PAGE 1 OF 6

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

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

§

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

DEFENDANT, DR. SANDRA GUERRA’S RESPONSE TO 

PLAINTIFFS’ SEVENTH [SIC] CONTINUANCE REQUEST

TO THE HONORABLE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT:

NOW COMES Defendant, DR. SANDRA GUERRA (“Defendant” and “Dr. Guerra”), and 

files this her Response to Plaintiffs’ Seventh [sic] Continuance Request [Doc. 95] (the 

“Continuance Request”), and, in support thereof, would respectfully show unto the Court as 

follows:

1. This case has been pending for over 2 years. Plaintiffs filed suit on June 24, 2020

but did not serve a single request for written discovery to Defendants until over a year and a half 

later on January 14, 2022.1

 Plaintiffs did not notice a single deposition of a party or non-party 

1 Plaintiffs served 25 requests for production, 14 interrogatories, and 12 requests for admissions to 

Dr. Guerra on January 14, 2022. Plaintiffs served 20 requests for production, 20 interrogatories, 

and 17 requests for admissions to DFC on January 14, 2022. Dr. Guerra served her responses and 

objections to Plaintiffs’ first set of written discovery on February 28, 2022, and DFC served its 

objections and responses to Plaintiffs’ first set of written discovery on March 4, 2022. 

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 1 of 6
PAGE 2 OF 6

until July 14, 2022 (just 3 weeks ago).2

2. Although titled “Seventh” Continuance Request, this is actually Plaintiffs’ eighth 

request for continuance.3 Dr. Guerra joined in Plaintiffs’ first, second, third, fourth and fifth 

requests for continuance based upon Plaintiffs’ representation that Plaintiff, Melody Joy Cantu, 

suffered a medical emergency requiring an extended recovery time that prevented her from 

participating in the litigation.4 Plaintiffs advised the Court and counsel that Plaintiff, Melody Joy 

Cantu, was thrown from a horse on January 30, 2021. In the continuances filed on May 14, 2021 

[Doc. 47], June 15, 2021 [Doc. 49], and August 16, 2021 [Doc. 57], Plaintiffs represented to the 

Court that Plaintiff, Melody Joy Cantu, “continue[d] to be in immense pain and repeatedly visit[ed]

doctors and the hospital to deal with issues stemming from the event.”5

 Plaintiffs further advised 

that, “[a]s of May 5, 2021, Mrs. Cantu’s doctors advised her to remain at home for a least another 

month.”6

 However, Plaintiff, Dr. Rodrigo Cantu, recently testified that he and Plaintiff, Melody 

Joy Cantu, traveled from San Antonio, Texas to Hawaii for a 5-day vacation in 20217 and Plaintiff, 

Melody Joy Cantu, posted a picture on Facebook on June 11, 2021 taken in Hawaii the week prior.8

2 Plaintiffs served their notices of the oral and videotaped depositions of Dr. Guerra, the corporate 

representative of DFC, DFC’s expert, Shawn Kassal, and DFC’s counsel, David Apple on July 14, 

2022. Plaintiffs conducted the following depositions on the following dates: DFC’s expert, Shawn 

Kassal (July 18, 2022), DFC’s 2 corporate representatives (July 19, 2022), and Dr. Guerra (July 

21, 2022). Plaintiffs withdrew their notice of Mr. Apple’s deposition. 

3 See First Continuance Request [Doc. 42]; Second Continuance Request [Doc. 45]; Third 

Continuance Request [Doc. 47]; Fourth Continuance Request [Doc. 49]; Fifth Continuance 

Request [Doc. 57]; Sixth Continuance Request [Doc. 65]; Seventh Continuance Request [Doc. 

67]; Eighth Continuance Request [Doc. 95].

4 See First Continuance Request, ¶3 [Doc. 42]; Second Continuance Request, ¶3-5 [Doc.45]; Third 

Continuance Request, ¶3-4 [Doc. 47]; Fourth Continuance Request, ¶3-4 [Doc. 49]; Fifth 

Continuance Request, ¶3-4 [Doc. 57].

5 Id. 6 Third Continuance Request, ¶4 [Doc. 47] (emphasis added). 

7 See Exhibit 1, Deposition of Plaintiff, Dr. Rodrigo Cantu dated July 16, 2022, 79:16-81:16.

8 See Exhibit 2, Melody Joy Cantu Facebook Post.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 2 of 6
PAGE 3 OF 6

3. On February 25, 2022, in response to the parties’ Seventh Joint Continuance 

Request, the Court entered an Order [Doc. 70] expressly providing as follows: “Parties shall 

initiate all discovery procedures in time to complete discovery on or before June 15, 

2022...Counsel may by agreement continue discovery beyond the deadline, but there will be no 

intervention by the Court except in exceptional circumstances.” 

4. The parties subsequently agreed in writing to extend the discovery deadline until 

July 31, 2022.

9

 The Court entered an Order [Doc. 89] on June 23, 2022 providing that discovery 

must be completed on or before July 31, 2022, mediation must be held on or before August 15, 

2022, and dispositive motions must be filed on or before August 31, 2022. Eight days later, 

Plaintiffs filed their second set of written requests for discovery to Defendants on July 1, 2022.10 

DFC timely filed its objections and responses to Plaintiffs’ second set of written discovery on July 

29, 2022 and Dr. Guerra timely served her responses and objections on August 1, 2022.

5. As of this date, Dr. Guerra has produced a total of 980 pages of documents (which 

includes the contract and email communications between Dr. Guerra and DFC) as part of Dr. 

Guerra’s Initial Rule 26 Disclosures and in response to Plaintiffs’ 48 requests for production. Dr. 

9 Ms. Nicole Guitelman confirmed Plaintiffs’ agreement to extend the discovery deadline to July 

31, 2022 via email dated May 25, 2022 to counsel for Dr. Guerra and counsel for DFC. Ms. 

Guitelman does not appear as an attorney of record for Plaintiffs on any of the pleadings in this 

matter but is identified in the signature block of her emails as a “Law Clerk” at Tor Ekeland Law, 

PLLC in New York City, New York. Mr. Ekeland has appeared herein as counsel pro hac vice

for Plaintiffs. Rain Levy Minns filed a Notice of Appearance [Doc. 7] but has not corresponded 

with counsel for Defendant or actively participated in the litigation. Michael Hassard with the law 

firm Tor Ekeland Law, PLLC filed a Notice of Appearance [Doc. 71] on April 20, 2022 but has 

not filed a Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice. 

10 Plaintiffs served 23 requests for production and 22 interrogatories to Dr. Guerra on July 1, 2022. 

Plaintiffs previously served 14 interrogatories to Dr. Guerra on January 14, 2022, therefore, Dr. 

Guerra objected to Plaintiffs’ second set of interrogatories Nos. 12-22 on the grounds that they

violate Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a) which prohibits a party from serving more than 25 written 

interrogatories on any party. Plaintiffs served 9 requests for production and 14 interrogatories to 

DFC on July 1, 2022. 

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 3 of 6
PAGE 4 OF 6

Guerra produced documents bates labeled GUERRA00001-000097 on December 1, 2020, 

GUERRA000098-000183 on June 16, 2022, GUERRA000184 on June 22, 2022, 

GUERRA000185-000196 on June 24, 2022, GUERRA000197-000312 on July 20, 2022, 

GUERRA000313-000971 on July 29, 2022, and GUERRA000972-000980 on August 1, 2022.

6. The oral and videotaped depositions of Plaintiffs, Dr. Cantu and Melody Joy Cantu, 

were taken on July 16, 2022 by Dr. Guerra’s counsel. Counsel for Dr. Guerra and DFC also took 

the oral and videotaped deposition of Plaintiffs’ purported “testifying expert,” Jeff Fischbach on 

July 26, 2022.11 Plaintiffs’ counsel took the oral and videotaped depositions of DFC’s expert, 

Shawn Kassel, on July 18, 2022, two of DFC’s corporate representatives on July 19, 2022, and Dr. 

Guerra’s July 21, 2022. As of this date, Plaintiffs have not noticed the deposition of any other 

party or non-party.

12

7. Plaintiffs’ eighth Continuance Request is nothing more than a bad faith, dilatory 

tactic resulting from Plaintiffs’ inexcusable failure and/or refusal over the past 2 years to diligently 

prosecute their purported claims against Defendants. Defendants were induced by Plaintiffs into 

11 Mr. Fischbach testified he did not prepare an expert report and is only a “consultant” for 

Plaintiffs’ counsel at this point. 

12 Dr. Guerra noticed the depositions of non-parties, Jackie Johnston, Dottie Laster, and Danielle 

Wollervweron, who were identified in Plaintiffs’ Initial Rule 26 Disclosures as “witnesses.” Dr. 

Guerra served these deposition notices to Plaintiffs’ counsel on July 11, 2022 and July 12, 2022. 

Despite diligent efforts to serve these non-parties, counsel for Dr. Guerra has been unable to do so 

because Plaintiffs refuse to provide Dr. Guerra’s counsel with the correct addresses and telephone 

numbers for these non-parties. Plaintiff, Melody Joy Cantu, testified she is still in communication 

with Ms. Johnston and even spoke with her days before Mrs. Cantu’s deposition on July 16, 2022

(after the date of Dr. Guerra’s attempts to have Ms. Johnston served) but Plaintiffs still refuse to 

provide her current mailing address and phone number. In response to repeated requests for this 

information, Ms. Guitelman (Mr. Ekeland’s law clerk) advised, that after speaking with Plaintiffs 

about the depositions of 10 fact witnesses identified on Plaintiffs’ Initial Rule 26 Disclosures, they

“have decided that [they] are withdrawing [them] as potential witness[es] in this matter.” Counsel 

for Dr. Guerra has informed counsel for Plaintiffs that Dr. Guerra has not, and does not, waive her 

right to depose these non-parties or call them at trial.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 4 of 6
PAGE 5 OF 6

agreeing to multiple prior extensions of the discovery period under the false pretense that Plaintiff, 

Melody Joy Cantu, was in such severe pain that she could not participate in discovery (but, as it 

turns out, she was well enough to travel to and vacation in Hawaii). Defendants have already 

incurred considerable time and expense in connection with defending themselves against the 

frivolous claims asserted against them by Plaintiffs. They will incur additional time and expense 

and will be further prejudiced if Plaintiffs are granted yet another extension of the discovery period. 

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Defendant, DR. SANDRA GUERRA,

respectfully prays that this Court deny Plaintiffs’ Seventh [sic] Continuance Request and grant 

Defendant all such other and further relief, both general and special, at law or in equity, to which 

she may be entitled. 

Dated: August 5, 2022. Respectfully submitted,

DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC.

McCombs Plaza, Suite 500

755 E. Mulberry Avenue

San Antonio, Texas 78212

Telephone No.: (210) 822-6666

Telecopier No.: (210) 822-1151

 

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, DR. SANDRA 

GUERRA

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 5 of 6
PAGE 6 OF 6

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on this 5th 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/Ricardo G. Cedillo 

RICARDO G. CEDILLO

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 97 Filed 08/05/22 Page 6 of 6