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SUNENA SABHARWAL, SBN 148237
1
SABHARWAL LAW OFFICES
2 1816 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
3 Phone: (510) 665-8777
Fax: (510) 665-8778
4
Attorney for Mary Elizabeth Lemasters
5
6 RANDY RABIDOUX, SBN 293166
ALEXANDER T. JONES, SBN 266082
7 SOUND LAW GROUP, LLP
201 Spear Street, Suite 1100
8 San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: (415) 495-4499
9 Facsimile: (415) 495-3202
Email: rrabidoux@soundlawsf.com
10 ajones@soundlawsf.com
Attorneys for Defendant,
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Paul Francis Deninger
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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
13 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO – CIVIL DIVISION
14
15 In re Matter of: Case No. 19-CIV-03974
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MARY ELIZABETH LEMASTERS,
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
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Plaintiff, STATEMNT
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v.
19 Date: December 19, 2022
PAUL FRANCIS DENINGER,
Judge: Hon. Nancy L. Fineman
20 Defendant, Department: 4
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The parties to the above case, Plaintiff, Mary Elizabeth LeMasters (“Ms. LeMasters) by and
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through her attorney of record, Sunena Sabharwal with Sabharwal Law Offices, and Defendant, Paul
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Francis Deninger (“Mr. Deninger”), by and through his attorney of record, Randy Rabidoux with
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27 Sound Law Group, LLP, hereby submit this Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.
1.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
1 I. SUBSTANCE OF THE ACTION
2 Plaintiff, Elizabeth LeMasters (“Ms. LeMasters”), and Defendant, Paul Deninger (“Mr.
3 Deninger”), were involved in a romantic relationship between 2005 and 2017. During the relationship,
4 and until approximately March of 2019, Mr. Deninger supported Ms. LeMaster’s financially. Ms.
5 LeMasters filed a complaint on July 12, 2019 in which she alleges the parties entered into an oral
6 contract and one also implied in conduct, pursuant to which Mr. Deninger must provide Ms.
7 LeMasters with financial support for the duration of her life if she would quit her job to live with him
8 in a committed relationship, buy her a house in Carmel and a condo on the Peninsula which they
9 would jointly own, and share the increase in value of property Mr. Deninger held effective June 2013
10 and in any newly acquired assets.
11
Mr. Deninger denies that the parties ever entered into a contract. He admits that he paid Ms.
12
LeMasters’ living expenses during their relationship. He contends that he made these payments as gifts
13 to help Ms. LeMasters fulfill her dream of producing a music album. Mr. Deninger filed a cross-
14 complaint in which he claims that Ms. LeMasters unjustly enriched herself between June 2018 and
15 April 2019 when she used Mr. Deninger’s cash and credit to pay her living expenses and music album
16 costs without his consent. Ms. LeMasters contends that Mr. Deninger allowed her to access his
17 accounts, knew when she accessed his accounts and did not tell her she was not permitted to do so.
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II. RELIEF REQUESTED
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Ms. LeMasters seeks the following relief:
• Payment of her expenses until her life-expectancy of approximately 83 at a rate of
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$15,000 per month.
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• One-half the current value of a home in the Carmel/Pebble Beach area valued at
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$5,000,000 - $6,000,000.
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• A condo on the Peninsula.
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• One-half of the increase in Mr. Deninger’s assets over the course of their
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relationship.
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2.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
1 Mr. Deninger seeks the following relief:
2 • Compensatory damages in the amount of $150,000.
3
4 III. UNDISPUTED FACTS
5 Ms. LeMasters and Mr. Deninger met in 2005 when Ms. LeMasters began working as a
6 receptionist/junior administrator at Jefferies where Mr. Deninger was also employed as Chief
7 Executive Officer. He met Ms. LeMasters during a visit to the company’s office in Foster City. Ms.
8 LeMasters and Mr. Deninger began a romantic relationship that same year and continued their
9 romantic relationship until 2017. Mr. Deninger continued to provide living expenses to Ms.
10 LeMasters until approximately March of 2019.
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In addition to her job at Jeffries, Ms. LeMasters worked as a singer who performed at local
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venues, which she did starting in the mid-1990s.
13
Ms. LeMasters resided in California between 2005 and 2017. Mr. Deninger contends that he
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has been a resident of Massachusetts his entire life. Ms. LeMasters contends that Mr. Deninger lived
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with her and she with him, between 2010 and 2017 in California and also staying with him on the East
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Coast or at other places where he was working.
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18 In or about January 2009, Ms. LeMasters moved into an apartment located on 50 Mounds Road
19 in San Mateo. Ms. LeMasters resided at the Mounds Road apartment from 2009 through February
20 2011. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent of the Mounds Road apartment.
21
In November of 2010 Ms. LeMasters left her job at Jefferies. Ms. LeMasters contends that she
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left her job at Mr. Deninger’s request. Mr. Deninger denies that he and Ms. LeMasters ever entered
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into an oral contract that induced her to leave her job at Jeffries. Mr. Deninger alleges he told Ms.
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LeMasters that he would provide financial support to Ms. LeMasters to enable her to complete a
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professionally produced music album
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3.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
1 Between November 2010 and 2020, Ms. LeMasters worked with numerous music producers,
2 musicians, audio and video engineers, and other professionals to produce the album entitled Catharsis
3 IX, which was released in or around March 2020.
4
In or around February 2011, Mr. Deninger rented an apartment at 512 Primrose Road in
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Burlingame, California for housing. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for the Primrose apartment each
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month. Ms. LeMasters resided in the Primrose Road apartment as her full-time residence from
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February 2011 through May 2013.
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In or around May 2013, Mr. Deninger rented a home at 35 Tobin Clark Drive in Hillsborough,
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California for housing when he travelled to the Bay Area for work. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for
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the Tobin Clark home. Mr. Deninger ended the lease at the Tobin Clark property in or around
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September 2013 because the property had irremediable mold issues. Ms. LeMasters resided in the
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Tobin Clark home as her full-time residence from May 2013 through September 2013.
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14 In or around September 2013, Mr. Deninger rented a home at 400 Hillside Drive in Woodside,
15 California. Between September 2013 and 2016, Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for the Woodside
16 home. Ms. LeMasters resided in the Woodside home as her full-time residence from September 2013
17 through 2018.
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From 2011 through 2017, Mr. Deninger paid for Ms. LeMasters’ living expenses and all costs
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associated with the production and promotion of her music album, which she contends averaged
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approximately $15,000 a month, and he alleges averaged $6,000 to $7,000 per month. The parties
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ended their romantic relationship in 2017. Mr. Deninger continued to support Ms. LeMasters after
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their relationship ended until around March of 2019.
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24 In or around June 2018, Mr. Deninger contends that he and Ms. LeMasters agreed to a budget
25
and a timeframe for the completion of her music album pursuant to which Mr. Deninger agreed to pay
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Ms. LeMasters up to an additional $140,000 for her living expenses and production costs. Ms.
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4.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
1 LeMasters contends that did not agree to a proposed budget or timeframe for the completion of her
2 music album.
3 IV. SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS
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• March 12, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a settlement offer under CCP section 998.
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• April 1, 2019: Ms. LeMasters’ counsel made a counteroffer.
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• April 2, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a counteroffer.
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• April 9, 2019: Ms. LeMasters made a counteroffer.
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• April 16, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a counteroffer.
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• November 19, 2019: Ms. LeMaster’s made a counteroffer.
10 • May 20 & 23, 2022: parties attend mediation over two days with Hon. Ellen Sickles
11 James (ret.) at JAMS.
12
13 V. ESTMATED OF TRIAL LENGTH
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15 Ms. LeMasters: 35 hours
16 Mr. Deninger: 20 hours
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VI. MISCELLANEOUS
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Plaintiff’s prayer asks for an accounting on the breach of contract causes of action, which she
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21 contends is ordered by the court after the jury decides the issue of whether there was a contract
22 and its terms. Defendant contends that with the filing of this Statement, Plaintiff raises for the
23
first time that she is seeking to bifurcate the issue of the value of one-half of Mr. Deninger’s
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assets after June 2013, upon a determination that Plaintiff is entitled to one-half. Defendant
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opposes Plaintiff’s request for a bifurcated trial.
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5.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
VII. ATTACHMENTS
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2 • Proposed Jury Instructions
• Proposed Verdict Forms
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• Proposed Jury Questionnaire
4 • Proposed Statement of the Case
5 • Joint Witness List
• Joint Deposition Designation
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• Joint Exhibit List
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The attorneys noted below certify that they have met and conferred jointly, made a good faith
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settlement demand or offer, but have been unable to settle the case. All deadlines, set by the Court for
9
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exchange of experts have been met and all discovery is complete. The parties are prepared for trial.
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12 I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and
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correct.
14
REFUSED TO SIGN
Dated: __________ _________________________________
15 SUNENA SABHARWAL
Attorney for Plaintiff, Mary Elizabeth LeMasters
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Dated: 11 / 28 / 2022
__________ ________________________________________
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RANDY RABIDOUX – SOUND LAW GROUP
20 Attorneys for Defendant, Paul Francis Deninger
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6.
JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c
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SUNENA SABHARWAL, SBN 148237 1 SABHARWAL LAW OFFICES 2 1816 Fifth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 3 Phone: (510) 665-8777 Fax: (510) 665-8778 4 Attorney for Mary Elizabeth Lemasters 5 6 RANDY RABIDOUX, SBN 293166 ALEXANDER T. JONES, SBN 266082 7 SOUND LAW GROUP, LLP 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 8 San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415) 495-4499 9 Facsimile: (415) 495-3202 Email: rrabidoux@soundlawsf.com 10 ajones@soundlawsf.com Attorneys for Defendant, 11 Paul Francis Deninger 12 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 13 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO – CIVIL DIVISION 14 15 In re Matter of: Case No. 19-CIV-03974 16 MARY ELIZABETH LEMASTERS, JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE 17 Plaintiff, STATEMNT 18 v. 19 Date: December 19, 2022 PAUL FRANCIS DENINGER, Judge: Hon. Nancy L. Fineman 20 Defendant, Department: 4 21 22 23 The parties to the above case, Plaintiff, Mary Elizabeth LeMasters (“Ms. LeMasters) by and 24 through her attorney of record, Sunena Sabharwal with Sabharwal Law Offices, and Defendant, Paul 25 Francis Deninger (“Mr. Deninger”), by and through his attorney of record, Randy Rabidoux with 26 27 Sound Law Group, LLP, hereby submit this Joint Pretrial Conference Statement. 1. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c 1 I. SUBSTANCE OF THE ACTION 2 Plaintiff, Elizabeth LeMasters (“Ms. LeMasters”), and Defendant, Paul Deninger (“Mr. 3 Deninger”), were involved in a romantic relationship between 2005 and 2017. During the relationship, 4 and until approximately March of 2019, Mr. Deninger supported Ms. LeMaster’s financially. Ms. 5 LeMasters filed a complaint on July 12, 2019 in which she alleges the parties entered into an oral 6 contract and one also implied in conduct, pursuant to which Mr. Deninger must provide Ms. 7 LeMasters with financial support for the duration of her life if she would quit her job to live with him 8 in a committed relationship, buy her a house in Carmel and a condo on the Peninsula which they 9 would jointly own, and share the increase in value of property Mr. Deninger held effective June 2013 10 and in any newly acquired assets. 11 Mr. Deninger denies that the parties ever entered into a contract. He admits that he paid Ms. 12 LeMasters’ living expenses during their relationship. He contends that he made these payments as gifts 13 to help Ms. LeMasters fulfill her dream of producing a music album. Mr. Deninger filed a cross- 14 complaint in which he claims that Ms. LeMasters unjustly enriched herself between June 2018 and 15 April 2019 when she used Mr. Deninger’s cash and credit to pay her living expenses and music album 16 costs without his consent. Ms. LeMasters contends that Mr. Deninger allowed her to access his 17 accounts, knew when she accessed his accounts and did not tell her she was not permitted to do so. 18 II. RELIEF REQUESTED 19 20 Ms. LeMasters seeks the following relief: • Payment of her expenses until her life-expectancy of approximately 83 at a rate of 21 $15,000 per month. 22 • One-half the current value of a home in the Carmel/Pebble Beach area valued at 23 $5,000,000 - $6,000,000. 24 • A condo on the Peninsula. 25 • One-half of the increase in Mr. Deninger’s assets over the course of their 26 relationship. 27 2. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c 1 Mr. Deninger seeks the following relief: 2 • Compensatory damages in the amount of $150,000. 3 4 III. UNDISPUTED FACTS 5 Ms. LeMasters and Mr. Deninger met in 2005 when Ms. LeMasters began working as a 6 receptionist/junior administrator at Jefferies where Mr. Deninger was also employed as Chief 7 Executive Officer. He met Ms. LeMasters during a visit to the company’s office in Foster City. Ms. 8 LeMasters and Mr. Deninger began a romantic relationship that same year and continued their 9 romantic relationship until 2017. Mr. Deninger continued to provide living expenses to Ms. 10 LeMasters until approximately March of 2019. 11 In addition to her job at Jeffries, Ms. LeMasters worked as a singer who performed at local 12 venues, which she did starting in the mid-1990s. 13 Ms. LeMasters resided in California between 2005 and 2017. Mr. Deninger contends that he 14 has been a resident of Massachusetts his entire life. Ms. LeMasters contends that Mr. Deninger lived 15 with her and she with him, between 2010 and 2017 in California and also staying with him on the East 16 Coast or at other places where he was working. 17 18 In or about January 2009, Ms. LeMasters moved into an apartment located on 50 Mounds Road 19 in San Mateo. Ms. LeMasters resided at the Mounds Road apartment from 2009 through February 20 2011. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent of the Mounds Road apartment. 21 In November of 2010 Ms. LeMasters left her job at Jefferies. Ms. LeMasters contends that she 22 left her job at Mr. Deninger’s request. Mr. Deninger denies that he and Ms. LeMasters ever entered 23 into an oral contract that induced her to leave her job at Jeffries. Mr. Deninger alleges he told Ms. 24 LeMasters that he would provide financial support to Ms. LeMasters to enable her to complete a 25 professionally produced music album 26 27 3. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c 1 Between November 2010 and 2020, Ms. LeMasters worked with numerous music producers, 2 musicians, audio and video engineers, and other professionals to produce the album entitled Catharsis 3 IX, which was released in or around March 2020. 4 In or around February 2011, Mr. Deninger rented an apartment at 512 Primrose Road in 5 Burlingame, California for housing. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for the Primrose apartment each 6 month. Ms. LeMasters resided in the Primrose Road apartment as her full-time residence from 7 February 2011 through May 2013. 8 In or around May 2013, Mr. Deninger rented a home at 35 Tobin Clark Drive in Hillsborough, 9 California for housing when he travelled to the Bay Area for work. Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for 10 the Tobin Clark home. Mr. Deninger ended the lease at the Tobin Clark property in or around 11 September 2013 because the property had irremediable mold issues. Ms. LeMasters resided in the 12 Tobin Clark home as her full-time residence from May 2013 through September 2013. 13 14 In or around September 2013, Mr. Deninger rented a home at 400 Hillside Drive in Woodside, 15 California. Between September 2013 and 2016, Mr. Deninger advanced the rent for the Woodside 16 home. Ms. LeMasters resided in the Woodside home as her full-time residence from September 2013 17 through 2018. 18 From 2011 through 2017, Mr. Deninger paid for Ms. LeMasters’ living expenses and all costs 19 associated with the production and promotion of her music album, which she contends averaged 20 approximately $15,000 a month, and he alleges averaged $6,000 to $7,000 per month. The parties 21 ended their romantic relationship in 2017. Mr. Deninger continued to support Ms. LeMasters after 22 their relationship ended until around March of 2019. 23 24 In or around June 2018, Mr. Deninger contends that he and Ms. LeMasters agreed to a budget 25 and a timeframe for the completion of her music album pursuant to which Mr. Deninger agreed to pay 26 Ms. LeMasters up to an additional $140,000 for her living expenses and production costs. Ms. 27 4. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c 1 LeMasters contends that did not agree to a proposed budget or timeframe for the completion of her 2 music album. 3 IV. SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS 4 • March 12, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a settlement offer under CCP section 998. 5 • April 1, 2019: Ms. LeMasters’ counsel made a counteroffer. 6 • April 2, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a counteroffer. 7 • April 9, 2019: Ms. LeMasters made a counteroffer. 8 • April 16, 2019: Mr. Deninger made a counteroffer. 9 • November 19, 2019: Ms. LeMaster’s made a counteroffer. 10 • May 20 & 23, 2022: parties attend mediation over two days with Hon. Ellen Sickles 11 James (ret.) at JAMS. 12 13 V. ESTMATED OF TRIAL LENGTH 14 15 Ms. LeMasters: 35 hours 16 Mr. Deninger: 20 hours 17 18 VI. MISCELLANEOUS 19 Plaintiff’s prayer asks for an accounting on the breach of contract causes of action, which she 20 21 contends is ordered by the court after the jury decides the issue of whether there was a contract 22 and its terms. Defendant contends that with the filing of this Statement, Plaintiff raises for the 23 first time that she is seeking to bifurcate the issue of the value of one-half of Mr. Deninger’s 24 assets after June 2013, upon a determination that Plaintiff is entitled to one-half. Defendant 25 opposes Plaintiff’s request for a bifurcated trial. 26 27 5. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c VII. ATTACHMENTS 1 2 • Proposed Jury Instructions • Proposed Verdict Forms 3 • Proposed Jury Questionnaire 4 • Proposed Statement of the Case 5 • Joint Witness List • Joint Deposition Designation 6 • Joint Exhibit List 7 The attorneys noted below certify that they have met and conferred jointly, made a good faith 8 settlement demand or offer, but have been unable to settle the case. All deadlines, set by the Court for 9 10 exchange of experts have been met and all discovery is complete. The parties are prepared for trial. 11 12 I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and 13 correct. 14 REFUSED TO SIGN Dated: __________ _________________________________ 15 SUNENA SABHARWAL Attorney for Plaintiff, Mary Elizabeth LeMasters 16 17 18 Dated: 11 / 28 / 2022 __________ ________________________________________ 19 RANDY RABIDOUX – SOUND LAW GROUP 20 Attorneys for Defendant, Paul Francis Deninger 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 6. JOINT PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT Doc ID: a4aba066c22d6b238d02220c03421c4116568f5c