Tag Archives: Alan “Jalian” Johnston

New Brief Filed By Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs: Basis Of Jalian Johnston Deposition Scheduling Freakout Is That He’s Too Busy With Work To Be Deposed Until August, Depo Properly Noticed And Scheduled By Plaintiffs For June 30 Anyway, Judge Oliver Asked To Sanction Jalian Johnston If He Doesn’t Show Up

June 28, 2017 Mike Leave a comment

For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Perhaps you remember that just a couple days ago the Honorable Rozella Oliver, magistrate judge in the Lunada Bay Boys surf thuggery case, told the parties to quit their damnable antics and get defendant Jalian “Alan” Johnston’s deposition scheduled. At that time, she also told the parties that they’d better get together once more and try to figure this out on their own.¹

Well, they met yesterday, and nothing got settled, so today plaintiffs’ counsel Lisa Pooley filed a letter brief with the court (transcription after the break, as always), explaining why they have been unable to schedule dude’s depo. It seems that, despite his intensely projected workshy go-with-flow SoCal surflospher image, Jalian Johnston is working too much to allow him to schedule a deposition.²

After weeks of back and forth, the plaintiffs have thrown their hands up in despair and asked the judge to impose sanctions if Jalian Johnston doesn’t make it to his properly noticed and scheduled deposition on Friday, June 30. You can read the painful details in the transcription after the break, but it’s much too stupid for me to summarize for you.
Continue reading New Brief Filed By Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs: Basis Of Jalian Johnston Deposition Scheduling Freakout Is That He’s Too Busy With Work To Be Deposed Until August, Depo Properly Noticed And Scheduled By Plaintiffs For June 30 Anyway, Judge Oliver Asked To Sanction Jalian Johnston If He Doesn’t Show Up →

Lunada Bay Boys Parties Still Getting Fussy Over Scheduling Of Jalian Johnston Deposition, Magistrate Judge Oliver Says Work It Out By This Friday Or Else Write “I Will Not Be An Asshole” 5000 Times On The Board Everybody Has To File Five Page Briefs Explaining Why They Can’t Schedule The Damn Depo Like Grownups

June 26, 2017 Mike Leave a comment

For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Recall that as of ten days ago the parties in the Lunada Bay Boys surf-thuggery case found themselves unable to schedule defendant Alan “Jalian” Johnston’s deposition. Well, this afternoon, Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver filed a minute order reporting that they still have not been able to schedule the deposition (as always, there’s a transcription after the break). Furthermore, she orders them to get their damn act together and have it scheduled by Friday, June 30 or else everyone has to write five page briefs explaining what they did to try to come to terms with one another. This is, I think, the judicial equivalent of the babies getting fussy and scratching at themselves until mom makes them put their mittens on.

Jalian Johnston, of course, is more than just a non-member of the County’s most famous nonexistent surf local nongang. He is also a make-believe poor boy who “likes to live as if he were penniless,” and, additionally, a dedicated crafter who sells his world-famous crafts at local souvenir shops. He is also the proud possessor of a Zonker-Harris-esque surflosophy, proudly propounded in that linked-to article which, also interestingly, turns out to essentially subvert a crucial element of the defense of the case:
Continue reading Lunada Bay Boys Parties Still Getting Fussy Over Scheduling Of Jalian Johnston Deposition, Magistrate Judge Oliver Says Work It Out By This Friday Or Else ~~Write “I Will Not Be An Asshole” 5000 Times On The Board~~ Everybody Has To File Five Page Briefs Explaining Why They Can’t Schedule The Damn Depo Like Grownups →

Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

City Of Palos Verdes Estates Shortcircuits Ongoing Discovery Dispute By Just Handing Over The Damn Private Investigator’s Report On How The Undercover Sting Operation Got Blown, But The Squabbles Never Cease And Now They Are Fighting Over Scheduling Defendant Alan Johnston’s Deposition!

June 16, 2017 Mike Leave a comment

Jeff Kepley is sworn in as new police chief of Palos Verdes Estates, CA. The ceremony for Chief Kepley, who was joined by family, friends, council members from PVE, and many police from various cities, took place at the La Venta Inn, located in Palos Verdes Estates.

For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

A few days ago I wrote about a telephonic conference between the Lunada Bay Boys case plaintiffs and the City defendants³ before magistrate judge Rozella Oliver. They were fighting over a report submitted by a private eye hired by the City to figure out who blew a planned sting operation against the Bay Boys’ surf thuggery.

At that time Judge Oliver ordered the parties to brief her thoroughly on the matter. Well, it seems that the City decided to just hand over the report rather than fight about it any more. Hence they all filed a joint stipulation asking the judge not to make them write the briefs any more. You’ll find a transcription of the stipulation after the break. It’s not by any means clear that we’ll be able to get our hands on the report itself, although often discovery material turns up in the exhibits to later motions, so maybe we will.

However, all is not peaceful on the PVP!⁴ Evidently the parties had another telephone call with Judge Oliver yesterday in which they had to admit that they couldn’t agree on how to schedule defendant Alan Johnston’s deposition. She told them more or less to work it out amongst themselves or everyone would have to have another damn phone call. Here’s a link to the minute order summarizing the call, and a transcription of this one is also available after the break.
Continue reading City Of Palos Verdes Estates Shortcircuits Ongoing Discovery Dispute By Just Handing Over The Damn Private Investigator’s Report On How The Undercover Sting Operation Got Blown, But The Squabbles Never Cease And Now They Are Fighting Over Scheduling Defendant Alan Johnston’s Deposition! →

Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Lunada Bay Boys Defendant Brant “Blakeman Looked Possessed Or Possibly On Drugs”: Plaintiffs’ Attorney Otten Alleges Bay Boys Defendants Blakeman, Johnston Withheld Evidence, Gave Wrong Phone Passwords Necessitating Court-Ordered Phone Cracking, Committed Other Evidentiary Shenanigans

January 22, 2017 Mike Leave a comment

“Blakeman looked possessed or possibly on drugs. His behavior got more bizarre throughout the morning.”

For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on the suit.

Well, when I decided to start collecting the pleadings in Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys, I had no idea how much material it was going to involve. By the way, the full collection is available here on Archive.Org. In any case, a bunch more stuff hit PACER last night. It consists of allegations by Victor Otten, plaintiffs’ attorney, that Bay Boys defendants Brant Blakeman and Alan Johnston are stonewalling court-ordered discovery and that “there is a clear pattern emerging that the individual defendants are withholding and/or destroying evidence and misusing the discovery process.”

There are links and brief descriptions of the new material after the break, as always, but first I have some interesting details about defendant Alan Johnston’s cell phone. It seems that on December 12, 2016, the magistrate judge, Hon. Rozella Oliver, issued an order to compel defendant Alan Johnston to hand over two cell phones and corresponding passwords to the plaintiffs:

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT that Mr. Johnston overnight his cell phone(s), both his old, water damaged phone and his current phone to his counsel. Mr. Carey⁵ is directed to hand over the cell phone(s) to Todd Stefan at Setec Investigations, 8391 Beverly Blvd #167, Los Angeles, CA 90048, the party chosen by Plaintiffs to conduct the examination of the phone.

Mr. Otten and Mr. Carey shall reasonably cooperate to agree upon a set of search parameters to guide Mr. Stefan’s forensic investigation of the phone(s), including text messages, contacts, photographs, and videos by December 14, 2016. If the parties cannot agree upon a set of search parameters, they shall submit their proposed search parameters to the Court by December 14, 2016. Mr. Johnston is ordered to cooperate as necessary with Mr. Stefan with respect to passwords. Defendant Alan Johnston is ordered to pay the cost of the forensic investigation within 10 days of his attorney being sent a statement.

But according to a declaration filed last night by plaintiffs’ attorney Victor Otten, the process is not proceeding as planned. It seems that the phone wasn’t actually water-damaged, that the handed-over passwords were wrong, thus requiring the forensic investigator to brute-force the phone, and many more similar such shenanigans:
Continue reading Lunada Bay Boys Defendant Brant “Blakeman Looked Possessed Or Possibly On Drugs”: Plaintiffs’ Attorney Otten Alleges Bay Boys Defendants Blakeman, Johnston Withheld Evidence, Gave Wrong Phone Passwords Necessitating Court-Ordered Phone Cracking, Committed Other Evidentiary Shenanigans →