websleuths.com, llc vs patricia arrington griffith
TRANSCRIPT
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7/27/2019 WEBSLEUTHS.COM, LLC vs Patricia Arrington Griffith
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Exhibit A
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Susan Pr ui t t I J ul y 10, 2014
Associ at ed Cour t Repor t er s 800- 340- 5881
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CAUSE NO. 2013- 44862
WEBSLEUTHS. COM, LLC AND ) I N THE DI STRI CT COURT OF SUSAN PRUI TT, )
PLAI NTI FFS, ) ) HARRI S COUNTY, T E X A S VS. ) ) PATRI CI A ARRI NGTON GRI FFI TH, ) DEFENDANT. ) 157TH J UDI CI AL DI STRI CT
******************************
ORAL DEPOSI TI ON
SUSAN PRUI TT
J ul y 10, 2014
******************************
ORAL DEPOSI TI ON of SUSAN PRUI TT, produced as a
wi t ness at t he i nst ance of t he Def endant and dul y sworn,
was t aken i n t he above- st yl ed and number ed cause on
J ul y 10, 2014, f r om 9: 14 a. m. t o 12: 23 p. m. bef or e
Roxanne K. Smi t h, Cer t i f i ed Shor t hand Repor t er i n and
f or t he St at e of Texas, r epor t ed by comput er i zed
st enotype machi ne at t he of f i ces of Hanszen Laport e,
11767 Kat y Fr eeway, Sui t e 850, Houst on, Texas, pur suant
t o t he Texas Rul es of Ci vi l Pr ocedur e and t he pr ovi si ons
st at ed on t he r ecor d or at t ached her eto.
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Associ at ed Cour t Repor t er s 800- 340- 5881
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1 A P P E A R A N C E S
2
3 FOR THE PLAI NTI FFS:4 Mr . Ci r o J . Samper i
Hanszen Lapor t e5 11767 Kat y Fr eeway, Sui t e 850
Houst on, Texas 770796 Tel ephone: ( 713) 522- 9444
Facsi mi l e: ( 713) 524- 25807 E- Mai l : Csamper i @hanszenl apor t e. com
8
9 FOR THE DEFENDANT:10 Mr . Wi l l i am Pi erat t Demond
Stat e Bar No. 2405893111 Demond & Hassan, PLLC
2450 Loui si ana St r eet , Sui t e 400- 52812 Houst on, Texas 77006
Tel ephone: ( 713) 701- 524013 Facs i mi l e: ( 713) 588- 8407
E- Mai l : Wi l l i am. demond@demondhassan. com14
15 ALSO PRESENT:
16 Mr . Zachar y Cl ar k
17
18
19 * * * * *
20
21
22
23
24
25
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Susan Pr ui t t I J ul y 10, 2014
Associ at ed Cour t Repor t er s 800- 340- 5881
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1 I NDEX
2 PAGE
3 Appear ances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4 SUSAN PRUI TT
5 Exami nat i on by Mr . Demond. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6 Changes and Si gnatur e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7 Repor t er ' s Cer t i f i cat e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
8
9
10 EXHI BI T I NDEX
11 NO. DESCRI PTI ON PAGE
12 1 Texas Fr anchi se Tax Publ i c I nf or mat i on 19
13 Repor t
14 2 Regul at i ons of Websl eut hs. com, L. L. C. 21
15 3 Ar t i cl es of Or gani zat i on 3516 4 Sal e and Purchase Agreement 37
17 5 E- Mai l Dated 4/ 25/ 11 66
18
19 * * * * *
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1 Websl eut hs?
2 A. I ' m sur e i t ' s al l t hr oughout t he e- mai l s and
3 t hr oughout t he mod f orum she sai d we were equal par t ners
4 i n ever y way.
5 Q. Can you poi nt me t o wher e she woul d have sai d
6 t hat ? I s t hat somet hi ng you ar e f ami l i ar wi t h?
7 A. I ' d have t o f i nd t hem, e- mai l s, what she t ol d
8 t he moderators and admi ni st r ators, we were equal i n
9 ever y aspect . I bel i eve she al so admi t t ed i t i n her10 admi ssi ons.
11 Q. Di d you have an agr eement wi t h Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h
12 wher e you woul d become t he onl y - - t he sol e member of
13 Websl eut hs?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Di d you send Ms. Gr i f f i t h a copy of t he publ i c
16 i nf or mat i on r epor t t hat you f i l ed on behal f of
17 Websl eut hs?
18 A. I bel i eve I di d.
19 MR. SAMPERI : Exhi bi t 1, r i ght ?
20 MR. DEMOND: I ' m sor r y. Exhi bi t 1.
21 MR. SAMPERI : Okay.
22 MR. DEMOND: Yes. Thank you f or t he
23 c l ar i f i cat i on.
24 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) What ar e t he r esponsi bi l i t i es
25 of t he manager of Websl eut hs?
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1 THE WI TNESS: Okay.
2 MR. DEMOND: - - anyt i me we can do t hat .
3 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) To your knowl edge, has
4 Ms. Gr i f f i t h ever owned an ent i t y t hat competed wi t h
5 Websl eut hs?
6 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ect i on, f orm.
7 MR. DEMOND: And hol d on one second.
8 Can I ask t he nat ur e of t he obj ect i on f or
9 t hi s one?10 MR. SAMPERI : I t hi nk i t ' s a l i t t l e vague.
11 MR. DEMOND: Okay. I ' l l cl ar i f y t hat . No
12 probl em.
13 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Do you al l ege t hat Ms. Gr i f f i t h
14 ever owned an ent i t y t hat compet ed wi t h Websl eut hs?
15 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ect i on, f or m, j ust on t he
16 " compet ed" par t .
17 MR. DEMOND: Cl ar i f y "competed"?
18 MR. SAMPERI : ( Noddi ng head. )
19 MR. DEMOND: No pr obl em.
20 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Do you bel i eve t hat
21 Ms. Gr i f f i t h ever had i nt er est s t hat wer e adver se t o
22 Websl eut hs t hat har med Websl euths i n some way?
23 A. I nt ent i onal l y, no, I don' t t hi nk she di d.
24 Q. How about uni nt ent i onal l y?
25 A. I t hi nk she has damaged Websl eut hs.
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1 A. "Managi ng member compensat i on. Manager may
2 r ecei ve compensat i on as det ermi ned by al l members f or
3 servi ces pr ovi ded i n t he management of t he L. L. C. "
4 Q. And was t hi s pr ovi si on ever changed, t o your
5 knowl edge?
6 A. No.
7 Q. Okay. I s t here any amount of compensat i on t hat
8 i s l i st ed i n t he r egul at i ons t hat wi l l be pai d t o t he
9 manager ?10 A. No, not t hat I know of .
11 Q. And di d you cause t hese r egul at i ons t o be
12 dr af t ed? Act ual l y, l et me st r i ke t hat .
13 Di d you cause Mr . Pr ui t t t o dr af t t hese
14 r egul at i ons on behal f of t he ent i t y?
15 A. What do you mean di d I cause?
16 Q. Di d you ask hi m t o dr af t t hese? Di d he dr af t
17 t hem on your behal f ?
18 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ect i on, f orm.
19 A. On my behal f ? No. On behal f of Websl eut hs he
20 dr ew t hem.
21 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Di d you i ni t i at e t he pr ocess of
22 havi ng t hese dr af t ed?
23 A. I asked hi m t o dr af t t hem.
24 Q. Okay. So, Ms. Gr i f f i t h di dn' t cal l up
25 Mr . Pr ui t t and say, wi l l you pl ease dr af t t hese; i s t hat
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Associ at ed Cour t Repor t er s 800- 340- 5881
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1 accur at e?
2 A. She di d not cal l hi m, no.
3 Q. You asked hi m t o do i t ; i s t hat cor r ect ?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Di d Ms. Gr i f f i t h ever si gn a bi l l of sal e as
6 r equi r ed by t he sal e and pur chase agr eement ?
7 A. No.
8 Q. She di d not .
9 Okay. Di d she ever assi gn an i nt er est i n10 Websl eut hs t o you?
11 A. I bel i eve t hr ough t he sal e and pur chase
12 agr eement , 50 per cent .
13 Q. And when di d she do t hat ?
14 A. May 1st , 2011.
15 Q. Can you t al k t o me about t he damages t hat you
16 have per sonal l y i ncur r ed - - st r i ke t hat .
17 I n your pet i t i on, t her e' s an al l egat i on
18 t hat Ms. Gr i f f i t h has br oken pr omi ses t o you. Do you,
19 i n f act , bel i eve t hat Ms. Gr i f f i t h has br oken pr omi ses
20 t o you?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. What promi ses has she broken?
23 A. The way t he company woul d be r un, Websl eut hs
24 was al ways t o be f i r st . I mpr ovement s, we coul d never do
25 any i mprovement s. She l ed me t o bel i eve t he i ncome
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1 websi t e needed, i mprovement s t o t he websi t e woul d come
2 out of t he ad r evenue f i r st . We' ve been needi ng a
3 second server f or year s. I mean, t he si t e kept goi ng
4 down. Every t i me a bi g case woul d hi t , we' d go down.
5 Members were get t i ng di sgust ed; and, you know, t here was
6 never enough money i n t he account . She al ways drai ned
7 t he account to do t hat .
8 When we got r eady t o do i t i n Apr i l or May
9 of l ast year , t he account was over dr awn; and our t ech10 had t ol d her when he was goi ng t o be doi ng t hat and t he
11 money he woul d need. The money wasn' t t her e. I t was
12 gone. We wer e even over drawn.
13 Q. Di d Websl eut hs r equi r e a second ser ver bef ore
14 t he sal e and pur chase agr eement was si gned?
15 A. I ' m not sur e. The t ech guy woul d have t o t el l
16 you t hat . The pr obl ems may have st ar t ed dur i ng t he
17 Ant hony t r i al , whi ch i s r i ght ar ound t he t i me we became
18 part ners. Because t here was so many peopl e hi t t i ng t he
19 si t e at once, i t woul d knock us down. I know upgr ades
20 were needed, and i t was never made.
21 Q. So, on t hi s l i st of pr omi ses t hat you al l ege
22 t hat she' s broken, have you been personal l y harmed by
23 t hese al l egedl y br oken pr omi ses?
24 A. Yes, I t hi nk so.
25 Q. How have you been har med?
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1 f i gure out what I ' m owed?
2 Q. Was her of f er - - was her of f er cont i ngent upon
3 what was owed, or was i t si mpl y an of f er t o gi ve you
4 money?
5 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ecti on, f or m.
6 MR. DEMOND: That ' s f ai r . That ' s a f ai r
7 obj ect i on, Counsel or . I ' l l st r i ke t hat questi on.
8 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) When she of f ered t o gi ve you
9 money, was i t cont i ngent upon anyt hi ng? Was t her e
10 any - -
11 A. I bel i eve she sai d, agai nst what you' r e owed.
12 Q. Okay. Okay. Does Ms. Gr i f f i t h st i l l hol d
13 Websl eut hs asset s - - any asset s t hat bel ong t o
14 Websl euths?
15 A. I woul d have t o go t hr ough t he l i st t o see i f16 she' s changed ever ythi ng. I know she at t empt ed t o at
17 one poi nt af t er t he l awsui t was f i l ed. So, I don' t
18 know.
19 Q. Okay.
20 MR. DEMOND: I ' m t r yi ng t o f i gur e out how
21 l ong we' ve been goi ng.
22 MR. SAMPERI : About an hour .
23 MR. DEMOND: Woul d t hi s be a decent t i me
24 t o t ake a br eak?
25 MR. SAMPERI : We can t ake a br eak.
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1 Q. Have you f ul f i l l ed al l of your obl i gat i ons
2 under t he sal e and pur chase agr eement ?
3 A. I bel i eve I have.
4 Q. At t he t i me t hat you ent er ed i nt o your
5 agr eement s wi t h Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h, di d you t r ust her ?
6 A. Yes, I di d.
7 Q. Do you bel i eve she t r ust ed you?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Di d you i nt end f or her t o t r ust you?10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Di d you i nt end f or her t o have conf i dence i n
12 you as her busi ness part ner?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Do you - - ar e you f ami l i ar wi t h t he concept of
15 sel f - deal i ng?
16 A. Not r eal l y, no.
17 Q. Okay. I ' ve hear d you ment i on t oday t hat part
18 of your compl ai nt i s t hat you' ve pr ovi ded f unds. You' ve
19 gi ven money. Di d you gi ve money t o Ms. Gr i f f i t h or t o
20 Websl eut hs?
21 A. Bot h.
22 Q. How much money di d you gi ve t o Ms. Gr i f f i t h?
23 A. On a per sonal l evel ? I s t hat what you' r e
24 aski ng?
25 Q. Sur e. Yes.
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1 A. Pr i or t o becomi ng a par t ner , I t hi nk i t was
2 around 1200. Af t er we became part ners, I t hi nk I may
3 have gi ven her 300 her e and 50 t her e, you know, a
4 hundr ed t here.
5 Q. Di d you gi ve her money any ot her way t hat
6 wasn' t as a par t ner ?
7 A. That ' s t he money I ' m di scussi ng. That was not
8 as a par t ner .
9 Q. Okay.10 A. I mean, t hat was j ust I f el t sor r y f or her .
11 She al ways needed money.
12 Q. Wer e t hose l oans or wer e t hose gi f t s?
13 A. Those wer e gi f t s. I woul d say gi f t s.
14 Q. And t hen t he money, you sai d t hat t here was a
15 second set of money you t hat gave t o Websl eut hs; i s t hat
16 correct?
17 A. Wel l , I gave t o Tr i ci a f or my i nt er est i n
18 Websl eut hs.
19 Q. So, t hi s i s t hen - - ar e you di scussi ng t he
20 pur chase pr i ce?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Okay. I ' m goi ng t o l eave t hat al one f or now.
23 A. Okay.
24 Q. I don' t mean t o di scuss your pur chase.
25 A. Okay.
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1 Q. I ' m j ust di scussi ng t he money t hat you' ve
2 gi ven - - I i nt end t o onl y be di scussi ng t he money t hat
3 you' ve gi ven t o Tr i ci a and t he ent i t y, not t he pur chase
4 pr i ce f or t he ent i t y.
5 A. Ri ght .
6 Now, t here was al so a 6, 000- dol l ar l oan I
7 bel i eve a mont h af t er we became par t ner s. That was a
8 l oan. We had a not e drawn, and she di d pay i t back.
9 Q. Okay. What ot her moneys have you gi ven t o10 Websl eut hs besi des - - you ment i oned t he $6, 000 t hat was
11 al r eady pai d back. You ment i oned 1200- dol l ar gi f t you
12 t hat gave t o Tr i ci a; i s t hat cor r ect?
13 A. I sai d t hat was t o Tr i ci a.
14 Q. Ri ght . I ' m sorr y.
15 A. And t hat was i n di f f erent i ncr ement s here and
16 t her e.
17 Q. No probl em.
18 What ot her moneys have you gi ven t o
19 Websl eut hs?
20 A. Do you mean my expenses or - - you know, I ' ve
21 put i n, l i ke, 30 her e or t her e j ust t o cover - - or maybe
22 60. I t was j ust t o cover t he over dr af t . Ot her t han t he
23 expenses, t hat ' s about i t , I guess.
24 Q. And t hen your expenses, what i s t he approxi mat e
25 t ot al of your expenses? I ' m not aski ng you f or a
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1 pai d t hi ngs f or Tr i ci a di r ect.
2 Q. The ad f r ee, do you consi der t hat t o be a
3 donat i on t o Websl eut hs?
4 A. No, no. But f or some r eason, t hey wr ote about
5 i t , The onl y money I ' ve gi ven i s f or t hat t ype of t hi ng.
6 Q. So, di d anybody r espond sayi ng t hey had
7 actual l y gi ven a donat i on t o Websl eut hs?
8 A. No. I t was j ust peopl e who had gi ven money t o
9 Tr i ci a mai nl y f or her benef i t wi t h t he el ectr i c bi l l or10 what ever . Pai d f or her phar macy bi l l .
11 Q. And do you bel i eve t hat Ms. Gr i f f i t h sol i ci t ed
12 t hose donat i ons?
13 A. I do.
14 Q. Do you have a pr obl em wi t h t hat ?
15 A. Yes, I do.
16 Q. Can you t el l me why you have a pr obl em wi t h
17 t hat ?
18 A. We don' t al l ow t hat on our si t e f or members,
19 much l ess owner s.
20 Q. I s t hat - -
21 A. She somet i mes sol i ci t ed f or t he ser ver f ee or
22 wi l l go under - - i t ' s not t r ue. Ther e i s money t her e
23 f or t he ser ver f ee. I t was f or her own benef i t . I t ' s
24 not up t o our members t o support her . I t ' s not up t o me
25 t o support her . I mean, I t hought i t was wr ong; and I
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1 don' t want peopl e associ at i ng wi t h me wi t h t hat , t hat
2 behi nd t he scenes we' r e sol i ci t i ng money f r om our
3 members. There' s money t o pay f or t hat websi t e. We
4 don' t need donat i ons. We don' t t ake donat i ons.
5 Q. I s t her e a pr ohi bi t i on somewher e i n t he
6 r egul at i ons or sal e and pur chase agr eement or ar t i cl es
7 of i ncor por at i ons or anyt hi ng l i ke t hat seeki ng
8 donat i ons f r om member s?
9 A. No. I t ' s j ust a mat t er of r i ght or wr ong.10 Q. Do you bel i eve i t ' s a cr i me t o sol i ci t money
11 f r om member s?
12 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ect i on, f orm.
13 MR. DEMOND: That ' s okay.
14 A. The way she di d I t hi nk i t ' s unt r ut hf ul . As
15 f ar as a cr i me, I guess t hat woul d depend on how many
16 and how much.
17 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Who was damaged by her r equest s
18 f or moneys?
19 A. I t hi nk t he members t hat gave i t t o her . They
20 wer e l ed t o bel i eve t he websi t e mi ght go under i f t hey
21 di dn' t hel p. That ' s how she got t o me.
22 Q. Di d you - - once t hese member s came t o you and
23 t ol d you what was happeni ng, di d you i nvest i gat e t hei r
24 cl ai ms? Di d you l ook i nt o i t or f ol l ow up i n any way
25 and ask f or document at i on or anyt hi ng l i ke t hat ?
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1 si nce t he f ormat i on of t he par t nershi p, an amount whi ch
2 does not i ncl ude expenses t hat were pai d f or t he benef i t
3 of t he company by Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h. Such compensat i on t o
4 Susan Pr ui t t shal l be t aken i n i nt er val s so i t does not
5 cause a hardshi p on t he cont i nued operat i on of
6 Websl eut hs. com, L. L. C. Once Websl eut hs. com, L. L. C.
7 becomes sol vent , Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h and Susan Pr ui t t wi l l
8 each be ent i t l ed t o equal sal ar i es as per t hi s
9 agr eement . Agr eed t o t hi s 25t h day of Apr i l , 2011.10 Susan Pr ui t t . "
11 Q. Di d you send t hi s e- mai l t o Ms. Gr i f f i t h?
12 A. Yes, I di d.
13 Q. Di d she send you a r epl y?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And what di d her r epl y say?
16 A. Agr eed t o t hi s 24t h day of Apr i l , 2011. She
17 wr ote 24th.
18 Q. What was t he date t hat Websl eut hs. com, L. L. C.
19 was i ncorporated?
20 A. I bel i eve i t was Apr i l 25t h.
21 Q. Was i t t he same day - -
22 A. 2011.
23 Q. - - t hat you dr af t ed t hi s e- mai l ?
24 A. Yes. Uh- huh. Yeah.
25 Q. I n t hi s document you used t he phr ase
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1 A. No.
2 Q. So, t hen once you i ncorporated, di d you expect
3 her t o cont i nue t aki ng money f r om Websl eut hs?
4 MR. SAMPERI : Obj ect i on, f orm.
5 MR. DEMOND: What gr ounds?
6 MR. SAMPERI : Same grounds.
7 MR. DEMOND: We' ve est abl i shed t hat she
8 bel i eved t hat she was, i n f act , t aki ng t he money.
9 MR. SAMPERI : But I don' t t hi nk t hat get s10 you t o she' s cont i nui ng t o t ake money. She j ust
11 bel i eved her , but she can' t t est i f y t hat i t ' s t r ue or
12 not .
13 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Di d you - - di d you bel i eve t hat
14 Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h woul d cont i nue t aki ng money af t er
15 Websl eut hs i ncorporated?
16 A. Yes.
17 MR. DEMOND: Di d t hat f i x t he probl em?
18 MR. SAMPERI : Yes.
19 Q. ( By Mr . Demond) Can you descr i be f or me your
20 under st andi ng of how Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h was goi ng t o be
21 pai d af t er i ncor por at i on?
22 A. I assumed t hat i t woul d be a dr aw, an onl i ne
23 t r ansf er .
24 Q. And di d you, i n f act , bel i eve t hat she woul d
25 t ake - - t hat she woul d dr aw a sal ary up t o t he amount of
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1 Why di d you i nt end f or t hem t o become aware of t he
2 l awsui t ? Why di d you want t hem t o know about i t ?
3 A. I n or der t o f i el d any quest i ons f r om member s.
4 Q. Okay. Di d some members or moderat or s post
5 comment s i n t he f orum cal l ed The J ur y Room?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Di d you post anyt hi ng i n The J ury Room?
8 A. I post ed t hat I had f i l ed sui t .
9 Q. Di d you do t hat bef or e i t became publ i c10 knowl edge?
11 A. No. I t was af t er .
12 Q. Do you r emove any post s about t hi s l awsui t
13 af t er i t was f i l ed?
14 A. Di d I what ?
15 Q. Remove post s f r om t he websi t e, f r om Websl eut hs.
16 A. What t ype of post s?
17 Q. The post s about t he l awsui t . Di d you t ake any
18 of t hem down of f t he websi t e?
19 A. I ' m not sur e t hat I di d. We di dn' t want our
20 member s di scussi ng i t . I t woul d be - - I don' t recal l .
21 Q. Why di dn' t you want your members di scuss i ng i t ?
22 A. The damage i t mi ght do t o t he r eput at i on; and
23 t hat ' s why I kept i t i n t he pr i vat e ar ea, t oo.
24 Q. Was The J ur y Room a pr i vat e area?
25 A. Yes, f or members onl y.
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1 Q. Maybe I ' m - - we' r e back t o t he members
2 pr obl ems, and t hat ' s not your f aul t .
3 A. Okay.
4 Q. We' ve done t hi s t o your sel ves. So, l et ' s
5 c l ar i f y i t as i t appl i es her e.
6 A. Okay.
7 Q. You sai d you di dn' t want members di scussi ng i t ,
8 but you post ed i n an area t hat was member s onl y. So,
9 I ' d l i ke t o under st and a l i t t l e mor e about how t hat10 wor ks. Maybe t her e' s a di st i nct i on of members t hat
11 you' r e usi ng t hat I ' m not f ami l i ar wi t h. I t ' s a
12 pr obl emat i c wor d i n t hi s cont ext . I get t hat .
13 A. Ri ght .
14 Q. You t ol d me you di dn' t want members di scuss i ng
15 i t ; i s t hat cor r ect ?
16 A. Ri ght .
17 Q. And when you say members i n t hat cont ext , who
18 do you mean?
19 A. 70, 000 members we have. I mean, i t coul d get a
20 l i t t l e out of cont r ol ; and al l we' ve done i s post t he
21 document s and - - so, t hey can r ead. And I j ust f el t
22 t hey shoul d be aware. You know, t hey were goi ng t o f i nd
23 i t anyway.
24 Q. And how many member s had access t o The J ur y
25 Room?
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1 A. I t woul d be al l of our - - al l of our member s.
2 But you have t o be a member .
3 Q. I s t hat t he 70, 000?
4 A. Yeah.
5 Q. But you di dn' t want t hem di scussi ng i t ?
6 A. No, not r eal l y.
7 Q. Why di d you post i n The J ur y Room i f you
8 di dn' t - - about t hi s l awsui t i f you di dn' t want t hem
9 di scussi ng i t ?10 A. Because as members, I t hought t hey had a r i ght
11 t o know i t had al r eady hi t other websi t es.
12 Q. Di d you - - di d t hey begi n di scussi ng i t on
13 Websl eut hs?
14 A. I can' t r emember i f t hey di d or not . Ther e was
15 a t hr ead, but I can' t r emember speci f i cal l y i f i t was
16 about t he l awsui t .
17 Q. Okay.
18 MR. DEMOND: We' r e movi ng t owar ds t he end
19 her e. We can t ake a br eak i f you l i ke. I don' t have a
20 whol e l ot mor e l ef t .
21 THE WI TNESS: Okay.
22 MR. DEMOND: We can t ake a break i f you
23 l i ke. I t ' s r eal l y up t o you.
24 THE WI TNESS: What ' s a whol e l ot more?
25 MR. DEMOND: I have another t wo pages, and
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1 shoul d be one of our l ast sect i ons, mor e or l ess.
2 Di d you ever r equest r ei mbur sement of your
3 expenses f r om Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h?
4 A. No, I don' t t hi nk so.
5 Q. Have you ever t aken deduct i ons on your personal
6 t axes i n any year f or i t ems or expenses l i st ed wi t h
7 Websl eut hs? Does t hat quest i on make sense t o you?
8 A. Yeah, i t makes sense t o me. Woul dn' t t hat be
9 i ncl uded i n t he K1? I use t he same CPA t o prepare our10 per sonal t axes t hat di d Websl eut hs' . So, i f you t ook
11 t hem one pl ace, I doubt he woul d have t aken t hem
12 another.
13 Q. Okay. You' ve gi ven us a l ot of r ecei pt s i n
14 di scover y, as you know.
15 A. Ri ght .
16 Q. Do you have any addi t i onal r ecei pt s t hat we
17 don' t have t hat you' r e aware of ?
18 A. I f I do, i t woul d pr obabl y be mi nor . I don' t
19 t hi nk I do. I t hi nk t he l ast was 500 t o t he CPA.
20 Q. Do you know how much you' r e seeki ng t o be
21 r ei mbur sed by Websl eut hs f or your expenses?
22 A. Whatever t hey ar e. I mean, I cal cul at e ar ound
23 9, 000, I t hi nk.
24 Q. Okay. On t he r equest f or di scl osur es whi ch you
25 pr ovi ded t o us f ai r l y ear l y on i n t he case, you st at ed
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1 a br each of t he t r ust - -
2 A. I don' t bel i eve so.
3 Q. - - she pl aced i n you?
4 A. I don' t bel i eve so.
5 Q. Di d you i mpl y t o peopl e t hat Tr i ci a Gr i f f i t h
6 was t aki ng money under f al se pret enses?
7 A. Under f al se - - oh, I may have.
8 Q. Do you know t o who?
9 A. No.10 Q. Do you know when?
11 A. I ' m t r yi ng t o t hi nk i f i t was j ust wi t h t he
12 admi ni st r ators because we had been t ol d she had asked
13 members t o pay t he ser ver f ee, and we knew t he money was
14 t her e t o pay t he server f ee. So, t hat woul d have been
15 f al se pr et ense.
16 Q. Okay.
17 A. And same wi t h Kat hy Rhodes. She - - Ms. Rhodes
18 sai d t hat Tr i ci a sai d she needed t he ser ver f ee pai d,
19 and she t r ansf er r ed t he money t o her account .
20 Q. And how di d you communi cat e wi t h t hose peopl e
21 on t hat i ssue? Was t hat vi a phone or vi a e- mai l or vi a
22 message boar d?
23 A. Kathy, t hat woul d be phone. She' s a phone
24 per son and - -
25 Q. I ' ve hear d t hat .
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1 A. Yeah. She woul d cal l me.
2 Q. The others?
3 A. I f t her e was di scussi on - - I ' m t r yi ng t o t hi nk
4 i f I sai d somet hi ng t o Eddi e Yeager because we' d t al k
5 about t he r evenue comi ng i n. And he used t o be pr i vy t o
6 al l t hat , but I ' m t hi nki ng maybe Ed Yeager . Pr obabl y
7 Mi chael Hagenst adt , and t hat woul d have been phone.
8 Q. Do you bel i eve t hat doi ng so was a br each of
9 her conf i dence or a br each of her t r ust i n anyone?10 A. I don' t t hi nk so. She was l yi ng t o t hese
11 peopl e. What ki nd of br each i s t hat ? I mean, I don' t
12 under st and how t hat - - I was concerned f or t hem and f or
13 t hei r company and my very own r eputat i on t o be
14 associ at ed wi t h somet hi ng l i ke t hat .
15 Q. Wer e you equal l y concer ned f or Ms. Gr i f f i t h?
16 A. Equal l y concer ned how?
17 Q. Wel l , you j ust sai d t hat you were concerned f or
18 t hese peopl e.
19 And I guess what I ' m aski ng i s: Di d you
20 el evat e your concer n f or t hem over your concer ns f or
21 Ms. Gr i f f i t h?
22 A. I pr obabl y di d. I t hought i t was decei t f ul .
23 Q. Okay. So, back t o, I bel i eve i t ' s Exhi bi t 5.
24 I t ' s goi ng t o be t he e- mai l - - 4/ 25 e- mai l t hat you
25 wr ot e - -
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2
CHANGES AND SIGNATURE
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WITNESS NAME: SUSAN PRUITT
PAGE
LINE CHANGE
7
11 Evans not Edmonds
8
12 from the business
11
13
want to contribute
15
6 period, not question mark
30
11 Haagenstad
33
8 Take
out of
11
44
4 comma
after e-mail
58
22
11
we
1
l l
go
under
62
14 Mr Jaeger
65
13
our should be
the
65
25 Kerry
85
24 Cathy
86
3
Haagenstad
86
4 Cathy
87 15 i ts
91 17 run
to
the
97 1 viral
102
17 Cathy
102
23 Cathy
103
4 6
Ed Jaeger
103
7 Haagenstad
103
13
the company
Associated
Cour t Repor ters
DATE: JULY
10, 2014
REASON
Spelling
Run on/garble
Run
on/garble
Spelling
Accent
Spelling
Run
on/garble
Spelling
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I
SUS N PRUITT, have
read
the
foregoing
deposit ion
2 and hereby
aff ix
my
signature that
same
s t rue
and
3 correct , except as noted above.
4
5
6
7
8
9
SUS N PRUITT
THE ST TE OF
COUNTY
OF
Before me, J-di$$Cl Cfiw.LL-=tt4Llb n
th i s day
10
personal ly
appeared SUS N
PRUITT, known
to
me
or
proved
11
to
me on the oath of
or
through
12 descr iption of ident i ty card or
13 other document)
to be the
person
whose name
is
14
subscribed
to the foregoing instrument and acknowledged
15 to
me
tha t he/she executed the same for the purpose
and
16 considerat ion
therein
expressed;.
17
18
19
20
21
22
3
24
25
Given
under my hand
and
seal
of off ice
on th is
J 1 ~
NOT RY
PUBLIC
THE
ST TE
OF
My
Commission
Expires:
Associated Court
Reporters
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1 CAUSE NO. 2013- 44862
2 WEBSLEUTHS. COM, LLC AND ) I N THE DI STRI CT COURT OF SUSAN PRUI TT, )
3 PLAI NTI FFS, ) ) HARRI S COUNTY, T E X A S4 VS. )
)5 PATRI CI A ARRI NGTON GRI FFI TH, )
DEFENDANTS. ) 157TH J UDI CI AL DI STRI CT6
7 REPORTER' S CERTI FI CATE
8 ORAL DEPOSI TI ON
9 OF10 SUSAN PRUI TT
11
12 I , Roxanne K. Smi t h, Cer t i f i ed Shor t hand Repor t er i n
13 and f or t he St at e of Texas, her eby cer t i f y t o t he
14 f ol l owi ng:
15 That t he wi t ness, SUSAN PRUI TT, was dul y sworn and
16 t hat t he t r anscr i pt of t he deposi t i on i s a t r ue r ecor d
17 of t he t est i mony gi ven by t he wi t ness;
18 That t he deposi t i on t r anscr i pt was dul y submi t t ed on
19 _____ __________ ___ to t he wi t ness or t o t he at t or ney f or
20 t he wi t ness f or exami nat i on, si gnat ur e, and r et ur n t o me
21 by ___________________ _____.
22 That pur suant t o i nf or mat i on gi ven t o t he deposi t i on
23 of f i cer at t he t i me sai d t est i mony was t aken, t he
24 f ol l owi ng i ncl udes al l par t i es of r ecor d and t he amount
25 of t i me used by each par t y at t he t i me of t he
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1 deposi t i on:
2 Mr . Wi l l i am Demond ( 2 hour s 46 mi nut es) Mr . Ci r o Samper i ( No Ti me Used)
3
4 That a copy of t hi s cer t i f i cat e was ser ved on al l
5 par t i es shown her ei n on _____________________ .
6 I f ur t her cer t i f y t hat I am nei t her counsel f or ,
7 r el at ed t o, nor empl oyed by any of t he par t i es i n t he
8 act i on i n whi ch t hi s pr oceedi ng was t aken, and f ur t her
9 t hat I am not f i nanci al l y or ot her wi se i nt er est ed i n t he10 out come of t hi s act i on.
11 Fur t her cer t i f i cat i on r equi r ement s pur suant t o Rul e
12 23 of t he Texas Code of Ci vi l Procedur e wi l l be compl i ed
13 wi t h af t er t hey have occur r ed.
14 Cer t i f i ed t o by me on t hi s _______day of
15 _________________, _______.
16
17
18 ____________________________________ Roxanne K. Smi t h, CSR
19 CSR No. 6290; Expi r es 12- 31- 14 ASSOCI ATED COURT REPORTERS - HOUSTON
20 Fi r m Regi st r at i on No. 638 5225 Katy Fr eeway, Sui t e 620
21 Houst on, Texas 77007
( 713) 963- 970022
23
24
25
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1 FURTHER CERTI FI CATI ON UNDER TRCP RULE 203
2 The or i gi nal deposi t i on was/ was not r et ur ned t o t he
3 deposi t i on of f i cer on ______________________ .
4 I f r et ur ned, t he at t ached Changes and Si gnat ur e
5 page( s) cont ai n( s) any changes and t he r easons t her ef or .
6 I f r et ur ned, t he or i gi nal deposi t i on was del i ver ed
7 t o Mr . Wi l l i am Demond, Cust odi al At t or ney.
8 $_______ i s t he deposi t i on of f i cer ' s char ges t o t he
9 Pl ai nt i f f s f or pr epar i ng t he or i gi nal deposi t i on and any10 copi es of exhi bi t s;
11 The deposi t i on was del i ver ed i n accor dance wi t h Rul e
12 203. 3, and a copy of t he cer t i f i cat e, ser ved on al l
13 par t i es shown her ei n, was f i l ed wi t h t he Cl er k.
14 Cer t i f i ed t o by me on t hi s ______ day of
15 ______________________, ________.
16
17
18 ____________________________________ Roxanne K. Smi t h, CSR
19 CSR No. 6290; Expi r es 12- 31- 14 ASSOCI ATED COURT REPORTERS - HOUSTON
20 Fi r m Regi st r at i on No. 638 5225 Katy Fr eeway, Sui t e 620
21 Houst on, Texas 77007
( 713) 963- 970022
23
24
25