COURT: You're not requesti ng. The

6 Court, i n due course, wi I I have a mi nute order
7 prepared by the cl erk. The court reporter i s
8 taki ng down the testi mony or the arguments and the
I Court's comments here whi ch i s avai I abl e to you.
10 You'd have to contact the reporter. And I'm not
11 goi ng to gi ve you advi ce as to what to do because I
12 can't. But the moti on i s deni ed.
13 MS, GILLESPIE: Both motions? Both
14 moti ons are deni ed?
15 MR. FLETCHER: Thank you, Your Honor.
16 (Whereupon, the proceedi ngs
17 were concl uded. )
1B -o0o-
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 1 July 12, 2011
2 MORNING SESSION
3 the fol I owi ng
(Whereupon,
4 proceed-i ngs were held in open
5 court, to wi t: )
'l
6 THE COURT: Gi 1 espi e versus Hof f man .

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

8 Gjllespie.
I MS, GILLESPIE: Yes.
10 GILLESPIE: Present.
lVlR.
11 THE C0URT: Just have a seat right here
12 at counsel tabl e.
13 MR. FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor.
14 Robert Fl etcher a1 ong wi th Mr. Hoffman.
15 THE COURT: I didn't receive a
16 settl ement conference statement for ei ther of vou
17 two ,

18 MS, GILLESPIE: The the attorney that

19 was to represent us i n a settl ement conference j s
20 out of town unti I the 25th and al I we coul d do i s
21 make an oral mot'i on before the Court.
22 'THE C0URT: You ' re representi ng yoursel f

23 though.
24 MS, GILLESPIE: For the settlement
25 between for the settl ement between us we needed
26 to have an attorney because I ast ti me we were i n a

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 26

1 settl ement wi th got screwed real 1 y bad.

them we
2 THE COURT: You got what?
3 MS. GILLESPIE: We got screwed with the
4 other si de.
5 THE COURT: Well, they can't sue You
6 over what happens j n the court . But you're
7 representi ng yoursel f . You're requi red to comp'l y
8 wi th the rul es of court . I have recei ved a
I settl ement conference statement from Mr. Fl etcher.
10 You got a copy of it I assume.
11 MR. GILLESPIE: YES,
12 MS. GILLESPIE: Yesterday evening or
13 yesterday morni ng.
14 THE COURT: You got a copy of that, I
15 needed somethi ng from you.
16 Now, you know, he tells me that
17 there's some probl ems wi th your cl ai m. He tel I s me
18 that there was no agreement that was fi nal i zed.
19 Real property transacti ons requi re a wri tten
2A agreement. You can't do i t ora-l 1y. It's cal I ed I
21 thi nk the statute of frauds. It requj res the
22 agreement"to be jn wrjting. And real property
23 transacti ons, for the most part, are recorded. So
24 someone gi ves you a deed or you enter i nto a
25 contract to sal e, most peopl e record those so that
26 they have an i nterest i n property that someone el se

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 2V

1 can't get priority because of a ljen, you know,

2 that someone p'l edged the property f or a I oan .

3 Mr. Fl etcher al so poi nts out that we

4 have a probl em wj th the subdi vl s'i on map act because
5 thi s i s one conti nuous pi ece of property, and
6 before i t can be di vi ded, you have to survey i t,
7 you have to get approval from the county.
8 Dependi ng on the zoni ng, i t mi ght not be abl e to be
I done because of acreage I i mi tati ons . And I don't
10 know any of those th'i ngs. Al I I know i s what he
11 puts i n a settl ement conference. I don't have
12 anythi ng from your standpoi nt.
13 Now, I know we've been i nvol ved i n a

14 lot of discovery jn this case. This is a pretty

15 thi ck f -i I e. And we're schedul ed to go to tri al on
16 thj s case. And I want to assi st the parti es i n
17 tryi ng to resol ve i t, but I can't resol ve i t i f you
18 don't give me the information that tells me thjs js
19 why we thi nk we shoul d prevai i ; these are the
20 settlement discussjons we've had to date; these are
21 the th-i ngs that we think are necessary before we
22 can get th"is resolved, And then I can he1 p the
23 parti es to try to get together to resol ve j t. I
24 mean, that's my j ob 'i n a settl ement conf erence. I
25 don't make orders i n a settl ement conference. I
26 try to he1 p faci I j tate resol uti on through

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 settlement, but it's difficult for me to do that
2 MS. GILLESPIE: We could have it in
3 today.
4 THE C0URT: -- when I only have one
5 s-i de.
6 MS, GILLESPIE: We can have it in today,
7 THE COURT: This is the settlement
8 conference. The case management conference was
I hel d months ago. And what we dj d j s we set three
10 dates I thj nk at the case management conference,
11 We set a tri al date. We set a settl ement
12 conference. I thi nk we set a readi ness conference
13 date, di dn't we, Mr. Fl etcher?
14 MR, FLETCHER: We di d .

15 THE CLERK: Yes .

16 THE COURT: Demand for jury in this

17 case.
18 MR, FLETCHER: Their demand,
19 THE COURT: You made a demand for jury.
20 MS . GI LLESPI E : Uh - huh .

21 THE COURT: And those dates that were

22 set by the' agreement of counsel thi s Court I ooks at
23 as pretty i mportant dates to maj ntaj n.
24 MS, GILLESPIE: Oh

25 THE C0URT: There has to be

26 MS, GILLESPIE: I mi sunderstood.

KATHY M. CORREIA, CSR N0. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 29

1 THE COURT: an excel I ent reason to

2 change those dates.
3 MS. GILLESPIE: I misunderstood. I
4 thought i t was after we had the conference we put
5 i n our statements and
6 THE COURT: Well, you need to
7 fami I i ari ze yoursel f wi th the rul es of court.
8 That's not what the rul es say, And when you
9 represent yoursel f, you're obl i gated to fol I ow the
10 rul es.
11 I can't di sregard the rul es for some
12 peopl e and not f or others . And when peop'l e choose
13 to represent themsel ves, they have to make
14 themsel ves aware of the rul es.
15 Now, f 'm a little lenjent maybe for
16 i ndi vi dual s that aren ' t trai ned i n the -l aw, but the
17 rul es of court are desi gned so that i t's a I evel
18 p1 ayi ng fi el d. And i f everybody knows what the

19 rul es are and fol I ows the rul es, i t's tru-l y fa1 r.
20 But when one s'i de doesn't fol I ow the rul es, i t
21 prevents the Court from ooki ng at the matter and
1

22 sayi ng i t's fai r to both si des from a procedural

23 standpoi nt. So that's the reason you have to know
24 the rul es.
25 And when weget to trj al , j f we get
26 to trj al j n thi s case, you're goi ng to have to

KATHY M .
CORREIA. CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 sel ect a j ury; you're goi ng to have to ask
2 questi ons of the j ury; you're goi ng to have to
3 provi de me wi th j ury i nstructi ons and verdi ct
4 forms; you're goi ng to have to be abl e to questi on
5 both on direct and cross-examination of witnesses;
6 you're goi ng to have to know what the evi dence code
7 i s so you don't ask the wrong questi ons. I 'm goi ng
8 to make rulings on motions in limine, things you
9 can't tal k about that you mi ght thi nk you'1 1 be
10 abl e to tal k about but the rul es say you can't. So
11 i t's a compl ex process as we go through j t .

12 What you've been i nvol ved i n so far

13 i s j ust the di scovery process and you've stumbl ed
14 i n the di scovery process i n my revj ew of the fi I e,
15 So how are we goi ng to resol ve thi s
16 case? I mean, you have some suggest-i ons on what we
17 can do to try to get jt resolved? There's been an
18 offer made.
19 MS, GILLESPIE: Yes.
20 THE COURT: was it has actually
That
21 been wi thdrawn, i s that ri ght, Mr. Fl etcher?
22 MR, FLETCHER: Wel I , Your Honor, we
23 tr j ed to get settl ement negot'i ati ons goi ng back
24 I ast November.
25 THE COURT: I know you did.
26 MR. FLETCHER: And I --

KATHY N.CORREIA. CSR N0, 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 31

1 C0URT: I read that

THE in your
2 settl ement conference statement.
3 MR, FLETCHER: Ri ght.
4 THE C0URT:But you'd stjll l'i ke to
5 resol ve the case, your cl i ent woul d ,

6 MR. FLETCHER: Well, we would, but the

7 number woul d have to necessari '1
y change.
B THE COURT: No, I understand . At the
I ri ght pri ce you want to resol ve i t.
10 MR. FLETCHER: That's true, Your Honor,
11 THE COURT: That ' s what we' re 1 ooki ng
12 for, You're 1 ooki ng to see i f we can get the ri ght
13 pri ce, You're sti I I on the propeFty, correct?
14 MS. GILLESPIE: Yes.
15 MR. GILLESPIE: Yes. And we're willinq
16 to resol ve thi s,
too.
17 THE C0URT: How?
1B MS. GILLESPIE: Well, the for one
19 thi ng, he he a1 ready owed us $4, 000 j n j ust
20 court I osses, And then he says $4,000 and we have
21 $1 00,000 i nvestment i n the property.

22 THE COURT: He doesn't

23 MS GILLESPIE: We bui I t thi s house,
24 THE COURT: He doesn't owe you any court
25 costs unless you prevai"l after trial ,

26 MR. GILLESPIE: We did two of them.

KATHY 1'l . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 32

1 MS. GI LLESPI E : We d'i d i n two previ ous

2 heari ngs ,

THE COURT: 0h .

4 MR. GILLESPIE: One in Hicks' court was

5 2,800, and one was
6 THE C0URT: Oh , , sancti on orders ,

7 MR. GI LLESPI E:
a TRO , and th-i s
One was
8 is what he's countjng, which was 2,800, and then
9 Gl ade Roper's court was 1 ,200.
10 THE COURT: Judge Roper's court js not
11 thi s case, Judge Hi cks was hand'l -i ng thi s case when
12 I was
13 MR. GILLESPIE: No, he was handling a

14 TRO .

15 THE C0URT: A di fferent case?

16 MR. GILLESPIE: Yes.
17 MS. GILLESPIE: A di fferent case, Both
18 of them are di fferent cases, but when he offered us
19 the 4,000, h€ already owed us 4,000 as ordered by
20 the Court.
21 I me what k'i nd of a
THE COURT: Tel
22 demand you'thjnk is fa-i r jn order to get this case
23 resol ved? I mean, you want to stay on the property
24 or you're wi-l ling to move jf the price is right?
25 MR, GILLESPIE: We're wi 1 1 i ng to move i f
26 the pri ce i s ri ght.

KATHY M . CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP
 33

1 THE COURT:What's the right price?

2 MR. GILLESPIE: 60,000 and give us
3 90 days to get off.
4 THE COURT: Okay. Al I ri ght . What I
5 want to do -i s I'm going to meet with each side and
6 I 'm goi ng to start w1 th Mr. Fl etcher and hi s
7 client. And f 'm go-ing to do it in my chambers.
8 And then I'm goi ng to send them back out and I'l I
I tal k to the two of you. 0kay, And what we tal k
10 about i s goi ng to be ki nd of j n confi dence. And
11 I'm going to try to get this case resolved
12 MR. GILLESPIE: Thank you, Your Honor.
13 THE COURT: -- if I can. Okay.
14 lvlr. Fl etcher, 1et me see you i n chambers wi th your
15 client.
16 (Whereupon, di scussj ons were
17 d i n chambers off the record. )
hel
18 (Whereupon, the fol I owi ng
19 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
20 court, to wi t: )
21 THE COURT: In Gi I I espi e versus Hoffman.
22 Mr. Fl etcher, I thi nk my bai I i ff
23 shoul d have returned to you that
24 MR, FLETCHER: He d'i d .

25 THE C0URT: -- petition of bankruptcy,

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

KATHY M .
CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 34

1 bankruptcy peti ti on. That's goi ng to stay al I

2 these proceedi ngs pursuant to the automatj c stay,
3 I'm vacati ng al I tri al dates, and I'l I wai t word
4 from the bankruptcy court as to whether thi s i s
5 goi ng to be consi dered an asset of the bankruptcy
6 and prosecuted by the trustee or -i f they're going
7 to say you're on your own, So I have to wait until
8 I receive notification from the bankruptcy court.
9 MR. FLETCHER: Your Honor, I believe
10 there i s a I aw and moti on matter on August the 2nd
11 or the sth.
12 THE COURT: It's off cal endar. TheY're
13 al I off cal endar.
14 MR. FLETCHER: That's off cal endar.
15 further act-i on bY the
THE C0URT: No
16 Court. So no dates are set at the present ti me.
17 They'1 1 be reset when I recei ve some notj fi catj on
18 from the bankruptcy court. I have a copy of your
19 recei pt from the bankruptcy peti ti on, has the
20 bankruptcy number on i t . The Court 's goi ng to f iIe
21 that so we have that i nformati on.
22 (Whereupon, the proceedi ngs
23 were concl uded. )
24 -o0o-
25
26

KATHY .
CORREIA, CSR
|\4 NO . 4490
OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 35

1 February 14, 2012

2 MORN I NG SESSION
3 (Whereupon, the fol I owi ng
4 proceedi ngs were hel d i n open
5 court, to wi t: )
6 THE C0URT: Gillespie versus Hoffman and
7 the rel ated cross-acti on.
8 MR. FLETCHER: Good morning, Your Honor,
9 And I djd see the tentatjve ruling. The on'l y thing
10 j s, Your Honor, i s that I have a schedul i ng
11 confl i ct on Apri I the Oth, And I was wonderi ng i f
1

12 we coul d schedul e i t ei ther the Tuesday before or

13 the Tuesday after.
14 THE C0URT: No , we can .

15 MR. FLETCHER: We cannot?

16 THE COURT: You know, it's rea11y a

17 status to fi nd out because a chapter proceedi ng

1B under 13 was filed previously and an application
19 was made to the bankruptcy court for some rel i ef,
20 and f'm sure that opportuni ty i s stj I I avaj I abl e to
21 you, But I et's I ook at the 17th of Apri 1 .

22 'MR. FLETCHER: That would be wonderful

,

23 Your Honor.
24 THE COURT: Provide notice to the
25 parti es.
26 MR. FLETCHER: I will do that, Your

KATHY M . CORREIA. CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 1 Honor.
2 THE COURT REPORTER: Counsel, can I get
3 your name?
4 MR. FLETCHER: Robert Fletcher, on
5 behal f of the Hoffmans.
6 THE COURT REPORTER: Thank you .

7 MR. FLETCFIER: Thank you .

I (hlhereupon, the proceedi ngs

9 were concl uded. )
10 -o0o-
11

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY M , CORREIA, CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL. RPR & CP
 37

1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SS.
2 COUNTY OF TULARE
3

4 I. KATHYl!|. CORREIA, an Offic.i al Certified

5 Shorthand Reporter of the Superj or Court of the
6 State of Cal'j forni a, do hereby certi fy:
7 That the foregoi ng acti on enti tl ed COURTNEY
8 GILLESPIE, PLAINTIFF, VETSUS NICKLAS HOFFMAN,

9 DEFENDANT, was taken down i n stenognaph'i c shorthand

10 writing and thereafter transcribed into
11 typewri ti ng, pages 1 through 36, and that the
12 f oregoi ng transcri pt const'i tutes a f ul I , true, and
13 correct transcri pt of sai d proceedi ngs.
14 Dated thj s 1 8th day of Apri 1 , 2012.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26

KATHY 1.,l . CORREIA. CSR NO. 4490

OFFICIAL, RPR & CP