EXHIBIT 8

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 1 of 9
·1· · · · · · IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

· · · · · · · ·FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

·2· · · · · · · · · ·SAN ANTONIO DIVISION

·3 MELODY JOY CANTU and DR.· · ·)

· ·RODRIGO CANTU ,· · · · · · · )

·4· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )

· · · · · · · · ·Plaintiffs,· · )

·5· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ) CIVIL ACTION

· ·VS.· · · · · · · · · · · · · )

·6· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ) NO.: 5:20-CV-00746-JKP

· ·DR. SANDRA GUERRA and· · · · ) (HJB)

·7 DIGITAL FORENSICS· · · · · · )

· ·CORPORATION, LLC,· · · · · · )

·8· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )

· · · · · · · · ·Defendants.· · )

·9

10· · · · · · -----------------------------------

11· · · · · · ·ORAL AND VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF

12· · · · · · · · · · DR. RODRIGO CANTU

13· · · · · · · · · · · · (VIA ZOOM)

14· · · · · · · · · · · ·JULY 16, 2022

15· · · · · · -----------------------------------

16· · · ORAL AND VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF DR. RODRIGO CANTU,

17 produced as a witness at the instance of the DEFENDANT,

18 and duly sworn, was taken in the above-styled and

19 numbered cause on July 16, 2022 from 2:24 o'clock p.m.

20 to 5:40 o'clock p.m., Via Zoom, before

21 DEBBIE S. LONGORIA, CSR in and for the State of Texas,

22 reported by machine shorthand, pursuant to the Federal

23 Rules of Civil Procedure.

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Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 2 of 9
·1· · · · · · · · · ·A P P E A R A N C E S

·2

·3 FOR THE PLAINTIFFS:

·4· · · TOR EKELAND (Via Zoom)

· · · · TOR EKELAND LAW, PLLC

·5· · · 30 WALL STREET, 8TH FLOOR

· · · · NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10005

·6· · · (718) 737-7264

· · · · tor@torekeland.com

·7

· ·FOR THE DEFENDANTS DR. SANDRA GUERRA and DIGITAL

·8 FORENSICS CORPORATION, LLC:

·9· · · BRANDY C. PEERY (Via Zoom)

· · · · RICARDO G. CEDILLO (Via Zoom)

10· · · DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC.

· · · · 755 E. MULBERRY, SUITE 500

11· · · SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78212

· · · · (210) 822-6666

12· · · bpeery@lawdcm.com

· · · · rcedillo@lawdcm.com

13

14 ALSO PRESENT:

15· · · KYLE LABYER, Videographer (Via Zoom)

· · · · MELODY JOY CANTU (Via Zoom)

16· · · NICOLE GUITELMAN (Via Zoom)

· · · · KATHLEEN N. FOLKS (Via Zoom)

17· · · DR. SANDRA GUERRA (Via Zoom)

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Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 3 of 9
·1· · · A.· ·No.

·2· · · Q.· ·And what are the names of the attorneys who

·3 are representing you in this case?

·4· · · A.· ·Tor Ekeland.

·5· · · Q.· ·Anybody else?

·6· · · A.· ·And Nicole Guitelman, and there are some

·7 others that I don't remember their names.

·8· · · Q.· ·And Ms. Guitelman is your attorney in this

·9 matter?

10· · · A.· ·She works with Mr. Ekeland.

11· · · Q.· ·Okay.· And did you sign an Engagement

12 Agreement with Mr. Ekeland and his law firm?

13· · · A.· ·Yes.

14· · · Q.· ·Okay.· And is that a contingency fee agreement

15 or do you pay him on an hourly basis?

16· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

17· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I think we talked about

18 this or my wife talked about it before.· We have an

19 agreement, it's not a contingency.· I think initially we

20 were paying hourly and now we have an agreement for his

21 representation through the rest of our case.

22· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· And what's that

23 agreement?

24· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

25· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· That he will represent us

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 4 of 9
·1 for the rest of the case.

·2· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· That he'll represent you

·3 for the rest of the case, and what -- what are you

·4 paying him to represent you for the rest of the case?

·5· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

·6· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· We're paying him American

·7 dollars.

·8· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Are you paying him on an hourly

·9 basis or a flat fee?

10· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer,

11 if you can.

12· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· We had a flat fee and there

13 are other expenses that we pay to him.

14· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) How much is the flat fee?

15· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

16· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I don't recall.

17· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Would that be contained in your

18 Engagement Agreement?

19· · · A.· ·Yes.· Or we had a -- I think there was an

20 amended Engagement Agreement that --

21· · · Q.· ·Okay.· So, you signed an Engagement Agreement

22 and then an amended Engagement Agreement --

23· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

24· · · Q.· ·-- is that correct?

25· · · A.· ·Correct.

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 5 of 9
·1· · · Q.· ·How much were you paying your attorney,

·2 Mr. Ekeland, when you were paying him an hourly fee, how

·3 much was his hourly fee?

·4· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

·5· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I don't recall the exact

·6 amount.

·7· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) How much is the flat fee?

·8· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.

·9· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I don't recall the exact

10 amount, but it's in the documents if we can -- if we

11 need to pull them up.

12· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· As of today,

13 approximately how much have you paid your attorneys?

14· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

15· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) For this --

16· · · · · · · · ·MS. PEERY:· I'm sorry, Tor.

17· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· I'm sorry, did I step over

18 you or --

19· · · · · · · · ·MS. PEERY:· No, I stepped over you.· And

20 let me just re-ask the question.

21· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) How much have you paid your

22 attorney -- as of today, how much have you paid your

23 attorneys for their fees excluding expenses?

24· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

25· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I don't recall the exact

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 6 of 9
·1 amount.

·2· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· Well, it's -- you allege

·3 that you have incurred penalties and taxes because

·4 you've had to dip into your retirement account to pay

·5 your attorneys.· How much have you had to dip into your

·6 retirement account to pay your attorneys?

·7· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

·8· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I don't recall the exact

·9 amount that we had to -- or that I've had to take from

10 retirement accounts.

11· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) And when you say -- you said "I

12 have to take," has Melody taken anything out of any of

13 her retirement accounts to pay for your attorneys?

14· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

15· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I believe she has.

16· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· But, as you sit here

17 today, you don't know how much you have taken out of

18 your retirement account to pay for your attorneys?

19· · · A.· ·That's correct.

20· · · Q.· ·And is -- but is that information that you

21 can -- you can obtain?

22· · · · · · · · ·MR. EKELAND:· Objection.· You can answer.

23· · · · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· Yes, it's information I can

24 obtain.

25· · · Q.· ·(By Ms. Peery) Okay.· Dr. Cantu, have you ever

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 7 of 9
·1· · · · · · IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

· · · · · · · ·FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

·2· · · · · · · · · ·SAN ANTONIO DIVISION

·3 MELODY JOY CANTU and DR.· · ·)

· ·RODRIGO CANTU,· · · · · · · ·)

·4· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )

· · · · · · · · ·Plaintiffs,· · )

·5· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ) CIVIL ACTION

· ·VS.· · · · · · · · · · · · · )

·6· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ) NO.: 5:20-CV-00746-JKP

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ) (HJB)

·7 DR. SANDRA GUERRA and· · · · )

· ·DIGITAL FORENSICS· · · · · · )

·8 CORPORATION, LLC,· · · · · · )

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )

·9· · · · · · · ·Defendants.· · )

10

11· · · · · · · · ·REPORTER'S CERTIFICATION

12· · · · · · · DEPOSITION OF DR. RODRIGO CANTU

13· · · · · · · · · · · ·JULY 16, 2022

14

15· · · I, Debbie S. Longoria, Certified Shorthand Reporter

16 in and for the State of Texas, hereby certify to the

17 following:

18· · · That the witness, DR. RODRIGO CANTU, was duly sworn

19 by the officer and that the transcript of the oral

20 deposition is a true record of the testimony given by

21 the witness;

22· · · I further certify that pursuant to FRCP Rule 30(f)

23 (1) that the signature of the deponent:

24· · · ____was requested by the deponent or a party before

25 the completion of the deposition and returned within 30

Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 8 of 9
·1 days from date of receipt of the transcript.· If

·2 returned, the attached Changes and Signature Page

·3 contains any changes and the reasons therefor;

·4· · ·__X__was not requested by the deponent or a party

·5 before the completion of the deposition.

·6· · · I further certify that I am neither attorney nor

·7 counsel for, related to, nor employed by any of the

·8 parties to the action in which this testimony was taken.

·9· · · Further, I am not a relative or employee of any

10 attorney of record in this cause, nor do I have a

11 financial interest in the action.

12· · · Subscribed and sworn to on this the 28th day

13 of July, 2022.

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15

16

· · · · · · ·___________________________________

17· · · · · ·Debbie S. Longoria, Texas CSR #5232

· · · · · · ·Expiration Date:· 10/31/23

18· · · · · ·Lexitas - Firm Registration No. 539

· · · · · · ·100 N.E. Loop 410, Suite 955

19· · · · · ·San Antonio, Texas 78216

· · · · · · ·(210) 481-7575

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Case 5:20-cv-00746-JKP Document 102-8 Filed 08/29/22 Page 9 of 9