PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 835
The
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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
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SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 14, N0. 25
DEC. 7, 2018
Claims fly as law firm breaks up
Garden Club exec. director steps down
By Jordan P. Ingram
By Christina Macone-Greene
ENCINITAS — Just weeks from his scheduled Dec. 31 retirement, Rancho Santa Fe attorney David M. Peters will likely spend the remainder of his career mired in arbitration following accusations of “gross financial abuse” and “destructive behavior” by former partners of his Encinitas-based law firm, Peters & Freedman, LLP. Peters, 59, recently named one of the Top Attorneys of North America for 2018 and considered a “virtuoso” in construction-defect litigation, called the
They threw a grenade without knowing where it’s going to hit.” RSF lawyer David M. Peters On his former partners
allegations by his former associates a “clumsy attempt” to avoid the terms of a buyout agreement and loot the firm’s client base. “They threw a grenade without knowing where it’s going to hit,” Peters told The Coast News. “For the people that know me, they know I’m one of the most intense, relentless people they’ve ever met. I’m going to protect myself and my agreements because I’ve earned them over 30 years.” Shortly after dissolving their partnership with Peters & Freedman, senior partner James McCormick and junior partners Zach Smith, Kyle Lakin and Christina DeJardin filed a petition seeking provisional remedies on Oct. 29 in Vista Superior Court, claiming that Peters had acted in bad faith, engaged in frequent acts of financial misconduct and posed an ongoing risk to company assets. The petitioners — TURN TO LAW FIRM ON 6
BE A DEER
Face painting is just one of the activities for kids at Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Frosty Farm event this weekend and next. Frosty Farm also offers hands-on animal encounters, a meet and greet with Santa, craft projects and more. Proceeds support the pets and programs at Helen Woodward. STORY ON PAGE 23. Courtesy photo
RANCHO SANTA FE — Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club Executive Director Shelly Hart has decided to leave her post at the nonprofit to pursue a full-time teaching career. Hart describes her departure in early December as bittersweet having worked at the club since 2016. “In my two years with the club, I have made some incredible friends and made even more wonderful memories. As much as I have enjoyed my time with the Garden Club, it is time for me to get back to my original passion which is teaching,” Hart said. “Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with so many kids as an arts educator for the San Diego Opera and La Jolla Playhouse. I finally made the leap and completed my multi-subject teaching credential. I will start my student teaching in January and begin my teaching career in the fall of 2019.” Hart was instrumental in helping find her replacement, Thora Guthrie, who will begin her new position championing the annual Wreath Making Workshop at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center on Dec. 10. “This will be Thora's first day on the job,” Hart said. “This is very nostalgic for me because I started on Wreath Making day back in 2016.” Hart said Guthrie spent many years passionately enhancing organizations and communities through creative communications strategies and consensus building. She also noted Guthrie prides herself in nurturing relationships between the business communities, TURN TO GARDEN CLUB ON 15
Gun show organizer tells group to cease, desist By Lexy Brodt
DEL MAR — As the dialogue on gun shows in the state of California reaches a high pitch, a Utah-based company that runs several such events in the state has sent a cease and desist letter to the founder of NeverAgainCA, a local organization that aims to end gun violence. Since its inception in early 2018, NeverAgainCA
has vocally opposed the Del Mar Fairgrounds gun show. The event has been hosted by Crossroads of the West Gun Shows for the last 28 years. The letter — drafted by Long Beach-based law firm Michel & Associates on behalf of Crossroads — cites articles and documents posted on the NeverAgainCA website, and accuses founder Rose Ann Sharp of
making “defamatory, disparaging and false statements about our clients.” The letter predominantly contests statements regarding the gun show’s leadership and conduct. A few of the statements are related to the federal firearms convictions of Crossroads owner Robert Templeton and his son, Jeff Templeton. Five of the seven excerpts listed in the letter
were not written or produced by Sharp, but rather by a representative with the Brady Campaign, as well as the San Diego Union-Tribune. According to Sharp, NeverAgainCA “participated in” the drafting of a letter sent to the Department of Justice and a presentation submitted to the 22nd District Agricultural Association board of directors, which were both referenced
in the cease and desist letter. Tracy Olcott, president of Crossroads of the West, said the company is primarily concerned with statements made regarding her brother, Jeff Templeton, and her father, Robert Templeton. Jeff Templeton is a convicted felon, and the 22nd DAA board of directors anTURN TO GUN SHOW ON 15