Textron Financial Corporation v. Gallegos

Filing 62

ORDER denying #60 Motion to Quash Subpoena. Signed by Judge Larry Alan Burns on 12/14/15. (kas)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TEXTRON FINANCIAL CORPORATION,

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CASE NO. 15cv1678-LAB (DHB)

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
QUASH SUBPOENAS

vs.
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MICHAEL S. GALLEGOS,

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Defendant.

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Textron obtained a $21,921,165.45 judgment against Gallegos in the U.S. District

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Court for the District of Rhode Island, but Gallegos hasn’t paid it. (Docket nos. 40-1 and

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40-6.) Its assignee, SPE LO Holdings, sought a charging order against Gallegos' interest

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in two entities: Pacific Pearl Hotels, LLC and Pacific Pearl Hotel Management, LLC. (Docket

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no. 40.) SPE LO provided California Secretary of State documents, which establish that

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Gallegos is a manager of the two LLCs. (Docket nos. 40-2, 40-3, and 40-4.) Because SPE

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LO couldn’t show that Gallegos had a membership interest in the LLCs, the Court denied its

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motion for a charging order. (Docket no. 56.) But “[t]o avoid the possibility that Gallegos

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ha[d] avoided entry of a charging order by playing coy, the Court authorize[d] SPE LO to

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pursue postjudgment discovery to determine whether Gallegos is, in fact, a member of the

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LLCs.” (Id. at 4.)

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Now the LLCs have moved to quash subpoenas issued to them because Textron

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didn’t tender the witness fees when it served the subpoenas. (Docket nos. 59 and 60.) The
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15cv1678

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subpoenas are dated November 17, 2015. (Docket nos. 59-2 and 60-2.) They notice the

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depositions for December 16, 2015 and December 17, 2015—i.e. 2 days after the filing of

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the LLCs’ motions to quash. (Id.) The LLCs give no indication that they made any effort to

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meet and confer regarding the alleged defects in the subpoenas before filing their motion.

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This sequence of events reeks of improper gamesmanship by the LLCs, and the Court sees

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no reason to grant their eleventh hour motion to quash. It is DENIED. If the LLCs must have

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their witness fees, they should seek them from their manager—Gallegos—who owes millions

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of dollars to Textron.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: December 14, 2015

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HONORABLE LARRY ALAN BURNS
United States District Judge

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15cv1678