Discovery Season opens for ROY

Discovery is defined by Wikipedia as:

In American law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party through the law of civil procedures can request documents and other evidence from other parties or can compel the production of evidence by using subpoena or through other discovery devices, such as requests for production of documents and depositions. In other words, discovery includes (1) interogatorries; (2) motions or requests for production of documents; (3) request for admissions; and (4) depositions.

Two sets of documents called “Request for Production of Documents (Set One)" were served today on William R. Hart, Esq. a Senior Partner at the law firm Hart, King & Coldren. He now represents both Golden Rain Foundation and United Laguna Hills Mutual who are both defendants in this action.

A POS (Proof of Service) was also received from the Merced Sheriff’s Department stating that True Ballot, the last of the three defendants, has been served. This means that all defendants are now under the jurisdiction of the court. In a few days, the first set of discovery requests will be served on True Ballot.

So, what happens if they refuse to produce and deliver the documents? Actually, in lawsuits, this happens quite a bit. That is why you need to get the parties under the jurisdiction of the court. Statutes provide the Propounding Party (the party asking for the documents) a way to motion the court to order the Responding Party (the party being asked) to provide the documents. It is called “Motion to Compel Production of Documents”. Failure to provide requested documents and things usually carries with it sanctions – monetary and sometimes jail time. In the case of Roy, he asked for all sorts of documents over a period of time and did not even receive one shred of document from the defendants. So, here they are staring at the possibility of an angry judge ordering them to get Plaintiff Roy the documents.

Here’s a copy of the first set of discoveries that was served this afternoon on GRF and ULHM. In addition, a copy of the POS for True Ballot is also posted.

It was a good day. All the defendants have been served! It’s SHOW TIME!

DISCOVERY REQUEST TO GRF
DISCOVERY REQUEST TO ULHM
POS – SUMMONS/COMPLAINT/ADR

The "Oracle of Omaha" turns 79

One of my favorite quotes of all-time comes from the "Oracle of Omaha" himself - Warren Buffet. Once asked by an investor what companies to invest in, he replied “Go for companies that can be run by an idiot because eventually one will”. His ability to see the obvious has translated to an impressive investment record over a long period of time. If you had invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 when he took over the company, your investment would be worth more than $50 Million today.

We at RobertsJustice are interested in advancing 3 things: Social Justice, Economic Advancement and Security. That is why we cheer Warren Buffet on his 79th Birthday and wish him many more years of wealth creation for investors to come.

READ MORE ABOUT WARREN BUFFETT

Rest in Peace, Senator Kennedy

The last of the Kennedy Brothers died on the 26^th of August 2009 after a short and valiant battle with brain cancer. You cannot mention Ted without somehow touching on the memories of his other siblings who died of violent deaths reminding us of the cost of serving one’s own country – Joe to a secret mission during World War II, Kate to a plane crash, Jack and Bobby to guns and bullets.

In the 77 years of his life, there were certainly many occurrences that earned him both the disapproval of his detractors and the praise of his allies. We at RobertsJustice wish to post this short video as we find in him the very traits that we value the most – the willingness to fight for what we believe in and the ability to have some fun along the way.

We were not always in agreement with the Senator’s politics. Nevertheless, he earned our respect for his important work on reforming the justice system, a task which we will now continue. We want to thank the Senator for his service and for reminding us that life is a full contact sport and we just need to lighten up.

May you rest in peace, Senator.

VIEW SENATOR KENNEDY VIDEO

Roy to Defendant: You've got a problem

Shaky legs, nail biting, sleepless nights and a sudden loss of appetite - the annoying emotional contortions of defendants after learning they are being sued.

Roy and I spent the afternoon at the Santa Ana Law Library after filing papers in court. When you file an action in the Superior Court (CA State Court), you have to serve the defendants three things. First, there is the "Summons" that tells the defendants that they are being sued - by whom, at what court and how much time they have to respond. Second, there is the "Complaint", which includes the particulars of the case - the facts of the case, the laws that relate to it and the evidence as exhibits. Third, there is the "ADR Packet" (Alternative Dispute Resolution), which is a form that tells the parties of other ways to resolve the matter including Arbitration. In the parlance of the law, you have just fired the first shot.

There are a number of ways to serve defendants with the Summons, Complaint and ADR Packet. In our case, we opted to use the services of the OC Sheriff’s Department. Upon serving the defendants, the Sheriff’s Office must mail out a POS or Proof of Service to the plaintiff letting him or her know that the defendants have been served. This marks the moment that the parties are effectively under the jurisdiction of the court. The POS has to be filed with the clerk to inform the court that the defendants have been served and that the clock has began to tick. In a civil matter filed in the Superior Court, the defendants usually have 30 days to answer the complaint. The exception is when the action is an Unlawful Detainer, the type used by landlords to evict tenants, in which case a defendant has only 5 days to respond. Failure to answer a complaint has very dire consequences that include losing the case by default judgment.

Unless you’ve been involved in a lawsuit a few times, being served a complaint could bring some very anxious moments. Many things swirl in your head. Apart from the fact that you can lose the case in court, the entire process can also be expensive requiring a major reorganization of one’s financial affairs. Then, there is the possibility of negative perception by the public – a fact feared by businesses and individuals who rely on a good name to conduct business in the marketplace.

A letter from GRF’s Attorney, William R. Hart from the law firm Hart, King & Coldren was received by Roy a couple of days ago. This in effect informs Roy that the firm has been retained by GRF and all future correspondences and legal papers should be forwarded to his firm. When we returned from the law library, there was a voicemail message on Roy’s answering machine from True Ballot sounding apologetic and conciliatory. It’s unfortunate that one has to wield the powers of a civil action to get some results. It strikes me as funny because just a few days ago none of these people would even give Roy the time of day much less all the documents that he repeatedly requested for. They should have known better. Roy is 74 and has neither the time to mess around with these morons nor the patience. They’ve just gotten a taste of “Roy’s Law”. Didn’t they know that “Old Guys Rule”?

Proof of Service – Golden Rain Foundation
Proof of Service – United Laguna Hills Mutual

Filed: McLain v Golden Rain Foundation

It has finally begun. The last few days were a whirlwind, culminating in the filing of McLain v. Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods et al. We delayed the filing by weeks because we uncovered a number of facts that pointed to the violation of federal statutes as well as California statutes dealing specifically with “Elderly Abuse”. But a decision had to be made and in the end we decided to file the action in the Superior Court (CA State Court) so we can begin our formal discoveries much sooner. CA Rules of Court provides propounding parties the right to request the first set of production of documents 10 days after the service of the Complaint and Summons on the Defendant/s. Two of the Defendants, Golden Rain Foundation and United Laguna Hills Mutual are both based very close to the Laguna Hills OC Sheriff’s Station who we have asked to affect service. We expect their service before the end of the week. The third Defendant, True Ballot, is based in Merced CA, some 300 miles from where we are. So a packet was mailed to the Merced Sheriff’s Department this morning requesting service on the Defendant. So, in all, we expect formal discoveries to begin within two weeks.

The complaint specifies one “Cause of Action” and alleges “General Negligence”. We expect the Defendants to attack the complaint and begin a “Paper War”. We are waiting for this onslaught and have the ability to scale the complaint including adding other Causes of Action or even transferring the case to the US Courts (Federal Jurisdiction) as we discovery various other statutes that may have been violated.

Very strong feelings of elation, excitement and apprehension filled us both as we realized we had a full-fledged complaint to file in court. You’ll probably spot these emotions as you read the complaint. Roy’s name was misspelled no less than three times. The variations were McLain, McCLAIN, MACLAIN and McLaim – the first being the correct spelling. How do you explain that? All we know is that our Defendants have huge legal budgets and they could probably crush us like annoying fruit flies.

So finally, we present to you, a war of conscience that we will call ROY’S LAW. We hope to secure case law and even have new laws crafted by legislators that better protect the elderly from the sorts of depravations and violations contained in our complaint. We want the case law or the bodies of law that evolve from this action to be called “ROY’S LAW” honoring our friend, Roy McLain, who’ve stuck his neck so far out for other retirees, of which all of us will most likely become one day, and waged what may become a protracted battle in his Golden Years. He does so at a tender age of 74.

MCLAIN v GRF et al (SUMMONS)
MCLAIN v GRF et al (VERIFIED COMPLAINT)
MCLAIN v GRF et al (EXHIBIT A-J)

(Note from ROBERT: It is not customary for legal briefs to contain the actual language of statutes because judges and fact finders usually look up the laws themselves. It has become a habit at RobertsJustice to do just that so readers, both skilled in the law and the novice alike, can reasonably follow the arguments.)

Good News and Bad News

First, the good news. To my great delight, I’ve been able to find work and a constant stream of income. It gives me the feeling that I am, slowly but surely, moving up in the world and delivering myself from indigence. I’ve contracted to do marketing work in the mornings bringing me a very modest income of approximately $720 per month. What that does is it gives me enough money to cover my expenses and it gives me back my afternoons to do legal work. I’ve also been able to find a safe place to sleep at night. I’ve been camping out in my friend’s backyard for about two weeks now. I’ve gotten so used to living outdoors that I’ve actually enjoyed it. Imagine lying in your bed and gazing at the stars. The mild Southern California summers will allow you to do that. The change in sleeping arrangement has taken away the worry of someone sneaking up on me – a constant worry when I was sleeping at parks and other public places. And those sprinklers are ridiculous. I’ve counted at least a couple of times waking up in the middle of the night because the sprinklers went off on me.
 
Currently, we are working on “Roy’s Law” – the case against the Board of Directors of a retirement community initiated by our friend Roy McLain. Initially, we wanted to file the case earlier this month. But as we developed our case, we discovered violations of federal statutes, giving the case jurisdictional standing in the US Courts. These discoveries delayed our filing, as we had to determine the best course of action, particularly taking into consideration our very limited budget. In the end, we decided to file the case in the Superior Court which we will do this Monday afternoon.
 
Now, the bad news. I haven’t been able to keep up on my blogging particularly this month’s installment of the “Funny Blog Series”. This is the consequence of the work and caseload we now have. But, as I adjust to my new schedule, I have reason to believe that I will increase my writing output and keep a prolific pace. The quality of the writing improves the more opportunity there is to edit the work. Blogging and off the cuff writing is the anti-thesis of this. I’ve had a chance to read some of the entries I’ve written in the past and found errors or corrections that I didn’t spot the first time around. The more time I have for an entry, the better the quality of the blog. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to keep writing; everyday if time permits to keep our readers up to date with the many exciting projects we have at RobertsJustice.
 
So, I end with my apologies for not being able to post this month’s installment of the “Rich & Nina Story”. In all honesty, I haven’t even started on the continuation to last month's episode. I will certainly make it up to you in future installments.