Free Brief in Support of Motion - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:03-cv-02485-MSK-PAC

Document 339-36

Filed 01/31/2006

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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

CAMILLE MELONAKIS- KURZ,

indi vidually and on behalf of other similarly si tuated
employees,

Plaintiffs,
vs.
HEARTLAND HOME FINANCE, INC.,
Case No. 03-MK-2485 (PAC)

Hon. Patricia A. Coan

Defendant.

(C(Q~1f
The Videotaped Deposition of LOUIS RODRIGUEZ, Taken at 30800 Telegraph Road, Suite 2925,

Bingham Farms, Michigan,
Commencing at 4:26 p.m.,

Tuesday, October 25, 2005,

Before Judith C. Werner, CSR-2349.

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on that for an appointments.

If I remember right, it

was specifically for appointments, but I don't know if
it was there for the whole time.
I just know that

3
4

there was a time that I remember the board being up,
but I don't know for sure how long.
Q.

5

6
7 8

What were your typical hours on a Sunday?
Usually from like 6 to 8: 30, 5 to -- depends on if I

A.

had a lot of paperwork to do, sometimes 3, but

9

typically I tried to -- for the phone calls for
clients at home would be from 6 to 8: 30, which is when
we're all home mostly.
Q.

10 11
12

Did you go into the office on Sundays?

13
14

A.

Yeah. Like I said, sometimes 3 to 8: 30, sometimes 6
to 9 or 10. I f I was calling Ari zona, I would stay

15

until 10. If I was calling Minnesota, I'd stay until
like 9.

16
17 18

If I was calling Colorado, I'd stay until 10

because the time zones are one and two hours off. If
I remember right, California was three hours off, so I
would stay late to try to coincide with them.
It just

19

20 21
22

would depend on who I was calling that day, you know,

but to try to catch whatever group of people we were
calling because their leads were different states,
different time zones.

23
24

So to try to make sense of it,

I would call when those leads would be -- when I
thought those people would be home.

25

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Sundays and Saturdays.
Q.

35

2 3
4

Who i s they? You mean the security personnel?

A.

Well, the leasing office, because you'd have to sign
in if you were there on a Saturday or Sunday.

5 6
7 8 9

Q.

You weren i t working for the leasing office, right?

A.

No, but that's who you'd have to sign into, the

security. Especially since 9-11, they want to make
sure who's coming into the building, even if you had a

key.
Q.

10 11
12

If you wanted to get a copy of the sign-in and sign-outs of the leasing office, would you be able to

do that?
A.
Q.
I don i t know.

13
14

I don't --

How would you find out?
I don i t know.

15

A.
Q.

16
17 18

Is there anyone that you could think of that you would

ask?
A.

I haven't been there for about -- I don't know.

It's

19

been over a year now since I've been back there.
Q.

20 21
22

Did Mike Wai te know you were working on Sundays?

A.

I'm gonna say yeah, I would think that he did know.

I f I was the manager, I'd certainly make ita point to
know who was doing what.
Q.
He wasn i t there on Sunday.

23
24

25

A.

No, Mike wasn i t there on Sundays, no.

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Q.

When you were a senior loan officer, did you ever advise anyone below you in a loan officer position on
how to do what to do and when?

2

3
4

A.

Yeah.

I was -- probably a couple of people, a few

5 6 7
8 9

people try to show them the ropes, you know, as far as
structure goes.

Who, I don't remember for sure who,
I would

but I know that there i s a way to do things.

try to show different people how to do that typically
that were on my team, per se team, you know, because

10 11
12
Q.

doing it with the other side, really I don't think
that would have been a good thing.

Why not?
Because they're on a different team.
Wai te 's team so

13
14

A.

I was on Mike

Mike Kelly was on Mike Waite i steam
So if I was gonna show anybody what

15

and he taught me.

16
17 18

to do, it would be somebody on Mike Waite i steam,
because you i re competing against the other team per se

as far as what you produce in numbers for the month.
Q.

19 20

How did your team compare to the other teams while you

were there?
A.
It would differ.
It would differ.

21
22

Being a bigger

team, you know, it would seem like we i d probably do

23
24

better a lot of the time because we had more loan

officers.

So, I mean, if you got a team that has half

25

the number of loan officers on it, natural numbers,

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to one of our associates out of the telemarketing
company, and it's my job to follow up and make sure

2 3
4

that somebody has done an analysis for you." That was
pretty much it, and if they did or didn i t would

5
6
7 8 9

determine whether I would go into a further discuss ion
of their intimate details, and if they already had,

then I would thank you very much and have a nice
you know, have a nice day for the most part.

Q. And if they didn 't, what would you do?

10 11 12 13
14

A. Like I said, I would collect their intimate
information to see if they qualified for a loan or not, which was the same thing I did at the prior
place, collected their information.

Q. Could you give the customers -- we're back talking
about Heartland now. Could you give them options on

15

16
17
18

pr icing?
A. If I collected their information, I would be able to

do that.
Q. And what about locking in rates? Could you lock in
rates while you were at Heartland?

19

20 21
22

A. Not off the first phone call.
Q. Could you at some point?
A. Yeah. Wouldn i t make sense to lock somebody on a very
good rate and find out, because I didn't follow
through and do the credit report, and they didn't

23
24
(

25

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qualify for the program; would be kind of fraudulent,

2

so that's why I say not off the first phone call

3
4

because you'd have to go through and get the credit
report, which is what I did at the other place as well
too, and then make sure that they actually qualified.

5 6
7 8 9

Q. And then what analysis would you do once they told you
that one had not been done yet?

MS. FISHER: Obj ect to the form of the
question, but you can answer.

10 11
12

THE WITNESS: What are you obj ecting to?

MS. FISHER: To the form of the question,
the way that she asked her question.
BY MS. RAYMOND:

13
14

Q. If you understood it, you can answer it.

15 16
17 18

A. Try it again, please.
Q.

Okay.

If the customer that you contacted from your

Heartland lead told you that, no, an analysis had not

been done yet, you had said earlier that you would

19

then do an analysis. What was that analysis?

20 21 22

A. Oh, I'd ask them if they had time for me to collect
their information to do an analysis for them, and if

they did, I would start to ask them questions in order
to be able to quali fy them for a loan, which would be

23
24
(

everything about them, everything, from middle initial to bank accounts to bankruptcies, foreclosures, to

25

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identification of the property.

I would actually go

2 3
4

through what was called a 1003 information. Whatever
is required by the federal law through Fannie Mae, I'd ask those questions, so that when I contact them, when I called them back with the analysis, I've collected
all the information that would be needed to be able to
make that analys is, which was what I had done before

5
6
7 8

at the other company too.
Q.

9

So did your previous experience help you then when you
were doing your analysis at Heartland?

10 11
12

A.
Q.

Yes, absolutely, because I already knew the structure.

So you didn't heed to use notes or anything?

13
14

A.

No.

I already knew their structure.

They were the

same -- it was the same Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

15

application.
Q.

The 1003 was the same one.

16
17
18

Okay.

So after you performed the analysis, then what

did you do?
A.

I would call them back and make a proposal.

They

19 20 21 22 23
24

would make a decision whether or not they wanted to go
forward with the proposal, and if they did, then I

would meet with them or they would meet with me, but typically I would meet with them, or I would just send
them out the package for them to sign and send back
wi th their documents, which usually were the

25

out-of-state transactions, and sometimes if they were

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four or five hours way up north or some place like
that, but if that's what they wanted me to do.
Q.

2 3
4

And how would you come up with your proposal?

A.

Just depended on their income, depended on their
credi t scores, depending on their debt, depending on

5 6
7
8

their value of the property and available rates at
that given time, as you called pricing.
Q.

Would you select the appraiser?

9

A.
Q.

Yes.
When does that step come in?
Depends on the client.
I f they want to -- I would as k

10 11
12

A.

them -- if we would go forward, I'd ask them if they
would be okay to order the appraisal then, because

13
14

typically it's what takes the longest amount of time
to turn around.

15

Sometimes they'd want to wait until

16
17
18

we met or until they saw the documents but never until
the client told me to.
Q.

What happened when you would have a meeting with the

19

customer?
A.
I would just go over the program, the same thing I

20

21
22 23 24

went over with them on the telephone, and then I would
always have a check list of what documents I need for
them to have highlighted, and they would -- as we went
through and they would scurry about getting their

25

different stuff, then I would check it off, and then

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wha t I didn i t collect, I would just leave it for them.
Then they would sign the required rest of the

58

3
4

documents that by law Fannie Mae states you have to have signed, and I would take them back to the office
wi th me, and then I would package it altogether in the

5
6 7 8 9

way that Heartland had us package them together which
was systematic and then turn in to the processing

department.
Q.

Did the out-of-state loans have different rules and

10
11 12

requirements?
A.
Q.

Each state does.

How did you learn what those were?
(Off the record at 5:45 p.m.)
(Back on the record at 5: 46 p.m.)?

13
14

15

THE WITNESS: Again, please? I'm sorry.

16 BY MS. RAYMOND:
17
18
Q.

That's okay.

How did you learn about what the

different states' requirements and regulations were?
A.

19

Heartland had a Web site, and they would distribute
the different documents required for each state.

20 21
22 23
24

Every state has different things they need to have

signed.
MS. RAYMOND: We i II go ahead and take a

break and change the videotape.
VIDEO TECHNICIAN:

25

This marks the end of

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Q.

And then you would help determine what product would
most benefit the customer?

2 3
4

A.
Q.

Yes.
Was that part of your goal was to help the customer
reach its goals?

5 6
7 8 9

A.

Yeah, exactly, because if I couldn i t benefit them,
then I wouldn't try to, you know, go further with the

transaction.
Q.

Bot tom line, no bene fi t, no sale.

Are there any other duties that we haven i t talked

10

about that you had as a loan officer at Heartland?
A.

11
12 13 14

Boy, that's a pretty wide question.

I mean they were

just all the duties that a loan officer would have to

do to be able to close a loan with a client.
you've got to

I me an

your processers order up the title

l5
16
17 18

work, and then there's certain things the processors
did that you didn't do.

Follow up.

Boy.

I'm sure

that it probably involved other things, you know, but,
like I said, those things differ with each individual.
Some people decide to mess their credit up,

19 20

so that means they got to get through more hurdles to

21
22

qualify. Other people decide to keep track of their
credi t. They have less hurdles to have to get

23
24

through. So just the ones with less hurdles would
require less work. The one with more hurdles would
require more work. Maybe I'd have to get their last

25

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Q. A.
Q.

Do you think it's a commission?
The draw?

2

3
4

Yes.
No.

A. Q.

5
6 7
8

Okay. When you were at Heartland, did you ever work
from home?

A.

No.

I was at work enough as it was so I had to not do

that.
Q. A. Q.

9

When you were at Heartland, did you take lunch breaks?
I would eat at work.

10

I didn't take lunch breaks.

11
12

So you would work through lunch? Is that what you're

saying?
A.

13
14

I would eat food at work is what I would do, so I
don't know that I would eat through lunch, all right,

15 16
17

but I would bring my food for the day to work, three
to four meals typically.

I would just -- I wouldn't
I didn 't.

take lunch because it just wasn't me.

I

18 19

didn't do that because, number one, I was afraid I liked it, and I was afraid I'd get sluggish and not

20
21
22
Q.

want to come back and work the kind of hours that I

worked.
Why did you take three to four meals with you at the

23
24
A.
Q.

office?
Because I wanted to.
Did you work while you were eating?

25

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1

A.

Not at my desk, no.
that they had.

i i d go into the little break room

2 3
4

Q.

When Heartland was recording time during those three

months, did you record when you would stop working to

5 6
7 8

eat?
A.

I don't think anybody ever did that, but no. Myself,
I don't know -- no, I can't say that I did, I mean,
because that would take 15 to 20 minutes.
I had

9

spaghetti that was already premade and have a little
bowl of it.

10 11
12

I had some carrots and chicken and a can

you pull off the top, so that's what I mean when I

say

three or four meals. That's what I'd consider a meal,
especially if you eat them three or four times a day.
Q.

13
14

Did you ever complain to anyone about working over 40
hours in a week?

15

16
17 18

A.
Q.

Un-uh, no.
Did you ever complain to anyone about not being paid
for hours over 40 hours a week?

19

A.
Q.

No.

I was paid commission.

20 21
22

Do you feel that you were treated fairly by Heartland

Home Finance?
A.
Q.

Yes, I do.

23
24

And you testified earlier that you got along with Mike
Wai te, your manager?

25

A.

Yes.

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started working for the company that I'm with now last
year at the beg inning so -- but I know it wasn't

2 3
4

January 22nd, 2001 until April 12th, 2002.
I do know.

Tha t much

I don't have any actual information in

5
6

front of me to quote that you do, like I have in my

own records.

I'm sure I could gather that, but it

7 would have been 2004 though.
8 BY MS. RAYMOND:
9

Q.

Okay.
But as far as number three, three, four and one looks

10 11 12

A.

Q.

right. Are these your words? Did you write this?
Did I draft this?

13
14

A.
Q.

Yeah.

15 16
17 18

A.

Legal document, no.

I reviewed it.

I'm not qualified

to draft a legal document, so I reviewed it from the attorney that had, based on the information I gave

them.
Q.

19

And I don i t want you to get into conversations with

20 21
22
A.

your attorney.
Oh, I didn't.

I wouldn't, but -- and then signed and

da ted it after that.

23
24

Q.

Did you have an opportunity to make changes to it?

A.

Not this one per se that I remember, but I do recall

25

one recently that I did, but as far as when I went to

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work for them, that's fine. As far as two, the date
of until is incorrect.

2

That should be two more years

3
4

in there, so it would have been 2004, and then -- but

three
Q.

one, three and four are absolutely correct.

5 6
7
8

You said you didn't have an opportunity to change this

one.
A.
Q.

Is there another declaration?

This one is dated 2004.

Okay.

9

A.

And -MS. FISHER:

10

I don't want you to disclose

11
12 13
14

anything that was in any communications between you
and us recently so -- that's attorney-client

privileged, so I instruct you not to answer those

questions.
THE WITNESS:
MS. FISHER:

15

See, I shouldn't even be -That's okay.

16
17
18

So you don't

have to answer that question.
THE WITNESS:

Okay. But as far as -- how

19

about any questions on this one? In respect to this
one, with the exception of number two and the date,

20
21

yes, I agreed based on the information that I

22

submitted, that i s correct.
MS. RAYMOND:

23
24

I'd like to go back and

certify the question that I asked earlier which was

25

actually would you mind reading back the question?

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your deposition.
THE WITNESS:

85

2 3
4

It's something I really want

you to hear and not them.

MS. FISHER: We can take a break quick if
you want.

5

6
7
S

THE WITNESS: Just for one second?

MS. FISHER: Sure.
VIDEO TECHNICIAN: We're going off the

9

record.

The time is 6: 34 and 14 seconds p. m.

10

(Recess taken at 6:34 p.m.)

11
12

(Back on the record at 6:37 p.m.)

VI DEO TECHNICIAN: We are now back on the

13

record.

The time is 6: 37 and 21 seconds p. m.

14 BY MS. RAYMOND:
15
Q.

On paragraph four, Mr. Rodriguez, of Exhibit Number 5,

16
17
1S

it says that, "The plaintiff used time sheets when plaintiff was limited by his manager recording a

maximum of 40 hours a week, even if he worked more

19 20

hours." What time sheets are you talking about in

paragraph number four?
A.

21 22 23
24

Same forms I was telling you that I would sign in on I

would assume.
Q.

You would assume? Did you write this?
Whatever it was that they deducted that it was 40 hours, even though I was signing in for longer lengths

A.

25

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to recording a maximum of 40 hours per week, but you
never wrote down 40-hour weeks, did you?

2 3
4

A. I'm sorry.
Q. Your testimony earlier was that you wrote down 60-hour
weeks and it was changed to reflect 40, wasn't it?
A.
Yeah, it was changed, ma' am.

5 6
7 8 9

It was physically

changed, yes.
Q. So what do you mean here in your declaration where you
say you were limited to reporting a maximum of 40
hours a week?
A.

10
11 12 13
14

I didn i t write 40 hours a week in there.

Someone else

changed those sheet s after I had written in.

Q. Did you ever record 40-hour weeks?
A.
Q.

I didn't write 40 hours, no.

I wrote down --

15

Okay.

You i ve answered my question.

You've answered

16
17 18

my question.
Are you still in contact with Duane

Ki tchen?
A. No, 1'm not.
Q. When was the last time you spoke with him?
A. I don i t remember.

19

20 21
22 23
24
(.

Q. Are you still in touch with Catherine Malone?

A. No, 1'm not.
Q. When was the last time you spoke with her?
A. I don i t remember.

25