Centennial Bank v. Powell

Filing 232

ORDER: The parties were unable to resolve their disputes about some parts of Paul Tennen's evidentiary deposition. The Court's ruling are noted in the margin on the attached copy of their joint report. The Court also attaches counsel's letter about the color legend for Tennan's deposition and the color-coded transcript. Joint Report, 193 addressed. Signed by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 12/5/2018. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
CENTENNIAL BANK,
Guardian of the Estate of
Mary Moore Stiny

PLAINTIFF

No. 3:17-cv-226-DPM

v.

RENA WOOD

DEFENDANT
ORDER

The parties were unable to resolve their disputes about some parts
of Paul Tennen' s evidentiary deposition. The Court's rulings are noted
in the margin on the attached copy of their joint report. The Court is
also attaching counsel's letter about the color legend for Tennan's
deposition and the color-coded transcript. The Court thanks counsel
for their helpful work highlighting the disputed testimony in context.
Joint report, NQ 193, addressed.
So Ordered.

D .P. Marshall Jr.
United States District Judge

Case 3: 17-cv-00~t:.ci-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/08,_J Page 1 of 6

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
CENTENNIAL BANK, Guardian of the Estate
of Mary Moore Stiny, an fucapacitated Person
Plaintiff
Vs.

No. 3:17-cv-00226 DPM

RENA WOOD
Defendant

JOINT REPORT ON DEPOSITION DISPUTE
Comes the Plaintiff, Centennial Bank, Guardian of the Estate of Maiy Moore Stiny, by
and through its attorneys, Lyons & Cone, P.L.C. and Carla Rogers Nadzam and the Defendant,
Rena Wood, by and through her attorneys, Lilly Law Finn, P.A. and the Darvish Law Finn and
for their Joint Report on Deposition Dispute, states:
1.

That on December 4, 2017, this Court issued its Final Scheduling Order in this

matter (Doc. 52).
2.

That in its Order, the Court directed the parties to try to agree on deposition

testimony and if a dispute or objection was unresolved to file a Joint Report on November 8,
2018 .
3.

That the parties have conferred and discussed the issues regarding the deposition

of Mr. Paul Tennen which was delayed in being provided by the reporter to the parties.
4.

That a dispute still remains as to the introduction of the following portions of Mr.

Tennen's deposition. Additionally, a brief description of the objections are set forth with the

Case 3:17-cv-00~" o-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/08, _J

Page 2 of 6

disputed portions below:
Page

Lines

Objection

19

18-20

Hearsay

20

1-5

Hearsay

27

18-21; 23

Conclusion

48

24-25

Calls for speculation

49

1-5

Calls for speculation

54

11-25

~J I rrd,t,v,A-t
Irrelevant or if relevant, its probative valueJ·s
outweighed by unfair prejudice
\IS
·
·

56

1-2; 13-20; 24-25

Irrelevant or if relevant, its probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice

58

7-25

Calls for speculation

59

10-15

Irrelevant or if relevant, its probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice

65

22-25

Hearsay Ov.er r,.,._£~c/ w-,'+t,.

Hear, ~""-'-

~v-to+.·0"\11..

67

22-25

68

Hearsay

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-

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t...w

I~ -Ile . 1kL OMS~
rz,JA> "'-,,J.. ~~~ .

18-25

Confusing, assumes facts not in evidence, lack
foundation, calls for speculation, vague as to what
"statements" were produce.

85

1-25

Confusing, assuming facts not in evidence, lack
foundation, calls for speculation, vague as to what
"records" were produce.

86

l-12;23-25

Confusing, assuming facts not in evidence, lack
foundation, calls for speculation, vague as to what
"records" were produce.

1, 5-12,
19-25

,.-:,.

~v~

84

87

-:u"

•

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

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Case 3: 17-cv-00:.:.'"6-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/0o. __ Page 3 of 6
J

ov.urJ.J

88

1-25

Inelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

89

1-17

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
c v<JV..J..&J
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

90

6-25

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
lt
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation O\J'Wra.'1

91

1-25

Irrelevant, orif relevant, their probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for
speculation, confusing characterization of the source
of the checks

92

l-5;13-17
10-25

In-elevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
I I
o vt.cN1eo
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

93

1-25

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation 6 \l'tfr

vL.

94

1-24

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
v1,
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation ov.f./\A

95

1-6, 17-24

Document speaks for themselves, irrelevant, or if
relevant, their probative value is outweighed by
unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

0

J

I

o,

J

\J~/\v.k_ J

96

1-10, 16-23

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
\l'UVW,L,J
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation O

97

6-21

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for
speculation, hearsay

98

I, 3-4,6-9, 13,
15-23

Conclusion, calls for speculation, vague as to "I
did receive documentation

99

l-12;19-23

101

6-25

Calls for speculation, calls for attorney-client , . . n1 . ~
privileged infom1ation ov~~J ·
c.lJ"l\-~d
ff"""\ <>--'fd I"'• ~
"/ \ u.
OIM,O, 1....i~wfA. .
Calls for speculation, vague I

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ov~v..(-eJ

103

6-7;12-16

Calls for speculation; Irrelevant, or ifrelevant, their o\/tll,Av.l-ed
probative value is outweighed by unfair prejudice

~

Case 3:17-cv-00LL6-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/08, ~J Page 4 of 6

106

1-25

Conclusion, calls for speculation; hTelevant, or if O v ~ ~
relevant, their probative value is outweighed by
unfair prejudice

108

1-24

Calls for attorney client privileged infom1ation,
vague as to "comply with the order"

109

1-9, 12-13,
15-24

Argumentative, lacks foundation, vague as to
"authority"

111

1-11 , 20-24

Calls for attorney-client privileged information,
tJ,.,J
calls for speculation vague as to "obligation for both O JV(~
sets of apartments essentially are the same"

116

13-21

Calls for speculation; Irrelevant, or if relevant, their \J .eJ\I\.
O
probative value is outweighed by unfair prejudice

120

8-9; 14-24

Calls for speculation; Irrelevant, or if relevant, their
probative value is outweighed by unfair prejudice,
calls for speculation

122

4-6, 8-16,
18-25

Calls for speculation; Irrelevant, or ifrelevant, their o\Jlj\/\.J,,
probative value is outweighed by unfair prejudice

129

1-25

Irrelevant, or if relevant, their probative value is
,s v'$~J ,
outweighed by unfair prejudice, calls for speculation

5.

That the parties will attempt, prior to pre-trial, to narrow their dispute in regard to

ov-<N'-~d

u\J-U\Av-1.J

the above.
6.

A paper copy of the transcript of Mr. Paul Tennen will be produced to the Court in

chambers by FedEx or other overnight service.

~J

ov /J\11... vJ;.J.

J.

Case 3:17-cv-00L~6-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/0c.... 8 Page 5 of 6

Respectfully Submitted,
LYONS & CONE, P.L.C.
P. 0. Box 7044
Jonesboro, AR 72403
[phone]
By: lslJim Lyons
Jim Lyons, State Bar No. 77083
David D. Tyler, State Bar No. 99154
j [e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff

Isl Carla Rogers Nadzam
Carla Rogers Nadzam, State Bar No. 87123
Attorney for Plaintiff
P.O. Box 8013
Jonesboro, AR 72403-8013
[e-mail]
[phone]
LILLY LAW FIRM, P.A.
P.O. Box 8035
Jonesboro, AR 72403
[phone]
By: Isl Martin Lilly
Martin Lilly, State Bar No. 90098
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendant
DARVISH LAW FIRM, APC
10990 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 420
Los Angeles, CA 90024
[phone]

By:lsl Elan Darvish
Elan Darvish, Cal. Bar No. 223453
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendant

Case 3: 17-cv-00LLt>-DPM Document 193 Filed 11/08, _J

Page 6 of 6

Certificate of Service
The undersigned attorney hereby certifies that on November 8, 2018, he has caused to be
filed the foregoing pleading via electronic CMIECF filing and whereby notice is to be provided
to the following attorneys of record for Defendant and others electronically by the Court using
the CMIECF system or by U.S. Mail for those who are not electronically notified:
Martin E. Lilly
Lilly Law Firm, P.A.
P.O. Box 8035
Jonesboro, AR 72403
Elan Darvish
Darvish Law Firm, APC
10990 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 420
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Carla Rogers N adzam
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 8013
Jonesboro, AR 72403-8013
Mark R. Johnson
Attorney at Law
2423-A Hwy 621412
Hardy, AR 72542

Isl Jim Lyons
Jim Lyons
Ark. Bar No. 77083
Attorney for Plaintiff
LYONS & CONE, P.L.C.
P. 0. Box 7044
Jonesboro, AR 72403
[phone]
[e-mail]

F:\WP60\STINY\Joint.Report.Depo.Dispute.wpd

JIM LYONS **
j lyons@ leclaw.com

MIKE CONE*
mikecone@ leclaw.com

ANDREW NADZAM
[e-mail]

DAVID TYLER *
[e-mail]

ATTORNEYS AT LAW
407 SOUTH MAIN
PO BOX 7044
JONESBORO, ARKANSAS 72403 - 7044
870·972- 5440 • FAX : 870· 972· 1270
WEBSITE : WWW .LECLAW.COM

•Master of Laws in Agricultural Law
••Keenan Ball Trial College Faculty

November 28, 2018

VIA OVERNIGHT SERVICE & EMAIL

Hon. D. P. Marshall, Jr.
United States District Judge
600 West Capitol Avenue, Room B 149
Little Rock, AR 72201
Re:

Centennial Bank vs. Rena Powell Wood, et al. ;
U.S . District Court for the Eastern Dist. of Ark. ;
Case No. 3:17-cv-00226-DPM

Dear Judge Marshall:
Per your request at the Pretrial Hearing, enclosed please find a color copy of the
Deposition of Paul Tennen (the "Deposition") which include the designations by Plaintiff and
Defendant as well as the objections to the designations by the Plaintiff and Defendant.
Additionally, enclosed please find the Joint Report on Deposition Dispute which sets out the
objections to the designations.
The color legends for the designations and objections in the Deposition are as follows: (i)
Yellow is Plaintiffs designations; (ii) Green is Defendant's designations; and (iii) Orange is the
objections for both parties and with each objection in the margin the objecting party is noted as
"Obj. Plaintiff or Obj . Pltf." for the Plaintiff or "Obj. Def." for Defendant. Additionally, please
note that in some cases, the Defendant designated and objected to the same portions of the
Deposition. Finally, as this was an evidentiary deposition, any objection which was raised in the
Joint Report on Deposition Dispute but was not set forth in the deposition should be disregarded.

By carbon copy, I am providing other counsel with notice of this communication with you
as well as the enclosures. If there are any questions, please contact me. Thank you.
Sincerely,

JL/ab
Enclosures
cc:

Carla Nadzam via email (w/enc.)
Mark Johnson via email (w/enc.)
Marty Lilly via email (w/enc.)
Elan Darvish via email (w/enc.)

F:\WP60\STrNY\Judge Marsha113.ltr.wpd

'\

...

•

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION

CENTENNIAL BANK, Guardian of the
Estate of Mary Moore Stiny, an
Incapacitated Person,
Plaintiff,
vs.

)
)
)
)
)
)

) Case No.:
) 3 : 17-cv-00226 DPM

RENA WOOD,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)

DEPOSITION OF PAUL TENNEN
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018

REPORTED BY:

KIMBERLY M. LOWE
CSR NO. 12529

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

.:

.CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
'

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

RENA WOOD

Page 4

Page 2

1

1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION

2

3

WITNESS:

4

PAUL TENNEN

3

4
5

I N D E X

2

CENTENNIAL BANK, Guardian of the
Estate of Mary Moore Stiny, an
Incapacitated Person,

6

6

vs.

8

RENA WOOD,

7, 124

Afternoon Recess

73

Examination by Mr. Lyons

7

Case No.:
3:17-cv-00226 DPM

9

Examination by Mr. Darvish

5

Plaintiff,

7

PAGE:

84, 114

8

Defendants.

9

10

10

11

11

E X H I B I T S

12

12

PLAINTIFF'S:

13

13

Exhibit 1

Bank of America Statement 4/1/13
Through 4/30/13

87

Exhibit 2

2/8/16 Letter to Mr. Tennen Re:
Guardianship of the Estate of
Mary Moore Stiny

105

Exhibit 3

2/8/16 Letter to Mr. Tennen Re:
555 East Olive Avenue & 321
South Sixth Street

107

14

VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF PAUL TENNEN,

14

15

taken on behalf of the Defendants, at

15

16

10990 Wilshire Boulevard, suite 420,

16

17

Los Angeles , California beginning at

17

18

10:59 a.m., and ending at 4 : 26 p.m.

19

on Thursday, October 18, 2018, before

18
19

20

Kimberly M. Lowe, Certified Shorthand

20

21

21

Reporter No. 12529.

PAGE:

PAGE:

DEFENDANTS ' :
Exhibit 1

Subpoena to Testify at Deposition
in a Civil Action

12

22

22

Exhibit 2

List of Docwnents Produced

14

23

23

Exhibit 3

42

24

24

Subpoena to Testify at a
Deposition in a Civil Action

25

25

Exhibit 4

Durable Power of Attorney for
Asset Management

55

Page 3

1

1

FOR THE PLAINTIFF:

3

DEFENDANTS ' :

4

Exhibit 5

Uniform Statutory Form Power of
Attorney

57

Exhibit 6

2/2/11 Letter Re: Delegation
Of Management Duties

60

4

LYONS & CONE, P.L.C.
BY: JIM LYONS, ESQ.
407 South Main Street
Jonesboro, Arkansas 72403
870.972 . 5440
[e-mail]

5
6

7

FOR THE DEFENDANT:
THE DARVISH FIRM, APC
BY: ELAN DARVISH, ESQ.
DAVID WONG, ESQ.
10990 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 420
Los Angeles, California 90024
310.234.4050
[e-mail]

10
11

12
13
14
15
16

LIBERTY BELL LAW GROUP
BY: M DAVID MILLER, ESQ,
20350 Ventura Boulevard
suite 230
Woodland Hills, California 91364
818.556.1515
[e-mail]

18
19
20
21

6
7

Exhibit 7

Quitclaim Deed

62

Exhibit 8

Quitclaim Deed

63

9

Exhibit 9

Asset Allocation Agreement Stiny
Family Trust

68

Exhibit 10 -

Amendment to Petition for Order
Approving Division of Trust
Into Two or More Separate Trusts

82

10
11
12
13
14
15

FOR THE WITNESS:

17

5

PAGE:

8

8
9

INDEX (Continued}

2

2

3

Page 5

APPEARANCES:

16

QUESTIONS INSTRUCTED:

17

(NONE}

18
19
20

ALSO PRESENT:

21

INFORMATION REQUESTED:
(NONE}

23

22
23

24

24

25

25

22

\:i.1-l-Su-ipU)

LON ANDRE, VIDEOGRAPHER

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

(1) Pages 2 - 5

.
PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 8

Page 6

1
2

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018; 10:59 A.M.

3

3
4
5
6

(Prior to going on record, all parties stipulated
to waive the reading of Federal Rule 30(b)(6)
read-on by the reporter.)

4

5
6
7

7
8
9

10

11
12
13
14
15
16

17
18

19
20
21
22
23

24

25

1
2

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We are going on
record. The time is 10:59 a.m. on October 18, 2018.
This is media one of the video
deposition of Paul Tennen taken by the defendant in the
matter of "Centennial Bank, Guardian of the Estate of
Mary Stiny versus Rena Wood," filed in the United States
District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Civil
Action No. 317-cv-00226.
This deposition is being held at 10990
Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 420, Los Angeles, California.
My name is Lan Andre representing L.A.
Reporters with offices located in Los Angeles,
California; and I am a certified videographer.
The court reporter is Kimberly Lowe
from the firm L.A. Reporters with offices in
Los Angeles, California.
Counsel will now state their
appearances and affiliation for the record.

8
9

10

11
12
13
14
15
16

17
18

19
20
21
22
23

24

25

of Arkansas, Case Number 13:17-CV-00226.
During the deposition, I'm going to be
asking you a series of questions which will be used in
trial in this case. As you heard earlier, your
testimony here today is going to be under penalty of
perjury. It's going to have the same force -- your
actual oath that you made has the same force and effect
as you would normally have in trial in a courtroom.
If you don't answer -- if you don't
understand a question that I am asking, please ask me to
repeat it. Please don't answer if you don't understand
the question.
If you do understand the question, we
presume -- and you do answer it, we presume that you
understood the question.
Everything that we're saying here
today, even though we have a videographer, we also have
a court reporter who is transcribing everything that's
being said, which means that she's only able to type one
of us speaking every time. So if I'm asking a question,
please just do me a favor and wait until I finish the
question before responding.
Every question I ask, I ask that you
give me verbal responses, which means that with "yes" or
"no" or actual words . The court reporter,
Page 9

Page 7

1
2
3
4
5
6

1
8
9

10

MR. DARVISH: Elan Darvish appearing on
behalf of Defendant Rena Wood.
MR. MILLER: Dave Miller appearing -representing the Deponent Paul Tennen.
MR. LYONS: Jim Lyons on behalf of
Plaintiff Centennial Bank.
MR. WONG: David Wong on behalf of
Defendant Rena Wood.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Will the court
reporter please swear in the witness.

11
12
13
14

17
18

19
20

21
22

23
24

25

3
4
5
6

7
8
9

10

11

PAUL TENNEN,
having been first duly sworn by the reporter,
was examined and testified as follows:

15
16

1
2

12
13

14
15

EXAMINATION
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Good morning, Mr. Tennen. My name is
Elan Darvish, and I am the attorney for Defendant Rena
Wood.
You're here today as a result of a
subpoena that was issued. The purpose of this
deposition is to be used in lieu of live testimony at
trial in the case titled "Centennial Bank versus Rena
Wood" in federal court, located in the Eastern District

16
17
18

19
20

21
22

23
24

25

unfortunately, cannot transcribe "uh-huhs" or "huh-uh's.
So when asked a question, it would have to be a verbal
response.
One thing I'd like you to do, if I ask
you a question, is not guess . Normally, I go through
this . In every single deposition, attorneys use
completely different examples to explain what the
difference is between a guess and an estimate.
I'm entitled to estimates, but I do not
want you to guess. So the difference between an example
would be is if I ask you what the size of my garage was
at home, you would pretty much have to guess because
you've never been to my home. You could never tell me
how big my garage is.
However, if I ask you what the square
footage of this room is, you'll be -- in relatively
certainty be able to give me an estimate as to how big
this room is.
Do you understand the deposition?
A. I do.
Q. At the end of the deposition the court
reporter will prepare a transcript, and that transcript
is going to be sent to you. What we would like you to
do is read it and verify that you answered each one of
the questions correctly. You could make changes with

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

(2) Pages 6 • 9

•
PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 12

Page 10

Q. Okay. You manage these properties;
regards to the transcript itself, but if you make any
1
2
correct?
2 changes, we would be able to make a note of those
3
A. I do.
3
changes at trial.
4
Q. And how long have you been managing
4
Therefore, I always tell deponents to
5
try to answer to the best of your knowledge right now.
5
them for?
6
A. Since 2013.
6
Had -- do you understand everything
Q. Do you have a signed written agreement
7
that we have discussed so far?
7
with -- to manage these properties?
8
A. I do.
8
A. Ido.
9
Q. Have you had any alcohol in the past
9
10 24 hours?
Q. Okay. Perfect.
10
11
I am showing you what has now been
11
A. I have not.
12 pre-marked as Exhibit 1.
12
Q. Okay. Are you taking any medication
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
13 that impairs your ability to understand questions or
13
1 was marked for identification by
14 answer truthfully?
14
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
15
A. No.
15
16
16 BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Is there any reason that you feel you
17 cannot move forward with the deposition here today?
Q. Can you take a look at that document
17
18
A. No.
18 for me.
19
Q. Can you please state your name for the
19
A. Yes, sir.
20 record.
20
Q. Did I give you the original?
21
MR. LYONS: This has the original
A. Paul Steven Tennen.
21
22
Q. And what is your address?
22
sticker on it.
MR. DARVISH: Let me trade you out.
23
A. My business address is 3699 Wilshire
23
MR.LYONS: Okay.
24 Boulevard, Suite 800, Los Angeles, California 90010. 24
25
Q. Okay. And what is your home address?
25 Ill
1

Page 13

Page 11

A. 940 South Cloverdale A venue,
Los Angeles, California 90036.
3
Q. What is your occupation?
4
A. Real estate property manager.
5
Q. And how long have you been doing that?
6
A. I bought the company, Linder &
7
Associates, in 2012. So I've owned the company since
8
then; however, I've been a real estate agent and a
9
property manager prior to that; so I would say maybe,
10 you know, eight -- eight years total.
11
Q. Okay. And what is your position tight
12 now at Linder & Associates?
13
A. I'm the president of the company.
14
Q. Do you know -- are you familiar with
15 the Stiny Family Trust?
16
A. I am.
17
Q. How are you familiar with them?
18
A. We work on behalf of them for the
19 management of the properties that we manage.
20
Q. Do you know the addresses to the
21 properties that you manage for them?
22
A. 555 East Olive A venue, Burbank,
23 California. I don't know the ZIP Code offhand. 321
24 South Sixth Street, Burbank, California. I believe it's
25 91423, but I'm not correct on that.
1

1

2

2
3
4
5

6
7

8

9

10
!1.1

12
13
14
15

16
17

18
19
20

21
22
23

24
25

BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Do you know what this document is?
A. This is a property management
agreement.
Q. Okay. Who's the property management
agreement with?
A. Stiny Trust and Linder & Associates,
R.E.S.U.
Q. Okay. And are you familiar with this
document?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. And can you look at the -- the second
page of the document.
Was this an agreement that was signed
on behalf of the Stiny Trust?

A.
Q.
signed?

Hwas.
Do you recall when this agreement was

A. I cannot tell you the exact date.
However, I believe it would have been March 18, 2013, as
I, you know, put that date in as our agreement date and
when I did this in person. So that would -- I guess you
could say that's my best guess.
Q. Okay.
A. But --

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(3) Pages 10 • 13

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 16

Page 14

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Q. Did you see Rena Wood sign the
document?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And you were present at that time?
A. Yes, I was.
Q. All right. I am showing you what has
not been pre-marked as Exhibit Number 2.
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
2 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Can you tell me what this document is .
A. Exhibit No. 2 is a property management
agreement.
Q. Is it -- for which property?
A. It would be for 3563 East Verdugo
Avenue and also 321 South Sixth Street, which is one
property at the corner.
Q. And they're both similar agreements?
A. They are.
Q. And for two different properties?
A. Correct.
Q. Okay. Were you also present when
Ms . Wood signed this agreement?
A. I was.

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A. That's correct.
Q. What was your understanding as to who
owns the properties?
A. My understanding is that the trust owns
the properties. I was the one who generated these
management agreements, and I went to Fidelity Title's
Web site to pull down the ownership statement.
The reason for the difference is
because there is an abbreviation in one, and the way
it's written -- you know, basically online, the title is
written differently for each of the ones.
See it's abbreviated, Stiny Trust,
comma, Elijah and Mary Stiny Trust. So then the second
one that I did was basically I wrote it out, but this
was based off of Fidelity National Title online Web
portal for trust -- you know, for property profiles.
Q. I presume it's what you call "Title
Pro" is what you're looking at?
A. Yes.
Q. When you pulled up "Title Pro," did you
pull up the deed or did you pull -THE REPORTER: I'm sorry.
(Speaking simultaneously.)
THE WITNESS: I did not pull up her
deed.

Page 15

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Q. Do you have a copy of this agreement in
your file currently?
A. Wedo.
Q. Do you -- who has management control of
all the records for Linder & Associates?
A. That would be me.
Q. Would you be custodian of records fo
Linder & Associates?
A. I would.
Q. And this would be part of your file?
A. That is correct.
Q. Is there any reason to believe that
these two documents that I've just shown you, Exhibits 1
and 2, are not the true and correct copies of the
documents that Ms . Wood signed?

A.

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BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. So when you went to -- I believe it's
called Title Pro 24/7.
A. Yes.
Q. And so when you went on line, you
looked at the cover page?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you have any other agreements
either the Stiny Trust or Elijah and Mary Stiny Trust?
. I do not.
Q. And earlier I believe you testified
that your understanding was that the trust owned these
properties; conect?
A. That is correct.
Q. All rigfit. Do you knowwho Rena Pow

---

11

12
13
14

I do not have any reason to believe

that.

A.

Ido.
Q. Do you know her as Rena Powell, or did
you know her as another name?

Q.

All right. With regard to the
agreement itself -- I'd like you to take a look at the
agreement, both of them.
Who's this agreement with?

A. Well, the first one with Olive is the
Stiny Trust. The second one is the -- I'm sorry -Exhibit 2 is the Elijah and Mary Stiny Trust.

Q. They're both with a trust; correct?

A.
22
23

24
25

I know -- I know her as Rena Powell. I

know her as Rena Powell Wood.
Q. So when I refer to "Rena," I'm
referring to "Rena Powell Wood."

A.
name.

Yes. I believe Paul is her maiden

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(4) Pages 14 - 17

..

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 20

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Q. And how do you know her?
A. She contacted us, my management
company, to manage her properties.
Q. When you say "manage her properties,"
did she own the properties?
A. No.
Q. Did she ever tell you she owned the
properties?
A. She did not.
Q. What did she tell you with regard to
what authority she had with regard to the prope1ties?
A. She's working on behalf of the trust.
Q. Okay. And how did you know that?
A. She provided a document that she was a
co-trustee of the trust.
Q. Do you have that document?
A. I do.
Q. Okay. When was the first time that you
met with Rena?
A. I cannot tell you that. I do not
remember exactly when.
Q. Would it be -- would it be safe, so to
say, obviously, prior to -A. That is correct.
Q. -- Exhibit 1 -- Exhibit 1 and 2 being

A. My unders

most Q mJ clients do.
MR. LYONS: Same objection. I'll ask
it be stricken. He said it was based on -- essentially
said it was based on what she told him.

BY MR. DARVISH:
Q.

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How often would you interact -communicate with her?
A. I cannot recall the frequency, but I
can tell you that, upon execution of the document, we
began to do our normal takeover of a property, which
included both the transition of paperwork and some
gathering of information and some general, you know,
interactions towards getting a handle on the management
of these buildings.
Q. Did she assist you in the transition
paperwork and getting ahold of the management of the two
buildings?
Page 21

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tbJ•

~es, she did.

signed; correct?
A. That is correct.
Q. How far before you believe that before
Exhibits 1 and 2 were executed that you met with her?
A. Maybe a month.
Q. Okay. And what role did she have in
terms of over the years with regard to the management of
the apartments?
MR. LYONS: Objection. Calls for
hearsay.
MR. MILLER: You can answer if you
know.
THE WITNESS: Please repeat the
question.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q.

17

,_,,1li ,

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your personal knowledge only.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Con-ect.

'.'-1ii:-,._,-E('ri pt@

~ 11lat she was acting chj

as an agent on behalf of the trust as a co-trustee, as nu.;itli
she had described, and that she had the authority to
engage us and sign a management agreement with us as

25

Could you describe, after the
agreements were signed, what sorts of communications
that you had with her?
A. She had provided us some, you know,
paperwork for, I believe -- I guess, operational of the
building, her records that she had of prior operations
of the building months prior. She had given me the
contact information for the resident manager. She had
provided us with information with regard to the bank
account that we're going to be working with, and I -- I
believe -- and I cannot recall specifically that we
received a keys from her. But typically, we would have
gotten keys from the -- from her.
You know, I can't-- I just can't
recall if it was, like, given from the resident manager
at the time or given by her, but she gave us common area
keys basically, and the resident manager typically has a
set of keys for the tenant units.
But, unfortunately, it's hard to recall
specifics; but that was our interactions through that
period of time until I was strong enough to get ahold of
the operations of the building, and we began to get
Perfect.

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(5) Pages 18 - 21

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 24

Page 22

They were mostly on telephone and
So I presume that that occurred in
e-mail; however, if you're specifically relating to
about 2013 when the agreement was signed; correct?
3 2014, yes. There were physical interactions at the
3
A. That is correct.
, property. I just cannot remember how many.
Q. Okay. After you started getting going
s
Q. Okay.
and 14 came along, were you still having interactions
6
A. But I do know that we at least had at
6
with Ms. Wood?
7 least one a year since this time. I just cannot recall
7
A. Yes.
e specifically how much more in '14 or '15 has it
a
Q. What kind of interaction would you
9
dissipated. She was initially in town when this
9
have?
10 started. So it was easier to do that. That's why I
10
A. Both e-mail correspondence calls on the
11 believe the frequency was a little bit higher at the end
11 phone, and there were, I believe, at least one to three
of '13. By "higher," I mean maybe two or three times,
12 physical interactions at the building. I cannot recall
perhaps. But beyond that, our interaction was an e-mail
13 the amount of frequency. But there were interactions at
1' the buildings. We did a walkthrough of the premises. -=_,........,.""Rhone.
an
15
Q. Do you recall interactions in -- we
1s
Q. How often?
16 talked about '13, '14, and '15.
16
A. I cannot recall specifically how often,
11
What about '16?
11 but I do recall we had -- there is at least one
A. Honestly, I cannot recall specifically
18 interaction that I had with her where I do recall being 18
19 at the buildings with her, and we did a walkthrough of 19 that year.
Q. Okay. _ _ __
2 o the common areas.
A. But I could tell you that we did have
21
I cannot confirm that beyond that
physical interactions at the building to do
22 initial one -- I know that subsequently we had -- over
_.,..~-23
the years we had several, but initially, I could only
walktlir.ouglis, to ~ nt thiggs..JBJt, to sho
e t)ji
to
paint. It certainly dissipated as the years went on
remember specifically one, but it could have been maybe
because she moved to a different part of town or
.is two or. more. I just amn t remem r
25
1

2

2,

1
__

Q. When you'relalking about one or two,
what kind of time frame are you referring to?
3
A. Within the following month or so of the
, signing of this agreement -s
Q. So we're talking about 2013?
6
A. Oh, yeah.
7
Q. Okay . We're talking about 2013?
8
A. That's correct.
9
Q. I wanted -- so you had subsequent
10 walkthroughs with her in 2014 and '15?
11
A. Yeah, there was at least one meeting.
12 I could tell you at least in '14 there was at least one
13 meeting where we would -- you know, she would fly in and
14 meet at the property and we would walk the buildings or
1s at least talk outside.
16
Initially, when we first took over, she
17
was in L.A.; And she and I had spoken relatively
1a frequently just because I needed to get a bunch of
2

1
20

information from her.
Q. Okay.

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A. So for my accounting purposes for -22 and I don't have specifics but that -- you know, I know
there was interactions related to that.
1.-~•- - -Q. So in '14, these c versations -- these
conversations were occurring over teleplione and e-mail
21

Page 25

Page 23

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different part of the country. But initially, you know,
there was a buildup to that. So there were a few
interactions, and then it kind of dissipated. It was
more of the things we could call an e-mail.
Q. So when she would come to meet you at
the property, she would do a walkthrough?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. What would you discuss with her?
A. Initially, we talked about things that
she wanted to better at the building; so there was a
room that we converted into a gym, per her direction,
because she wanted a rec room for the tenants.
There was paintings -- elements of
paintings that were needed around the building. There
were conversations about the -MR. LYONS: Object to conversation as
hearsay.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Keep on going.
A. About the improvement of the bricks,
which were fading in color and calcium buildup. There
was conversation about the improvement of the look of
the pools because they were in need of some improvement
both with furniture and also, I guess, paint and some

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(6) Pages 22 - 25

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 28

Page 26

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tile -- you know, there were cracks in the plaster, that
kind of conversation. So there was -- there were
conversations about that needed, yeah.
Q. What would be your opinion as to the -you're a real estate agent; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And how long have you had your license?
A. Let's see. I -- I was licensed, I
lie ieve, in 2003 -- 2000 -· I got my hcense in '3.
Q. Okay.
A. I have a broker. I was a real estate
agent from basically 2004 through current.
Q. Okay.

X. :U~lUJle a br-oker in -- I cannot recall
the exact day. It was 2000 -- last -- probably 2014.
Q. OJca .
17
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25

A. But I'm not confirmed on that date, but
I've basically been -- I was a real estate agent for a
while. During that period of time, I had been
approached by clients, not this client but others, to
manage their buildings. So over time, I began to manage
other client buildings.
And then I did do -- and then in 2012 I
met a David Linder. David Linder owned a company,
management company, that we wanted to expand our

1

2
3

that or not.
MR. MILLER: You can answer.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. You can answer the question.

A.

I'm fully confident that that improved

the property.
Q. And the improvements that were -- I was
referring to, so we have a clear record, you testified
were the walkthroughs that you did with her with regard
to the gym, the painting of the bricks, all the other
list of improvements that you earlier testified to;
COlTect?

. y
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Q. Do you know if Rena paid for any type
of office expenses or supplies for the operation of the
apartments?
A. Not directly. What happened is that we
served in notice to the property for -- to the tenants
to let them know where to send their rents to our
address with -- made out to Linder & Associates, which
is the blank -- well, actually, sorry. I do not recall
exactly how that was set up initially.
Q. I don't think you understood the
question. I apologize.
A. Okay.

Page 27

Page 29

operations. So we purchased this company in itself. I
2
purchased this company in 2012, and then in the early
3 part of '13 is how we met Rena. My company, me and her
4
met; and that's kind of the length of time.
Q. Olcay. A na wliere i:Hci )'.OU go to scfiool?
A. I went to college at USC.
Q. Okay.
a
A. University of Southern California.
Q. And what was your bachelor's in?

The question was do you know if Rena
2
paid for any type of office expenses or any type of
3
expenses with relating to the property itself out of the
4
trust?
s
A. No.
6
Q. Okay.
7
A. The short answer is no.
8
Q. The operational expenses were paid by
9
Linder & Associates?
10
A. Were paid by the property -11
Q. Correct.
12
A. -- Via us. So any costs that are
13 related to the property are paid through the property's
14
operation.
15
Q. Did Rena ever sign any checks, if you
16 recall?
17
A. I do not believe she did.
10
Q. So I'd like to kind of go back with
19
regard to the improvements that have been made since.
2o
MR. MILLER: Can I get some
21 clarification on the last question?
22
MR. DARVISH: Sure.
23
MR. MILLER: Signing the checks from
24
what account? What were you trying to -25
MR. DARVISH: I guess the question is

1

....,____ A. I have a bachelor..,..-=-=
'
11
Q. Okay.
12
13
14
15
16

bj

tt

A.
Q.
A.
Q.
A.

And a minor in music industry.
And did you go to school after that?
I did not.
Okay.
I did get my real estate license after

In yonr opimon, wouttf yott ~ t
the improvements that were made on the property that
20 were directed by Rena improved the value of the
--'--=r .p""
?
lf!"--.._....,...._ MR. LYONS: Obj=c t._____
e ...,,
'Tim WITNESS: t 00 percen .
24
MR. LYONS: Conclusion.
25
MR. DARVISH: I don't know if you got

1

Q.

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(7) Pages 26 - 29

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD
Page 30

Page 32

has he seen any checks signed with Rena Wood's signature
on them.
3
MR. MILLER: From?
4
MR. DARVISH: Anywhere.
5
MR. MILLER: Out of money that he
6
received from the rents?
7
MR. DARVISH: Anywhere.
8
MR. MILLER: Okay. You can answer the
question.
9
10 BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Have you ever seen her name signed on
11
12 any checks?
13
A. I don't recall.
Q. So let's go back to the improvements.
14
15 I'd like you to outline each one of the improvements
16 that have been made on the property since you took it
17
over.
18
So you said, I believe, replastering
19 the pools .
20
A. Well, if I may back it up a little
21
bit -22
Q. Sure.
23
A. -- to give you some perspective on how
24 the process began.
25
Q. Okay.

Q. Improvements that have been made on the
property itself because it sounds like, to me, there's
been some significant improvements.
A. That's correct. We'll start with
improvement -- this is in no particular order.
Q. . Correct.
A. But purchasing of pool -- brand new
pool, you know, chairs and tables to beautify the pool
area. We replastered both pools, repaired the pool
gates. We installed fitness equipment in both buildings
in a common area room tenants can now use as an amenity.
We have dramatically improved the unit
turnovers so, when a unit becomes vacant, we have
dramatically improved the overall look of the units
which has contributed significantly to a higher increase
in rent value.
We have the landscaper replace all
common area plants with, I guess -- what do you call it?
Dry -- no, water need -Q. Drought tolerance.
A. Drought tolerance plants. Forgive me.
We performed decking repairs as needed. We repaired
common area gate locks and gate doors. And what I mean
by that are hinges and basically to better improve the
condition of the gate that'-s around tbe-cbuildig.

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Page 31

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Page 33

,__ _ ___......,. have repairell or repl@ced mu ti~
We
A. The first problem that was there was
that the resident manager had been managing the building
air conditioning units as needed. We reglazed the
through the -- I guess the trust under -- I guess.
bricks so the majority of the first floor at both
MR. LYONS: Object. This is all
buildings is a brick floor. So it's a big part of the
hearsay.
5 overall look of the building; so those are looking much
THE WITNESS: Okay.
6 better now.
MR. MILLER: And, Paul, clarify which
7
We put a management sign out front so
building. There are two buildings ; COITect?
tenants can now know who to call for vacancies and also
THE WITNESS: So there was one resident
9 emergencies. We performed repairs of exterior lighting.
manager who managed both properties.
10 We spent a good deal of time repairing and improving the
BY MR. DARVISH:
11 elevators at both of the properties as they needed both
Q. And how do you know that?
1:il upgrading and also compliance requirement repairs.
A. Because I met him.
We cleared the -- repaired the
Q. Okay.
downspouts which were in disarray and needed clearance
A. And I do not recall his name offhand.
in both repairs, I guess you could say.
Q. Okay. And just to shorten the length
Q. Okay.
of the deposition, I just wanted to know, really, what
A. And that's common-area related.
improvements have been made.
Q. Okay. And did Rena assist you with
A. Okay.
regard to these issues?
Q. That's all I really need -A. Yes, both direction and lso gui..,,,....,==>
A. I just have a story to tell.
21
Q. Okay. Have you ever met Ms. Stiny?
Q. I know you do, and that's fine . I just
22
A. I have not.
need to know what improvements have been made since you 23
Q. Do you know who Ms. Stiny is?
took over.
24
A. I have not met her.
A. Sure.
25
Q. Okay. Have you ever spoken to her on

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(8) Pages 30 - 33

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 36

Page 34

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14

recall, this is what I recall is that, initially, she
was -- the checks were going into an account called Park
Verdugo Apartments . We had served notice for tenants to
change tfiat.
What I'm struggling to remember at this
Page 35

2
3

bank, Chase Bank. It was moved over from California
2
Bank and Trust. That's why I'm a little bit unclear
3 here because this was dating back to when we were still
4
with that bank; so -5
But from what I recall, there were
6
accounts set up on a trust account that was set up by
7
us. The monies went into that account. From that
8
account, we sent -- well, we would pay the bills, and
9
then any distributions would go to Rena. And Park
10 Verdugo Apartments was what was on the checks. That's
11 what I remember.
12
Q. So when you say that you wrote the
13 check to Rena to go to Park Verdugo Apartments -14
A. They were sent to her address, and they
15 were made out to Park Verdugo Apartment. That was the
16 count she set up as an operational account. That was
11
the account that was in effect prior to us coming on
18 board.
19
Q. All right.
2o
A. So what I recall we did, as we normally
21 do, is we set up these accounts, two separate accounts.
22 And we put the monies into those accounts that came from
23 the rents, and we would pay the bills because we had the
24 jurisdiction to do that from that account, and then at
25
the end of the account -- the end of the month, as we
Page 37

the phone?
A. I do not believe I have.
Q. And I -- again, Mr. Stiny, have you
ever met Mr. Stiny?
A. I have not.
Q. Let's go back to 2013, which is when
you scouted the contracts .
What was the procedure on handling tlie
income that was coming in from the rents?
A. So I'm going to try to remember that
far back.
MR. LYONS: I object to the question.
Are you talking about before or after
Mr. Tennen took over?
BY MR. DARVISH:

~ - -Q.
18
19

H......- -

21
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25

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10

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1

moment is, you know, how that was directed to them. And
1 normally do, we would send any potential distributions.
so I'm just blanking on -2
If we have, we would distribute them.
BY MR. DARVISH:
3
Q. Would you make the improvements from
Q. Let me clarify the question for you.
4
the costs in the bank account that you have from the
I'm a tenant in Park -- Park Verdugo,
5
trust account?
and I hand you my rent check for April of 2013.
6
A. That is correct.
What do you do with that rent check?
7
Q. Did you use an outside accounting firm
A. The rent check, I believe, was
a to reconcile your accounts, or did you do those
deposited into the Park Verdugo -- our bank account was
9
in-house?
set up -10
A. We reconciled our accounts in-house
Q. Okay.
11 with my CFO.
A. -- through the bank that we were
12
Q. And who is your CFO?
banking with.
13
A. Don Allay (spelled phonetically.)
Q. And what bank was that?
14
Q. How often do you reconcile your
A. It was California Bank and Trust, I
15 accounts?
believe. I'm just blanking on the process. I have to 16
A. I cannot speak to that offhand. I do
look back in my notes.
17 not know exactly. I know that monthly, we reconcile all
But the reason is -- typically what we
18 amounts prior to sending out the monthly statements to
do is we have them make the check out to Linder & 19 the clients.
Associates. We open up a bank account -- a trust
20
Q. Okay.
account. We put the monies into the account, and we pay 21
A. So I would assume, if not at least once
the bills from that account.
22 a month, but prior to that it could be more.
Q. Is that what you currently do?
23
Q. So at some point -- so I'm clear on
A. That is what we currently do. So all
24
your testimony is that should the tenants -- the tenants
the accounts that we have are with a trust account at a 2 5 would issue a check at the beginning when you entered
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(9) Pages 34 - 37

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 40

Page 38

And to clarify, any monies le

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into the agreement. They went directly into the Park
Verdugo Apartment account. You sent them notices that
the checks need to be made directly to Linder &
Associates.
A. If I may.
Q . Please.
A. The resident manager who lives there
and worked there previously, from what I understand to
be true, is he would collect -MR. LYONS: Object to hearsay.
THE WITNESS: He would collect the
rents.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. And how would you know that he
collected the rents?
A. Because that was his practice. That
was part of his, I guess, job at the time, the tenants.
MR. LYONS: Same objection.
THE WITNESS: He would walk around the
building collecting rents and deposited them into the
account.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Have you -- have you seen him do that
before?
A. No, I have not.

A. We set up the account to pay insurance
and also maintenance improvements and things of that
8
nature.
Q. To your knowledge, was there a
9
10 mortgage?
A. I cannot recall oflhand.
11
Q. Okay. So on this trust account that
12
13 you're referring to, was Ms. -- Ms. Stiny was not -14 strike that.
So on the account that you're referring
15
to, the trust account, Ms . Wood was not a signatory to
16
11
that account; correct?
18
A. Correct.
- f - - ~ 5,,:·_..;D ·d ou send monthly statements with
Q ~ ~
regard to the account to anyone?
A. Yes. Yes, I did.
Q . Okay. Who did you send them to?
A. We would send one to Rena, and we would
send one to Mrs. Stiny.
Q. 7\n<I wliere is your underst

Page 39

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Page 41

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,
5

That is correct.

a total clearing of the accoun .
Q. Sure.

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7

Q. Did someone tell you that?
A. That is what I -- I mean, that's what I
recall understanding, but I could -- I'm not a hundred
percent sure about that.
4
Q. You're guessing?
5
MR. LYONS: Motion to strike. Hearsay.
6
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. What Im tcying to clarify is at some
point you took over. You sent notices to everyone in
all the units.
A. Uh-huh.
Q. The checks came directly to the
lenders -- Linder & Associates?
13
A. Uh-huh.
14
Q. They went to your client's trust
15
account -16
A. Correct.
17
Q. -- correct?
18
And then from the client's trust
19
account, you would pay all the expenses. You pay all 20
the improvements.
21
A. Right.
22
Q. And then any money left would be
23
distributions that you make to the client?
24

A.

there's -- sometimes there's reserves for taxes,
insurance, and so forth. So it would not necessarily be

25

s. Stiny, lived?
A. I was given direction by Rena to send a
coei to th""ailafeD we have on fale. I can look tliroulllt
my notes and tell you more specifically. I just don't
have it in front of me here.
Q. It's not a problem.

A. Bu I was given direction to send_.tw
reports monthly.
Q. The same exact report?
A. That is correct.
Q. One to Rena and one to Ms. Stiny?
_,,__.,,. hat is cor
"'"==
Q. Was the address, do you recall, the
address of the report that you sent to Ms . Stiny in
Arkansas?
A. I cannot confirm because there was
another address involved. I just can't confirm oftband.
I'm sorry, but I believe so. I just can't be -Q. Okay.
A. I can pull my records here if it helps,
but -Q. Did you bring any documents with you
today?
A. I did.
Q. What documents did you bring with you ?

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(10) Pages 38 - 41

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 44

Page 42

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A.

I have all of my documents that I --

are in my files, both operational building documents and
my documents related to this case and just -Q. Have you provided a copy of all those
files to anyone?
A. Offhand, I do not believe I did.
MR. MILLER: Just to point out, the
subpoena does not have a demand for production on the
subpoena I've seen.
MR. DARVISH: What exhibit number are
we on?
THE REPORTER: 3.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. I'm showing you what we've now -- been
previously marked as Exhibit No. 4 .
MR. MILLER: No, we're -THE REPORTER: We're on 3.
MR. MILLER: We're 3.
MR. DARVISH: 3.
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
3 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Can you take a look at that document
for me.

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my files.

Q.

Uh-huh.
A. But from the time that you have been
involved in this case, I have not received anything
else.
Q. Okay. So in the past two to three
weeks, you have not been served with another subpoena
besides this one, Exhibit No. 3?
A. That is my recollection.
Q. Yeah.
A. Is that your recollection?
Q. Again, I did not serve you with another
subpoena.
A. Okay.
Q. I believe that Mr. Lyons issued another
subpoena, but presumably, it was not served.
MR. LYONS: No, it was served.
MR. DARVISH: He was served?
MR. LYONS: Yes .
THE WITNESS: Okay. That's why -within the last two weeks?
MR. LYONS: I don't know if it was in
the last two weeks . In the last three weeks probably.
THE WITNESS: Oh, okay. If I could
pull my records, I can -Page 45

Page 43

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A. Yes.
Q. What is this document?
A. This is a subpoena to testify at
deposition in a civil action.
Q. Okay. You agreed to appear here today
pursuant to this; con-ect?
A. Correct.
Q. Have you been served with another
subpoena besides this one?
A. I have to look -- I have to look back
in my files.
Q. Within the past two weeks has
anybody -A. Oh, no, not in the past two weeks.
Q. So you have not been served with a
subpoena at all besides this subpoena right here?
A. That is correct. However, if I may,
prior to you coming on board -Q. Okay.
A. -- there was interactions, and I just
cannot recall specifically what documents I received at
that time because I know you've been sending some,
Mr. Lyons.
So what I mean to say is I have to look
back and see specifically what other documents I have in

MR. LYONS: Personal service on

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10-3-18.

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MR. DARVISH: Let me see that.
(Document handed to counsel.)
(Document reviewed by counsel.)
BY MR. DARVISH:

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,.....~_Q.

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:.u
:2:2
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How Io g have you been sending what I

would call dual statements, one to Ms. Wood and one to
Ms. Stiny?
A. I believe since the beginning of our
management agreement tenure.
Q. So you manage the company -- manage the
two buildings for a couple of years, and you were
distributing that income. At some point you stopped
making distributions.
What happened?
A. We had received conflicting reports
from Helen Robins who was the -- I believe, the aunt. I
received multiple communications from multiple party
members in Arkansas, and I guess it was -- they live in
Arkansas. I don't know for sure, but it was the -- I
believe it was the nephew, and I believe it was Helen
Robins, the aunt. I cannot confirm specifically who was

In relationship, but that as w ~ Yap~ red to tie.
Jio
25

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(11) Pages 42 - 45

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 48

Page 46

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1
If I saw the names, I could tell you
specifically that they're confirmed that those were the 2
3
people.
Q. Do you recall how many conversations -4
5
did you have any conversations with Helen Robins?
A. I did.
6
7
Q. Okay. How many conversations did you
0
have?
9
A. About two to three.
MR. DARVISH: Let's go ahead and
10
take -- go off the record.
11
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is
. 12
11 :53 a.m. We're off the record.
13
(Recess taken.)
u

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 12:03

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p.m. We're back on the record.

16

BY MR. DARVISH:

17

Q.

Sir, we're back on record.

--_..;;--.~ ~me..., oi·n
At-so - p-

)'OU

stoppecJ malcmg

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distributions through the bank account.
A. Yes.

A. "I'm Helen Robins. I'm now here in
Arkansas. I take care of Mary." She's, I think, her
sister. And so there was some communications about who
she was.
Q. Do you recall when that conversation
occurred?
A. I can't offhand.
Q. Okay. That was the first conversation
you had with her?
A. That's correct.
Q. Did you have any subsequent
conversations with her?
A. She had called back a couple times. I
cannot say specifically how many, but subsequent
conversations -- or I should say, to answer your
question as to why those distributions stopped was
because I re ived a hone call from her saying that -MR. LYONS: Object to what Helen Robins
said is hearsax.
THE ::-::= ~ ~ ~ S :~ r- c iv d•a•c ll-=:: ro m
=--:W I T N ES ::- I:;;e -c"'~c~ •al!l! f:-...

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Q.

A.

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control baek, and therefore, monies should start
to her.
And I said, "Well, I'd like to get
communication and some sort of proof, if that's the
case. And in order -- before I do that or before I
continue sending distributions of any kind, I'm going to
pause on that."
Q. All right. Let's try to go into
detail.
So how many times did you have
conversations with Helen Robins?
A. You know, there were -- I cannot recall
the exact number of conversations. There were at least
a few onn tions liat stie ciilleil me -Q. Okay.
A. -- saying first -- the first one was to
introduce herself just to say hi and, you know, tell me
that she was, you know -MR. LYONS: I'm going to object to what
she told him. It would be hearsay.
THE WITNESS: Okay. There were
conversations that she had initially with me just to
introduce herself. Then after that -BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. She just said, ''I'm Helen Robins"?

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Did) 1ou believe that to be true?
MR. LYONS: Object. It calls for
speculation on his part.
MR. MILLER: You could answer.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. You can answer.
A. I did not believe that to be true.
Q . Why not?
A. Well, I should say I didn't
particularly mind who was in charge if a change,had
happened to the trust. We work for the trust, and
therefore, if she says that she's in charge, show me
she's in charge and show me that Rena is not in charge
or have Rena communicate with me that she's not in
charge.
But until that, I'm -- I don't -- you
know, you can't just take somebody just because they
said that. We -- yeah.
Q . So at this point, have you received any
documents that's showed -- shown to you that Helen

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(12) Pages 46 - 49

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 52

Page 50

(Recess taken.)
1
Robins was in charge by the time she called you at that
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 12:13 .
2
point?
3
We're back on the record.
3
A. Yeah, and I don't recall the timeline;
4
BY MR. DARVISH:
4 however, I do recall that she submitted a document to us
5
Q. So back on the record. You've had a
5 showing that she had power of attorney over Mary Moore
6 opportunity to look at your records. So I'll ask the
6
Stiny.
7. question again.
1
Q. Okay.
a
When did you stop making any
8
A. And I don't recall any other elements
9 distributions of the income from the properties?
9
to it as if she was now in charge of what the language
10 was offhand.
~- As oft e end 0£ ugust 2015
Q. And what would you do with the money?
11
Q. Uh-huh.
11
A. The checks were cut in distribution to
12
12
A. But there was language that she showed
13 Park Verdugo Apartments in care of Rena Woods at the
13 me that she was now power of attorney of Mary Moore
14 Stiny's Trust and that, therefore, we should believe 14 Silver Springs address that she gave us, and that's
15 that that is the case.
15 where our distributions went from the property.
Q. After you stopped making
16
Q. She showed you a document that she was
16
17 distributions -17 the power of attorney for the trust?
A. No. No.
A. Well, that she was power -- Mary Moore 18
18
19 Stiny was now incapacitated mentally.
Q. Okay.
19
A. I'm sorry. Prior to stopping.
20
Q. Okay.
20
Q. Correct.
21
A. And that she had been given authority
21
A. To doso.
22 over her affairs.
_ _ _Q. Correct. So after you stoQpea maki g
23
The reason I cannot recall specifically
distributions -24 the words in the document is because I can't recall what
25 kind of document it was.
A:. The oney remainder in operation
1

2

-----

Page 53

Page 51

~
---~1

I understand.

accounts.

But die language:l'm aware of

Q. What's your current procedure to the
income from the properties right now as of today?
A. We're under a court order to distribute
a specific amount of funds to court, I believe, in
:A--rkliffSSS.
Q. Okay.
A. And so the distributions are specific,
and any extras that are there remains in the account.
Q. Earlier you testified that you had two
to three conversations with Helen Robins.
Did you have any type of
correspondences that went back and forth with
Ms. Robins?
A. It's possible that there was some
e-mail correspondence as well.
Q. Do you have copies of those e-mail
correspondences?
A. I -- I believe so, but I'd have to
confirm that.
Q. Can you agree to produce those
coITespondences if they're in your possession?
A. Oh, certainly. If I have them, I'm
happy to.
MR. MILLER: Can you repeat

Mary Moore Stiny was incapacitated and that she was
handling her affairs and to believe that -- that also
meant she's in charge now of the trust and that Rena's
6 no longer.
7
Q. So at that time, were you -- did you
a continue making distributions?

A.
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Q. At what point did you stop making
distributions from the -- let me ask the question again
because I believe you responded before I could finish
it.
Did you continue making distributions
from the properties to anyone after talking to Ms. Helen
Robins?
A. I have to look in my notes to know what
month we stopped making distributions, and from that
month on, we did not make any more distributions to
anybody.
MR. DARVISH: Okay. Let's go ahead and
take a break so we could have him go ahead and look at
his notes so he could tell us what date that was.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time -- the time
is 12:09 p.m. We're off the record.

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(13) Pages 50 • 53

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 56

Page 54

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specifically what you want him to produce.
MR. DARVISH: Correspondence between
him and Helen Robins.
MR. MILLER: Okay. Thank you.
At any time?
MR. DARVISH: At any time.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Have you had any conversations with
anyone who's been an attorney for Helen Robins?

- - ~A. I do no recall offlianlL - - Q. I'm going to play a voicemail for you.

1b..)

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the correct date that this e-mail was sent?

:ies,itd
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s
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a

Do you have a copy of that voicemail
somewhere?
A. I would.
Q. Did anybody else contact you with
regard to representing Helen Robins?
A. I do not recall the connection between

9

10
11

(Audio playing.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. I just played a voicemail for you.
Do you recall that voicemail?

A.

I do.

Q.

Do you recall who called you now -A. Yes.
Q. -- with regard to attorney for Helen
Rob -- Helen Robins?
A. Yes.

Q.

A.
Q.

A:.
Page 57

Page 55

~ ~===Q:...._..;AII right. I am going te shew you
~- ~
pre-marked now as Exhibit N ~ 4

at

(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
4
4 was marked for identification by
5
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
6
BY MR. DARVISH:
1
Q. Do yo recall this e-mail?
8
A. Yes. It looks like an e-mail that I
9 received.
10
Q. Okay. Was this an e-mail that you
11 sent?
12
A. Yes.
1
Q. Is it to Mr. Coleman Taylor?
1
A. Yes, sir.
15
Q. Do you believe that this is a trne and
16 accurate copy of the e-mail you forwarded to Mr. Coleman
n Taylor?
18
A. Yes.
19
Q. Does the date of Tuesday, November 10,
:zo 2015, look -ll
A. Yes.
MR. DARVISH: Let me finish my
question. I apologize. I had a pause there.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Does tfie oat Novem r 2015 look lik
3

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10

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20

,_
2s

(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
5 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Can y.ou read at document for: me.
A. This is the -- this is by Mark R.
Johnson, attorney pursuant to the order of the Circuit
Court of Lawrence County, probate division Mark Johnson,
attorney for Helen Robins, the permanent guardian of
Mary Moore Stiny requests that you cooperate with any
and all requests.
Q. I guess the question I wanted to ask
you is do you recall ever receiving this correspondence?
A. Ido.
Q. Do you recall receiving this -- when do
you recall receiving this correspondence?
A. Around the date of March 16, 2016, when
this was dated. I do not recall specifically what date.
Q . But it was around that date?
A. That's correct.
Q. And this is a true and accurate copy of
the document you received?
_ _µ That is correct:
:A.
Q. Do you know what the context of the
letter is?

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(14) Pages 54 - 57

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 60

Page 58

A. Saying that Mark R. Johnson, attorney
1
A. I cannot speak specifically to the
for Helen Robins, is the guardian -- as the guardian of 2 conversation. I can only recollect that it is in
3
the Mary Moore Stiny -- the guardian of Mary Moore 3 relationship to this matter and that if I -- my memory
4 Stiny.
4 serves me correctly, he was a representative of the
5
Q. When did you believe that that -- your
5 bank.
6
understanding of that was?
6
Q. Okay.
7
A. I believe that these requests were
7
A. The Centennial Bank and Trust, I
a being made on behalf of Helen Robins and that the -- I s believe.
9
was not -- I was being -- well, this was a request by
9
Q. Centennial Bank and Trust.
10 Helen Robins; however, I don't work for Helen Robins, 10
I am showing you what has now been
11 and I don't have a relationship with Helen Robins; so I 11 ~rem ·ked as Exhibit No. 6.
12 forwarded this on to the attorney for Rena Wood, who is 12
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
13 the person who hired me to manage these buildings of 13
6 was marked for identification by
14 which that is our responsibility.
14
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
15
Q. So at this point, your understanding
15 BY MR. DARVISH:
16 was that Ms. Robins had two attorneys; con-ect?
16
Q.
n you reaa ffiat cloc ment for me,
, 17
11
MR. LYONS: Object. Calls for
1e_,.=.--.,.::,11 Sure. Centennial Bank was -10
speculation.
To yourself. I'm sorry.
19
THE WITNESS: I do not know for sure
19
20 offhand.
Oh, I'm sorry.
20
21
(Document reviewed by the witness.)
21 BY MR. DARVISH:
.c22 ;==::=:..-~H Wl::t'NESS: Yes, I recall this
22
Q. But you received two separate -23
A. Yes. Yes.
23 document.
24
24 BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Correspondences -25
A. Correct.
25
Q. Is it fair to say that you received
1

2

Page 61

Page 59

this document in February -- roughly around February 6
of 2016?
3
A. Correct.
3
4
question.
4 ~;;:=-::;::MR. LYONS: The letter is dateo
5
THE WITNESS: I'm s01Ty. My apologies . 5 Ee6rum:y 8.
6
MR. DARVISH: She'll be the one -- I'll
6
MR. DARVISH: February 8. I apologize.
7
be honest. Normally, I get yelled at.
7
MR. LYONS: Yeah.
s
MR. DARVISH: My eyesight's going bad.
THE REPORTER: You're getting eyes.
a
9
BY MR. DARVISH:
cl' MR. DARVJSH:. 10 ";::==:!e. What is tfie substance -- what is this
You received ne voicemail -A. That's correct.
11 document to you?
u
A. A request for documents.
Q. -- from Mr. Lyons, and you received
Q. Okay. Do you recall when you received
another correspondence from another attorney saying they 13
represent Helen Robins?
14 it?
15
A. I do recall.
- - -A. Gorrect.
Q. And is this a true and correct copy of
6
Q. Have you ever spoken to a person by the
16
17 name of Steve Baker?
17 the document that you received?
18
A. I Have
1a - - -A. Yes,
19
Q. Who is he?
Q. Okay. What did you do after you
19
20
A. I believe -- I do not recall him
20 received this document?
A. From what I recall, I believe I also
21 offhand. I just recall his name and -21
22
Q. Do you remember when you spoke to him? 22 forwarded this on to the attorney for Rena Wood.
23
A. I don't recall offhand.
23
Q. Okay.
24
Q. And do you remember the substance of
A. And I may have also -- again, I'm
24
25 the conversations you had with him?
25 not -- I vaguely remember responding to him to let him
1

2

bj

tf,

Q.
A.

One voicemail -From Jim Lyons.
MR. MILLER: Wait for him to finish his

1

2

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(15) Pages 58 - 61

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD
Page 62

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1
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1~
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know that I'm unable to do anything without permission
from Rena Wood, if I recall correctly. I don't have it
in front of me, but that's what I recall.
Q. I am showing you what's now been
pre-marked as Exhibit No. 7.
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
7 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. What is this document?
A. This is an e-mail that I generated,
wrote, in response to Steve Baker in response to his
e-mail -- or I should say letter -Q. Uh-huh.
A. -- informing him that all
correspondence and requests should be sent to and
granted by Rena Wood and her attorney, Coleman Taylor,
who I cc'd on this e-mail.
Af-t sending that e-mail out, dia OU
end it to Mr. Baker or Mr. Lyons or to anyone at
Centennial the documents that were requested?
A. No. Not without permission or -Q . Did you ever receive permission?
A. I did receive permission at a later

information to -A. Yes, I did.
3
Q . Okay. How often did you generate these
, cash flow statements?
s
A. Monthly.
6
Q. And these cash flow statements, you
7 testified earlier you would send reports to both Rena
and to Ms. Stiny at her address; correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. All right. And with regard to the cash
flow statements, were those part of the reports that you
would send?
A. Yes, they are.
Q . So you would -- your testimony here
today is that you did send cash flow statements to
16 Arkansas to Ms. Stiny?
A. That is correct.
17
Q. And that would be on a monthly basis?
18
A. Okay.
19
Q. So you prepared this e-mail and the
20
21 attached cash flow statement and sent it to Mr. Baker.
Did he give you a response?
22
1 1Ht -- -A.
t
I cannot recall~ tlliand.
Q. Did you receive any response from
24
25 anybody with regard to sending out the cash flow

Page 63

1
2

Page 64

Page 65

2

Okay. How far later?

1

I cannot recall the date offhand.

2

statements after you sent these off?
A. I believe so, but I don't remember
The date on that e-mail is?
3
without seeing it in front of me. I cannot remember if
4
he responded or there was a response, but I do know I
February 18 -Okay.
5
sent this out.
6
Q. Okay. Did you communicate with anybody
-- 2016.
'm oing to now show you, just for
7
else with regard to the cash flow statements in the
authentication purposes, the e-mail you see before you
8
management agreement in this e-mail?
as Exhibit 8 a true and correct copy of the e-mail that
9
A. Well, I copied Coleman Taylor on this
ou sent?
10
e-mail.
11
Q. Was there anybody else you discussed
¥
I'm showing you now what is now being 12 with it?
marked as Exhibit No. 8.
A. Not that I recall, no.
,__ _ Q. All rigfit. At this time, who was y_.o.ur
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
8 was marked for identification by
understanding was the trustee of the trust at this
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
~ int?
BY MR. DARVISH:
11
MR. LYONS: Objection. Calls for a
10
legal conclusion. It also calls for hearsay unless he
- -Q. Do you remember Exhibit No. 8?
A. Yes.
19 testifies he's read and reviewed the document.
Q. Can you brief me as to when you sent
20 BY MR. DARVISH:
this e-mail ?
21- - A. March 18.
anage
Q. And you sent it to Mr. Baker; correct?
23 these properties. That is who we took direction from,
A. Yes, I did.
and that is who we were under the impression we took
Q. Did you receive approval to send this
·Fection from the beginning of ti
O bJ ,

--w

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(16) Pages 62 - 65

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 68

Page 66

Q. At this point had you received any
court orders or any kind of verification that somebody
3 else, besides Rena Wood, would be entitled to the money
4
or the income from the properties?
5
MR. LYONS: You say at that time. I
6
object because it doesn't say what time.
1
MR. DARVISH: Thank you.
a BY MR. DARVISH:
9
Q. At the time of March 18 of 20 I 6 -- can
1 0 you read me the last question, please.
11
(Record read.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
. Oii Friday March 8, 2016, nad you
received any court orders or any type of other document
authorizing you to distribute any of the money from the
16 properties to anyone else besides -l~
A. I cannot recall the specific dates, but
18 I did receive that correspondence that you see.
19
Q. Correct.
20
A. And I can't recall the time frames of

Dbj 1 Pltf:,

1

No, it was Rena's directive to tell me
not to do anything until this gets resolved.
Q. And Exhibit No. 8 is a true and correc
copy of the document that you sent; correct?

2

21

those -- those documents, but I did receive multiple

22

calls and multiple documents from multiple people saying
that things were changed or changing or that they were

23

now in charge and then these correspondence then
ced eiiiselves to e.

1

a
9

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12

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14

15

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17
di
19
20
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24

A. I tielieve so
Q. Okay. I am showing you what is now
being pre-marked as Exhibit No. 9.
(Whereupon, Defendant's Exhibit No.
9 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Can you read the document to yourself,
please.
A. Uh-huh.
(Document reviewed by the witness.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Do yo recall this document?
A. Ido.
Q. Is this a true and con-ect document of
the document you received from Eric Nelson?
A. I believe so.
Q. Is there anything that would -- that
would make you believe that this is not a true and
co1Tect daGument from~r. Nels ?
Page 69

Page 67

So I cannot recall the timeline, but I
can tell you that I had received calls and e-mails of
3 this nature in these letters all in that period of time
, letting me know that something had changed.
5
Q. I understand.
6
Have you ever received a document -- or
7
court order that directed you to pay money to anyone
8 except to the court registry?
9
A. I do -- I do recall a document in
court letting me know -- I just don't remember exactly
the terms of the d ment.
12
Q. Okay.
3
A. However, I believe there was some
14 directives given to us letting us know that money should
15 be given to Helen Robins or to Mary Moore Stiny. I just
16 don't remember in front of me here, but that was the
17 reason why the confusion began -- or that was during the
18 time the confusion began of who's in charge or what's
19 going on. And that's, you know, then why we stopped
20 altogether with sending any monies until we got you
guys -- they got this figured out.
- - - Q. At this point did Rena demand that you
2 3 turn over all the money to her?
24
A. No.
. And in fact, you had not given an
i:

2

---

>
j.

4-;,

--.,. ,;- ---

3
4
5

6

?
My understanding is -MR. LYONS: Objection. Calls for -your understanding comes from what someone told you or
from what you read. If it's from what someone told you,
then object. It calls for hearsay.
THE ITNESS: cannot recall w
Eric Nelson is.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. What's your understanding, in reading
of the document, as to who Eric Nelson is?
A. My understanding of who Eric Nelson is
is that he is the successor trustee of the Exemption,
Marital and Survivor's Trusts contained in the Elijah
and Mary Stiny Trust.
Q. Did Mr. Nelson provide you a copy of
the trust?
A. I cannot recall if he did. I was -yeah.
Q. Did you receive this by e-mail? Do you
recall, or did you receive it in the mail? If you don't
recall -A. I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't recall.
Q. Did you provide Mr. Nelson as to what

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(17) Pages 66 - 69

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 72

Page 70

2
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,

s
6

10
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111
18
19
20
21

22
23

~,
111

he wanted to pursue to the corresponoence?
1
A. I did not.
2
Q. So let's go over this document here.
3
And I'm looking at Mr. Nelson's correspondence. Let's
4
take it paragraph by paragraph here.
5
The first paragraph, can you read out
6
loud for me.
7
A. (Reading):
8
"As you've been advised from
9
the correspondence you have
10
received from Attorney Jim Lyons, I
11
am the successor trustee of
12
Exemption, Marital, and Survivor's
13

Trusts contained in the Elijah and

14

Mary Mon -- Elijah and Mary Stiny
Trust, which contains subtrusts
known as the Exemption, Marital and
Survivor's Trusts."
Q. Now, did you receive a correspondence
from Mr. Lyon that said that Eric Nelson is a successor
trnstee?
A. Oh, did I receive correspondence from
Jim Lyons?
Q. Yes.

a- - -A:.

(Lunch recess was held from 12:40 p.m.
to 1:05 p.m.)

~hat he was..successor trustee?

15
16
17
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Page 71

y s.
A. I do not recall, but I could have
because, you know, I received a lot of these different
notices --·- - - - Q.

5
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Q. Could you look in your records and find
for me where -- correspondence from Mr. Lyons? Can you
produce that for me after this deposition?
A. If I have it, I'm glad to provide it.
MR. DARVISH: Okay. Can we get an
agreement on that, Counsel?
MR. MILLER: It is correspondence from
Jim Lyons?
MR. DARVISH: Correct.
MR. MILLER: Designating Eric Nelson as
successor trustee of the -MR. DARVISH: Exemption, Marital and
Survivor's Trusts.
MR. MILLER: He will.
MR. DARVISH: Perfect. Thank you.
Let's go ahead and take a quick break.
Go off the record.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This marks the end
of media number one in the deposition of Paul Tennen.
The time is 12:40 p.m. We're off the record.
Ill

Page 73

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER 18, 2018; 1:27 P.M.

1
2
3
4
5
6

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We are back on the
record. The time is 1:27 p.m. And this marks the
beginning of media 2 in the deposition of Paul Tennen.

7
0
9

10
11

12

EXAMINATION
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. So we're back on the record after
lunch. We're going to start back where we left off,
which was Exhibit 9.
A. Oh, here you go.
Q. Perfect.
So you earlier testified tHat Y,ou
received a letter from Mr. Nelson.

A.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Yes.

Q.

I seemed to have -- my copy has
disappeared. I'll take a look at that really quick.
So you received a copy from Mr. Nelson
on or around February 9, 2016; correct?
A. Uh-huh. Yes.
Q. And in that letter, my understanding
is -- and correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. -- he had -basically, you had received a correspondence from

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(18) Pages 70 - 73

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 76

Page 74

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4

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1
8

15

16
17

18
19

23

Mr. Lyons that he is a successor tmstee of Exemption,
Marital, and Survivor's Trusts?
MR. LYONS: Object to form. That
insinuates that I'm the trustee.
THE WITNESS: Yeah, that Mr. Nelson
was.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. That Mr. Nelson was . Let me rephrase
the question. Thank you.
You received a etter rom -- you ha
received a correspondence from Mr. Lyons that Mr. Nelson
was now the successor trustee of the Exemption, Marital
and Survivor's Trusts?
A. That is correct.
Q. At this point, had you made any
distribution to anyone?
MR. MILLER: Objection. Vague as to
time.
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. :As of Fe ruary 16, 2016, after t-hi
February 6 of 2016, had you made any distributions -A. No.
Q. -- as a result of this co1Tespondence?
A. No.

of time -Q. Yes .
3
A. -- and then I believe it also may
4 have .. I cannot recall when we stopped sending those to
5 Ms. Stiny, but prior-· I mean, from 2013, at least for
6
a year or two years beyond that, we had been sending
1
those statements.
8
Q . Okay.
9
A. I cannot recall what date we stopped
sending those, and we were just sending Rena, but I
believe it was -- certainly prior to this date we were.
Q. Do you have records as to when -A. I have the final date. I just don't
know it offhand of when I stopped sending reports to
Mrs. Stiny but prior to that.
16
Q. Why would you stop sending reports to
17 Ms. Stiny?
18
A. I don't recall what the reason was;
19 however, there was•· at some point we had stopped, and
20 I think it was around the -- August 15, same time we
21 stopped sending the distributions because we basically
22 stopped sending everything except for the hard copy
23 report to Rena around that time. I cannot recall
1

2

24

25

exactly the dates.
.

0kay
Page 77

Page 75

doc ments except tfiis correspontlence showing you thatlie
2
3

'

5
6

7
8

9
10
11
12

1
14
15

16
17

18
19

20
21
22

23
24

1

is successor trustee of the Exemption, Marital and
Survivor's Trusts?
A. I do not recall beyond this document.
Q. This document (indicated)?
A. Yeah.
Q. Okay. In the correspondence, it
requests that you provide -- and if you could follow
along with me here.
In 2014, I do not have statements for
Febrnary, April, August, and October through December.
I presumed that he's asking for monthly statements for
both buildings .
A. Correct.
Q. Did you send monthly statements to
s. Stiny at the address that was provided to her in
Arkansas?
A. At this time or in general?
Q. Prior to this time, you had been
sending -A. That's correct.
Q. -- monthly statements on a regularly
and monthly basis, all the information that Mr. Nelson
is requesting in this correspondence.
A. Prior to -- yes, during the beginning

2
3

4
5

6
7

A. But from 2000 -- from the day we took
over through at least a year and change, we were sending
the monthly reports.
Q. Okay. At some point did you start
sending monthly reports again?
A. To -- since that time, no.
Q. Okay. Did you send Mr. Nelson the

tr.
9
10

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12

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14
15
16

11
18
19

20
21
22

23
24

25

A.

No. No.

Q. Okay. When was the next time you sent
monthly reports out?
A. We have consistently sent Rena a
monthly report to this day.
Q. Okay.
A. If I recall, the reason we stopped
because she got removed to a -- Ms. Stiny was removed to
a facility. It was a hospital or something, and
therefore, she wasn't in that address anymore, and then
we were told not to do that anymore, I believe, by Rena;
but I o"'1iiit recall specificall)'. w y tliat was dottt:.
Q. But you did send -- just to clarify the
record, you did send monthly statements after
February 97
A. To Rena.
Q. But you also sent them to other people

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(19) Pages 74 - 77

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 80

Page 78

1

as well ; correct?

2

A. Well, per the -- this Exhibit A, for
example --

3
5

Q.
A.

6

Q.

4

Correct.
-- yes, if that's what you're asking.
That's what I'm asking .
Yes.
Exactly. That's what I wanted to

A.
Q.
9 clarify.
10
A. So only per these type -- these
11 instructions -12
MR. MILLER: Again, you're talking over
13 each other.
14
THE WITNESS: I'm sorry.
15
MR. MILLER: That's okay.
16
THE WITNESS: Yes. If that's what you
17 mean by, yes, these were sent, for example.
18 BY MR. DARVISH:
19
Q. All right.
20
A. However, what I was referring to was
21 our normal monthly sending out a report. We sent one, I
22 believe, via hard copy and also via e-mail.
23
Q . Uh-huh.
H
A. And that goes to Rena.
25
Q. Okay. Did you continue sending monthly
1

8

request.
Q. So you were only asked one time by
3 Mr. Baker from Centennial Bank to provide you the cash
4
flow statements, and that was the only time you provided
5
it, and you had not been requested for any statements
6 since then?
1
A. I don't recall any other requests. I
a only recall this particular request.
9
Q. And if they had requested it, would you
10 have provided it to them?
11
A. Subject to approval, yes.
12
Q. Did you receive an e-mail from anyone
13 telling you that you should cooperate with Mr. Baker?
14
A. Yes. Mr. Coleman -15
Q. Okay.
16
A. -- directed me on behalf of Rena Wood
11
to -- I'm sorry, Mr. Taylor -- to send this -18
Q. Okay.
19
A. -- this e-mail, which is Exhibit 8.
20
Q. All right. And at that point in time,
21 Mr. Baker never followed up with you and asked you for
22
additional documents -23
A. Not that I recall, no.
Q. All right. Do you ever have -- ' do you
1

~;..;;;;;;-ing conversation with Mr
iV=

elsoo?
Page 81

statements?
A. No, not in this situation. Only this
3
time.
4
Q. Okay.
5
MR. LYONS: Object, form. You said,
6
6 "Did you continue to send monthly statements?" To whom?
7
1
BY MR. DARVISH:
8
a
Q. Good question.
~ - - .::-::-::-~
,
With regiro to Exhibit 8, after you
9
10 sent the cash flow -- the monthly cash flow statement to 10
1 Mr. Baker, did you send the cash flow at any other point 11
12 in time after -- after this time?
12
13
13
A. I do not believe so. I do not. I
1

2

14
15

don't believe so, no.

16

recall?

17
18

to Rena Wood's representation at that time. During this
period, it was Coleman Taylor. Prior to that, I believe

16

it was somebody else.
However, most of the correspondence
that I have through this period is through Coleman

17

Taylor, and all requests were submitted to Rena Wood's

18

representation prior to anything being done about it.
Q. But you do not recall having a
conversation with Mr. Nelson at all?
A. I cannot recall offhand, specifically,
if there was a phone call. I just cannot speak to
specifics to that. I cannot.
Q. In the correspondence, it says:

14

Q. You don't believe so, or you don't
A. I do not recall sending it anymore.
Q. So who's currently getting the monthly

cash flow statements?
20
A. Rena Wood.
21
Q. Anyone else?
l2
A. Noone.
Q. Has anyone requested additional monthly
cash flow statements from you?
, - -A..-.--i,,.·,ot since Uiis ·nteraction or this
19

A. I -- I do not recaJI if I specifically
spoke to Eric Nelson; however, I did receive this
correspondence, Exhibit 9, and, perhaps, another
correspondence via e-mail or letter. I cannot recall
specifically, but that's been my limited scope with
Eric Nelson.
Q. What did you do with the other
correspondence, if you -- if you recall, what did you do
with the other correspondence that you received from
Mr. Nelson?
A. All requests given to me were forwarded

15

19
1
22

23

"Thel'elnay be some

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(20) Pages 78 - 81

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 84

Page 82

1
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,
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7

a
9

10
11
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11
l_
19

20
21
22
23

24

25

considerable weight involving
shipping these copies. I would
very much like to meet in any
event. So, perhaps, we could
arrange to meet at your office in
the near future."
Did he ever come by your office?
A. He did not that I remember, no.
Q. Did you receive any communication from
anyone about Mr. Nelson's role with regard to the trust
outside of this correspondence?
A. I don't -- I don't recall receiving any
information.
Q. And this is a true -- Exhibit 9 is a
trne and correct document of the document that you
received from Mr. Nelson?
A. I believe so, yes.
_ _Q. I am going to show yeu what is now
being premarked as Exhibit No. 10.
(Whereupon, Defendants' Exhibit No.
10 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. Can you read that for me, please.
A. This is the -- oh, read it to myself?

---

1

2

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is
1:56 p.m. We're on the record.

3

EXAMINATION
BY MR. LYONS:

Q. Mr. Tennen, I'm Jim Lyons, and
represent Centennial Bank in regard to this litigation.
a I have handed you a set of binders, Volume I being
9
Linder & Associates' financial statements from 2013
10 through 2015.
11!
Did you produce, beginning in April of
12 2013 all the way through 2015 financial statements for
13 the Sixth Street Apartments?
MR. DARVISH: I'm going to place an
objection on record as to form and to relevance to the
documents that are being authenticated .
7

....AwMI.Dl.MYO
18
19

20
21

22

Page 85

Page 83

Q. Read it to yourself, please.

S=--------~

Q. Did you produce financial statements in l>bi
regard to the Sixth Street Apartments for -- that are i)~.
owned by the Stiny Trust? And we're just going to call
it the Stiny Trust rather than get into the subtrust for
now.
A. Yes, I did.
Q. And are these documents prepared in the
normal and ordinary course of business, sir?

Yes, they are.
And are these produced at or near the
3
3 time that the information is gathered?
Q. Have y_ou tiaa an oppoJtunity to revie
,
A. Yes.
Exhibit No. 10?
5
Q. And are the records kept in the course
J'
A. Yes.
6 of regAular cyonduhcted activity of business?
Oe-f:
7
Q. Do you know what it is?
1
.
es, t ey are.
s
A. Yes, this is a declaration in support
s
Q. Is the making of these records a
9
of Respondent Rena Wood's opposition to Petitioner 9 regular practice or your activities as the real estate
10 Centennial Bank.
10 manager for the property?
11
Q. Whose declaration?
11
A. Yes, they are.
12
A. Mine.
12
Q. Are you the custodian of these records
13
Q. You've had an opportunity to read every
13 or another qualified witness with the authority to
14 single one.
14
review and testify as to the authenticity of these
15
Is this a trne and correct copy of the
15 documents, sir?
16 document that is -- that you signed?
16
A. I am and my staff. We prepare the
11
A. Yes.
17 documents, and I am aware of them, and I keep them.
18
Q. Is every single item -- every single
18
Q. All right. And you do that for both
19 declaration that you have made in this document true and 19 sets of apartments. One of them is known as the Sixth
2 o accurate?
20
Street Apartments; is that correct?
:u
ii... Yes, I believe it to be.
21
A. That is correct.
22
MR. DARVISH: Let's go off the record.
22
Q. And the other one is known as the Olive
23
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is
23 Street Apartments ; is that c01Tect?
24
1:42 p.m. We're off the record.
24
A. That's correct, sir.
25
(Recess taken.)
25
Q. And you produced those from April of
1

2

(Document reviewed by the witness.)
BY MR. DARVISH:

1

A.

2

Q.

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(21) Pages 82 - 85

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

20 t 3 up until the most recent statement every month fro1 1
2
2013 to -- we're in October. So through September of
3
2018; is that correct?
4
A. That's correct.
5
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form .
6
THE WITNESS: That is correct.
7
BY MR. LYONS:
a
Q. Okay. And you did review all of these,
9
and these appear to be true and correct copies of the
financial statements that your office produced in the
normal and ordinary course of business; is that correct?
A. That is correct.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: You may have
14 unhooked.
15
MR. LYONS: I'm son-y.
16 BY MR. LYONS:
, - - - -"'E-·
Has tlie Darvish inn ever represented
18 you or your firm in any manner of any kind, sir?
A. Not that I'm familiar with.
Q. Has Mr. Elan Darvish ever represented
you or your firm in any manner of any kind?
Not tliit I'
, ne.
23
Q. Who is the client, as far as you're
24 concerned, in regard to the Stiny Trust?
25
A. MY. client is Rena Wood Powell or Rena
1

D\j.

i)ef,

MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form.
2 BY MR. LYONS:
3
Q. Do you recognize that document, sir?
,
M . DA VISH: m objection.
5
THE WITNESS: This is a copy of a check
6
that we generated.
t) fiJ'
7 BY MR. LYONS:
'
a
Q. And is that document a check -- who is
9
that signed by, sir?
10
A. It's probably myself, or at the time,
1

Dc_f

11

there was another accounting person there that generated

12

the checks, but that looks -- it looks like mine, my
signature.
Q. All right. And that's Check No. 59216,
sir; is that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. And that's written on rental trust
account of Linder & Associates ; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. And payable to apartment -- Vertigo
Apartments?
A. That's correct.
Q. Do you know whether 1132 Vista Ridge is
Rena Wood's address at that time, sir?
A. I believe so.

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Page 89

Page 87

~-,

~
et

,f
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ef

)b.)·

J~

Q. Why was that check made out to Park
Verdugo Apartments, sir?
3
A. That was the account that we were
3
, instructed to cut distribution checks to -- or the
4
5
5
account name, I should say.
6
Q. Who instructed you that?
6
7
7
A. Rena Wood.
a
Q. And who told you to send that check to
8
9
9
that addres s?
10 Powell Wood to manage her -- the buildings that she had 10
A. Rena Wood.
Q. All right. If you would look at the
under -- under her management at the time, I guess, or I 11
control over.
12 check number which is marked Stiny BOA 430, sir.
13
Tell us whether you recognize that,
MR. YONS: If you would mark that as
14 Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 1, please.
14 sir.
15
(Whereupon, Plaintiffs Exhibit No.
15
A. I do.
16
16
Q. And if you would, please explain to us
l was marked for identification by
17
what this is.
the reporter and is attached hereto .)
MR. DARTISH: Instead of having me
B MR.---LYONS:
Q. You've been handed a document that is
object as to each one of the checks that you intend to
20 marked as Plaintiffs Exhibit Number l .
ask him about, would you stipulate to a running
21
Is that correct, sir?
objection -22
MR. LYONS: Sure.
A. Yes, that is correct.
Q. If you would look on page -- it's Stiny
MR. DARVISH: -- with regard to this
23
24 BOA page 419, sir. If you would, tell me what that is.
form ?
25
A. A check copy -MR. L:YONS: Sure.
1

2

Powell Wood.
MR. MILLER: Objection. Vague, the
question.
BY MR. L YO_NS:
Q. Tell the jury when you were contacted
about the apartments, please.
A. In -- when I was contacted?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. In 2013 we were contacted by Rena

1

2

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(22) Pages 86 • 89

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 92

Page 90

M . DA VISH: And its relevance.
MR. L YO S: Sure. That's fine.

2
3

BY MR. L VONS:

Q.
5
i-----A.
0
Q.
4

7

1

2
3

A.

Go ahead, sir.
:What was your question? I:.m sorry.
Who told you to generate this check?
Well, this was -- this was a check we

8

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14

~f,

address change at some point.
Q. And who told you to change the address?
A. That would have been Rena Wood.
Q. Did you continue to send checks to
Ms. Rena Wood as shown on Stiny BOA 452, Stiny BOA
450 -- 485, Stiny BOA 523, Stiny BOA 547, Stiny BOA 558?

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)tj,

would normally cut; however, it looks like there was an

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Did you continue to generate those checks each month to
Rena Wood at her request from the rental trust account
of Linder & Associates?
A. That is correct.
Q. And where did that money come from,
sir?
A. From distributions from the property's
operational account.
Q. And when you say "the property," you -there's actually two properties -A. That's correct.

15
16
17

page Stiny BOA 572, please, sir.
A. Okay.
Q. What is that, sir?
A. That is a check that was produced by
us.
MR. DARVISH: So we have the same

obj _

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Page 93

Page 91

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Q.

Correct?
The Sixth Street Apartments and the
Olive Street Apartments; correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. And these $20,000 per month checks that
were sent to Ms . Rena Wood -A. Uh-huh.
Q. -- made out to Park Verdugo Apartments,
those were generated from the income from the Sixth
Street property and from the -A. Olive Street.
Q. -- Olive Street?
A. That is correct, sir. Operation, yeah.
Q. If you would turn to the very next
page, sir. And that's Stiny BO -- Stiny BOA 559, sir.
A. Oh, 559?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. Okay.
Q. And that one is also to the Keystone
address; is that correct, sir?
A. That's correct.
Q. And you understood that to be Ms. Rena
Wood's address ; is that right?
A. That's correct.
Q. Then if you would look, turn over to

that she had moved to Hartsville, Tennessee?
A. Yes.
3
Q. Did those checks continue at the rate
4 of approximately $20,000 per month until August 1 of
5 2015 ?
6
A. Yes. Approximately, yeah.
7
Q. If you would look at Stiny BOA 852,
8 which is the last page of that document.
9
A. Stiny BOA -10
Q. BOA.
j ,
A. -- 852?
11
12
Q. 852. It's the last page of Plaintiffs
13 Exhibit 1, sir.
A. Okay.
14
15
MR. MILLER: Which one?
16
THE WITNESS: 852.
17 BY MR. LYONS:
18
Q. 852, the last page.
Earlier during Mr. Darvish's
19
20 questioning of you, you mentioned that you ceased to
21 issue checks to Park Verdugo Apartments in August of
22 2015 ; is that correct?
23
A. Yes, the last month of distribution was
24 in August.
25
Q. Why did you stop sending those checks
1

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[phone]

Def,

Q. And this one is to care of Rena Wood
2875 Sulphur College Road in Hartsville, Tennessee; is
that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. Why was the address changed~
MR. DARVISH: Objection. Calls for
speculation.
THE WITNESS: We were given direction
to change the address to the new mailing address .
1. ,
BY MR. LYONS:
OoJ ,
Q. Who gave you that instruction?
Dt>f
A. Rena Wood.
Q. Was it your understanding from Ms. Wood

ob'
'P~f:

(23) Pages 90 - 93

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 96

Page 94

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A.

I did.

Who does it say is the owner of the
15 apartment on the first page of that document?
16
A. Stiny Trust.
11 -.-.::~. And on Exhibit"'2, that was irnroctuceo
18 during Mr. Darvish's questioning. Ask you to look at
19 that.
20
Do you recognize that, sir?
21
A. Ido.
22
Q. And who does that document show is the
owner of the apartments?
A. This one says -These
MR. MILLER: I
"'--d:'==--===:..::::
14

they were to the Park Verdugo Apartments.
I.~
BY MR. LYONS:
t)IJJ 1
Q. But in December of '13, that was when
you changed to Hartsville in Hartsville, Tennessee; is
•
that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. And from December '13 until August of
'15 , all of those checks were mailed to Ms. Rena Wood in
Hartsville, Tennessee; is that correct, sir?
A. I -- I believe -MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form.
THE WITNESS: I believe so. I don't
13 have it in front of me. I'm assuming that's what it was
after the address was changed.
14
Y, MR,-L-Y:8NS::-;;;;.,,;.::..=-=..:::---::;;;;;;;;::::;---,
Q. Well , you have the -- you can look
17 on -A. Oh, yes.
18
Q. -- Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 1.
19
A. Yes. Then, yes, those are all Sulphur
20
21 College Road.
Q. In Tennessee; correct?
22
A. That's correct.
23
24
Q. What happened to cause you to change
25 that from Park Verdugo Apartments without care of anyone

to Ms. Wood, sir?
1
2
A. Because it was around that time that we
were getting conflicting reports about who was in charge 3
4
of our relationship, I guess, or management of the
property.
5
6
Q. Now, I'll show you what's been marked
7
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 1, which is a copy of the
8
Stiny Trust pertaining to the Olive Avenue Apartments.
9
Do you recognize that, sir?
A. I do.
10
11
Q. And you looked at this document earlier
12
during Mr. Darvish's questioning; is that correct?
Q.

b~

Page 97

Page 95

documents speak for themselves.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Go ahead.
MR. MILLER: You can answer. Go ahead.
THE WITNESS: Elijah and Mary Stiny

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8

Q. And you indicated that the reason for

the difference in those was because you checked not the
10 actual real estate records but some sort of summary of
11 the real estate records, and one had a shortened name;
12 is that correct, sir?
13
A. Yes. There was -- there's an online
14
through the title company that is used, I guess,
commonly used. The naming of the title -- on title for
the ownership of property was dated as such.
Q. So did every check that was issued
between December 13 until August of 2015 to Park Verdugo
19 Apartments, were those sent to Ms. Rena Wood in
20
Tennessee?
21
A. Well, the address -22
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form.
23
THE WITNESS: -- is changed. The
2,
ddress is changed in where we were sending them, but
25 they were cut to the same, as I mentioned earlier; that
9

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to adding care of Rena Wood on those checks, sir?
A. Honestly, I cannot speak to that. I
don't know why. It probably was a change in our -maybe our accounting process, or -- I don't have any
particular reason wh it was chaoged.
ga w a a
Defendant's Exhibit 1, who signed that document, sir?
A. Rena Powell Wood.
Q. And it shows tfiere is a signature line
for owners; is that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. Did she represent on that page of the
document that she was the trustee?
A. She rep -- she represented herself as
the trustee of the trust.
Q. Sir, did she represent on what's been
introduced as Exhibit 1 on the second page signature
line where it says Rena Powell Wood owner -A. Uh-huh.

Q. -- dii:I she indicate on there ttiat slie
was the trustee?
23

24

25

MR. Dk YISH: Objection -MR. MILLER: Objection -(Speaking simultaneously.)
MR. DARVISH: -- as to form. And the

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(24) Pages 94 - 97

..

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 100

Page 98

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that objection.

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Q. Did you review the entire trust
agreement to determine whether she was the trustee, sir?
A. I did not review the entire trust
agreement. I did receive documentation from her that
she had -- she was a co-trustee of the Stiny Trust.
Q. And you believed her to be a co-trnstee
of the Stiny Trust, of the entire Stiny Trnst?
A. That is correct.
Q. And she-MR. DARVISH: Objection as to fo1m.
Ill

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Don't answer the question.
MR. LYONS: The communication was
between Mary Stiny and Mr. Powell -- I mean -- I'm
soITy -- Mr. Tennen, and there is no attorney-client
privilege for that.
And if you're instructing him not to
answer, then we will need to call the Court.
MR. MILLER: That question asked if he
brought the documents to his attorney and consulted with
his attorney as to the effect of those documents. And
that is not a -- that is a privileged communication.
He's asking -- you're asking about communications
between himself and his attorney related to something.
MR. LYONS: I only asked if he
consulted with an attorney. That is not privileged,
sir.
MR. MILLER: Okay. You can --you can
answer that one. It's not the communication itself. I
agree.
THE WITNESS: l did not.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Did you do anything other than see the
document that Ms. Wood brought to you and take it at
what you believed to be face value, sir?
A. I did.
Page 101

Page 99

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BY MR. LYONS:
Q. And you said you received documentation
from her to that effect; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you receive, sir?
A. My recollection is that there was a
document that lay -- that stated that she was co-trustee
of the Elijah and Mary Stiny Trust dated 2000 something.
There was a document that indicated that she was.
Q. Do you know what that document was,
sir?
A. I believe it was the trust.
MR. MILLER: Object. That calls for a
legal opinion.
MR. DARVISH: And also it calls for
speculation.
MR. MILLER: Belated objection.
B MR L\l'.ONS::- - - - -~-!,,
! -;..-;-;,--Q. And you -- did you take that document
to your attorney or to any attorney to review that to
determine if she was, in fact, the trustee of the Elijah
and Macy Stiny Trust or of the Stiny Trust or of the
Exemption Trust or of the marital trust or of any trust?
- - -MR. ILLER: Objection. t calls or
privileged attorney-client communication.

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Q. What else did you do, sir?
MR. MILLER: Objection. Vague.
THE WITNESS: What do you mean what
else did I do?
BY MR. L.~ O .:.:.:,!.._________._ _,
Y ~N S :
..,..:.
Q. I asked you if you did anything else to
determine that Ms. Rena Powell Wood was the trustee of
any of the trusts that were the owner of the Sixth
Street Apartments or the Olive Avenue Apartments, and
I'm asking what else you did, sir.
A. I did not do anything else.
Q. Have you ever fully and completely read L~
the trust document, sir?
~ U.J,
A. I cannot say I have.
Q. Can you tell me whether you ever took
them to an attorney for review, sir?
A. I did not.
~- It's my understan ing tfiat on both of
plaintiffs -- I'm soITy -- Defendant's Exhibit 1 and
Defendant's Exhibit 2 that you received a management fee
of 5 percent of the gross income; is that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. If you would, please tell me,
generally, what your management of the Olive Street
Apartments and the Sixth Street Apartments covered, sir.

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(25) Pages 98 - 101

~

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 104

Page 102

If there is a stipulation, then,

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A. That would cover a collection of rents,
facilitation of maintenance, facilitation of
accounting-related functions such as payment of bills,
fielding of calls from tenants, and basic management of
the property.
Q. Anything else that you can think of,
sir?
A. There is a variety of functions that we
do. We, you know, pay the bills. We ensure compliance
with insurance inspections and code compliances both
with the city and local governments. We facilitate
trash pickup. We coordinate parking responsibilities.
We lease the apartments for rent. We market them. We
facilitate the unit turnover of rents of the apartments.
We handle leaks and roof-related repairs, AC related
repairs. All of that gets facilitated through the
property.
MR. MILLER: I'm going to object that
the question was vague and overbroad.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Anything else that you can tell us that
you do, sir?
MR. MILLER: Same objection.
THE WITNESS: Yeah, nothing else that
es to mi_ _..__,.- ,~ =
~

obviously -- or the Court creates a further order that
any documents, obviously, it would be subject to your -4 your agreeing to provide.
5
THE WITNESS: That is correct.
6
MR. MILLER: We will agree based on
7
that stipulation.
8
MR. DARVISH: Do you agree with that
9 stipulation?
10
MR. LYONS: I -- I do not agree with
11 your interpretation of what the Court said, but we've
12 already discussed that. Both of us are not positive
13
what the Court indicated in its ruling, but I think that
14 communication between Rena Wood and Mr. Tenner were -15 were items that he was ordered to produce at this
16 deposition, and so I think I'm entitled to get copies of
17 those.
MR. MILLER: And we'll produce copies
18
19 after this is all kind of worked out between you two,
20 between the parties.
MR. LYONS: Certainly understood.
21
22
MR. MILLER: But not until.
MR. LYONS: Let's go off the record for
23
24
a second.
25
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is

Page 103

1

Page 105

BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Do you have on-site managers at both of
those apartments -- sets of apartments, sir?
A. We do.
Q. Did Mary Stiny tell you to do these
hings in writing, or were these things that you would
get from conversations with her?
MR. MILLER: Objection. Vague as to
"these things."
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form.
Lacks oundation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _....__
THE WITNESS: You mean Rena Wood?
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Yes, Rena Wood.
A. We received direction via e-mail and
phone call, a variety of directions.
...Q.
ptQvide us witfi co ies of all
of the e-mails that you have between your office and
Rena Wood's office from April of 2013 to the present,
sir?
MR. DARVISH: Objection subject to the
conversation and stipulation between counsel, and if we
cannot come to an agreement to any documents that would
be provided, then we would obviously have to have the
eourt involved.

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2:27 p.m. We're off the record.
(Discussion held off record.)
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is
2:57 p.m. We're back on the record.
MR. LYONS: Mark that, please. It will
be Plaintiffs Exhibit 2.
(Whereupon, Plaintiffs Exhibit No.
2 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
MR. DARVISH: This is the one -- I've
been wondering.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Mr. Tennen, I've handed you what's been
marked as Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 2. And this is a
letter to you dated February 8, 2016, that was sent via
UPS overnight mail.
Do you recognize that letter, sir?
A. I do.
Q. And did you receive this letter with a
copy of the court order appointing an emergency
temporary guardian of the estate in 2016?
A. I'm sorry. Would you repeat that
question?
Q. Yes, sir.
Did you receive this letter with a copy

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(26) Pages 102 - 105

" CENTENNIAL BANK vs.

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

RENA WOOD

Page 108

Page 106

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of the order appointing emergency temporary guardian of
the estate in 2016, sir?
A. I believe I did.
Q. And as a result of this letter,
Centennial Bank was appointed as guardian of the estate,
and Centennial Bank was ordered to investigate the
income and assets, and we asked you for an accounting
for the funds which you were holding in regard to the
rentals of the above apartments .
Do you see that, sir, in the bottom
paragraph on page 1?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you produce that at that time, sir?
A. I do not believe I did, no.
Q. Did you talk to Ms. Rena Wood regarding
that?
A. I believe I forwarded this, or -- yes,
I probably copied it and forwarded it on to them, to her
and her attorney, I believe.
Q. Do you recall speaking with Ms. Wood
regarding that, sir?
A. I don't recall specifically this
particular document; however, it's possible I did.
There were many of these coming my way; so -Q. Besides forwarding it. what else did

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Q. All right. Did you receive that
letter, sir?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. What did you do when you received it?
A. I forwarded it on to them.
Q . When you say "them," tell me who "them"
is?
t'JQJ
A. I'm sorry. I believe it was Rena Wood
•
and her attorney.
i)ef
Q. Did you contact an attorney about it
besides her attorney?
A. At this time, no, I don't believe I
did.
Q. Did you comply with the order that was
provided here?
A. At the time, no, I don't believe I did.
However, yeah, at this time, no, I initially got it.
Q. And you've already seen the letter from
Eric Nelson which was dated February 9, which was
introduced as Defendant's Exhibit 9; is that correct,
sir?
A. That's correct.
Q . And did you do anything different in
regard to Exhibit 9, sir?
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form.

Page 107

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you do in regard to determining whether you needed to
comply with this order, sir?
A. I forwarded it to Rena and, I believe,
her attorney and did what was told for me to do, I
believe. It was to -- that they were going to
communicate with you guys about it and they were to give
me direction. I cannot recall specifically
timeline-wise, but that would have been what the order
was.
Q. And they did not direct you to provide
the information that was sought in the letter of
February 8, 2016, marked as Plaintiffs Exhibit 2?
A. At this time, no. No, I don't believe
that's the case.
Q. I don't see a copy of it; so we'll go
ahead and mark this as Plaintiffs Exhibit 3.
(Whereupon, Plaintiffs Exhibit No.
3 was marked for identification by
the reporter and is attached hereto.)
THE WITNESS: Actually, before you do
that -- this is it.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Okay. Great. Looking at Defendant's
Exhibit 6 and ask whether you recognize that, sir?
A. Yes,sir,Ido.

\ in-~ -Suipi@

Page 109

THE WITNESS: I do not believe -- 1
mean, what I did was I forwarded all these
3
correspondence for it.
4
BY MR. LYONS:
5
Q. Did you supply Mr. Nelson any
6
documents, sir?
A. I do not recall doing that, no.
Q. Did you simpl)' listen to whatever Rena
Wood and her attorney told you to do?
MR. MILLER: 0bjection. Argumentative.
,~ ~;::::==~ ~ ~_.a,~~~ ISH: Objectio~as to form .
R.
!:;!
tJ
THE WITNESS: That would have been the
case. Yeah, I would have taken their direction.
BY MR. ~¥0NS:
Q. And then we had a letter -- 'm
16 sorry -- an e-mail dated February 16.
17
A. February 1.
Q. Yeah, I'm sorry. February 18. And in O 'J
18
19 Defendant's Exhibit 7, that was your response to
20 Mr. Baker's letter, wasn't it, sir?
21
A. That is correct.
22
Q . Did you have any other authority, other
23 than what Ms. Wood and her attorney told you, in regard
24 to the court order. sir?
t-..."="- =
25
MR. M~ ER: 0bjection. Vague.
2

L.A. Reporters
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b
J

M-

b·

PE€.

(27) Pages 106 - 109

-

t!

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PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 112

Page 110

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MR. DARVISH: Objection. Lacks
foundation. Objection as to form.
THE WITNESS: Could you repeat the
question.
BY MR. LYONS:
Q. Sure.
A. I'm sorry.
Q. Sure. In this letter you say:
"I have been explicitly
instructed that all con-espondence
and requests must be sent through
and granted by Rena Wood and her
Attorney Coleman Taylor who I've
cc'd on this e-mail."
A. Correct.
Q. (Reading):
"Coleman's contact number is
479.527.0006. Unfortunately, I do
not have any authority to release
documents without permission."
Is that con-ect?
A. Yes.
Q. (Reading):
"Please submit the reguest
for documents to Coleman, and with

THE WITNESS: Yes.
BY MR. LYONS:
3
Q. Are there differences between your
obligations for the Olive Street Apartments and the
4
Sixth Street Apartments?
5
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form .
6
THE WITNESS: Not specifically.
7
a There's -- there are nuances to both buildings that are
9 different from one another, but as far as our management
10 responsibilities are concerned, it would be both.
11 BY MR. LYONS:
12
Q. It would be the same?
A. It would be the same for both.
13
Q. Same for both. Thank you.
14
Is the percentage -15
(Cellphone inte1rnption and a telephonic
16
hearing was held from 3:07 p.m. to 3:34 p.m.)
17
(Deposition proceedings resumed.)
18
MR. DARVISH: First time appearing in
19
20 federal court in Arkansas.
MR. MILLER: That's kind of cool.
21
MR. DARVISH: It's -- I'm telling you,
22
23 you got to move there. It's so much easier to practice
24 law than it is here.
MR. MILLER: You can't imagine. You
25
1

2

Page 113

Page 111

writtenyermission, I am happy to
help you."
3
Is that con-ect?
4
A. Yes.
5
Q. Was that your response?
6
A. That was my response.
7
Q. And did you consult with an attorney,
a sir, other than Mr. Coleman Taylor?
9
A. No.
10
Q. Did you have your own attorney look at
11 that document, sir?
12
R. MIIiLER: Objection. I -- I would
13
object that's privileged communication.
u
MR. DARVISH: Objection by this -15
MR. LYONS: I just asked whether he
16
looked at it.
11
MR. MILLER: That's privileged as well.
10
MR. DARVISH: Yeah, that's privileged.
1

1

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B¥

. l:.¥0NS:,- - - ~

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19

Q. Did you meet with an attorney regarding
your response set forth in Exhibit 7, sir?
A. No.
Q. Now, your obligation for both sets of
apa1tments essentially arc the same, sir?
MR. MILI:;E : Objection. Vague.

20

21
22
23
24
25

get in your car, and you get to where you're going at
the speed limit the whole way. It used to be with
everything around here.
MR. LYONS: It is life.
Y'all got a problem, call me. I'll
handle it on the phone.
MR. MILLER: Yeah, I had a search
wan-ant thing. He's right.
THE WITNESS: You don't get that same
attention in L.A. , huh, from L.A. judges?
MR. DARVISH: Not even close.
Ex-parte. Get out of here.
MR. MILLER: I've had judges invite
that for discovery disputes and thing like that, but
usually it isn't like that. It isn't like that.
MR. LYONS: This is still on the
record, guys .
MR. MILLER: Oh, yes.
MR. LYONS: Why don't we go off record
and take a five-minute break. Come back and get this
done.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This marks the end
of media 2 in the deposition of Paul Tennen. It is
3:36 p.m.
We're off the record.

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

(28) Pages 110 - 113

f

...

.. •

.
CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018
Page 116

Page 114

1
2
3
4
5

(Recess taken.)

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We are back on the
record. The time is 3:50 p.m.
This marks the beginning of media three
in the deposition of Paul Tennen.
6

6
7

EXAMINATION (RESUMED)

8

BY MR. LYONS:
Q. So the apartments on Sixth Street and
the apartments on Olive Street have approximately the
same number of apartments, sir?
A. Yes, they do.
Q. Is the total rent approximately the
same?
A. Give or take approximately, yes.
Q. They are within a few blocks of each
other. Is that correct, sir?
A. That's correct.
Q. The use -- did you see the appraisal
when these were refinanced, sir?
A. I don't think so, no.
Q. Who is Jason Baker?
A. "Jason Baker"?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. If my memory serves me, he's related to

9

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7
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19

Q. If an issue arises regarding the
payment of an expense or reimbursement in regard to
either the Sixth Street or the Olive Street Apartments,
who makes the decision on that if you're not sure what
to do?
MR. MILLER: Objection. Improper
hypothetical. Vague.
You can answer if you understand the
question.
THE WITNESS: Repeat again the
question.
BY MR. LYONS:- - - - ~ =
Q. Sure. If an issue arises regarding a
payment of an expense or a reimbursement and you're not
sure what to do -.J
(

A.

A.

She would, in my jurisdiction, yes.

ao Sometimes I don't get the correspondence. So I have to
31

make the judgment call on my own.
ow, you mentionecl T.itle ro 24-7. If

, - -Q.
23

you would, explain to me what that is, sir.

24

A. It's an online title company resource
for Fidelity National Title, which is a title firm.

25

Rena Wood.
1
Q. Do you know how he is related to Rena
2
3
Wood, sir?
3
4
4
A. I do not know for sure how, but I know
5
they have some relationship.
5
6
6
Q. Who is Carissa Oldenberg, sir?
7
A. Carissa Oldenberg is the daughter of
7
8
Rena Wood.
8
9
Q. And both of them get free rent at one
9
10
of the sets of apartments. Is that correct, sir?
10
11
A. Jason Baker, I believe, gets a rent -11
12 free rent; however, Carissa Oldenberg gets rental
12
13 compensation for her -- as a resident manager of the 13
14 building. So it is -- yeah.
14
15
Q. She also gets free phone -- Carissa
15
16 Oldenberg also gets a free phone?
16
17
A. She gets reimbursed for office supplies
17
18 such as office reimbursement for cell phone and, I
18
19 believe, Internet usage and other work-related per labor 19
20 law.
20
21
Q. Who is John Moore, sir?
21
22
A. I believe John Moore is Rena's father.
22
23
Q. And he gets reduced rent also; is that
23
24 correct, sir?
24
25
A. That's correct.
25
1

' '

~

Q. -- does Rena Wood make the final
decision on those as far as you know, sir?

Page 117

Page 115

2

b,J

I contact Rena Wood.

They have an online portal to access title records and
information. They give a property profile cover sheet
which gives the highlights of the building.
And then sometimes there are documents
attached to those Web pages where you can access other
documents such as loan documents and other public
records.
Q. You look there to determine the name of
the owner to put on the Defendants Exhibits 1 and 2; is
that co1Tect, sir?
A. That's correct.
Q. But you didn't search any other
documents to determine if title was in the name of a
particular trust of the -- or a portion of the sub -Stiny Trust or subtrust of the Stiny Trust; is that
correct?
MR. MILLER: Objection as to form .
THE WITNESS : There -- there are
documents that are attached as an attachment link that
would red flag certain title records and loan records.
To my best knowledge, I cannot recall
if I dug further beyond what it says, which is owner's
name; and then it said, I believe, Stiny Trust; and then
there's a semicolon and then like the full name of it.
And so I believe that the difference in

L.A. Reporters
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(29) Pages 114 - 117

1·
,... ·

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'

PAULTENNEN

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

October 18, 2018
Page 120

Page 118

the naming of the ownership was simply just an error I
made where it said Stiny Trust, and then on the other -3
as I produced the other one, I noticed if you pull up
4
the other address, it says the full name Elijah and Mary
5
Stiny Trust; whereas, the Olive cover letter says Stiny
6
Trust.
7
So that's the reason for the
differential in the ownership maybe.
8
And if I may, sometimes there are title
9
10 differences, you know. So subtleties. So that's why I
11 went with what was on the profile naming as opposed to
12
maybe digging further at the time.
- ~-~-- . You menti
Q
that ~ had certai
mu
walkthroughs with Rena Wood after you took over the
apartments. I realize you had one at the beginning, but
16 I'm talking about after when you took over.
17
A. That's correct.
18
Q. Is that correct?
19
A. Yes.
20
Q. When you walked through with Rena Wood
after the first time, these later walkthroughs, did you
l2 keep any records of those walkthroughs, sir?
ia3
A. I don't recall if I wrote any notes
down or if we made any record of it. I can't recall
ngbt ow.
1

1

2

2

3

some familiarity or involvement in some capacity.
MR. MILLER: I would object that that
question calls for speculation. Belated objection.

BY MR. LYONS:
Q.
questioning whether Ms. Wood signed any checks. And you
said y:ou didn:t . elieve he did.
What type of checks would she have
signed if there were an ?
!~!:====::;----:M . lhHR: Objecti n. Improper
11 hypothetical.
12
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form .
13
MR. MILLER: h calls fot spec
an.
'u
THE WITNESS: With regards to our
1s operation, she didn't sign any checks. If she chose to
16 buy things or do things on her own, that was her
17 prerogative.
Db J,.
18
With regards to the management of the
19 buildings, the accounts are labeled in our name as in i),ef
20
trust -- trust accounts for the reason that we are
21 responsible for the monies that go in and out, and we
22 are -- have an accounting for all of that. So in that
23
sense, she would have had jurisdiction to write checks
in that sense.
Y MR. YONS:
4

Page 121

Page 119

ro

Q. If: you have...any recoros, wJII
produce those, sir?
3
A. Absolutely.
i&
Q. And this would -- I realize you don't
s remember, but what was the point of having this
6 walkthrough or these walkthroughs?
7
A. Generally, she was in town. While she
8 was in town, we would do them, like I said, maybe once
9
or twice or three times; but during the time she was
10 here, we did a couple of walks to get familiar with the
11 buildings.
11a
Once she relocated or moved or whatever
13 it was, she said she would come into town, and she would
1' walk the buildings, and so we would just check them out,
1
you know, as we do with a lot of the owners in a lot of
16 these buildings. We walk with them. We notice things.
17 They'll give me some direction: paint the top, fix the
soffit, such and such. So that was pretty much the
...__ ,e;:as= or tlie meeting§.
,. ~ is
20
Q. Had Ms. Rena Wood been in charge of the
21
22
23

24
25

apartments before April of 2013?
A. I believe she was. I don't know the
specifics because I wasn't involved with her at that
time, but I believe, given what she knew about the
buildings and the process and things, I believe she had

Q. Let me show you what was marked as
Exhibit 5 during your direct examination letter from
3
Mark Johnson regarding him representing Helen Robins .
4
Did you respond to Mark Johnson, sir?
s
A. I don't believe I did. I don't believe
6
I did.
7
Q. Mr. Darvish asked you about sending the
a monthly statements out, and you said you thought you
9
were sending them to Ms. Wood only at this time. But in
10
fact, you were sending a copy to us; is that cotTect?
11
MR. MILLER: Objection. Vague as to
12
time.
13
THE WITNESS: I confirmed, that since
14 the court order, that I had been sending them to all
15 parties that I've been asked to send them to.
16
MR. DARVISH: Objection as to form .
Which court order?
17
18 BY MR. LYONS:
19
Q. Which court order are you referring to?
20
A. The one that instructed me to
21 distribute funds and also submit paperwork to the courts
22 and to a laundry list of people on e-mail that I send it
23
to. Sorry. I don't have it in front of me. So I'm
24 sorry.
2s
Q. That's fine .
~1

2

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(30) Pages 118 - 121

1

~

CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018
Page 124

Page 122

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's
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s
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12

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25

correspondence. I just cannot rememtier if I had reached
out to him via phone call or if that was based on the
A. Okay. ¥eab. ¥es.._ _ _ _ __
3
e-mail.
4
Q. Did you ever call Eric Nelson and offer
Q. Did you ever do anything to determine
s to meet him as he mentioned in his letter?
whether Eric Nelson was named as a successor trustee
prior to Rena Wood ?_ _ _ __
i;.;
6
A. In coming to my office?
7
Q. Yes.
MR: DAR3lISH: 0bjection as to form.
s
A. I don't recall inviting him to a
THE WITNESS: Did I do anything else?
The correspondence that I received from Eric Nelson and
g
meeting to come to my office.
10
MR. LYONS: Pass the witness .
from everybody else involved here was forwarded to
MR. DARVISH: Let's take -- can we go
Rena Wood and her counsel for direction. And I believe 11
if I -- if memory serves me, the only response I gave
12
off the record.
was to Steve Baker from the bank letting him know that I 13
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is
cannot distribute these documents without permission, 14 4:08 p.m. We're off the record.
and then that -- that was about the fifth -- yeah.
(Discussion held off record.)
15
Yeah. And -THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 4: 12.
16
BY MR. L 6 S,:-.- - - - - .
17 We're back on the record.
..__..__
And you were told not to send these
18
documents by Ms. Rena Wood; c01Tect, sir?
19
EXAMINATION
A. Her counsel had said that they would
20
BY MR. DARVISH:
reach out and confirm and not to send anything until
Q,_......::.:;.....;:,~ = =
.
they get any, you know, further clarification or
guidance.
Q. Did Ms. Wood ever say it was acceptable
to send documents to anyone other than to her counsel?

That order came from Judge Marshall who
we spoke with; con-ect?

1

2

Page 123

1
l
3

Page 125

A. Initially, Rena told me to -- she's the
one who gave me the address for Ms. Mary Stiny, and she
was aware that I was sending reports monthly to that
addr.;: ss •..:;::;::::----."a.
e;.:;;.:.
Q. But you stopped that; is that correct,
sir?
A. Yes.
Q. And after you stopped that, have you
ever started sending them to Ms. Stiny again?

Can you take a look at this document -this binder for me.
A. Uh-huh.
,
5
Q . You were shown three binders about that
6
6 size; conect?
7
7
A. That is correct.
s
s
Q. All right. And you were asked to
9
9 review the documents and authenticate the documents
10
A. No.
10 prior to coming back on the record; correct?
11
Q. Why did you stop sending those to
11
A. That is correct.
12 Ms. Stiny?
12
Q. All right. Did you review every single
13
A. I cannot recall specifically why. I
13 page of these documents in order -14 just cannot. I don't know why I -- yeah.
1'
A. I did not.
15
Q. When you say you contracted Ms. Wood
1s
Q. -- to determine whether or not they are
16 and her attorney, did you specifically contact Coleman 16 the true and accurate -- true and accurate reflection of
17 Taylor; or did you contact Ms . Wood? How was that done,
17 the documents that you actually -- you produced?
18 sir?
18
A. I did not.
19
A. I would say most likely via e-mail,
19
Q. Did you crosscheck to any of these
20 correspondence and/or phone call.
20 documents to the originals that you have in your office?
21
Q. Would you contact Mr. Coleman Taylor
21
A. I did not.
22 directly by phone call, or would you contact Rena Wood, 22
Q. You did not produce these documents
23 sir?
today; correct?
24
A. I can't recall if I specifically -- if
A. Correct.
2 5 I called Coleman Taylor directly. I know that we had
Q. Did you pfQquce any aocuments today?
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(31) Pages 122 - 125

.

,

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

,(. .:. C~NTENNIAL BANK vs.
RENA WOOD

Page 128

Page 126

1
2
3

'

!I
6

A.

Q. She assisted in that?

I did not.

Q. How do you know that the numbers that
are on those statements right there are true and
accurate?

14

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Q. And the resident -- and the manager
knew her; correct?

A. ldo not.
Q . Would it be possible that these are or
are not -- strike that.

oulo it be -- so w.tien you onginally

15

A. Yes. Some of that was on-site with the
resident manager and so forth.

testified that these look like your statements that you
had sent out on a monthly basis, there is no way for you
to tell me today as to whether or not these are the true
and accurate statements that were sent out?
-Jf... THat's correct.
Q. You earlier testified that you stopped
sending checks to Rena at some point because of the
dispute that had arisen.

A.

Correct.

8

questions.

MR. LYONS: Let's go off the record for

9

10

Yes, that's correct.
MR. DARVISH: I have no further

a second.

11

Do you want --

12

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Standby.

13

The time is 4 :16. We're off the

14
15
16

record.
(Discussion held off record.)

THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 4 :22.

17

Q . Did Rena tell you to stop sending any
money out?

A.

"-·
7

She did.

We're back on the record.

18

MR. LYONS: First, I believe that we
have an agreement that Mr. Tennen will read and sign his
deposition, and we'll produce any e1nta sheet and
signature within seven days of receipt of that
deposition; is that correct?
MR. MILLER: That's conect.
MR. LYONS: Is that correct?
MR. DARVISH: That's c01Tect.

19

20

Q . Okay. Just curious. Do you know the
difference between a guardian and a trustee?
MR. MILLER: Objection. Calls for
legal opinion.
Ifhe knows .

21
22
23
24
25

Page 129

1
2

BY MR. DARVISH:

1

Q. If you know, answer.

2

MR.LYONS: Same objection.
THE WITNESS: I -- I can't speak to

3
4

3
4

5

that. I do not know for sure.

5

6

BY MR. DARVISH:
Q. All right. Wfien you originally. took

7

6

s

14

over the management of the buildings, you spoke to Rena;
correct? And she provided you the keys, as you earlier
testified, or knew the manager who had the keys ; is that
con-ect?
MR. MILLER: You have to say "yes" -THE WITNESS: Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, I
was waiting for you to finish. Yes, that's correct.

14

15

BY MR. DARVISH:

15

9

10
11
12
13

9

10
11
12
13

16

Q. Was there any reason to believe that

16

17

she was not actually participating in managing those
buildings?

17

18

19
20
21
22
23

2,
25

A.

I had no reason to believe that.

Q. Did she have access to the accounts
that the money was going into, to your knowledge?

A.

Prior -- yes, she did.

19
20
21
22

Q. Did she help transfer all the documents
and leases to Linder & Associates?

A.

18

She assisted in that, yes.

23
24

MR. LYONS: Okay. And then we have a
stipulation that Mr. Tennen will also produce all of the
documents beginning in April of 2013 up through whatever
the present date is, as of the date of production of all
financial statements for both sets of apartments being
_
the Olive Street Apartments and the Sixth Street
O~J .
Apartment, and he will produce them either by Dropbox or
by flash drive, and we'll execute a document to the
effect -- under oath to the effect that this is a true
an correct set of the documents from April of 2013 up to
the date they're produced, and that I agree that those
may be admitted and used at trial subject to objections
to relevance that they are properly authenticated.
Do you agree, Mr. Darvish, that those
will be properly authenticated?
MR. DARVISH: The financial documents
with regard to the ones that he will produce, yes.
MR.LYONS: Okay. Do you have any
objection?
MR. MILLER: I have no objection what
we will produce.
MR.LYONS: Okay.
MR. DARVISH: So we're clear on the
record, the stipulation is with only the financial
recor s, not with the documents that are the additional

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Def.

(32) Pages 126 - 129

..
PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

..,,,. CENTENNIAL BANK vs.
_.
RENA WOOD

Page 132

Page 130

documents that he is going to produce?
MR. MILLER: Correct. Only the monthly
3 financial documents that were previously reviewed.
MR. DARVISH: Correct.
MR. LYONS: Right, that's correct.
5
MR. DARVISH: Okay. Now I stipulate to
6
7
relieve the court reporter of his -- her duties under
the code;
8
9
And that she will prepare a transcript,
10 and it will be produced to you, and you will have seven
11 days within which to review and sign back of any
u changes;
13
If you do not make any changes, then
1' the original may be used -- or a copy thereof may be
15 used at trail;
16
And the purpose of this deposition is
in lieu of your live testimony in federal court in
Arkansas.
Did I miss anything else with the
stigulation?
21
So stipulated.
22
MR. LYONS: So stipulated.
23
MR. MILLER: So stipulated.
24
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This concludes the
25 deposition of Paul Tenner. Total number of media used
1
l

'

1

PENALTY OF PERJURY CERTIFICATE

2
3

I hereby declare I am the witness in the

4

within matter, that I have read the foregoing transcript

5

and know the contents thereof; that I declare that the

6

same is true to my knowledge, except as to the matters

7

which are therein stated upon my information or belief,

8

and as to those matters, I believe them to be true.

9

10

I declare being aware of the penalties of
perjury that the foregoing answers are true and correct.

11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Executed on the _ _ day of _ _ _ _ __
at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
(CITY)

(STATE)

18
19
20
21
PAUL TENNEN

22
23
24
25

Page 131

1

was three.

2

We're going off the record. The time
is 4:25 p.m.
(Discussion held off record.)
(Proceedings resumed without videotape.)
MR. MILLER: If the original is lost or
destroyed, a certified copy may be used for any purpose,
including at trial.
MR. DARVISH: Exactly.
MR. LYONS: Absolutely.

3

4
5
6
7
8

9

10

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

2

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

ss:

3

4

I, KIMBERLY M. LOWE, do hereby certify :

5

That I am a duly qualified Certified

6

Shorthand Reporter, in and for the State of California,

7

holder of certificate number 12529, which is in full

8

force and effect and that I am authorized to administer

9

oaths and affirmations;

(The proceedings concluded at 4:26 p.m.)

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That the foregoing deposition testimony of

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Page 133

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the herein named witness was taken before me at the time

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and place herein set forth;

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That prior to being examined, the witness

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named in the foregoing deposition, was duly sworn or

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affirmed by me, to testify the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth;

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objections made at the time of the examination were

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recorded stenographically by me, and were thereafter

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transcribed under my direction and supervision;

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true, and accurate record of the proceedings and
testimony to the best of my skill and ability;

That the testimony of the witness and all

That the foregoing pages contain a full,

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I further certify that I am not a relative or

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employee or attorney or counsel of any of the parties,

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

(33) Pages 130 - 133

,,.

.f"RENAWOOD BANK vs.
CENTENNIAL

PAULTENNEN
October 18, 2018

,._

Page 134

1

nor am I a relative or employee of such attorney or

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counsel, nor am I financially interested in the outcome

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of this action,

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have subscribed my name
this 5TH day of November 2018.

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'0-~

; / ' /\\J-k_____ _
r'' .,
/

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\
i

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I
\ ,

I

KIMBERLY M. LOWE, CSR NO . 12529

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Page 135

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ERRATA SHEET

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If any corrections to your deposition are necessary,
indicate them on this sheet, giving the change, page
number, Line number and reason for change.

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PAGE

Line

FROM

TO

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Reason

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Signature of Deponent

Date

L.A. Reporters
[phone]
www.LAReporters.com

(34) Pages 134 - 135