Yolanda's, Inc. v. Kahl & Goveia Commercial Real Estate

Filed 5/3/17

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

YOLANDA’S, INC., 2d Civil No.B271408 (Super. Ct. No. 56-2012- Plaintiff and Respondent, 00413479-CU-CO-VTA) (Ventura County) v.

KAHL & GOVEIA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE,

Defendant and Appellant.

Here we conclude, among other things, that the scope of questions asked by a judgment creditor in a third party judgment debtor examination may include the location of assets no longer in the possession of the third party. (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 708.120, 708.130, 187.)1 Appellant wishes to appeal from a post-judgment discovery order arising from such a third party judgment debtor examination.

All statutory references are to the Code of Civil 1

Procedure.

Appellant acknowledges that the order may not be appealable. It is not. We accommodate the request to treat the matter as a petition for writ of mandate. We deny the petition. FACTS Yolanda’s, Inc. obtained a $1,892,835 judgment against Kahl & Goveia Commercial Real Estate (KGCRE); Rocklin Covenant Group, LP (Rocklin); and K&G / Seabridge II, LLC (K&G) in an action involving a breach of lease. We reversed the judgment against KGCRE and affirmed in all other respects. (Gietzen v. Goveia (Mar. 30, 2016, B255925) [nonpub. opn.].) KGCRE managed shopping centers owned, in part, by Joseph Goveia and Bruce Kahl. Goveia and Kahl were principals in KGCRE. In spite of earning $774,000 per year in fees, KGCRE claimed it was insolvent and shut down operations in August 2013. Goveia created a new property management company, Seabridge Property Services (SPS). KGCRE’s assets were transferred to SPS along with its key employees. One of those employees who transferred from KGCRE to SPS is Joseph Goveia’s brother, James Goveia. James was an accountant for KGCRE and serves SPS in that same capacity. In January 2016, Yolanda’s obtained an order requiring the person most knowledgeable for KGCRE to appear as a third party witness for a judgment debtor’s examination. James Goveia was designated as the person most knowledgeable (PMK). Yolanda’s also issued a subpoena to produce documents in the debtor’s examination. James Goveia produced a document showing a transfer of a Mercedes Benz owned by