IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
RALPH SIMPSON,
Plaintiff,
vs. No. 1-05-CV-053398
LOU RAE KAGEL, LYNN O'BRIEN, JAMES
O'BRIEN, STONEHENGE PROPERTIES, INC.,
VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA, INC., dba
COLDWELL BANKER, and DOES ONE
through TWENTY, inclusive,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
Deposition of
RYAN YOSHIO IWANAGA
Monday, December 11, 2006
REPORTED BY: ANN A. KIRBY
CSR No. 4402
Our File No.______________
MADELEINE M. FREDA, INC.
Certified Shorthand Reporters
2000 Broadway, P.O. Box 3119
Redwood City, California 94063
(650) 365-6152
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1 A P P E A R A N C E S
2 ---oOo---
3 For Plaintiff:
4 GREENE, CHAUVEL, DESCALSO & MINOLETTI
951 Mariner's Island Blvd., Suite 630
5 San Mateo, California 94404
(650) 573-9500
6 By: PAUL G. MINOLETTI, ESQ.
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8 For Defendant Kagel:
9 GAGEN, McCOY, McMAHON, KOSS,
MARKOWITZ & RAINES
10 279 Front Street
Danville, California 94526
11 (925) 837-0585
By: RICHARD C. RAINES, ESQ.
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13 For Mr. Iwanaga:
14 LAW OFFICES OF EDWARD L. BLUM
201 19th Street, Suite 200
15 Oakland, California 94612
(510) 452-4400
16 By: TED W. BLOYD, ESQ.
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1 I N D E X
2 Examination by: Page
3 MR. MINOLETTI................................ 4
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5 ---oOo---
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7 E X H I B I T S
8 Deposition Exhibits Page
9 1 June 9, 2003 letter to Iwanaga from
Simpson................................. 14
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1-A Coldwell Banker Previews International
11 ad...................................... 16
12 1-B two-sided Coldwell Banker Previews
International ad........................ 16
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1 BE IT REMEMBERED THAT pursuant to Notice and
2 on Monday, December 11, 2006, commencing at the hour of
3 10:01 a.m., at 951 Mariner's Island Boulevard, San
4 Mateo, California, before me, ANN A. KIRBY, Certified
5 Shorthand Reporter, License No. 4402, there personally
6 appeared
7 RYAN YOSHIO IWANAGA
8 CALLED AS A WITNESS by Plaintiff, who being
9 duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows.
10 ---oOo---
11 EXAMINATION BY:
12 MR. MINOLETTI: Q. Good morning. Would you state
13 your full name for the record, please.
14 A. Ryan Yoshio, Y-o-s-h-i-o, Iwanaga,
15 I-w-a-n-a-g-a.
16 Q. And have you ever given a deposition before?
17 A. No.
18 Q. Okay. Have you ever testified in a trial
19 before?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Let me just give you some of the ground rules.
22 If you don't understand the question I asked, just say
23 so and I'll repeat it or rephrase it for you. If you do
24 go ahead and answer the question, I have to assume you
25 understood it, okay?
4
1 A. I'm sorry?
2 Q. If you do go ahead and answer a question I
3 asked, I have to assume you understood it.
4 A. Okay.
5 Q. If you have any questions along the way, feel
6 free to ask a question. If you need a break for any
7 reason, talk to your lawyer, need a drink of water,
8 anything like that, just say so and we can take a break.
9 A. Understood.
10 Q. If I ask you a question that you don't under-
11 stand, please say so and I'll try and rephrase it for
12 you.
13 A. Okay.
14 Q. Please don't guess. Just because I ask you a
15 question doesn't mean you have to have an answer, okay?
16 And all I want is your best recollection, your best
17 testimony.
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. Okay. You're currently employed at The Sereno
20 Group?
21 A. Yes, sir.
22 Q. And you are a vice president?
23 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. Okay. And how long have you been there?
25 A. Since July -- well, April or -- April or May
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1 of two -- of this year, 2006. We officially opened July
2 1st, 2006.
3 Q. Okay. And what are your duties as a vice
4 president of The Sereno Group?
5 A. Day-to-day manager of the office, long-term
6 planning, vision and planning. Small company, so pretty
7 much janitor and everything.
8 Q. When you say you're the manager of the office,
9 are you acting in the capacity as a real estate broker?
10 A. We have an official licensed broker, but I am
11 acting as a manager, yes.
12 Q. And do you manage the real estate agents?
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. Okay. And in terms of managing the real
15 estate agents at The Sereno Group, what do you do?
16 A. Assist on day-to-day office administration,
17 transactional questions, sort of, you know, marketing,
18 et cetera, the planning. We don't do the marketing per
19 se, but just the overall strategy, timing, et cetera.
20 Q. Okay. And how many agents do you have?
21 A. We presently have approximately 50.
22 Q. And does The Sereno Group have just one
23 office?
24 A. Yes, sir.
25 Q. Okay. And that's the one listed on your card
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1 in Los Gatos?
2 A. Yes, sir.
3 Q. And before working for The Sereno Group, where
4 did you work?
5 A. Coldwell Banker.
6 Q. And how long were you with Coldwell Banker?
7 A. I was with the parent company NRT since 1996.
8 Q. And what job titles did you hold with Coldwell
9 Banker?
10 A. First as a sales agent, second as an assistant
11 manager, assistant manager slash sales agent, and then
12 finally as a manager, office manager.
13 Q. When did you get your sales license?
14 A. 1996.
15 Q. When did you get your broker's license?
16 A. I have not got my broker's license.
17 Q. Okay. And how long were you a sales agent
18 before you were promoted to assistant manager?
19 A. Three years, approximately. I can't recall,
20 but right around three years.
21 Q. And how long were you an assistant manager?
22 A. Another three years.
23 Q. At the time of the deal with Mr. Simpson, the
24 purchase of the Blanchard property, how long had you
25 been a manager? Or had you been a manager?
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1 A. I was a manager, but I don't recall the exact
2 time of contact. But it was probably within the first
3 year of me being manager.
4 Q. Okay. Now, as I understand it, you were not
5 the manager at the time that Mr. Simpson bought the
6 property in 2001, is that correct?
7 A. That's correct, I was not the manager.
8 Q. Okay. Were you an assistant manager at that
9 point?
10 A. Not at that time. Well, let me -- there's
11 a -- and again, I'm not sure, because it was a long time
12 ago, when the actual transaction closed. When I said I
13 was with NRT, we were Century 21, which was owned by
14 NRT. Coldwell Banker was also owned by NRT.
15 They converted my office to Coldwell Banker,
16 and then that's when I was acting as assistant manager.
17 It was just for the one office, Century 21 office.
18 There were two actual managers when we became
19 Coldwell Banker. But then shortly thereafter the
20 Coldwell Banker manager moved up the peninsula, and
21 that's when we began to manage both offices.
22 So I'm not sure when it closed, but my under-
23 standing, I believe it was a different manager at the
24 time.
25 Q. Okay.
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1 A. I mean, I know for myself. Which manager it
2 was, I'm not sure.
3 Q. Okay. All right. And as I understand it, you
4 did not retain any materials or files that would have
5 related to the Simpson transaction.
6 A. No, sir.
7 Q. That would have all been with NRT or Coldwell
8 Banker.
9 A. I'm sorry?
10 Q. That would have been left with --
11 A. Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir.
12 Q. -- NRT.
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. Can you just give me a brief history of your
15 educational background?
16 A. Yes, sir. I graduated from California
17 Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in 1991
18 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. I have a
19 Master of Fine Arts in English and creative writing from
20 the University of Oregon, I received it in 1994. And
21 then I started a doctorate program at the University of
22 Houston in 1995, but discontinued the doctorate.
23 Q. Okay.
24 A. Then came back to California.
25 Q. All right. And other than your employment
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1 with Coldwell Banker and currently with The Sereno
2 Group, can you tell me what other employment you've had
3 since or during school?
4 A. Well, I was -- during my doctoral candidacy
5 and also my fine arts studies, I was actually a lecturer
6 at the universities, both Oregon and Houston, working in
7 English and creative writing. Anything -- do you need
8 things before that?
9 Q. No.
10 A. Okay.
11 Q. No other real estate --
12 A. No, sir.
13 Q. -- employment?
14 Any specific training in real estate or
15 specific education in real estate?
16 A. Principles, real estate principles in order to
17 take the state exam.
18 Q. And are you required to keep up with any sort
19 of continuing education?
20 A. Yes, sir. I'm a, I guess a licensed realtor
21 in good standing, I've renewed my license for another
22 four years.
23 Q. Have you done anything to prepare yourself for
24 the deposition today?
25 A. No, sir.
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1 Q. Okay. Have you looked at any documents or
2 emails or photographs, anything like that?
3 A. I don't have anything.
4 Q. Have you spoken to Lou Rae Kagel or Doug Rae
5 or either of the O'Briens about the deposition?
6 A. No, sir.
7 Q. Do you recall speaking with Ralph Simpson
8 about the purchase of the home?
9 A. Vaguely, yes.
10 Q. Okay. What do you recall?
11 A. He called me with concerns about building a
12 pool. I think we talked maybe two times on the phone.
13 And I collected information as I'm instructed to do.
14 And Mr. Simpson wrote me a letter with his position and
15 claims, and I forwarded it to the legal department at
16 NRT.
17 Q. Do you remember approximately when that
18 happened?
19 A. I don't.
20 Q. Do you recall the content of the letter?
21 A. I recall part -- I recall the -- I think the
22 specific concern that he had was that the impervious lot
23 coverage was exceeded and it prohibited from building
24 him -- I believe from building a pool the size that he
25 wanted.
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1 Q. Do you recall talking with Mr. Simpson about
2 any sort of a solution?
3 A. No, I don't.
4 Q. Did you talk with Lou Rae Kagel about the com-
5 plaints that Mr. Simpson had?
6 A. Very briefly, only to get an understanding of
7 who her client was and the overall general situation of
8 the listing.
9 Q. Do you recall any specific discussions about
10 what was advertised?
11 A. No, I don't.
12 Q. When you were manager or assistant manager of
13 the office, how many agents were there there in the --
14 was it the Los Gatos office as well?
15 A. Yes, sir.
16 Q. Okay.
17 A. When it was just Century 21, it was approxi-
18 mately 80 agents. When it became Coldwell Banker, it
19 was approximately 150, 160, which climbed to close to
20 200 at one time, but fluctuated between 160 and 200.
21 Q. When Mr. Simpson bought his home, it was
22 August, September 2001. Do you recall how many agents
23 were there at that time?
24 A. That's when it was -- that's when I believe it
25 was still -- we were separate offices, so I wouldn't
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1 know.
2 Q. Okay.
3 A. I believe I did -- the timing when all of the
4 mergers and everything happened were -- I can't recall.
5 Q. When Mr. Simpson first complained to you, and
6 I represent to you that he believes it was March of
7 2003, can you tell me about how many agents were in that
8 office at that time?
9 A. I would say probably the 150 mark, 160. And
10 that's general. I'm not 100 percent sure.
11 Q. Did you talk with Douglas Rae at all about the
12 complaints that Mr. Simpson had?
13 A. Just in a very limited general sense.
14 Q. Other than passing the letter on that Mr.
15 Simpson wrote to the legal department, did you pass it
16 on to anyone else?
17 A. No, not that I recall.
18 Q. Have you ever heard of Stonehenge Properties?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Did you ever go visit the Blanchard property?
21 A. No, I did not.
22 Q. Let me show you what I'll mark as, I guess
23 Exhibit 1 to this deposition, we've lost track of trying
24 to keep things in order.
25 /////
13
1 (Deposition Exhibit 1 was
2 marked for identification.)
3 MR. MINOLETTI: Q. Whyn't you take a moment to read
4 that and then we'll have some questions for you.
5 A. Okay.
6 Q. Do you recall receiving this letter?
7 A. Remotely, yes, sir.
8 Q. Okay. It says up on top "hand delivered to
9 Ryan on June 9." And I'll represent that that is Mr.
10 Simpson's handwriting. Do you recall him coming to the
11 office and giving this to you?
12 A. I do not.
13 Q. Do you recall ever meeting Mr. Simpson?
14 A. I do not. As I remember, it was just over the
15 phone.
16 Q. And do you remember more than one telephone
17 call?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Can you approximate for me?
20 A. I would say two to three phone conversations.
21 Q. And generally you've told me I think what
22 those phone conversations consisted of. Do you have any
23 specifics?
24 A. Only the fact that he called to tell me that
25 that was an issue. And then I called him back with --
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1 you know, to discuss at greater length what it was. And
2 that's when I received the letter.
3 Q. Do you recall advising Mr. Simpson that you
4 only had a certain amount of authority that you could
5 authorize in terms of trying to resolve this, and other
6 than that you had to go to the legal department?
7 MR. RAINES: Assumes facts not in evidence.
8 THE WITNESS: What is that?
9 MR. MINOLETTI: You can answer.
10 MR. RAINES: It's me making noise.
11 THE WITNESS: Okay. Well, yes. I don't recall the
12 specific conversation, but we had the ability to make
13 certain decisions if it was under a certain -- it was a
14 nominal amount.
15 MR. MINOLETTI: Q. At the time, what was that
16 amount?
17 A. I think it was a thousand dollars.
18 Q. Okay. So when Mr. Simpson was asking for
19 something on the order of $40,000 in this letter to you,
20 you had no authority to act on that, correct?
21 A. Yeah, no.
22 Q. Was it anything over a thousand dollars would
23 be referred to the legal department?
24 A. Typically.
25 Q. Okay.
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1 A. Even -- even -- even with that authority, you
2 know, it's -- oftentimes it was my practice just to have
3 a discussion with the legal department.
4 Q. And that was your office policy at the time?
5 A. Well, it was my practice, yes.
6 Q. Okay. Other than Mr. Simpson's complaints to
7 you about Lou Rae Kagel, did you ever receive any other
8 complaints about Lou Rae Kagel?
9 A. Not that I recall.
10 Q. The letter I've shown to you referenced a
11 couple of brochures. I want to show you what I believe
12 those brochures to be. The first one, we'll just make
13 this 1-A, the second one can be 1-B.
14 (Deposition Exhibit 1-A was
15 marked for identification.)
16 (Deposition Exhibit 1-B was
17 marked for identification.)
18 MR. MINOLETTI: Q. The second one that's marked 1-B
19 is two-sided, just the original brochure that we have.
20 Do you recall seeing those brochures before?
21 A. I believe they were attached to the letter
22 when he submitted them.
23 Q. Okay. As a manager, was it part of your duty
24 to look at advertisements that the agents create?
25 A. No, sir.
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1 Q. Okay. Do you know if anyone above the level
2 of a regular sales agent reviews any of the advertising
3 before it's disseminated?
4 A. I don't know.
5 Q. The time during which you worked with Coldwell
6 Banker, was there any policy as to what an agent should
7 or should not advertise for a property?
8 A. Not that I recall.
9 Q. Was it pretty much left up to the agent what
10 they wanted to do?
11 A. Yes, I -- as I recall, yes.
12 Q. During the time that you worked for Coldwell
13 Banker, was there any policy that you were aware of
14 about what an agent could input into the Multiple
15 Listing Service?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Did you ever talk with anyone at the city of
18 Monte Sereno about the issue that Mr. Simpson had with
19 his pool?
20 A. No, sir.
21 Q. Did you ever tell Ralph that Lou Rae Kagel had
22 called the city of Monte Sereno and found out that he
23 could have his pool?
24 A. Not that I recall.
25 Q. Did you ever ask Mr. Simpson to put his com-
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1 plaints in writing?
2 A. I -- well, the complexities of this particular
3 situation I thought required that I understand. You
4 know, coming in after the fact, not having actually ever
5 seen the file, and then to get a complaint that -- of
6 this nature, you know, in particular asking for the
7 amount of dollars, I thought it most prudent that we get
8 it in writing, at least just to understand exactly the
9 specifics of the situation from his point of view.
10 Q. Okay. Did you ever talk with Mrs. Simpson or
11 anyone else in the Simpson family about this problem?
12 A. Not that I can recall.
13 Q. Did Ralph ever email you about anything to do
14 with this house?
15 A. I don't remember.
16 MR. MINOLETTI: I think that's all I have.
17 MR. RAINES: I have no questions.
18 (The deposition concluded at 10:28 a.m.)
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20 ______________________________________
21 RYAN YOSHIO IWANAGA
22 Date_________________
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1 R E P O R T E R ' S C E R T I F I C A T E
2 I, ANN A. KIRBY, Certified Shorthand Reporter No.
3 4402, the undersigned, duly authorized to administer
4 oaths pursuant to Section 2093(b) of the California Code
5 of Civil Procedure, hereby certify that the witness in
6 the foregoing deposition was by me duly sworn to testify
7 to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
8 in said cause;
9 That said deposition was taken at the time and
10 place therein stated; that the testimony of the witness
11 was reported by me and thereafter transcribed under my
12 direction; that the foregoing is a full, complete and
13 true record of said testimony; and that the witness was
14 given the opportunity to read and correct said depo-
15 sition and to subscribe the same.
16 I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not of counsel or
17 attorney for any of the parties in the foregoing depo-
18 sition and caption name, or in any way interested in the
19 outcome of the cause named in said caption.
20 Should the signature of the witness not be affixed
21 to the deposition, the signature has been waived by
22 stipulation, or the deposition was not signed for the
23 following reason:_______________________________________
24 Date:_________________ _________________________
25 ANN A. KIRBY CSR No. 4402
20