WEBSLEUTHS.COM, LLC vs Patricia Arrington Griffith

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

Page 1

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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Page 2

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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Page 3

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 ?


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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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?


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?


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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Page 90

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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Page 92

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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Page 102

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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Page 103

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 - -


24/28

.

Susan Pru i t t

I

Ju ly 10, 20

1 4

Page 105

2

CHANGES AND SIGNATURE

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

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

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800-340-5881


25/28

Susan

Prui t t

I

July 10, 2014

Page

106

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

800-340-5881


26/28



Page 107

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


27/28



Page 108

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


28/28


Page 109

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

WEBSLEUTHS.COM, LLC vs Patricia Arrington Griffith

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