EXHIBIT 1

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 1 of 8
Attachments: image003.png

2022 08 18 Joint Advisory to Court Re Def Dr. Guerra"s Subpoena of Plaintiffs" Medical and Billing Records.pdf

From: Brandy Peery 

Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 5:10 PM

To: Tor Ekeland <tor@torekeland.com>; Rain Minns <rain@rainminnslaw.com>; Michael Hassard

<Michael@torekeland.com>; David Apple <jdapple@applefinklaw.com>

Cc: Ricardo Cedillo <rcedillo@lawdcm.com>; Kathleen N. Folks <kfolks@lawdcm.com>; Susan V. Holt <sholt@lawdcm.com>;

Nicole Guitelman <nicoleg@torekeland.com>

Subject: RE: [External] Re: Dr. Guerra' Subpoena for Medical Records (Cantu v. Guerra)

Tor:

It appears from your law clerk’s email below that we are at an impasse.

First, Section 1 of the Court’s Order [Doc 98] for which we must file a Joint Advisory relates only to Dr. Guerra’s

subpoenas for Plaintiffs’ medical records. I will address this issue first and then address the other discovery issues

raised in Ms. Guitelman’s email.

The purpose serving the subpoena directly to the medical providers is to ensure we obtain all medical and billing

records, not just the records within your clients’ custody, possession, or control. It is unusual for any individual to

maintain all their medical and billing records. These are generally maintained by the provider. In fact, Mrs. Cantu

testified she couldn’t “remember offhand” whether she had her medical records from Dr. Searls because it had

“been a while.” When asked if she could search for the records, she replied, “I guess I could.” Her deposition was

taken on July 26th. It has been over 3 weeks and we still have not received these records or any response as to

whether Mrs. Cantu has them. The custodian of records for each of the medical providers is the best source for

obtain a full, complete, and accurate set of medical and billing records. Plaintiffs can resolve this matter by simply

directing these providers to provide us with the requested records along with the business records affidavit.

Plaintiffs can do this by executing the proposed HIPAA authorizations we sent you on July 20th (nearly one month

ago).

Secondly, we are entitled to the unredacted medical records. Plaintiffs have not provided any arguments as to why

the exception to the physician-patient privilege under TRE 509 and R.K. v. Ramirez, 887 S.W.2d 836, 840, 843 (Tex.

1994) does not apply to Plaintiffs’ medical records in this case. See Dr. Guerra’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Quash,

¶6-10.

Furthermore, Ms. Guitelman states in her email below that your office is “working with Plaintiffs to compile all medical

billing records for the relevant time period and will produce them to [us]” but does not state Plaintiff’s proposed

“relevant time period” or when the documents will actually be produced. Per my email from yesterday (below), our

request for Plaintiffs’ medical and billing records extends from January 1, 2014 (approximately 4 years before Dr.

Guerra and her minor children were accosted at Pei Wei by Mrs. Cantu) to the present. The dates are relative to

Mrs. Cantu’s admitted pre-existing conditions and the Cantus’ prior custody suit and span until the present

considering Plaintiffs’ responses to discovery that costs are still being incurred. I stated in my email below that if it

is your contention that the requests are overly broad in time or scope, then please let us know how you propose we

limit the time and scope and we will consider a compromise. Ms. Guitelman’s email below provides no such

proposal as to a limit on time or scope. Time is of the essence as the discovery deadline expires in less than 30

days. We demand that the medical and billing documents that are the subject of our subpoenas noticed on June 28th

be produced no later than August 26th.

Lastly, as to Confidentiality, the Court has already entered a Confidentiality and Protective Order in this Case [Doc

88], which you opposed. We do not have any issue with the medical or billing records being produced subject to the

Court’s Confidentiality and Protective Order.

Please find attached a proposed Joint Advisory to the Court stating that the parties have conferred and were

unable to reach a resolution. Please let us know as soon as possible if you approve for filing today.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 2 of 8
As to the other discovery issues addressed in Ms. Guitelman’s email, I have reviewed Plaintiffs’ first, second, and

third set of RFPS and have not seen any requests for production of “all medical records in relation to [Dr. Guerra’s]

defamation Counterclaim, including all information related to any sexually transmitted disease and information on

use of Valtrex” or any documents related to her diagnosis of PTSD. Will you please direct us to where these appear

in Plaintiffs’ discovery requests?

Brandy C. Peery

Shareholder

Note: New Suite Number

OFFICE: 210-822-6666

FAX: 210-660-3795

EMAIL: bpeery@lawdcm.com

ADDRESS: 755 E. Mulberry Ave., Suite 250 

 San Antonio, Texas 78212

The information contained in this e-mail is attorney-client privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the intended recipient or agent responsible to deliver it to the

intended recipient. You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error,

please immediately notify us by telephone at 210/822-6666 and please return the original message to us at the following address via the U.S. Postal Service. Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc.,

755 E Mulberry Suite 500, San Antonio, Texas 78212. As required by U.S. Treasury Regulations governing tax practice, you are hereby advised that any written tax advice contained herein

was not written or intended to be used (and cannot be used) by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Communications by email are not intended to and should not be construed to create any contractual or other legal obligation unless the context of the email unequivocally indicates an

intention by the sender of this email to create a legally binding obligation.

From: Nicole Guitelman <nicoleg@torekeland.com> 

Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 11:32 AM

To: Brandy Peery <bpeery@lawdcm.com>; Tor Ekeland <tor@torekeland.com>; Rain Minns <rain@rainminnslaw.com>;

Michael Hassard <Michael@torekeland.com>; David Apple <jdapple@applefinklaw.com>

Cc: Ricardo Cedillo <rcedillo@lawdcm.com>; Kathleen N. Folks <kfolks@lawdcm.com>; Susan V. Holt <sholt@lawdcm.com>

Subject: [External] Re: Dr. Guerra' Subpoena for Medical Records (Cantu v. Guerra)

Brandy,

Pursuant to the Court’s Order [Doc. 98], please allow this email to serve as our effort to confer on Plaintiffs’ Motion

to Quash Dr. Guerra’s Subpoena of Plaintiffs’ Medical and Billing Records.

As per Rule 26, we are working with Plaintiffs to compile all medical billing records for the relevant time period

and will produce them to you.

As for the medical records, we will produce all non-privileged, responsive information in our custody, possession,

and control. We assert the therapist-patient privilege prevents the release of most, if not all, of these documents to

you. We will also seek a protective order before any of these sensitive and confidential medical records can be

released. Furthermore, in the subpoenas, you request ALL forms of medical information that pertain to either Dr.

Cantu or Mrs. Cantu. We have received your most recent discovery request and are working with Plaintiffs to

acquire/compile all necessary documents.

On July 20, 2022, a week after we filed a motion to quash your subpoenas, you sent us the HIPAA authorizations.

We informed you weeks prior that you failed to attach the necessary HIPAA authorization forms to your subpoenas.

You refused to work with us, stating your disagreement, and necessitating our Motion to Quash.

Rule 26 requires you produce Dr. Guerra’s medical records. You claim a diagnosis of PTSD, caused by Plaintiffs, in

your Counterclaims. We seek those records, as they were never produced in the Initial Disclosures and in Discovery.

Again, we ask that you to produce all medical records in relation to your defamation Counterclaim, including all

information related to any sexually transmitted disease and information on use of Valtrex.

Finally, as the Court has ordered us to file a Joint Report today. Please give us your thoughts on how you would like

to proceed.

On behalf of Tor Ekeland.

Kind Regards,

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 3 of 8
Nicole

Law Clerk, Pending Admission

Tor Ekeland Law, PLLC

30 Wall Street,

8th Floor

New York, NY 10005-2205

(718) 737-7264

nicoleg@torekeland.com

www.torekeland.com

This account is checked once in the morning and once in the afternoon. If you need a response before that please call the office number

listed above. This email is sent from a law firm and may contain privileged and confidential information. If you have received it in error,

please let us know and then delete all copies of it.

From: Brandy Peery <bpeery@lawdcm.com>

Date: Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 11:45 AM

To: Tor Ekeland <tor@torekeland.com>, Rain Minns <rain@rainminnslaw.com>, Michael Hassard

<Michael@torekeland.com>, David Apple <jdapple@applefinklaw.com>

Cc: Ricardo Cedillo <rcedillo@lawdcm.com>, Kathleen N. Folks <kfolks@lawdcm.com>, Susan V. Holt

<sholt@lawdcm.com>, Nicole Guitelman <nicoleg@torekeland.com>

Subject: Dr. Guerra' Subpoena for Medical Records (Cantu v. Guerra)

TorPursuant to the Court’s Order [Doc. 98], please allow this email to serve as our effort to confer on Plaintiffs’ Motion

to Quash Dr. Guerra’s Subpoena of Plaintiffs’ Medical and Billing Records. Plaintiffs have included treatment costs

as part of Plaintiffs’ alleged damage model and identified Dr. John Seals, Randolph A. Pollock, MA, LPC, Dr.

Joann Murphy, and Deena Trevino on Plaintiffs’ list of “witnesses” on Plaintiffs’ Initial Disclosures (attached) and

as persons with knowledge of relevant facts thereby rendering these records discoverable. Section 3 of Plaintiffs’

Initial Disclosures (Damages Calculation) includes costs for treatment with Dr. Seals, Steve Cervantes, and

Randolph Pollock. In Section 2 of Plaintiffs’ Initial Disclosures (category of documents), Plaintiffs list “receipts for

costs listed below [which includes costs for treatment with Dr. Seals, Steve Cervantes, and Randolph Pollock].”

Plaintiffs have a duty to provide these medical and billing records under Rule 26 without us even asking,

nevertheless we have made numerous requests but still have not received any of the requested records.

You advised the Court during our hearing last week that if we needed the billing and medical records “all [we]

needed to do was ask you for them.” You received the notices of the subpoenas on June 28th. We did not receive a

response until July 5th when your law clerk, in spite of Plaintiffs’ Initial Disclosures, emailed us stating, “There is

nothing in this case justifying your blanket request for medical information.”

We sent our First Requests for Production to Dr. Cantu on June 24, 2022 requesting documents regarding Plaintiffs’

claims for cost and damages (including medical costs) set forth in Section 3 of Plaintiffs’ Disclosures. We received

the below response on July 25th and still have not received any of the requested documents.

I also attempted to confer with you and sent you proposed HIPAA authorizations on July 20th. Again, we received

no response.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 4 of 8
In a “belt and suspenders” effort to ensure we have clarified all the documents and information we seek from

Plaintiffs, we sent the attached Interrogatories and RFPs to Plaintiffs on August 15th.

We have now repeatedly requested that Plaintiffs provide copies of their medical and billing records from the

providers identified in Plaintiffs’ Initial Disclosures. Will you now honor your representations to the Court that you

will provide this information “if [we] just ask for it?”

Our request for medical and billing records is from January 1, 2014 (approximately 4 years before Dr. Guerra and

her minor children were accosted at Pei Wei by Mrs. Cantu) to the present. The dates are relative to Mrs. Cantu’s

admitted pre-existing conditions and the Cantus’ prior custody suit and span until the present in light of Plaintiffs’

responses to discovery that costs are still being incurred. If it is your contention that the requests are overly broad in

time or scope, then please let us know how you propose that we limit the time and scope and we will consider a

compromise.

Brandy C. Peery

Shareholder

Note: New Suite Number

OFFICE: 210-822-6666

FAX: 210-660-3795

EMAIL: bpeery@lawdcm.com

ADDRESS: 755 E. Mulberry Ave., Suite 250 

 San Antonio, Texas 78212

The information contained in this e-mail is attorney-client privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the intended recipient or agent responsible to deliver it to the

intended recipient. You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error,

please immediately notify us by telephone at 210/822-6666 and please return the original message to us at the following address via the U.S. Postal Service. Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc.,

755 E Mulberry Suite 500, San Antonio, Texas 78212. As required by U.S. Treasury Regulations governing tax practice, you are hereby advised that any written tax advice contained herein

was not written or intended to be used (and cannot be used) by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Communications by email are not intended to and should not be construed to create any contractual or other legal obligation unless the context of the email unequivocally indicates an

intention by the sender of this email to create a legally binding obligation.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 5 of 8
JOINT ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION STATUS REPORT PAGE 1 OF 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO DIVISION

MELODY JOY CANTU and

DR. RODRIGO CANTU, 

Plaintiffs 

V.

DR. SANDRA GUERRA and

DIGITAL FORENSICS CORPORATION, 

LLC

Defendants

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§ 

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§ 

§ 

CASE NO 5:20-CV-00746-JKP (HJB)

JURY DEMANDED

JOINT ADVISORY TO THE COURT REGARDING DEFENDANT, DR. GUERRA’S 

SUBPOENA OF PLAINTIFFS’ MEDICAL AND BILLING RECORDS

Pursuant to paragraph 1 of the Court’s Order [Doc. 98], Plaintiffs, MELODY JOY CANTU 

and DR. RODRIGO CANTU (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), and Defendant, DR. SANDRA 

GUERRA (“Dr. Guerra”), file this Advisory to the Court: 

1. The parties have conferred on Dr. Guerra’s subpoenas of Plaintiffs’ medical and 

billing records which are the subject of Plaintiffs’ Motion to Quash Subpoenas for Medical 

Records [Doc. 90] and Defendant, Dr. Guerra’s Response thereto [Doc. 93]. 

2. No resolution has been reached by the parties. 

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 6 of 8
JOINT ADVISORY TO THE COURT PAGE 2 OF 3

Date: August 18, 2022. Respectfully submitted, 

 TOR EKELAND LAW, PLLC 

30 Wall Street, 8th Floor 

New York, NY 

Telephone: (718) 737 - 7264 

Facsimile: (718) 504 - 5417 

 

By: /s/Tor Ekeland __________ 

TOR EKELAND 

NY Bar No. 4493631 

Pro Hac Vice 

tor@torekeland.com

 and 

 

MINNS LAW FIRM, P.C. 

D/B/A RAIN MINNS LAW FIRM 

4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Suite 500 

Austin, Texas 78759-8583 

Telephone: (512) 372-3222 

Facsimile: (512) 861-2403 

 

 By: /s/Rain Levy Minns __________

RAIN LEVY MINNS

Texas State Bar No. 24034581 

rain@rainminnslaw.com 

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS/COUNTERDEFENDANTS, MELODY JOY CANTU AND 

DR. RODRIGO CANTU

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 7 of 8
JOINT ADVISORY TO THE COURT PAGE 3 OF 3

DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC.

 McCombs Plaza

 755 E. Mulberry Avenue, Suite 500 

San Antonio, Texas 78212 

Telephone: (210) 822-6666 

Facsimile: (210) 660-3795 

 

By: /s/Ricardo G. Cedillo ________ 

 RICARDO G. CEDILLO

 Texas State Bar No. 04043600 

 rcedillo@lawdcm.com

BRANDY C. PEERY

 Texas State Bar No. 24057666 

bpeery@lawdcm.com

ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT/COUNTERPLAINTIFF, DR. SANDRA GUERRA

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on this 18th day of August 2022, a true and correct copy of the foregoing was 

electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send 

electronic notification of such filing to the parties on record. 

 /s/Tor Ekeland 

TOR EKELAND

 /s/Ricardo G. Cedillo 

RICARDO G. CEDILLO

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 104-1 Filed 09/01/22 Page 8 of 8