5:3 – 5:25

Oath

Oath is administered 

6:1 – 8:22

Previous Depositions

RW has never been deposed or been involved in a lawsuit. 

8:23 – 11:11

Position at SunCal

RW has been employed at SunCal for three years.  He started as a project management assistant and was new to the land development industry.  He worked for Tom Guess.  Guess reported to Mark Magstadt and Bruce Edwards.

11:11 – 11:16

Change of Title

RW moved to acquisitions in the first quarter of 2004.  His title was Land Acquisitions Manager for Coachella Valley.

11:17 – 13:23

Reporting Structure

RW became responsible for all new acquisitions.  He reported to Michael Cook.  Cook was his supervisor in 2005 and 2006.  Cook now reports to Bruce Edwards.

13:24 – 13:25

Work on Summer Springs

RW worked on the Summer Springs project at the beginning of the project.

14:1 – 15:6

Job Duties

As Land Acquisitions Manager, RW interacts with property owners and brokers.  He has a checklist he completes for each property.  He puts the numbers together and discusses his findings with Cook   If all goes well, he sets up a meeting with the sellers.  He does the “forward planning.”

15:7 – 15:10

Discussion off record.

15:11 – 16:1

Property Checklist

There are several due diligence checklists for a property.  The checklist includes various studies, including biological, geological, etc.

16:2 – 16:14

Summer Springs Checklist and Assignment of Tasks

There were due diligence checklists for Summer Springs.  Each department had to handle certain tasks.  The departments were operations, project management, and forward planning.

16:15 – 19:8

Managing the Acquisition

RW was “kind of like the quarterback.”  He oversees the assignment of tasks.  He follows up on their status.  In the beginning, he did that for Summer Springs.  He did not do it for the middle or the end of the work on the Summer Springs acquisition.   Cook did the “quarterbacking” on Summer Springs in the middle and at the end of the project.

RW continued being involved in meetings through December.   His role was reduced because the project started getting into technical issues that were not his expertise.   

19:9 – 20:22

RW’s Reduced Role Due to Technical Issues

No one made a decision to reduce RW’s role in Summer Springs.  No one told him in 2005 that he needed to slow down or stop working on Summer Springs.  He informed Cook that he needed to work on other acquisitions.  When Cook needed his help, he provided assistance.

20:23 – 22:5

Due Diligence Checklists During the Acquisition

The due diligence checklists are essentially the same for each property.  RW starts them at the very beginning of each potential project.  He supervises the actions of the departments with regard to the checklists.  The checklists are updated during the due diligence period, and the document is redlined.

Continued …