Superior Court of California County of Santa Clara 191 North Fins Stest San Joe, Calflora 95113 (408 882-2700 Chambers of HON. PATRICIA M. LUCAS, Presiding Judge March 24, 2017 Susan Bassi P.O. Box 2220 Los Gatos, CA 95031 Re: Referee Nat Hales Dear Ms. Bassi: ‘This follows up on our correspondence in January and February concerning your complaint about Nat Hales. Your specific concern, as framed by your January 17, 2017 letter at page 2, was that Mr. Hales “never filed a certification, oath or written statement to serve as areferee.” According to your letter at page 3, Mr. Hales withdrew from his appointment as referee in Case No. 2012-6-FL-09065 on October 23, 2015. You also mentioned that Mr. Hales charged you “$100,000, without a fee agreement.” T understand that Mr. Hales subsequently withdrew the invoices for interest. Shortly after receiving your letter, I undertook to investigate the threshold question of jurisdiction over the conduct of a referee appointed under Code of Civil Procedure sections 638 or 639. Over a period of weeks, the Commission on Judicial Performance initially advised that the answer was unclear, then advised that the Commission did have such jurisdiction, and then finally concluded that it did not. Accordingly, I have conducted an investigation, both internal and external, of the ‘matters set forth in your complaint. That investigation is now concluded, and I have taken appropriate corrective action to ensure that all judicial officers are aware of the obligations of court-appointed referees imposed by Rule of Court 3.904 and 3.924 and take action to ensure compliance. [have taken further action to ensure that should a judicial officer decide to appoint Mr. Hales as a referee in another case, extra steps are taken to ensure his compliance with those Rules. Very truly yours, Fen he. ew Patricia M. Lucas Presiding Judge Santa Clara County Superior Court