Preview
1 Diane Aqui, SBN 217087
daqui@smithdollar.com
2 SMITH DOLLAR PC
Attorneys at Law
3 418 B Street, Fourth Floor
Santa Rosa, California 95401
4 Telephone: (707) 522-1100
Facsimile: (707) 522-1101
5
Attorneys for Defendants
6 SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA BUCKALEW
7
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SONOMA
8
9
MAYA CASTRO, an individual, CASE NO.: SCV-269513
10
Plaintiff, DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT
11 v. OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL
MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN
12 SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., a California SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION
Corporation; THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
13 III, an individual; TIJA BUCKALEW, an ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY
individual and DOES 1-50 ADJUDICATION
14
Defendants. Date: August 16, 2023
15 Time: 3:00 p.m.
Dept.: 18
16
Judge: Hon. Christopher Honigsberg
17
Complaint Filed: October 15, 2021
18 Trial Date: August 25, 2023
19
20 Defendants’ SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA
21 BUCKALEW (together as “Defendants”) hereby submit their separate statement of disputed and
22 additional material facts and evidence in support of Defendants’ Opposition to the motion for
23 summary judgment, or in the alternative, summary adjudication.
24 ///
25 ///
26 ///
27
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -1-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting
1
No. Supporting Evidence Evidence
2 1. Plaintiff was hired as a Junior Project
Manager, but after accepting the job asked
3 via text message if she could change her
title to Operations Manager. As a result,
4 Plaintiff signed an Offer Letter from
Defendants on or about January 18, 2021
5
agreeing to be employed by Defendants on
6 an at-will basis as an Operations Manager.
Plaintiff fully understood that she was an
7 at-will employee whose employment could
be terminated at any time.
8
9 While the Offer Letter states that Plaintiff
was moved to salary on April 12, 2021, this
10 was a typo and it actually occurred on
February 12, 2021. Plaintiff was informed
11 before she started work in January 2021
that she would be moving to salary and
12 thus, it was no indication of her
13 performance but rather a reflection of her
job duties.
14
15 Declaration of Diane Aqui (“Aqui Decl.”)
Ex A – Deposition of Plaintiff (“Plaintiff
16 Depo.”) 44:17-21, 124:15-130:1; 129:12-
17 24; Deposition of Boyd Meacham
(“Meacham Depo.,”, 11:18-12:9; 14:16-
18 16:8; 15:1-16:8; 21:17-22:13; 27:7-23;
Declaration of Thomas Boyd Meacham
19 (“Meacham Decl.,”), ¶ 2, Ex A – Offer
Letter.
20
21 2. On several occasions during her short
eleven-week tenure, Plaintiff would show
22 up to work unprepared and spend valuable
paid/working time charging her car when
23 she was supposed to be posting notices and
visiting properties.
24
25 Declaration of Diane Aqui (“Aqui Decl.”)
Ex B – Deposition of Boyd Meacham
26 (“Meacham Depo.”) 45:25-47:21, 53:5-
54:16
27
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -2-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting
1
No. Supporting Evidence Evidence
2 3. On at least three occasions, when out doing
bids, Plaintiff failed to bring with her
3 Defendants’ estimate template that she was
instructed to bring with her every time.
4
Meacham Depo., 39:8-40:14, 46:3-47:9,
5
75:1-9
6
4. Plaintiff’s incompetence was further
7 demonstrated when despite Defendants
spending significant time training Plaintiff
8 on how to post notices on projects that were
9 getting ready to start, Plaintiff was
unprepared to get it done.
10
Meacham Depo., 46:9-47:21
11
12 5. Plaintiff failed to practice exterior takeoffs
13 despite being requested by Defendant.
14 Meacham Depo., 53:5-54:16
15
6. Plaintiff failed to turn in her time card as
16
instructed.
17
Plaintiff Depo., 173:4-11
18
7. During her last two weeks of work, Plaintiff
19 made it clear that she was not interested in
20 putting in any effort to learn the job and
began applying for other jobs during her
21 working day.
22 Meacham Decl., ¶ 3
23 8. In or around March 2021, Plaintiff visited
24 her doctor to determine if a lump on her
neck required a biopsy.
25
Plaintiff Depo., 146:4-12
26
9. As a result, Plaintiff requested time off to
27
visit her doctor on or about March 17,
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -3-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting
1
No. Supporting Evidence Evidence
2 2021, March 23, 2021, March 31, 2021 and
April 8, 2021. Each request was granted by
3 Defendants without question and Plaintiff
never thought that Defendants seemed
4 upset by her requests.
5
Plaintiff Depo., 154:5-157:18; 157:19-
6 158:2; 162:3-7; 162:13-164:1; 165:17-
166:3; 166:11-168:25; 174:4-14; 175:4-23;
7 179:2-181:9
8 10. On each occasion that Plaintiff requested
9 time off work to go to the doctor,
Defendant Buckalew told Plaintiff that she
10 would not deduct the hours from her
vacation or sick leave and would just pay
11 her regular earnings even though she was
taking time off to go to the doctor.
12
13 Plaintiff Depo., 154:5-157:18; 162:13-
164:1
14
11. Plaintiff never provided Defendants with a
15 doctor note or any other documentation
explaining her condition or requesting
16
accommodations and only informed them of
17 the findings that the first mass was benign.
18 Plaintiff Depo., 176:14-178:11; Meacham
Depo., 32:25-33:6, 33:24-35:9, 88:2-89:21
19
12. Plaintiff testified that while she was
20
undergoing the testing on the mass on her
21 neck in March and April 2021, her ability
to do her work was not affected.
22
Plaintiff Depo., 172:16-172:25; 193:12-16
23
24 13. Plaintiff alleges that she was terminated on
April 9, 2021 after requesting one day off
25 work to undergo surgery on a second mass
that was inconclusive, meaning it may or
26 may not have been benign.
27 Plaintiff Depo., 187:8-197:10
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -4-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting
1
No. Supporting Evidence Evidence
2 14. Defendants made the decision to terminate
Plaintiff and on April 8, 2021 due to her
3 consistently poor performance and failure
to put forth any effort to adapt to
4 Defendants’ practices, and requested a final
paycheck from Payroll Master via email so
5
that Defendants could effectuate the
6 termination the following day.
7 Meacham Decl., ¶ 4, Ex. C;
Meacham Depo., 37:5-41:15; 48:20-25;
8 58:4-24; 59:16-18
9
15. On April 9, 2021, Defendants terminated
10 Plaintiff’s employment for poor
performance, but offered her a painter
11 position that she would be better qualified
for.
12
13 Plaintiff Depo., 199:9:24; Meacham Depo.,
37:5-41:15
14
16. Plaintiff declined the painter position and
15 informed Defendants that she agreed and
understood why she was terminated.
16
17 Plaintiff Depo., 199:9-24;
Meacham Depo., 37:5-42:3
18
17. Plaintiff never told Defendants that she was
19 diagnosed with cancer, nor was she ever
denied time off for surgery.
20
21 Meacham Depo., 35:20-37:11
22 18. At of the time of her termination, Plaintiff
was still in the process of having the lump
23 on her neck biopsied, she had not received
24 any diagnosis indicating that the mass was
anything other than benign.
25
Exhibit I to Plaintiff’s Motion – June 8,
26 2021 follow-up notes.
27
19. A week after her termination, on or about
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -5-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting
1
No. Supporting Evidence Evidence
2 April 16, 2021, Plaintiff secured a new job
which paid her more money than she had
3 made previously with Defendants.
4 Aqui Decl., Ex C – April 16, 2021 Offer
Letter from Windsor Capital Group;
5
Plaintiff Depo., 36:9-17, 38:1-16
6
20. On June 2, 2021, Plaintiff filed a complaint
7 with the Department of Fair Employment &
Housing related to this matter, Case No.
8 202106-13750803.Plaintiff’s administrative
9 complaint claims that she was subject to
discrimination based on her medical
10 condition and/or family or medical leave; it
does not claim any form of discrimination
11 on the basis of race.
12 Aqui Decl., Ex. D – Plaintiff’s DFEH
13 Complaint.
14
15
Dated: August 2, 2023
16
17 SMITH DOLLAR PC
18
19
By
20 Diane Aqui
Attorneys for SPURGEON PAINTING, INC.,
21 THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA
BUCKALEW
22
23
24
25
26
27
28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -6-
DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN
SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE
ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION
1 PROOF OF SERVICE
2 I am employed in the County of Sonoma, State of California. I am over the age of 18 years
and not a party to the within action. My business address is 418 B Street, Fourth Floor, Santa Rosa,
3 CA 95401. On August 2, 2023, I served the DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF
ITEMS IN DISPUTE IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR
4 SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION on
the parties to this action by serving:
5
6 Maya Castro In Pro Per
777 Silver Spur Rd, Suite 235 Telephone: (424) 392-0002
7 Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274 Facsimile:
Email: mayas.castro@yahoo.com
8
9
/X/ BY EMAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION: Based on a court order or an agreement
10 of the parties to accept service by e-mail or electronic transmission, I caused the documents to be
sent to the persons at the e-mail addresses listed above. No electronic message or other indication
11 that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time after the transmission.
12
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true
13 and correct.
14 Dated: August 2, 2023
15 ____________________________________________
Stephanie D. Abbott
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Def's Sep Statement Castro -1-
PROOF OF SERVICE
Preview
1 Diane Aqui, SBN 217087 daqui@smithdollar.com 2 SMITH DOLLAR PC Attorneys at Law 3 418 B Street, Fourth Floor Santa Rosa, California 95401 4 Telephone: (707) 522-1100 Facsimile: (707) 522-1101 5 Attorneys for Defendants 6 SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA BUCKALEW 7 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SONOMA 8 9 MAYA CASTRO, an individual, CASE NO.: SCV-269513 10 Plaintiff, DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT 11 v. OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN 12 SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., a California SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION Corporation; THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE 13 III, an individual; TIJA BUCKALEW, an ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY individual and DOES 1-50 ADJUDICATION 14 Defendants. Date: August 16, 2023 15 Time: 3:00 p.m. Dept.: 18 16 Judge: Hon. Christopher Honigsberg 17 Complaint Filed: October 15, 2021 18 Trial Date: August 25, 2023 19 20 Defendants’ SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA 21 BUCKALEW (together as “Defendants”) hereby submit their separate statement of disputed and 22 additional material facts and evidence in support of Defendants’ Opposition to the motion for 23 summary judgment, or in the alternative, summary adjudication. 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -1- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting 1 No. Supporting Evidence Evidence 2 1. Plaintiff was hired as a Junior Project Manager, but after accepting the job asked 3 via text message if she could change her title to Operations Manager. As a result, 4 Plaintiff signed an Offer Letter from Defendants on or about January 18, 2021 5 agreeing to be employed by Defendants on 6 an at-will basis as an Operations Manager. Plaintiff fully understood that she was an 7 at-will employee whose employment could be terminated at any time. 8 9 While the Offer Letter states that Plaintiff was moved to salary on April 12, 2021, this 10 was a typo and it actually occurred on February 12, 2021. Plaintiff was informed 11 before she started work in January 2021 that she would be moving to salary and 12 thus, it was no indication of her 13 performance but rather a reflection of her job duties. 14 15 Declaration of Diane Aqui (“Aqui Decl.”) Ex A – Deposition of Plaintiff (“Plaintiff 16 Depo.”) 44:17-21, 124:15-130:1; 129:12- 17 24; Deposition of Boyd Meacham (“Meacham Depo.,”, 11:18-12:9; 14:16- 18 16:8; 15:1-16:8; 21:17-22:13; 27:7-23; Declaration of Thomas Boyd Meacham 19 (“Meacham Decl.,”), ¶ 2, Ex A – Offer Letter. 20 21 2. On several occasions during her short eleven-week tenure, Plaintiff would show 22 up to work unprepared and spend valuable paid/working time charging her car when 23 she was supposed to be posting notices and visiting properties. 24 25 Declaration of Diane Aqui (“Aqui Decl.”) Ex B – Deposition of Boyd Meacham 26 (“Meacham Depo.”) 45:25-47:21, 53:5- 54:16 27 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -2- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting 1 No. Supporting Evidence Evidence 2 3. On at least three occasions, when out doing bids, Plaintiff failed to bring with her 3 Defendants’ estimate template that she was instructed to bring with her every time. 4 Meacham Depo., 39:8-40:14, 46:3-47:9, 5 75:1-9 6 4. Plaintiff’s incompetence was further 7 demonstrated when despite Defendants spending significant time training Plaintiff 8 on how to post notices on projects that were 9 getting ready to start, Plaintiff was unprepared to get it done. 10 Meacham Depo., 46:9-47:21 11 12 5. Plaintiff failed to practice exterior takeoffs 13 despite being requested by Defendant. 14 Meacham Depo., 53:5-54:16 15 6. Plaintiff failed to turn in her time card as 16 instructed. 17 Plaintiff Depo., 173:4-11 18 7. During her last two weeks of work, Plaintiff 19 made it clear that she was not interested in 20 putting in any effort to learn the job and began applying for other jobs during her 21 working day. 22 Meacham Decl., ¶ 3 23 8. In or around March 2021, Plaintiff visited 24 her doctor to determine if a lump on her neck required a biopsy. 25 Plaintiff Depo., 146:4-12 26 9. As a result, Plaintiff requested time off to 27 visit her doctor on or about March 17, 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -3- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting 1 No. Supporting Evidence Evidence 2 2021, March 23, 2021, March 31, 2021 and April 8, 2021. Each request was granted by 3 Defendants without question and Plaintiff never thought that Defendants seemed 4 upset by her requests. 5 Plaintiff Depo., 154:5-157:18; 157:19- 6 158:2; 162:3-7; 162:13-164:1; 165:17- 166:3; 166:11-168:25; 174:4-14; 175:4-23; 7 179:2-181:9 8 10. On each occasion that Plaintiff requested 9 time off work to go to the doctor, Defendant Buckalew told Plaintiff that she 10 would not deduct the hours from her vacation or sick leave and would just pay 11 her regular earnings even though she was taking time off to go to the doctor. 12 13 Plaintiff Depo., 154:5-157:18; 162:13- 164:1 14 11. Plaintiff never provided Defendants with a 15 doctor note or any other documentation explaining her condition or requesting 16 accommodations and only informed them of 17 the findings that the first mass was benign. 18 Plaintiff Depo., 176:14-178:11; Meacham Depo., 32:25-33:6, 33:24-35:9, 88:2-89:21 19 12. Plaintiff testified that while she was 20 undergoing the testing on the mass on her 21 neck in March and April 2021, her ability to do her work was not affected. 22 Plaintiff Depo., 172:16-172:25; 193:12-16 23 24 13. Plaintiff alleges that she was terminated on April 9, 2021 after requesting one day off 25 work to undergo surgery on a second mass that was inconclusive, meaning it may or 26 may not have been benign. 27 Plaintiff Depo., 187:8-197:10 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -4- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting 1 No. Supporting Evidence Evidence 2 14. Defendants made the decision to terminate Plaintiff and on April 8, 2021 due to her 3 consistently poor performance and failure to put forth any effort to adapt to 4 Defendants’ practices, and requested a final paycheck from Payroll Master via email so 5 that Defendants could effectuate the 6 termination the following day. 7 Meacham Decl., ¶ 4, Ex. C; Meacham Depo., 37:5-41:15; 48:20-25; 8 58:4-24; 59:16-18 9 15. On April 9, 2021, Defendants terminated 10 Plaintiff’s employment for poor performance, but offered her a painter 11 position that she would be better qualified for. 12 13 Plaintiff Depo., 199:9:24; Meacham Depo., 37:5-41:15 14 16. Plaintiff declined the painter position and 15 informed Defendants that she agreed and understood why she was terminated. 16 17 Plaintiff Depo., 199:9-24; Meacham Depo., 37:5-42:3 18 17. Plaintiff never told Defendants that she was 19 diagnosed with cancer, nor was she ever denied time off for surgery. 20 21 Meacham Depo., 35:20-37:11 22 18. At of the time of her termination, Plaintiff was still in the process of having the lump 23 on her neck biopsied, she had not received 24 any diagnosis indicating that the mass was anything other than benign. 25 Exhibit I to Plaintiff’s Motion – June 8, 26 2021 follow-up notes. 27 19. A week after her termination, on or about 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -5- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION Defendants’ Material Facts and Plaintiff’s Response and Supporting 1 No. Supporting Evidence Evidence 2 April 16, 2021, Plaintiff secured a new job which paid her more money than she had 3 made previously with Defendants. 4 Aqui Decl., Ex C – April 16, 2021 Offer Letter from Windsor Capital Group; 5 Plaintiff Depo., 36:9-17, 38:1-16 6 20. On June 2, 2021, Plaintiff filed a complaint 7 with the Department of Fair Employment & Housing related to this matter, Case No. 8 202106-13750803.Plaintiff’s administrative 9 complaint claims that she was subject to discrimination based on her medical 10 condition and/or family or medical leave; it does not claim any form of discrimination 11 on the basis of race. 12 Aqui Decl., Ex. D – Plaintiff’s DFEH 13 Complaint. 14 15 Dated: August 2, 2023 16 17 SMITH DOLLAR PC 18 19 By 20 Diane Aqui Attorneys for SPURGEON PAINTING, INC., 21 THOMAS BOYD MEACHAM III, and TIJA BUCKALEW 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -6- DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF DISPUTED AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION 1 PROOF OF SERVICE 2 I am employed in the County of Sonoma, State of California. I am over the age of 18 years and not a party to the within action. My business address is 418 B Street, Fourth Floor, Santa Rosa, 3 CA 95401. On August 2, 2023, I served the DEFENDANTS’ SEPARATE STATEMENT OF ITEMS IN DISPUTE IN SUPPORT OF IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR 4 SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION on the parties to this action by serving: 5 6 Maya Castro In Pro Per 777 Silver Spur Rd, Suite 235 Telephone: (424) 392-0002 7 Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274 Facsimile: Email: mayas.castro@yahoo.com 8 9 /X/ BY EMAIL OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION: Based on a court order or an agreement 10 of the parties to accept service by e-mail or electronic transmission, I caused the documents to be sent to the persons at the e-mail addresses listed above. No electronic message or other indication 11 that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time after the transmission. 12 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true 13 and correct. 14 Dated: August 2, 2023 15 ____________________________________________ Stephanie D. Abbott 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Def's Sep Statement Castro -1- PROOF OF SERVICE