Dairy heirs defend family taking money in case against Buchalter

SANTA ANA — A plaintiff in a fraud lawsuit against Buchalter APC said Tuesday she was surprised to learn of a family patriarch’s business dealings after he died, but she refuses to call what he did stealing because “it’s an emotional thing.”

Judy Claverie defended her uncle-in-law, Boyd Clarke, during cross-examination from Wayne R. Gross of Greenberg Gross LLP, who represents Buchalter against potentially multimillion-dollar claims involving the Stueve dairy family’s purportedly ruined fortune.

“It was shocking to find out that a lot of monies went to Boyd that we didn’t think should have, but we’re not going to use the word ‘stole,’” said Claverie, whose father, Elmer Stueve, founded the Alta Dena Dairy in 1945 with his two brothers.

Clarke, who died in 2006, was married to the brothers’ sister, Donna. He worked closely with the family’s lawyer, sole practitioner Raymond A. “Ran” Novell, and Buchalter partner J. Wayne Allen on an estate plan that’s at the heart of the lawsuit.

Gross and his partner, Alan A. Greenberg, are trying to show jurors that Clarke and his brother-in-law, who also died in 2006, were responsible for the investment decisions that drained the Stueve finances, and Claverie’s testimony Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court provided a dramatic backdrop for their argument.

“Sitting here today, do you believe that Boyd Clarke took money from Stueve Bros. Farms to which he was not entitled?” Gross asked.

“Yes,” Claverie answered.

“And how is taking money to which he’s not entitled different from stealing?” Gross asked.

“Semantics. It’s an emotional thing. We loved him. We knew him. He was Donna’s husband. ... We don’t know the motivation or the mindset at the time. We don’t know where those monies went or what he did with them,” Claverie answered.

Gross’ 2½-hour cross-examination of Claverie followed direct examination from plaintiff’s lawyer Robert E. Barnes of Barnes Law LLP that focused on Claverie’s understanding of the estate after she and other family members met with Allen and Novell at Buchalter’s Irvine office in September 2009.

Allen, who’d been working with the family since 2001, joined Buchalter in July 2007 from Berger Kahn LLP. He was forced to resign in February 2010 for violating firm policies regarding personal loans he’d taken from the Stueves.

Allen, Novell and Berger Kahn settled days before the trial began, and Allen and Novell are now slated to testify for the plaintiffs.

Gross emphasized in his cross of Claverie that Novell’s settlement stipulates he did not embezzle and did not act with criminal intent.

“You want the Buchalter law firm to pay you money for what you claimed Novell did, correct?” Gross asked.

“Buchalter needs to take responsibility just like all of the other defendants did,” Claverie answered.

Earlier, Barnes went through a list of personal loans Novell took from the estate that Claverie said were unauthorized.

“Were you ever notified of any of these during the time that Buchalter was part of the estate?” Barnes asked.

“I was not,” Claverie answered.

The questions followed a 4½-hour audio recording from a September 2009 meeting, which occurred at Buchalter’s office in Irvine and included Novell, Allen, Claverie and other members of the Stueve family. Barnes played nearly the entire recording for the jury uninterrupted, which led to Judge William D. Claster limiting questions about it because “the tape speaks for itself, literally.”

Barnes said the Stueves recorded the meeting for a family member who was unable to attend.

Gross worked to cast doubt on that explanation by noting in his cross of Claverie that the family didn’t order a reporter’s transcript of the meeting until 2011, after the lawsuit was filed. He also noted several family members attended that transcription, and the transcript contains errors and omissions.

When he asked Claverie about a particular point Allen discussed during the 2009 meeting, she said she “heard it yesterday and heard it at the original meeting, and it went, whoosh” while motioning over her head.

“I understand,” Gross said. “That’s why we’re going through it.”