Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)
Docket Number
20230591
Document Type
Brief of Appellant
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Appeal from [Modified by the Court] Final Order and Judgment in Favor or Plaintiff Lindsay Ortega, Fourth Judicial District Court, Wasatch County, State of Utah, District Court No. 160500012, Honorable Jennifer A. [Brown] Mabey presiding Appellant’s Opening Brief Patricia Geary Glenn (#5280)
ATTORNEY AT LAW, P.C. Attorney for Defendant
/Appellant ii TABLE OF CONTENTS IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES ........................................................................iv INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES ............................................................................ 5 1. Whether the district court erred in reinstating its initial 2018 Final Order and Judgment after excluding the evidence which formed the basis of its decision as improperly proffered by Plaintiff under Rule 26……………………5 2. Whether the district court erred in applying a double standard by excluding Defendant’s witnesses and exhibits under Rule but not excluding Plaintiff’s witnesses and exhibits under Rule 26………………………………….6 3. Whether the district court erred in failing to make detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Rule 52, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure………………………………………………………………………………..6 STATEMENT OF THE CASE................................................................................ 6 I. Summary of Relevant Facts ......................................................................... 6 II. Facts Relevant to Procedural History ......................................................... 9 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT .....................................................................27 ARGUMENT ..........................................................................................................29 I. The District Court Erred in Reinstating the Initial Order after its Ruling Excluding the Evidence upon which it was Based. ............................29 II. The District Court erred in its Ruling on Motion to Set Aside Judgment by Applying Rule 26 to Exclude Cynthia’s Witnesses and Exhibits but not Applying Rule 26 to Exclude Plaintiff’s Witnesses and Exhibits .................35 III. The District Court’s Failure to Make Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Requires Reversal. ...........................................................38 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................40 ADDENDA ..............................................................................................................42 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE .....................................................................41 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE AND DIGITAL SUBMISSIONS .......................41 iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Acton v. Deliran, 737 P. 2d 996 (1987) ................................................................39 Bishop v. Gentec, Inc., 2002 UT 36 ......................................................................33 Gardner v. Gardner, 748 P. 2d 1076 (1988) ........................................................39 Keystone Ins. Agency, LLC. V. Inside Ins. LLC., 2019 UT 20, 445 P. 3d 434 8, 9 ROA General Inc., v. Dai, 2014 UT App 124, 11 (Utah Ct. App. 2014) ...........35 Stonehocker v. Stonehocker, 2008 UT App 11, 176 P. 2d 476 ...........................39 Utah v. Boyden, 2019 UT 11, 441 P.3d 737................................................ 7, 8, 9, 37 Rules Utah R. Civ. P. 26 (d)(4) ................................................................................ 8,9, 35 Utah R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2) .........................................................................................13 Utah R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6) .........................................................................................35 iv IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES Defendant/Appellant: Cynthia Jones Represented by Patricia Geary Glenn, ATTORNEY AT LAW, P.C. Plaintiff/Appellee: Lindsay Ortega Represented by Kathleen D. Weron, OGLETREE DEAKINS; Michael E. Harmond, Christopher Hogle, HOLLAND & HART, LLP1 INTRODUCTION As a casualty of the public outcry in the Park City community over the forced ouster of the beloved Cathy Clark, Operations Director of Furburbia a storefront adoption center of Friends of Animals Utah (“FOAU”) by the new president of FOAU, Kathleen [Weron] Toth1 - Cynthia Jones, a long time member of the rescue community, and part-time employee of FOAU was fired by Kathleen [Weron] Toth then sued for defamation and slander. Kathleen [Weron] Toth had publicly threatened community members who voiced concerns over her new management that they would be sued and made good on the promise, first bringing a lawsuit against Connie Smith a 35-year veteran of the rescue community, then recycling the Complaint filed by her then husband Justin Toth, in the form of this lawsuit against Cynthia Jones. The case sat inactive for two years until an order to show cause prompted resuscitation by Kathleen [Weron] Toth and a certificate of readiness for trial. Cynthia Jones, proceeding pro se, to her credit, filed two motions that, if considered, would drastically effect the trial (1) a motion to remove Plaintiff’s witnesses [the veterinarian and web administrator] and exhibits [medical reports and face book posts] based on the failure to list 1 Kathleen Toth is now Kathleen Weron, Plaintiff’s counsel, previously married to Justin Toth, who filed the Smith Complaint and the Complaint in this case. The name Weron is referenced parenthetically for clarity and to avoid confusion. 2 them on pretrial disclosures - thus subject to automatic and mandatory exclusion, and when it became apparent that Kathleen [Weron] Toth had taken over as counsel from Justin Toth, (2) a motion to disqualify her as counsel for obvious reasons. Cynthia Jones filed those dispositive motions
Rights
Public record document (some rights may be reserved).
Recommended Citation
Utah Court of Appeals, "Lindsay Ortega Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Cynthia Jones Defendant-Appellant : Brief of Appellant" (2024). Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –). 645.
https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/byu_ca4/645
Comments
Original Brief Submitted to the Utah Court of Appeals; born-digital electronic filing processed by the Howard W. Hunter Law Library, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.