1

1 THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2009 AFTERNOON SESSION

2 P R O C E E D I N G S
3 ---o0o---
4 THE COURT: Thank you.
5 Let's call the Halverson matter.
6 Okay. This is line 3, Jane Halverson and James
7 Seymour. Mr. Seymour, good afternoon. And you're present.
8 You're self-represented.
9 THE RESPONDENT: Thank you.
10 THE COURT: And, Ms. Mello, you're present with your
11 client, Ms. Halverson?
12 MS. MELLO: Yes, Your Honor.
13 THE COURT: Thank you. Please be seated.
14 This is -- I believe it's Mr. Seymour's motion for
15 modification of support and, I think, set aside. And are you
16 ready to proceed today, Mr. Seymour?
17 THE RESPONDENT: Yes, I am.
18 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
19 You're ready to proceed, Ms. Mello?
20 MS. MELLO: Yeah. I'd like to ask the Court, did
21 the Court have a chance to review the supplemental
22 declaration?
23 THE COURT: I got a supplemental that was handed to
24 me today. It was filed on June 30th.
25 MS. MELLO: Yes.
26 THE COURT: And I read it.
27 MS. MELLO: Okay. Thank you.
28 THE COURT: Mr. Halverson, what would you like me to

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1 know, sir?
2 THE RESPONDENT: Well, first of all, that I'm
3 Mr. Seymour.
4 THE COURT: I'm sorry, Mr. Seymour.
5 THE RESPONDENT: That's all right.
6 THE COURT: What would you like me to know,
7 Mr. Seymour? I beg your pardon.
8 THE RESPONDENT: That I didn't receive the
9 supplemental declaration.
10 THE COURT: Oh.
11 MS. MELLO: It was served.
12 THE COURT: When was it served?
13 MS. MELLO: I served it, I think, the day that we --
14 it was served on Monday, the day I filed it, June 30th?
15 THE COURT: I don't know. My --
16 THE RESPONDENT: It's not in my post office box.
17 MS. MELLO: You didn't get it?
18 THE RESPONDENT: It hasn't been received in my post
19 office box as of today.
20 THE COURT: There's a proof of service here that was
21 filed yesterday by Ms. Mello's office indicating that
22 Mr. Seymour was served on -- let's see, personally delivering
23 copies on June 24.
24 MS. MELLO: No. That would be for the responsive
25 dec. The proof of service that I'm looking at was filed June
26 the 30th, that he was served by mail on June 30th.
27 THE RESPONDENT: I just came from my post office
28 box, and there was nothing in the box.

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1 THE COURT: When was it mailed?

2 MS. MELLO: June 30th, I believe.
3 THE COURT: What time?
4 MS. MELLO: What time?
5 THE COURT: Yes.
6 MS. MELLO: Oh, I -- before 5:00 p.m. I don't know.
7 THE COURT: So that was Tuesday, and today is
8 Thursday. It's probably not --
9 MS. MELLO: Well --
10 THE COURT: -- likely to expect that he would have
11 received it.
12 MS. MELLO: Yeah. Do you want to --
13 THE COURT: It's probably in today's mail, in his
14 mailbox.
15 THE RESPONDENT: Actually, I checked it this morning
16 and it was after delivery, and there was nothing there.
17 MS. MELLO: Well, I'd be willing to either grant him
18 a continuance to allow him to review it or we could pass the
19 matter and let him review it.
20 THE COURT: What would you like to do, sir?
21 THE RESPONDENT: I believe I could review it
22 quickly.
23 THE COURT: Okay. Do you have an extra copy,
24 Ms. Mello?
25 MS. MELLO: I have my copy. It's not an extra copy.
26 THE COURT: Here, let me give you my copy.
27 THE RESPONDENT: I have some -- something that I
28 would like to ask --

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1 THE COURT: You'd like me to look at?

2 THE RESPONDENT: Yes. It's --
3 THE COURT: You need to show her a copy.
4 THE RESPONDENT: She's received a copy.
5 I tried to serve an ex parte order back in November,
6 on November 10th -- actually, I believe it was November 10th,
7 2008, and Ms. Mello filed a response that's actually a
8 document dated about the 11th of November. But my ex parte
9 order was not accepted. It was deficient, and so I gave up.
10 But it's basically my statement of the background and posture
11 in the case and some information that is pertinent since the
12 change in custody of June 30th, 2008.
13 THE COURT: Okay.
14 THE RESPONDENT: It's only about eight pages.
15 THE COURT: That's all, just eight.
16 THE RESPONDENT: Huh?
17 THE COURT: Just eight pages.
18 THE RESPONDENT: But it -- it's double-spaced.
19 THE COURT: Okay. Well, let me ask you, sir. This
20 is your motion, and you're asking to modify the support order
21 and I -- two things. I just want to clarify what we have to
22 do this afternoon.
23 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.
24 THE COURT: The first is your application and
25 request to modify the child support order. And if I captured
26 the spirit of your comments here, essentially you're saying
27 that the time share should be adjusted.
28 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.

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1 THE COURT: And your income figure should be

2 adjusted from $80,000 to perhaps $54,792 is --
3 THE RESPONDENT: And even that's overstated in that
4 I didn't deduct expenses.
5 THE COURT: Let me -- I don't want to hear argument
6 right now. I just want to make sure we're on the same page.
7 And then your second request, sir, is to vacate the
8 order for attorney's fees previously entered in favor of
9 Ms. Halverson, and that amount is $3,975?
10 THE RESPONDENT: Yes. That's based on those
11 proceedings taking place after filing bankruptcy on --
12 THE COURT: Yes.
13 THE RESPONDENT: -- July 15th of 2008 and the --
14 THE COURT: And so those are the two issues --
15 THE RESPONDENT: Yes.
16 THE COURT: -- that are before the Court this
17 afternoon?
18 THE RESPONDENT: Right. And the appeals court
19 granted the -- you know, acknowledged that there should be no
20 further proceeding until the bankruptcy got further down the
21 road. And it's still in that status, that the appeal is still
22 standing, but they would not recognize any new motion until
23 the bankruptcy moved further down the road.
24 I might have the world's record in terms of filing
25 on September -- or July 15th, 2008, and the hearing to modify
26 or accept the modified amended plan is on July 13th, next week
27 or a week from now. And so I'm still in the process of trying
28 to complete the bankruptcy. It's a 13, but circumstances have

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1 changed. It may end up being a 7.

2 THE COURT: Okay. Let me ask you, sir. Do you
3 want -- in regards to the responsive pleading, do you wish
4 time to read that, that is, of Ms. Mello's that was mailed to
5 you on June 30th?
6 THE RESPONDENT: If it --
7 THE COURT: Do you want a continuance? What would
8 you like to do, sir?
9 THE RESPONDENT: Well, I really can't afford a
10 continuance. It's -- I did receive today, in the mailbox,
11 the -- a notice from the trustee in the Chapter 13 case
12 objecting to the amended plan, part of which his objection is
13 to the child support arrears in terms of how that's going to
14 be handled. And so it will directly effect, you know, his --
15 the ruling on the 13th will be directly impacted by whatever
16 we come up with today.
17 THE COURT: Okay. So what would you like to do?
18 THE RESPONDENT: I'd like to proceed and take a few
19 minutes to read it.
20 THE COURT: Okay.
21 THE RESPONDENT: But I'd also like to submit this
22 to --
23 THE COURT: Let me ask that question next.
24 THE RESPONDENT: All right.
25 Ms. Mello, any objection to me receiving and reading
26 the documents that Mr. Seymour would like me to look at.
27 MS. MELLO: Well, I just briefly compared this to
28 the ex parte motion he referred to, and it's -- at least the

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1 first page is not the same. So I haven't seen this document

2 yet.
3 THE COURT: Well, why don't we take a moment and you
4 can both read those, and then you can tell me whether or not
5 you think I should see it.
6 MS. MELLO: Okay.
7 THE COURT: Okay.
8 THE RESPONDENT: Sir, the only difference is that
9 this was a copy that was forwarded to my -- an attorney that
10 I tried to hire to do this back in February. And there's no
11 substantive change, just that it was addressed to him.
12 THE COURT: Okay. Well, I'll allow you to -- give
13 you a couple of minutes to read this. We'll be in recess.
14 (Recess.)
15 THE COURT: All right. We're back on the record.
16 All parties previously present are present once again. And
17 each of you have had an opportunity to read the documents?
18 MS. MELLO: Yes.
19 THE COURT: Any objection that I receive
20 Mr. Seymour's documents, Ms. Mello?
21 MS. MELLO: The only thing I would point out is that
22 it refers to some exhibits. I don't have copies of the
23 exhibits that are referred to in this document, and I don't
24 know if you do either. If the Court doesn't have the exhibits
25 that I don't have, I don't have any objection; but if the
26 Court has the exhibits, I haven't seen them.
27 THE RESPONDENT: I don't believe the Court has the
28 exhibits.

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1 THE COURT: Okay.

2 THE RESPONDENT: The whole ex parte application was
3 denied.
4 THE COURT: So you're not -- you're not asking that
5 I read any exhibits that --
6 THE RESPONDENT: No.
7 THE COURT: -- are attached to this?
8 THE RESPONDENT: No.
9 I have one of the exhibits that revolves around
10 computation of the child support percentage I have here that
11 they've had for over a year.
12 THE COURT: But you're not asking me to look at that
13 today, or are you?
14 THE RESPONDENT: I'm going to ask to submit it as --
15 as you determine whether or not my calculation is appropriate
16 and in line with the guidelines provided by Santa Clara
17 County. It's a -- it's an Excel document that goes day by day
18 and gives custody percentage by day and calculates exactly,
19 over 14 pages, exactly day by day what kind of -- whether it
20 was a holiday, a school day, whichever. And since I have half
21 of a school day each week --
22 THE COURT: Mr. Halverson (sic), my question is,
23 sir, do you wish me to look at that document in addition to
24 this -- these other pages that reference exhibits? I'm just
25 not clear what --
26 THE RESPONDENT: No, no. Actually, the reason for
27 the declaration is for you to read the background.
28 THE COURT: Okay.

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1 THE RESPONDENT: So that there's -- I think there's

2 been many, many misrepresentations. And I want to --
3 THE COURT: Thank you. I just want to know what
4 papers it is you'd like me --
5 THE RESPONDENT: Just for background, not for the
6 exhibits.
7 THE COURT: Okay. And let me also say one other
8 thing, please. It's really important for our court reporter
9 that we don't interrupt. We can only talk one at a time,
10 please. Thank you.
11 MS. MELLO: So maybe just for the record we could
12 indicate that the declaration in support of motion to modify
13 child support that I just reviewed is eight pages in length
14 with no exhibits attached.
15 THE COURT: And that's what you'd me to read, sir,
16 those eight pages?
17 THE RESPONDENT: Yes.
18 THE COURT: Any objection to that?
19 MS. MELLO: No.
20 THE COURT: Okay. And what about Ms. Mello's
21 supplemental responsive declaration?
22 THE RESPONDENT: I would request that I just get a
23 copy of it to make brief notes on as we go through it so that
24 I can -- most of it is moot at this point.
25 THE COURT: Okay.
26 THE RESPONDENT: And -- in my view.
27 THE COURT: Do you have -- excuse me, sir.
28 Ms. Mello, do you have an extra copy?

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1 MS. MELLO: No. And I apologize, Your Honor. I

2 should have brought an extra copy.
3 THE COURT: Okay. Nobody go anywhere. I'll make a
4 copy.
5 (Recess.)
6 THE COURT: Okay. Let me hand -- Mr. Seymour,
7 you'll have a copy of Ms. Mello's pleadings. And now I have
8 your eight pages.
9 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.
10 THE COURT: I suppose now I should take time to read
11 it.
12 THE RESPONDENT: Okay.
13 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
14 I've read Mr. Seymour's documents. I've previously
15 read, earlier this afternoon, the supplemental declaration of
16 Ms. Mello, her client. So, sir, this is your motion. What
17 would you like me to know in furtherance of your motion? And
18 let's talk about the modification of support first.
19 THE RESPONDENT: Okay. A little background, just
20 relevant background.
21 August 7th, 2007, we entered a stipulated agreement
22 to -- based on $800 a month support, part and parcel of which
23 was that that would be deferred until a completion of the
24 build out of the house I still own, barely, here in Sunnyvale,
25 California. Over the course of our relationship, the marriage
26 lasting only one year, but over that period of time, ten
27 years, I did two houses and made approximately $800,000 of
28 profits on those two houses.

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1 MS. MELLO: Your Honor, I don't mean to interrupt,

2 but I don't believe the parties have been sworn. Do you want
3 to --
4 THE COURT: No, they haven't been. And let's have
5 the parties stand and raise their right hands.
6 Thank you, Ms. Mello.
7 (Parties sworn.)
8 THE COURT: And, sir, feel free to pull that
9 microphone closer to you. You can pull the whole base, the
10 whole thing there. There you go.
11 THE RESPONDENT: So, again, the intention from my
12 side of that agreement, the stipulated agreement on
13 August 7th, was to end the employments effort and to allow me
14 breathing room to go ahead and build out that house. And
15 based on my experience in building out two other houses in
16 Sunnyvale, I've managed to -- or most of our family wealth
17 came from the build out of those two houses and at the -- just
18 prior to the dissolution of the marriage, the net worth of the
19 marriage was $1.2 million, 800,000 of which came from the
20 profits on the sale of those two houses or the build out of
21 those two houses.
22 I'm a general contractor, inactive. I do all of the
23 work myself. I bought -- the house I now own in Sunnyvale,
24 and it's in bankruptcy, I bought for the purpose solely of
25 rehabbing it and making more profit. The profit is still
26 there to be had should I survive bankruptcy, which is
27 teetering but still feasible and probable. And, in any event,
28 that was the intention of that August 7th stipulated order on

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1 our part. I think what -- what happened was that the opposing
2 side noticed sometime after that that they had not put a
3 deadline on the completion of the house. And so that meant
4 that the $800 would continue to accrue and didn't give me a
5 deadline to finish it.
6 In the meantime, we had a hearing on October 25th,
7 2007, initiated by the opposing party for an emergency --
8 well, it resulted in an emergency screening based on false
9 allegations that I was abusing prescription drugs. It kind of
10 backfired on the opposing party in that a screening was
11 granted. The assessment produced the resulting 60/40 split in
12 custody that did not get put into effect till June 30th of
13 2008. All during that time, from November 2007 to June 30th
14 of 2008, I was in continual one-way communication trying to
15 get some kind of negotiated agreement, all of which were
16 ignored, denied, refusal to meet and confer.
17 On your own motion, you lifted the stay of the
18 payment of the $800 a month based on a letter from Ms. Mello
19 requesting you to lift the stay. And that was in January
20 2008. Since then I paid -- I was able to pay for a few
21 months, then stopped paying. And that's where the arrearage
22 comes from because, in a sense, in the best -- in the most
23 accurate sense possible, I'm impecunious. I don't have any
24 funds outside of potential funds I can make on building out
25 this house. I have one or two last resources to borrow from.
26 And since I do all the work myself, I virtually can make $300
27 per square foot for each foot I add, and there's roughly
28 200,000 to be had there.

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1 Many of Ms. Halverson's claims are related to

2 attorney's fees that should I get thrown out of bankruptcy or
3 denied in bankruptcy or get in Chapter 7, the attorney's fees
4 will disappear and be, you know, dismissed as a -- I think
5 they call it lien stripping. The only ones that are honored
6 are for child support. So, again, I have -- I have another
7 issue related to the child support arrearage in that, again, I
8 tried many, many times to communicate and see what we could do
9 about correcting that, trying to initiate a stipulated
10 judgment, all of which were rebuffed.
11 In the interim, my son committed three felonies
12 during his latchkey parenting period and was -- I was advised
13 by his attorney not to cause any trouble in family court
14 pending his sentencing. At the completion of his sentencing
15 in January, I contacted an attorney in San Joaquin County who
16 was to initiate this revisiting of the custody or the child
17 support issue, and he just sat on it for two months. So he --
18 he's also my bankruptcy attorney and he's barely competent,
19 but I'm still in the game.
20 The issue is that for -- I tried to get it done in
21 November of '08. Ms. Mello responded to my attempt to get it,
22 even though my declaration was not accepted, and requested to
23 get it changed. But then I was asked to suffer the $800 a
24 month loss by my son's attorney in order to avoid any negative
25 implications towards him, and so I did. I just held it off.
26 And what's another $800 a month when you've gone through
27 $500,000? So I think it was kind of a selfless act, but it
28 was really for my son.

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1 THE COURT: I'm sorry, the strategy was to not pay?

2 THE RESPONDENT: No, the -- well, it's not -- there
3 was no strategy not to pay. There was no money to pay. The
4 strategy that Mr. ^Bogeny, the -- my son's attorney said, I
5 told him I was ready to change -- try to get, you know, a
6 reduction in the custody based on my income, and he said don't
7 do it now, you could hurt your son's sentencing.
8 THE COURT: I see.
9 THE RESPONDENT: And so in an effort to protect him
10 from potential incarceration, I held off. And so then I
11 finally -- you know, I ain't -- after trying to represent
12 myself for two or three years now, I realize that procedurally
13 it's darn near impossible for someone to do this in pro se. I
14 actually was able to get effective service only by paying
15 another $500 to one of my previous attorneys. And that's why
16 we're here today, is that he was able to get the paperwork
17 pushed through that I'm unable to read the instructions on.
18 So -- but the timing is such that my hearing for confirmation
19 of my second amended plan to the Chapter 13 is on the 13th of
20 July. And one of the issues raised, and I just got the
21 document today from the trustee, is back child support. And
22 that's one of his objections to confirmation of the plan.
23 As it turns out, the drop in property values in
24 Sunnyvale have made it such that the value of the house is now
25 approximately equal to the outstanding first. And my
26 bankruptcy attorney advises me that we can -- that all liens
27 can be stripped and as long as I make the first payment, I can
28 continue down the road of rebuilding that house, which is --

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1 without that potential 200,000, and the potential is real

2 since I have a history of being able to do this since 1987,
3 200,000 will dissipate into the mist should I lose that house.
4 So if I'm discharged from bankruptcy based on the lack of an
5 agreement on arrearages and custody going forward, then
6 200,000 disappears for the benefit of my children that --
7 THE COURT: The $200,000 figure, is that your
8 expectation of profit?
9 THE RESPONDENT: Yes. I'm a -- I'm a CPA since
10 1974, general contractor since 1987, and I've been -- I
11 dropped my CPA education requirements on -- on being a CPA
12 back in 1987 when I took up being a general contractor and
13 actually made three times as much money --
14 THE COURT: Okay.
15 THE RESPONDENT: -- even though I worked for the
16 government full time up until two years ago.
17 THE COURT: So, sir, are you saying that -- that if
18 you were to get agreement from mother, she would realize --
19 THE RESPONDENT: I'm saying that there's been --
20 every offer to confer and meet and describe these
21 circumstances to either the attorney or to Ms. Halverson has
22 been ignored, rebuffed.
23 THE COURT: Okay. I heard that part but --
24 THE RESPONDENT: Yeah.
25 THE COURT: -- I'm curious. Are you saying that you
26 have a plan, sir, that conditioned upon a favorable
27 bankruptcy --
28 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.

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1 THE COURT: -- ruling --

2 THE RESPONDENT: The plan would then pay these
3 arrearages, yes.
4 THE COURT: That upon a favorable bankruptcy ruling,
5 you would be permitted to -- you believe you would be
6 permitted to complete the rebuild of the house --
7 THE RESPONDENT: Yes. That is the --
8 THE COURT: -- and you believe that you could then
9 market that house, and you believe that the profit you would
10 realize from that sale would be at least $200,000?
11 THE RESPONDENT: It's a rough estimate. And in
12 today's economy --
13 THE COURT: And with that $200,000, you're saying
14 you would commit a certain percentage of that to mother?
15 THE RESPONDENT: Absolutely, to pay the arrearages.
16 THE COURT: Okay. And what's your plan in that
17 regard?
18 THE RESPONDENT: The -- that we could pay it out of
19 escrow, the arrearage that -- you know, I dispute some of the
20 arrearage in that circumstantially I've been prohibited from
21 filing --
22 THE COURT: So let me ask you, sir. I'm just
23 exploring this for a moment.
24 THE RESPONDENT: Uh-huh.
25 THE COURT: So what if it doesn't come? What if
26 your plan fails to come to fruition?
27 THE RESPONDENT: Well, then I'll be 60 years old on
28 the 27th of this month. Based on actions of the plaintiff, I

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1 cannot -- I have been unemployed. I was a government auditor.

2 She took several direct actions during the course of this
3 divorce that's gone on now for nearly five years, but several
4 of the actions made it so that I can't be employed in the
5 field I was previously employed in.
6 THE COURT: So let me ask you this, sir. What's
7 your time estimate? Let's assume it goes your way. Your plan
8 comes to fruition. First of all, that the first condition
9 precedent is to get a favorable ruling in the bankruptcy.
10 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.
11 THE COURT: And let's just assume that that is
12 accomplished. What is your time estimate for completion of
13 the remodel, completion of the rebuild?
14 THE RESPONDENT: A minimum of six months but --
15 THE COURT: And then what's your time line for
16 marketing the property?
17 THE RESPONDENT: Actually, I would market it as soon
18 as I have approved plans. I've been in contact with a local
19 realtor who's prepared to put it on the market.
20 THE COURT: As is?
21 THE RESPONDENT: No, with approved plans for the
22 addition. In other words, that some person buying it would
23 come in knowing that the place is being built for sale and
24 could enter into a contract to help, you know, change design,
25 pick their colors. And this gentleman, Mr. David Rivas, is
26 local here.
27 THE COURT: So that would necessarily, wouldn't it,
28 adjust your -- your expected profit margin?

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1 THE RESPONDENT: Yes. You know, I would definitely

2 have to make some sacrifice because if somebody's buying
3 something that isn't built yet, the value drops. But it's
4 worth drop -- you know --
5 THE COURT: The marketability drops significantly.
6 THE RESPONDENT: Right. Well, you know, probably --
7 you know, let's just say it drops 50,000. But if I fail to go
8 take -- you know, to continue in bankruptcy, then the 200
9 goes. So I'm willing to give up 50,000.
10 THE COURT: So I appreciate your willingness to
11 sacrifice that --
12 THE RESPONDENT: Yeah.
13 THE COURT: -- to pursue the goal. But let me just
14 ask. And I'm sorry, this may not be appropriate for law and
15 motion, but I think it's from your -- what you've stated to
16 me, sir, I think it's an appropriate question. What is the
17 incentive for mother to agree to such a package?
18 Now, I think I heard you say, well, this is the only
19 viable income-producing option I have at my age, at my
20 experience and because of my job opportunities, the
21 limitations on those.
22 THE RESPONDENT: Yes.
23 THE COURT: So if she doesn't take this, there's
24 nothing else left. Is that what you're saying?
25 THE RESPONDENT: Essentially, some are -- you know,
26 there is back taxes owed, some of which I believe could be in
27 dispute. You still have authority to determine 2005 taxes and
28 based on the conduct of Ms. Halverson in terms of breaching

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1 fiduciary duty. She committed a mortgage fraud in that she

2 purchased a house as a --
3 THE COURT: I don't want to throw --
4 THE RESPONDENT: But what I'm saying, if there's
5 some backed up --
6 THE COURT: I don't want to throw stones.
7 THE RESPONDENT: There's back taxes. They're going
8 to take the taxes first. And so out of all those profits,
9 there's going to be some money disappearing but --
10 THE COURT: Let me just -- pardon me, sir. I
11 appreciate your explanation, but I guess my question is -- and
12 pardon me for putting it in the vernacular -- what's in it for
13 her?
14 THE RESPONDENT: What's in it for her is that
15 what -- I'm impecunious without it. I've been working
16 approximately -- well, I can't -- it's better to talk about it
17 in dollars. About $2,000 a month has been my part-time
18 employment for a government contract up in Walnut Creek. And
19 that's been an average over almost 15, 16 months now.
20 THE COURT: Okay.
21 THE RESPONDENT: And so that's my sole source of
22 income outside of my government pension, which is $1,259.
23 I've tried to rent my place several times only to
24 have it trashed, and it's currently unrented. And it's
25 actually costing me more to rent it out than I get back from
26 it. So it's currently unoccupied. But it's also -- I'm at a
27 point where with this contractor, I've done the majority of
28 the work that they've asked me to do and I have a period of

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1 time coming up where I could go full time on building the

2 house and perhaps even reduce that six-month period. I have
3 20 years of experience doing it, 22 years of experience doing
4 it.
5 THE COURT: Okay.
6 THE RESPONDENT: And I do all the plans. I know --
7 you know, I've had it build in my head several times.
8 THE COURT: So the basis of your motion today to
9 reduce support, sir, is that the time share has changed?
10 THE RESPONDENT: Yes.
11 THE COURT: And your income has changed?
12 THE RESPONDENT: Dramatically in both cases.
13 THE COURT: Okay. So tell me about -- I guess I
14 should receive evidence as to those two items.
15 THE RESPONDENT: Okay.
16 MS. MELLO: Objection, Your Honor. We have an
17 evidence and an issue sanction in place already in this as I'm
18 sure you know if you've read my papers. So I'm objecting to
19 any evidence made basically to the fact that he can't pay per
20 the prior -- per the current order.
21 THE RESPONDENT: Your Honor, that would be part of
22 the set aside motion in that she obtained that order following
23 my declaring bankruptcy and there should have been no activity
24 along those lines following --
25 THE COURT: Well, maybe we should take that motion
26 first, then.
27 THE RESPONDENT: Okay.
28 THE COURT: That's your second motion. And that's

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1 regarding -- I think you've indicated grounds to vacate order

2 for attorney's fees?
3 THE RESPONDENT: Right, the 3,900.
4 THE COURT: Right. And you cite the Gruntz case,
5 G-r-u-n-t-z.
6 THE RESPONDENT: Um-hum.
7 THE COURT: What else do you want me to know about
8 that, sir?
9 THE RESPONDENT: Well, that the appeals court has
10 taken a position that nothing should have been done following
11 the filing of the bankruptcy and that as long as the
12 bankruptcy is current, no further action should be taken on
13 the appeal. The appeal -- the writ has been issued to proceed
14 and, you know, supplement the record and proceed with the
15 appeal; but until the bankruptcy reaches a stage where that
16 can be done, there is no further action in the appeal. So
17 10,000 out of their claim for attorney's fees is still on
18 appeal, and I believe it's a slam dunk to win that appeal
19 based on the misrepresentations made by Ms. Mello in the
20 hearing that resulted in those fees being awarded.
21 She made false allegations about drug abuse that
22 were, during the screening process, were proved to be false.
23 And there was an affidavit from the drug screening agency that
24 showed that Ms. Mello misrepresented to the Court that she had
25 not gotten the records of the drug screening. And the
26 affidavit that's a part of the record on or about the 25th of
27 October, 2007, is from the director of the drug agency saying
28 that Ms. Mello was in -- you know, was in contact with her

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1 when she faxed this --

2 MS. MELLO: Your Honor, I'm going to --
3 THE RESPONDENT: -- to all of us.
4 MS. MELLO: -- object to all of this as, No. 1,
5 hearsay. There's no evidence to substantiate what he claims.
6 It's hearsay. It's objectionable.
7 THE RESPONDENT: It's an affidavit in the file,
8 Your Honor.
9 THE COURT: It's in the court file?
10 THE RESPONDENT: It is.
11 THE COURT: I suppose I could take judicial notice
12 of an affidavit. I haven't seen it.
13 MS. MELLO: I don't know what affidavit he's talking
14 about. But to the extent that he's talking about what a --
15 the alcohol and screening services provider advised him about
16 me, it's hearsay.
17 THE COURT: So, sir, your papers say that your
18 filing on July 15th in bankruptcy court stayed all actions.
19 THE RESPONDENT: And that's -- that is the
20 interpretation from the appeals court also.
21 THE COURT: The -- what appeals court is that?
22 THE RESPONDENT: Second -- Sixth District.
23 THE COURT: The Sixth District?
24 MS. MELLO: And --
25 THE COURT: Is there a stay in place now?
26 THE RESPONDENT: Yes.
27 THE COURT: Is there a stay in place, Ms. Mello?
28 MS. MELLO: No. And, Your Honor, I have to back up

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1 and just say I'm -- I'm thoroughly confused with his testimony
2 because on December 30th, 2008, his appeal was dismissed.
3 And, in fact, the appellate court issued a ruling that said:
4 The appellant having failed to procure the
5 record on appeal --
6 (Reporter interrupts.)
7 MS. MELLO: According to this order of the court
8 filed December 30th, 2008, the Sixth Appellate District Court
9 found:
10 The appellant having failed to procure the
11 record on appeal within the time limits
12 allowed or within any valid extensions of
13 these time limits and having further failed
14 to apply to this court for relief from
15 default, the appeal filed on November 26th,
16 2008, is dismissed.
17 I further got information -- I might have read the
18 wrong -- oh. And then --
19 THE COURT: Excuse me, Ms. Mello.
20 Sir, did you receive that copy?
21 THE RESPONDENT: Yes, I did. And I went down to the
22 appeals court, filed the proper document, and they reinstated
23 it.
24 MS. MELLO: I --
25 THE COURT: Do you have a document it's reinstate --
26 THE RESPONDENT: I don't have it with me.
27 MS. MELLO: Okay. And the last --
28 THE COURT: When was that?

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1 THE RESPONDENT: January of 2008.

2 THE COURT: 2008?
3 THE RESPONDENT: I mean 2009.
4 MS. MELLO: Your Honor, if I can respond.
5 I also have a March 3rd, 2009, order from the Sixth
6 Appellate District from the current clerk of the Court of
7 Appeal of the State of California that it is hereby certified
8 that the opinion or decision entered in the above-entitled
9 case on December 30th, 2008, has now become final and
10 respondent, who is my client, Jane Halverson, is to recover
11 costs.
12 THE COURT: Do you have that sir?
13 THE RESPONDENT: I didn't get that.
14 THE COURT: Do you have a copy you could show him?
15 MS. MELLO: I don't have a copy. I have my only
16 copy, and I'll present it to the Court. But to the extent
17 that he keeps talking about a stay and that's something under
18 appeal --
19 THE COURT: Maybe he's not aware of the appellate
20 action.
21 THE RESPONDENT: I --
22 THE COURT: Were you aware of this, sir? You're
23 looking at a document.
24 THE RESPONDENT: This is the first time I've seen
25 this because I did -- it was handled by me in January, and
26 they told me that -- to notify them of the next change in the
27 status of the bankruptcy. And there was no -- no change to
28 notify them of because they're still pending the amended plan.

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1 THE COURT: Is this the case number of your appeal

2 that you had previously filed?
3 THE RESPONDENT: This is -- this, I believe, is the
4 right case number. Yes. But, again, this becomes moot in
5 that in a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney's fees
6 will be stripped, the liens for attorney's fees will be
7 stripped. Now that the house has a value less than the
8 balance of the first, it makes her request for attorney's fees
9 moot because there's no money to pay it.
10 THE COURT: So are you saying, then, that this is --
11 is moot, the issue is moot because it's going to be revolved
12 in bankruptcy court?
13 THE RESPONDENT: It's easily dis -- it will be
14 resolved on the 13th or shortly thereafter that the liens --
15 I've got advice from the attorney and I've sat in on enough --
16 you know, I've spent a lot of time in bankruptcy court, and
17 these liens are routinely stripped down to the value. If the
18 value of the house equals the value of the first, all other
19 liens against the house are stripped.
20 THE COURT: So what would you like to do with your
21 motion regarding attorney's fees here today?
22 THE RESPONDENT: I would like to say that it's moot
23 based on the value of my house and that --
24 THE COURT: Okay.
25 THE RESPONDENT: -- that I would like -- it's going
26 to go away through the bankruptcy court. So why are we
27 spending more time talking about it here, and why has she
28 spent more time litigating it afterwards, after the initial

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1 filing?
2 The truth is that I notified her office that I was
3 filing bankruptcy and said I could not make it on the 15th, I
4 could not make it on the 22nd and those -- she -- so I never
5 agreed to those hearing dates. And I have e-mail records to
6 prove that, and they went ahead and did it, anyway. And so
7 Judge Mills made his decision based on no input from me
8 because I was in bankruptcy court those days. And so -- and
9 they were notified, in one case, a week in advance, another
10 case a day in advance that I could not be there.
11 THE COURT: So, sir, what you're say -- I just want
12 to make sure I capture your sentiments today regarding your
13 case. Are you saying that your motion regarding vacating the
14 order of attorney's fees is now moot and you don't wish to
15 prosecute that portion of this motion?
16 THE RESPONDENT: I would ask that you set it aside
17 pending the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings that
18 there's -- you know, the 10,000 stands as is. Assuming that
19 I'm able to produce the 200,000, there will still be at some
20 point -- or unless outside of not seeing this.
21 THE COURT: "This" being the appellate -- the Sixth
22 District appellate --
23 THE RESPONDENT: The appellate decision that I
24 didn't know about and I don't know why I didn't receive.
25 Either way, even that would be moot because she couldn't
26 collect it. There's nothing to collect it from.
27 THE COURT: You know, sir, I saw your reference to
28 the Gruntz case, and I think I pronounced that correctly, yes,

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1 and I noted that there was -- and I'm looking at some research
2 I did that suggests that also exempt from an automatic stay, a
3 bankruptcy stay are actions to collect domestic support
4 obligations.
5 THE RESPONDENT: Right, which -- but attorney's fees
6 are not domestic support obligations.
7 THE COURT: Correct. And so you're saying that the
8 automatic exemption from domestic support obligations is
9 different from this request because this is attorney's fees
10 only.
11 THE RESPONDENT: I'm only -- I'm only talking about
12 the attorney's fees. I'm not trying to dispute the child
13 support issue.
14 THE COURT: Okay.
15 MS. MELLO: And, Your Honor, I know I'll eventually
16 get an opportunity to respond, but it's not correct that
17 attorney's fees is not a domestic support obligation. There's
18 actually case law on point that I have that Ed Mills
19 considered, and I'm sure you've already read Ed Mills'
20 recommendation because I attached it as an exhibit, but he
21 says he considered the fact that he was in bankruptcy court
22 and found that it wasn't a stay.
23 If the attorney's fees are more in line with Family
24 Code section 2030, then they are in line as they -- then they
25 are not stayed via the bankruptcy. So I just -- I don't mean
26 to interject, but I do have to say that based on my research
27 and based on my discussion with Ed Mills, that it's a
28 domestic -- it is against -- it falls within the domestic

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1 support obligation if it's a 2030 order.

2 THE RESPONDENT: Then I would request that we
3 continue the litigation of the stay pending the resolution of
4 this issue about a code section I know nothing about. But
5 I've been advised contrary that only the child support
6 obligation continues through bankruptcy and in the end it's
7 determined by the bankruptcy trustee. So it's out of this
8 jurisdiction.
9 THE COURT: Okay.
10 THE RESPONDENT: And the real point is if we -- we
11 can go on like this until I'm completely out of money and lose
12 the house to foreclosure, and that's going to happen this
13 summer.
14 THE COURT: Okay. Let me -- Ms. Mello, what's your
15 position briefly as to the modification of support? Is it now
16 $800 a month?
17 MS. MELLO: Yes.
18 Okay. First of all, just to clarify some of the
19 misstatements from respondent.
20 This wasn't a stipulated amount. The Court --
21 respondent has been under an employment efforts order since
22 December of 2006. He didn't comply with that employment
23 efforts order, and ultimately you made an award to impute
24 imputation of income to him at $7,000 a month based on his
25 failure to comply with the employment efforts order. That's
26 what the current order is. It's not a stipulation. It's an
27 order by you that you took under submission and issued,
28 imputing income based on a failure to comply with the

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1 employment efforts order.

2 In addition to a total failure to comply with an
3 employment efforts order, as I think you might have gleaned
4 from respondent's testimony today, he has essentially always
5 snubbed his nose at the employment efforts order and has,
6 instead, continued on his track of all I want to do is repair
7 my house, renovate my house and sell it for a profit, and I
8 don't have time to work and I'm not going to work because
9 that's my ultimate goal. And that's what he wants, and in
10 every single settlement negotiation that's all he wants, is to
11 be able to go out and fix his house up and sell it.
12 He -- I have been granted in this case two motions
13 to compel because he has absolutely snubbed his nose at my
14 discovery requests that I've had to do in order to prove that
15 he's not complying with -- complying with the employment
16 efforts order or prove that he really does have income because
17 as we found in some discovery, that he was buying expensive
18 jewelry for his fiancée. And he stated the last time we were
19 in court that he is fully employed and that he just can't pay
20 child support because he's too busy supporting his fiancée and
21 his fiancée's children. I mean, these are the comments that
22 he makes when he's testifying. And then when I go to try to
23 follow up with discovery, he doesn't comply with discovery.
24 So my client has spent thousands and thousands of unnecessary
25 attorney's fees and costs defending against respondent's
26 conduct in this case.
27 THE COURT: Defending against the conduct?
28 MS. MELLO: Well, 'cause he files motions such as

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1 this one. So here we are again. And he filed an ex parte

2 request. He filed his ex parte request back in November,
3 which he acknowledged we had to respond to. I didn't know
4 that the Court didn't accept it. I just got it on my fax
5 machine and had to respond to it. He's filed appeals. I've
6 had to respond to the appeal. The appeal was dismissed
7 because he didn't follow through with the paperwork. And my
8 client was offered to recover costs on the appeal which she
9 hasn't had a chance to do because she's broke and doesn't have
10 enough money to get, probably, what she's entitled to.
11 But, in any event, he hasn't complied with the
12 orders of this Court. And as a result of his failure to
13 comply with the orders of this Court, we eventually took the
14 last employment efforts order off calendar --
15 THE COURT: Let me have you slow down.
16 MS. MELLO: Okay. -- because it was becoming futile
17 to keep coming back here because he wasn't complying with the
18 discovery.
19 Ed Mills was appointed as discovery master. And as
20 the Court has probably reviewed, in August of last year Ed
21 Mills made a full written recommendation to this Court
22 advising this Court to award my client additional attorney's
23 fees and costs and also advising this Court to issue an
24 evidence and an issue sanction to preclude exactly what
25 respondent is doing today, which is saying: I don't want to
26 pay support anymore. And please get me out from underneath
27 the support order despite the fact that I haven't complied
28 with the employment efforts order and I haven't complied with

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1 the two motions to compel that have been brought against me,
2 but, nonetheless, I'm broke and I don't want to pay support.
3 I've -- we've already gone through, you know, almost
4 three years' worth of litigation on this issue and we've
5 gotten these orders, but respondent is yet, nonetheless, here
6 today asking the Court to modify support.
7 THE COURT: Is there a time share difference now
8 from now to the last time the support order was made?
9 MS. MELLO: There is a time share difference.
10 THE COURT: Should that be calculated?
11 MS. MELLO: No, because I -- he has not met his
12 burden of proof of what his income is. He hasn't provided me
13 with a tax return, which is required.
14 THE COURT: Should it -- should the income remain
15 the same in the previous order but the only modification be a
16 time share differentiation?
17 MS. MELLO: No, because under the previous order he
18 was obligated -- the Court imputed $70,000 a year.
19 THE PETITIONER: Did you say 70,000?
20 MS. MELLO: $84,000 a year as wages, and he was
21 ordered to go get a job at that rate.
22 In addition, according to his income and expense
23 declaration, his house is vacant. He has rented it. He lists
24 rental income within the last 12 months. And also he's now
25 drawing on his government pension. So conceivably -- and I
26 won't know until he eventually ever complies with my discovery
27 requests or provides me with a tax return or a pay stub,
28 which -- none of which was attached to any of his income and

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1 expense declarations for this motion. Conceivably, he is --

2 should be earning $84,000 a year. Plus he's drawing on his
3 pension, plus he has rental income, and the rental income and
4 the pension income weren't considered by this Court when the
5 Court first imputed income.
6 THE COURT: So should the Court consider the
7 imputation, plus the rental income, plus his support for a new
8 calculation on income on his side?
9 MS. MELLO: I -- it's conceivable, but I don't know
10 how the Court's going to do that when we don't have any
11 evidence as to his income.
12 THE COURT: So -- and then the Court, for time
13 share, would use the new time share calculations that's
14 changed from previous to now.
15 MS. MELLO: Yes.
16 THE COURT: Okay.
17 THE RESPONDENT: May I speak?
18 THE COURT: What's wrong with that, sir? What's
19 wrong with doing that calculation?
20 THE RESPONDENT: We live in separate realities. The
21 reality is that we complied with every request under the
22 employments effort. And we -- we missed one page in October
23 of '07, and they continued to litigate. We missed one page,
24 and we gave it to them two days late. This employment efforts
25 order has been nothing more than harassment.
26 Number 2, I live in the real world. I'm not
27 employable. I'm 60 years old. I used to be a CFO. When you
28 get a résumé from somebody like me, you throw it in the trash.

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1 You know, I've been in the business for 40 years. I can --

2 there's just no way I'm going to get a job. I'm not
3 qualified.
4 I was 20 years in the tide pool of a government
5 industry, which is government accounting. I had a secret
6 clearance that Ms. Halverson sent about to destroy through
7 four or five separate actions: by obtaining a garnishment,
8 which one of -- that's one of the reasons you can lose your
9 clearance; making allegations of alcohol abuse, another
10 reason.
11 In obtaining of their CLETS order, they neglected to
12 mention that I had just been through six weeks of Kaiser
13 advice that I was not needing full-time rehab. She didn't put
14 that in the CLETS order. The CLETS order, they didn't meet
15 the minimum standard under the CLETS order of proof of
16 domestic violence. In fact, there was never even a hearing on
17 the CLETS order.
18 This -- my ex-wife was advised by the -- she had me
19 arrested for going to my daughter's baseball game knowing full
20 well that that, again, would be something that would be held
21 against me on my secret clearance. The officer advised her
22 not to do it, that he would make a report.
23 MS. MELLO: Objection. Your Honor, this is hearsay
24 it's irrelevant, it's --
25 THE COURT: It doesn't have evidentiary value for
26 the motion. I appreciate you giving me --
27 THE RESPONDENT: But there's more that I have to say
28 in that every -- just about everything Ms. Mello just said is

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1 nonsense.
2 I have made every effort to comply. I was trying
3 to -- I was trying to scan and e-mail things from Stockton,
4 and she's finally just said stop doing it. And so I said,
5 okay, I'll stop doing it.
6 MS. MELLO: Your Honor?
7 THE COURT: Sir, for your motion to modify support,
8 you suggest that the time share has changed.
9 THE RESPONDENT: It's absolutely changed.
10 THE COURT: Okay. And so we should be cognizant of
11 that.
12 Ms. Mello says that I should not consider any
13 statements of you or any evidence regarding income because of
14 previously imposed --
15 THE RESPONDENT: I would object --
16 THE COURT: -- sanctions.
17 THE RESPONDENT: I would object to that based on the
18 bankruptcy stay saying that the order came after the
19 bankruptcy stay.
20 THE COURT: Let me finish.
21 THE RESPONDENT: All right. Sorry, sir.
22 THE COURT: That's okay.
23 So if I do -- if I do an analysis, if I grant your
24 motion to modify, then what may happen, sir, is that I would
25 receive evidence from Ms. Mello regarding additional incomes
26 as well regarding --
27 THE RESPONDENT: Sure.
28 THE COURT: -- you know, the pension and the

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1 imputation. And we'd probably hear something about rental

2 value and whether or not that exists, but that would
3 potentially go into your income column.
4 THE RESPONDENT: I included it in my motion, that my
5 number is an all-up number. It includes the pension income
6 and --
7 THE COURT: So do you have a DissoMaster or some
8 type of calculation?
9 THE RESPONDENT: I am not capable of doing a
10 DissoMaster.
11 THE COURT: Uh-huh. I see.
12 THE RESPONDENT: But I've done one that results in
13 a -- I've done the formula. I can work with the formula. The
14 DissoMaster --
15 THE COURT: You're one of the few people that can.
16 THE RESPONDENT: Well, the DissoMaster, the only
17 difference is, you know, whether you have insurance or whether
18 you have a rental versus --
19 THE COURT: So here's what I'm thinking is.
20 THE RESPONDENT: But one more thing --
21 THE COURT: Oh, sure.
22 THE RESPONDENT: -- to say is that I advised
23 Ms. Mello that -- and I'm sure she's aware of the PACER
24 system. And under penalty of perjury, since July 15th, 2008,
25 I have been disclosing all of my financial affairs to the
26 bankruptcy court under penalty of five years of federal
27 prison. And she could follow my complete income and expense,
28 assets, statement of affairs by signing on to the PACER system

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1 and seeing every document that's been filed.

2 And the most recent amended plan includes a complete
3 history of the income from May to May which -- exaggerating
4 it. You know, you don't want to be too low because you have
5 to be able to make a certain amount. You know, I exaggerated
6 it only in that I have a gross income figure in there. I
7 don't include my expenses for travel, for my computer, for,
8 you know, the things that I need to support my work efforts.
9 So my income is actually overstated, but I'm willing to live
10 with that at the stated amount of, I think, what is it, 54,000
11 or 56,000.
12 So if we just continue on down this road, I'll --
13 I'll be -- I'll have -- I got about a thousand dollars left.
14 The IRS just liened my last $10,000. I think I can get that
15 back if I stay in bankruptcy because they committed an act,
16 you know, illegal act because of the bankruptcy filing.
17 THE COURT: Okay. But what I'm suggesting, sir, is
18 that if I really want to look at your -- your motion here and
19 ask the parties to step outside and run a DissoMaster with the
20 new time shares in addition to pension and other income on
21 your side that isn't there, it may come up with a higher
22 number. Sometimes that happens.
23 THE RESPONDENT: Well, me owing money or --
24 THE COURT: Well, I --
25 THE RESPONDENT: No. I mean, I'm -- I'm saying that
26 what I included in there is the same amount that I included in
27 the bankruptcy filing under penalty of perjury.
28 THE COURT: Okay.

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1 THE RESPONDENT: And I have all the -- all the --

2 THE COURT: Ms. Mello?
3 THE RESPONDENT: -- support was submitted. So she
4 could have followed that for the full year on PACER.
5 THE COURT: Okay.
6 MS. MELLO: Your Honor --
7 THE RESPONDENT: And she's chosen not to.
8 MS. MELLO: Number 1, according to what I just read,
9 the eight pages that I was provided, he claimed in his
10 bankruptcy petition to be earning $78,216 a year, which
11 equates to $6,500.18 a month. He's currently only imputed at
12 $7,000 a month. That doesn't include his pension income and
13 his rental income that he does actually list on his I&E.
14 He's obligated -- I mean, we have rules in family
15 law for a reason, obviously. And I know you've heard
16 attorneys gripe about this in the past, but the income and
17 expense declaration requires him to attach pay stubs. He has
18 attached none. It requires that he -- require that he bring
19 me his current tax return. I have nothing.
20 I have Ed Mills' very detailed, very lengthy
21 recommendation to this Court that sets forth what exactly has
22 gone on in this case, which is that he has not complied with
23 my Set 1 of discovery. I filed a motion to compel. It was
24 granted. We set some compliance review hearings, and he just
25 didn't show up. He hasn't complied with my Set 2 of
26 discovery. Motion to compel was granted. He still hasn't
27 complied. And Ed Mills after, you know, us appearing at these
28 review hearings and these compliance hearings and having

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1 respondent not produce documents and, frankly, just not even

2 appear, he issued evidence sanctions and issue sanctions.
3 THE RESPONDENT: Your Honor, as I mentioned before,
4 I notified Ms. Mello's office I could not make those dates
5 that they ignored and went ahead with impunity.
6 MS. MELLO: And I have to also ad, just so it's
7 clear to the Court, because he keeps saying that he filed for
8 bankruptcy after all this happened and that somehow that's a
9 change of circumstance or -- and it's not because the
10 recommendation of Ed Mills has a whole diatribe on the impact
11 of his bankruptcy filing. Ed Mills took that into
12 consideration and found that that absolutely does not stay a
13 family law proceeding.
14 THE RESPONDENT: It doesn't change the reality of if
15 you leave me getting dismissed from bankruptcy, there goes
16 $200,000 that could go towards my children. So she can argue
17 until she turns blue, but the reality is I'm going to be
18 impecunious when I lose that.
19 THE COURT: So, Ms. Mello, says she -- from her side
20 she would like the Court to follow the Rules of Court which
21 say --
22 THE RESPONDENT: I'm ask --
23 THE COURT: I see your income and expense
24 declaration here filed May 27. Do you have that, Ms. Mello?
25 MS. MELLO: I do have my -- his income and expense,
26 yeah, but I don't have -- he didn't attach one pay stub.
27 THE RESPONDENT: But they are -- it's filed under
28 penalty of perjury with the bankruptcy court.

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1 THE COURT: I understand that, sir --

2 MS. MELLO: I'm not the bank --
3 THE COURT: -- but for purposes of this court, those
4 documents should also be filed with your motion. It's --
5 THE RESPONDENT: I wish I had time to keep up on all
6 those rules of both courts. And I have an incompetent
7 bankruptcy attorney. I've had three competent family law
8 attorneys who gave up against these tactics.
9 THE COURT: What I'm saying, sir, is that
10 Ms. Mello's point is that if the Court adheres to the Rules
11 of Court, I can't grant your motion unless you provide that
12 information to her.
13 THE RESPONDENT: Part of the Rules of Court are to
14 go back to the basics and say that all of this is supposed to
15 be in the best interest of the children. We have at least 196
16 documents filed in this case, one of which was offensive by
17 me, and that's this. And that's to try to stop the drain of
18 accruing $800 a month that I don't owe based on the change in
19 custody that was imposed by the assessor. Basically, they
20 lost that. You know, they made an -- she made an attempt at
21 that point to take full custody. It backfired on her.
22 THE COURT: Yes.
23 THE RESPONDENT: I got 36 percent and --
24 THE COURT: So let's -- what about just doing a
25 calculation with the change in time share, Ms. Mello?
26 MS. MELLO: Well, again, it's prejudicial to my
27 client --
28 THE COURT: Well --

UNCERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
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1 MS. MELLO: -- because I don't get the benefit of

2 the change of income, which includes his rental income and his
3 pension.
4 THE COURT: Well, I'm going to -- we're -- the basis
5 of the motion, then, would not be on his income because I
6 wouldn't listen to any of that, but I think the parties agree
7 the reality is the time share has changed.
8 MS. MELLO: But, Your Honor, the issue sanction and
9 the evidence sanction doesn't refer to proof of income. It
10 specifically says -- and I'll quote it. And this is your
11 order, Your Honor. Your order is that respondent is precluded
12 from presenting evidence of inability to pay child support,
13 child support arrears, or attorney's fees and costs of
14 petitioner as ordered.
15 THE COURT: Okay.
16 MS. MELLO: So he's -- it's not just that he's
17 precluded from presenting evidence of his income. He's
18 precluded from saying, "I can't afford to pay 800 bucks a
19 month."
20 THE COURT: Well, I'm not -- let me tell you what
21 I'm hearing. What I'm hearing is the time share has changed.
22 So let's just keep the income portion out of it, leave the
23 numbers alone, but the time share has changed. Shouldn't we
24 recalculate just for the time share change?
25 MS. MELLO: What would I put in for his income?
26 THE COURT: The current order.
27 MS. MELLO: But it's not just the current order.
28 The current order was made before he had pension income and

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1 before he had rental income.

2 THE COURT: Have you run it with this time share? I
3 wonder what the difference is.
4 MS. MELLO: Well, I mean if you're instructing me to
5 include it at the current imputed amount that was imputed --
6 THE COURT: Yes.
7 MS. MELLO: -- again as a sanction, plus rental
8 income, plus pension income --
9 THE COURT: Well, I'm not adding anything. I'm
10 saying whatever the figure is now, the figures that were used
11 to arrive at the 800 whatever it is, use those same figures
12 and just change the time share.
13 MS. MELLO: Well, that --
14 THE COURT: What's that amount to?
15 MS. MELLO: -- would obviously result in reduced
16 support to my client. I mean, it's obvious that --
17 THE COURT: What's the delta? Do you know what that
18 would be?
19 MS. MELLO: I don't know what the delta is, but I
20 can guarantee you that if time share is changed and we're not
21 going to take another look at his income and he somehow is
22 able to skirt the whole issue of having to provide --
23 (Reporter interrupts.)
24 THE COURT: Ms. Mello, you have to slow down when
25 you speak.
26 MS. MELLO: I'm sorry.
27 Then, you know, it's clearly prejudicial to my
28 client because she doesn't get to take a look at what he's got

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1 for income.
2 THE COURT: So maybe what you --
3 MS. MELLO: And I -- I'm sorry. And the only other
4 thing I do feel like I need to add is he has not paid support
5 in this case since February of '08. So how this is
6 prejudicial to him when he has just completely blown off the
7 order that he's now trying to modify is troubling to me.
8 THE COURT: So how should we treat a change in time
9 share, then? Shouldn't that -- that's the reality of the case
10 now. There is a change in time share.
11 MS. MELLO: I think he needs to refile his motion
12 and he needs to comply with the rules of this court and he
13 needs to comply with the two motions to compel that were
14 granted against him. He needs to provide the discovery that
15 I'm entitled to and that my client's entitled to. And once
16 he's complied with the motions to compel and once he's
17 provided a true income and expense declaration with pay stubs
18 attached and a copy of his 2008 tax return, then he's
19 encouraged to file a motion to come back here. But as is, his
20 motion is defective.
21 THE RESPONDENT: Your Honor, why can't we just
22 accept what I filed with the bankruptcy court? It was under
23 penalty of perjury.
24 THE COURT: Well, because it -- because we can't.
25 You'd have to file the documents. That's a federal court.
26 Those filings are somewhere else. And you might decide to
27 file something different in this court, sir. I -- it's -- it
28 has to be in our file is what I'm saying.

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1 THE RESPONDENT: I'm a slave to the truth. The

2 truth is there's no money. They're going to -- by continuing
3 down this path, the only potential money for paying arrearages
4 will dissipate in the mist when I get discharged from
5 bankruptcy.
6 THE COURT: Sir, I appreciate -- I want to hear the
7 motion. I want to see if there are grounds to modify, then
8 we'll modify, but --
9 THE RESPONDENT: It's --
10 THE COURT: -- we have to -- Ms. Mello's correct in
11 pointing out that if we're going to modify this, Judge, I need
12 to have all the information in front of me.
13 Now, I think there's an agreement that the time
14 share was changed.
15 THE RESPONDENT: Since June. That's over a year
16 now.
17 THE COURT: Whatever it is, the time share has
18 changed.
19 THE RESPONDENT: I've been trying to get the
20 custody -- or the support changed since then, and I hit a
21 stone wall.
22 THE COURT: Do you have --
23 THE RESPONDENT: Sir, she won't even answer an
24 e-mail, sir. She will not answer e-mails to me.
25 THE COURT: Okay. We're going to continue this
26 motion to allow you, sir, I will grant you a continuance to
27 allow you to proceed with your motion on the condition that
28 you file appropriately and follow the Rules of Court. And I'm

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1 going to invite you to go talk to the lawyer across the hall

2 because she can advise you --
3 THE RESPONDENT: Okay.
4 THE COURT: -- what you need to do to file a
5 complete and proper motion. We do have that service
6 available.
7 (Discussion off the record.)
8 THE COURT: Sir, if you come back to this courthouse
9 next Thursday, we'll have a family law lawyer here that can
10 have your file and advise you what it is you need to file.
11 THE RESPONDENT: And the problem is the bankruptcy
12 hearing is on the 13th. So --
13 THE COURT: I appreciate that.
14 THE RESPONDENT: -- I'm afraid that it's -- we're
15 just -- I'm going to lose the house and the -- her potential
16 payment of arrearages is going to be --
17 THE COURT: Well, let me just tell you, sir, I have
18 to owe fidelity to Rules of Court as Ms. Mello suggests. And
19 as your motion stands now, it's deficient in that it doesn't
20 have the required documents. You don't have the pay stub
21 attached.
22 I'm happy to hear your motion once it's
23 appropriately before the Court.
24 Let's -- what's our next available law and motion
25 date?
26 THE CLERK: August 6th at 9 o'clock.
27 THE COURT: Are you available August 6th at
28 9 o'clock, both of you?

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1 (Attorney-client discussion off the record.)

2 THE RESPONDENT: Your Honor, isn't there some way to
3 recognize that this is vexatious litigation, 196 documents?
4 I've looked at the average number of documents for divorce.
5 It's two or four. My wife -- I would like to -- I would like
6 the opportunity to introduce a letter that I sent to Ms. Mello
7 in support of this nonsense that continues beating a dead
8 horse till the horse is dead. I mean, I'm going -- I'm going
9 to be gone. I'll be out of money. I'll be living on welfare,
10 picking up cans.
11 I asked Ms. Mello on the 30th of October to submit
12 her client to a psychiatric evaluation. Why does she continue
13 to persecute me into extinction? Could I introduce that and
14 ask you to review it to make a motion?
15 I have -- in here I reference a civil lawsuit in
16 Tulare County in 2004 where a forensic psychiatrist found she
17 has an anger management problem since birth and that she --
18 she hid that from the court. She was nearly sanctioned for
19 perjury. She -- because I was telling the truth about her
20 anger management problem they made me leave, her plaintiff's
21 attorney made me leave the state so I couldn't be served. I
22 went along with that, but we've had -- we've got a woman out
23 of control who under American psychiatric standards has a
24 borderline personality. We've got 196 documents here that I
25 didn't -- I filed one of, except as a response.
26 THE COURT: Okay.
27 THE RESPONDENT: Something's crazy here.
28 THE COURT: All right. We'll see you --

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1 THE RESPONDENT: But then I'm going to be forced

2 into extinction by nonsense.
3 THE COURT: Okay. We'll see you August 6th at
4 9 o'clock.
5 THE RESPONDENT: Sir, could I give you the letter?
6 THE COURT: Ms. Mello? Ms. Mello, should I receive
7 this letter?
8 MS. MELLO: Your Honor, I don't frankly care if you
9 receive that letter or not.
10 THE COURT: Okay.
11 MS. MELLO: I think it's going to just simply show
12 why the case hasn't settled.
13 THE COURT: Hand it to the deputy.
14 All right. Thank you. We'll see you then.
15 MS. MELLO: Thank you.
16 Oh. And, Your Honor, I had a request for attorney
17 fee's, a thousand dollars.
18 THE COURT: I think you had that in your motion. So
19 we'll reserve that.
20 MS. MELLO: Reserve that issue?
21 THE BAILIFF: If you can collect your things
22 quickly. I need to get the next case here. Sorry to rush you
23 guys.
24 THE RESPONDENT: Thank you, Your Honor.
25 THE COURT: Thank you very much, Mr. Halverson.
26 THE RESPONDENT: No, no. I'm Sey --
27 THE COURT: It's Mr. Seymour. I beg your pardon,
28 Mr. Seymour.

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1 THE RESPONDENT: I know it's becoming a woman's

2 world but --
3 THE COURT: No, Mr. Seymour. That's not what is
4 going on in this courtroom, sir. I suppose I just look at
5 petitioner's name, and that's the easy one to call.
6 THE RESPONDENT: Thank you.
7 (Adjournment.)
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