1DCA Division 5 Oral Argument - 2025/09/18 - Sep 18, 2025
argument1DCA Division 5 Oral Argument - 2025/09/18
California First District Court of Appeal
1h 41m
8 chapters
transcribed 7 days ago
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What is the central dispute in the Charlotte Slouch vs Redwood Credit Union case?
All rise. The Court of Appeal for the State of California, First Appellate District, Division V, is now in session. The Honorable Terry L. Jackson presiding, with Associate Justices, the Honorable Mark B. Simons, and the Honorable Danny Y. Chu.
Good morning, everyone. How are you all doing? I'm Justice Teri L. Jackson. I'm joined on this panel with Justice Mark Simons and Justice Danny Chiu. Let's call the first matter. That's Charlotte Slouch, thank you very much, versus Redwood Credit Union. I believe the parties have received from the court focus order where it sets forth an issue that the court wishes for the parties to address first, as well as in the focus order it sets forth 10 minutes for each side. For the appellant, how much time do you, well, let's get the appearances first. And could you please go to the microphone for the appellant?
Good morning, I'm Charlotte Sauch.
And for the respondent?
Good morning, Peter Van Zandt, on behalf of Redwood Credit Union, respondent.
Very good. And for the appellant, it sets forth in the focus order 10 minutes. So how much time, if there is rebuttal, would you like to reserve? And if you could, again, speak in the microphone so that we can.
Probably about five minutes.
You'd like to reserve five minutes? Okay. OK, you may. This is an appeal. I should set forth the issues involved in this case. Just one second. And then the time will begin. This is an appeal where the trial court imposed terminating sanctions against the appellant for failure to appear for five depositions. So you may proceed.
And Ms. Souch, there's actually a button if you want to raise the podium. Thank you very much.
Is that better? Yes. Can you hear me clearly? It was for
you.
Great.
All right, your five minutes
has started. Okay, good morning. Attorney Matthew Mellon of Mellon Law Firm agreed to represent Ms. Sauch on this case, Sauch v. Redwood Credit Union, filed in August of 2020. Mr. Mellon also agreed to represent Charlotte Sauch for Sonoma County Superior Court case SCV-266109. The Sauch v. McCormick case was filed February 28, 2020, just before COVID struck our country. On April 11, 2022, Sunny, Matthew Mellon's mother from Mellon Law Firm, left a voice message for Ms. Sauch. Mr. Mellon had had an accident and was unconscious and in the hospital. Due to his unfortunate accident, Mr. Mellon had to close his law firm. Shortly after the accident, Mr. Mellon told Ms. Sauch he had transferred all of his 58 cases to Sarah Shapiro.
Ms. Sauch contacted Ms. Shapiro, who agreed to represent Ms. Sauch on both cases. Ms. Sauch brought a box of case files and paid Ms. Shapiro $1,000. Then Ms. Shapiro began negotiating terms of the contract. However, we did not agree to the changed terms. We believe Ms. Shapiro is obligated to take our case on the contract terms agreed with Mr. Mellon. On January 26, 2023, Judge DeMeo ordered Mr. Mellon to transfer the case file to Ms. Sauch, which to date Mr. Mellon has failed to obey this court order. Judge DeMeo still granted terminating sanctions, even though Mellon Law Firm had not transferred the case files. On April 20th, 2025, Ms. Sauch discovered while reading the transcript for case SCV-266109, attorney Liz Igleret from Mellon Law Firm had lied to the court, stating that Ms.
Sauch had disappeared. This was false representation, as on May 5th, 2021, Ms. Sauch had sent five emails to Mellon Law Firm. Ms. Sauch had scanned the documents from a box for discovery. Ms. Sauch also had tried to contact Mellon Law Firm on multiple occasions through email and phone with no response. I was granted terminating sanctions because they say I did not honor discovery. Why is this relevant? Well, why are there no transcripts for this case? Why is there no record of what Mr. Mellon said on our behalf? He defamed plaintiff on the McCormick case, so we believe he has also misrepresented us on this case. With no court records for Mellon or any transcripts, how are we to know what was said or not said on our behalf?
Judge Broderick ordered terminating sanctions against Ms. Sauch for failing to provide discovery.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central dispute in the Charlotte Slouch vs Redwood Credit Union case?
0:02–10:18
2
How did the incapacitation of attorney Matthew Mellon affect representation for the appellant?
10:18–22:08
3
Why does the court consider the officer’s traffic stop reasonable under the Fourth Amendment?
22:08–31:48
4
Does a mistake by dispatch or the investigating officer meet the “gross negligence” standard in Herring?
31:48–45:57
5
How do venue‑shopping concerns influence the applicability of statutes 781, 786, and 786.5?
45:57–58:19
6
Is the arbitration between Renee Kwan and Thwaites Law a consumer action or a business dispute?
58:19–1:14:02
7
What legal arguments challenge the arbitrator’s award in the legal‑malpractice case?
1:14:02–1:27:31
8
What were the court’s final conclusions and next steps for the matters heard?
1:27:31–1:41:43
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