transcript judge barton 3.00 pm may 05 2010

8/13/2019 Transcript Judge Barton 3.00 Pm May 05 2010

1/69

Page 1

I N THE CI RCUI T COURT OF THE THI RTEENTH J UDI CI AL CI RCUI T OF THE STATE OF FLORI DA, I N AND FOR HI LLSBOROUGH COUNTY

CI RCUI T CI VI L DI VI SI ON

NEI L J . GI LLESPI E,

Pl ai nt i f f ,

vs. CASE NO. : 05- 007205

DI VI SI ON: "C"BARKER, RODEMS & COOK, P. A. ,a Fl or i da cor por at i on;WI LLI AM J . COOK,

Def endant s.___________________________

TRANSCRI PT OF PROCEEDI NGS

BEFORE: HONORABLE J AMES M. BARTON, I I

Ci r cui t J udge

TAKEN AT: I n Chambers Hi l l sbor ough Count y Cour t house Tampa, Fl or i da

DATE: May 5, 2010

TI ME: Commenci ng at 3: 00 p. m.

REPORTED BY: SONJ A BONANNO Cour t Report er Not ar y Publ i c St at e of Fl or i da at Lar ge

DEMPSTER - BERRYHI LL COURT REPORTERS 501 East Kennedy Bl vd. , Sui t e 775 Tampa, Fl or i da 33602 ( 813) 229- 8225


2/69

Page 2

1 APPEARANCES:

2 On behal f of t he Pl ai nt i f f :

3 NEI L J . GI LLESPI E, PRO SE

8092 S. W. 115t h Loop4 Ocal a, Fl or i da 34481

5

6 On behal f of t he Def endant :

7 RYAN CHRI STOPHER RODEMS, ESQUI RE

8 400 Nor t h Ashl ey Dr i ve, Sui t e 2100 Tampa, FL 33602

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


3/69

Page 3

1 I NDEX TO PROCEEDI NGS

2 PAGE

3 Pr oceedi ngs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4 Cer t i f i cat e of Repor t er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


4/69

Page 4

1 P R O C E E D I N G S

2 THE COURT: Good af t er noon. Al l r i ght . We

3 ar e her e i n Gi l l espi e ver sus Bar ker , Rodems & Cook,

4 P. A. , and Wi l l i am J . Cook.

5 We have qui t e a f ew mot i ons t o consi der t hat ' s

6 i n t he or der schedul i ng t hi s hear i ng dat ed Mar ch

7 29t h of 2010.

8 As you may obser ve, pur suant t o t he

9 pl ai nt i f f ' s r equest , we have a real t i me r epor t er

10 her e t hi s af t er noon. We ar e pr epar ed t o make

11 accommodat i ons f or Mr . Gi l l espi e as he may r equest .

12 We do have an hour schedul ed t oday, whi ch may

13 or may not be suf f i ci ent t o cover al l of t he

14 mot i ons t hat we have. The Cour t ' s pl an i s t o

15 pr oceed f or war d wi t h t he hear i ng, t aki ng t hese

16 mot i ons one at a t i me.

17 I f we are f i ni shed by 4: 00, f i ne; i f we are

18 not , I have one mot i on schedul ed at 4: 00 o' cl ock i n

19 my chamber s i n anot her case, whi ch, i f we haven' t

20 t aken a br eak bef or e t hen, we wi l l t ake a br eak and

21 t hen r econvene af t er t hat shor t hear i ng and f i ni sh

22 up.

23 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, may I speak?

24 THE COURT: About what ?

25 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, as you know, I


5/69

Page 5

1 submi t t ed an ADA r equest . I have not r ecei ved a

2 r esponse t o i t yet . I t ' s my under standi ng t hat t he

3 ADA coor di nat or was unabl e t o make a deci si on and

4 t hat he has sent t he mat t er t o t he l egal

5 depar t ment , and t hat Mr . Rol and i s t he i ndi vi dual

6 t hat i s t o make t he deci s i on.

7 THE COURT: Wel l - -

8 MR. GI LLESPI E: I have not hear d f r om hi m.

9 THE COURT: Wel l , hi s rol e i s t o f aci l i t at e

10 t he r equest and t o eval uat e i t . My t hi nki ng was

11 t hat compl i ance wi t h t he r equest i s bet t er t han any

12 wr i t t en or or al r esponse. The l ast r equest whi ch

13 came as somewhat of a sur pr i se i s t o - - because I

14 di dn' t under st and t hat you had any hear i ng pr obl ems

15 i n pr i or hear i ngs, but t hi ngs can happen qui ckl y.

16 So, t hat i s why we have compl i ed wi t h your r equest

17 t o have a r eal - t i me cour t r epor t er pr esent .

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , and wi t h r egar d t o t hat ,

19 I have an e- mai l communi cat i on her e wi t h

20 Ms. El l ababi dy, and I t ol d her t hat , based on what

21 she descr i bed, I di dn' t know i f t hi s woul d be

22 hel pf ul because, of cour se, we have not addr essed

23 t he i ssues.

24 THE COURT: Whi ch i ssues?

25 MR. GI LLESPI E: I n t he ADA r equest .


6/69

Page 6

1 THE COURT: Okay. What i ssues ar e not

2 account ed f or ? I mean, as I r ead your r equest f r om

3 t he counsel or f r om Nevada, we wer e pr epar ed t o

4 accommodat e al l of t hose r equest s t hat wer e - - t hat

5 she had r ecommended and whi ch she want ed me t o t ake

6 a l ook at , whi ch I di d. And I t hought t hat we had

7 account ed f or everyt hi ng i n t hi s . I s t her e

8 anyt hi ng mor e speci f i c t hat ar e r equest i ng t oday?

9 MR. GI LLESPI E: Yes, J udge. Wel l , f i rst of

10 al l - -

11 THE COURT: Now - -

12 MR. GI LLESPI E: - - we have - -

13 THE COURT: - - we have - - how many cour t

14 r epor t er s do we have t oday?

15 COURT REPORTER BONANNO: Two.

16 THE COURT: Wel l , we ar e onl y goi ng t o have

17 one, so - -

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t hat i s one of t he i ssues

19 r i ght t her e. Because t hi s i s my pr i vat e cour t

20 report er t hat makes a t ranscr i pt - - an of f i ci al

21 t ranscr i pt of t he proceedi ngs.

22 THE COURT: Okay.

23 MR. GI LLESPI E: That i s not cover ed by t he

24 ADA.

25 THE COURT: Cor r ect .


7/69

Page 7

1 MR. GI LLESPI E: Okay? I am uncl ear as t o what

2 t hi s l ady does. I have never met her bef or e.

3 THE COURT: Ri ght . And she was - - and t hat ' s

4 what we ar e her e t o di scuss. She i s her e at your

5 r equest as a r eal t i me r epor t er . But i f you don' t

6 want her - -

7 MR. GI LLESPI E: Ther e i s no - - t her e i s no

8 har d copy t ranscr i pt f r om t hi s repor t er , J udge.

9 THE COURT: I don' t know t hat .

10 COURT REPORTER WHI TE: I t i s, J udge. That i s

11 cor rect . I wi l l del et e t he f i l e as soon as we ar e

12 done here t oday.

13 THE COURT: Ri ght . That i s f or t he pur pose of

14 t hi s hear i ng. I mean, we can' t , obvi ousl y, have a

15 real - t i me t ranscr i pt . I mean, t hat i ssue i s f or

16 anot her day. We ar e deal i ng wi t h t oday' s hear i ng

17 so t hat we can have t he hear i ng.

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , t hat was my

19 under st andi ng, t hat t her e woul d be a r eal - t i me

20 t ranscr i pt .

21 THE COURT: Wel l , t her e i s no such t hi ng.

22 MR. GI LLESPI E: Ther e i s not ?

23 THE COURT: My wi f e i s a cour t r epor t er , and

24 t here i s no such t hi ngs .

25 MR. GI LLESPI E: I am gl ad you br ought t hat up,


8/69

Page 8

1 J udge, because I have a mot i on her e f or - -

2 THE COURT: Mr . Gi l l espi e, you need t o - - you

3 need t o l i sten t o me whi l e I am t al ki ng t o you,

4 okay, si r ?

5 MR. GI LLESPI E: Okay.

6 THE COURT: Ther e i s no such t hi ng as a

7 r eal - t i me t r anscr i pt pr oduced as i t happens. That

8 i s why we have a scr een at your r equest t o r ead

9 what ' s goi ng on, so t hat t hat i ssue - - so t hat we

10 can have t he hear i ng t oday, or i f you t hi nk you

11 need t he assi stance of a r eal - t i me t r anscr i pt ,

12 whi ch, agai n, i s not per f ect i n our l i f et i me. I

13 doubt i t wi l l ever be per f ect . But what we have

14 her e i s t he best we have t echnol ogi cal l y avai l abl e

15 now, and i t ' s been pr ovi ded t o you.

16 But , agai n, we ar e onl y goi ng t o have one

17 of f i ci al cour t r eport er , and - - so, we have t o

18 deci de whi ch i t ' s goi ng t o be.

19 COURT REPORTER WHI TE: Thi s hear i ng i s goi ng

20 t o be del et ed as soon as I am done, so t her e wi l l

21 be no t r anscr i pt avai l abl e. That i s why she i s

22 her e, i n case he want s a t r anscr i pt . The

23 t ranscr i pt wi l l have t o come f rom her .

24 THE COURT: Okay.

25 COURT REPORTER WHI TE: I f t hat makes sense.


9/69

Page 9

1 THE COURT: That makes sense. Fi ne. We wi l l

2 have t hem bot h here.

3 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor , j ust so t he r ecor d i s

4 per f ect l y cl ear . The cour t repor t er si t t i ng at t he

5 tabl e wi th Mr . Gi l l espi e, as I unders tand i t , i s

6 t aki ng ever yt hi ng down ver bat i m as i t happens. And

7 t here i s a screen f rom whi ch Mr . Gi l l espi e i s abl e

8 t o read. So, he cl ear l y has t he avai l abi l i t y of

9 t he wor ds t hat ar e spoken bei ng i n a wr i t t en

10 f ashi on t hat he can obser ve.

11 And I woul d not e t hat dur i ng t he ent i r e t i me

12 t hat you and he spoke j ust now, whi ch went on f or

13 some f i ve or t en mi nut es, he di d not l ook at t hat

14 scene one t i me and he seems t o be abl e t o hear you

15 qui t e cl ear l y.

16 THE COURT: Wel l - -

17 MR. RODEMS: I t hi nk t hat i s i mpor t ant t o not e

18 as wel l .

19 MR. GI LLESPI E: Your Honor , I concur wi t h

20 Mr . Rodems. I don' t t hi nk t hi s woul d be hel pf ul .

21 So, we ar e i n agr eement on t hat . Thank you, si r ,

22 f or br i ngi ng t hat up. I appr eci at e t hat .

23 THE COURT: Al l r i ght . So, ar e you sayi ng

24 t hat we can di spose wi t h t he r eal - t i me cour t

25 r epor t er t hen? I am uncl ear because I t hought you


10/69

Page 10

1 had r equest ed i t . That i s why - - you know, our

2 st af f went out of t hei r way t o secur e t he ser vi ces

3 of a real - t i me repor t er . But i t ' s f or your

4 benef i t . I f you - - i f you deci de t hat you don' t

5 want t he benef i t of t hat r epor t er , t hen she can

6 pack up and l eave. I t ' s up t o you.

7 MR. GI LLESPI E: I don' t know what benef i t

8 t her e may or may not be, J udge. But you j ust sai d

9 on t he r ecor d, I bel i eve, t hat your wi f e i s a cour t

10 r epor t er .

11 THE COURT: I di d, yes.

12 MR. GI LLESPI E: And I have a mot i on t o

13 di scl ose conf l i ct about t hat . And I woul d l i ke t o

14 do t hat wi t h t he Pl ai nt i f f ' s Mot i on t o Di scl ose

15 Ex- par t e Communi cat i on wi t h t he J NC and I have t he

16 f i r st Amended Compl ai nt . And I woul d l i ke t o gi ve

17 t hat t o t he bai l i f f so he can gi ve t hat t o you.

18 THE COURT: Okay. I s t hi s set t oday?

19 MR. RODEMS: No, Your Honor . I t ' s not .

20 MR. GI LLESPI E: No, i t ' s not .

21 THE COURT: Okay. One of your compl ai nt s f r om

22 pr i or hear i ngs when we had l i st ed al l pendi ng

23 mot i ons, and i t was par t of your accommodat i ons

24 under t he ADA, was t hat t he mot i ons schedul ed f or

25 hear i ng shoul d be speci f i cal l y l i st ed. So, I wi l l


11/69

Page 11

1 t ake a l ook at t hi s , as I bel i eve I am requi red t o

2 do, but - -

3 MR. GI LLESPI E: That ' s r i ght , J udge. They

4 shoul d be speci f i cal l y l i sted. And i n my ADA

5 r equest , I r equest ed one or t wo mot i ons per

6 hear i ng, not t wel ve mot i ons per hear i ng. So, you

7 ar e r i ght on one poi nt . On t he ot her poi nt , you

8 ar e i ncor rect .

9 THE COURT: Whi ch i s what ? What am I

10 i ncor r ect about ?

11 MR. GI LLESPI E: The number of mot i ons per

12 hear i ng. One or t wo, not t wel ve.

13 THE COURT: Wel l t hat was your r equest , r i ght ?

14 MR. GI LLESPI E: My r equest was one or t wo

15 mot i ons, J udge. You have not compl i ed wi t h t hat .

16 THE COURT: Tr ue.

17 MR. GI LLESPI E: May I ask why?

18 THE COURT: Because we had di scussed at t he

19 l ast hear i ng t hat we wer e goi ng t o go t hr ough t he

20 mot i ons t hat have been set , and we wer e goi ng t o

21 l i st t hem out . And t hen you r equest ed, among ot her

22 t hi ngs, t he occasi onal br eak t o come up wi t h t i me

23 t o gat her your t hought s and - -

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: That ' s not my under st andi ng,

25 Your Honor . My under st andi ng was t hat you wer e t o


12/69

Page 12

1 r ecei ve an ADA r equest f or me. I pr ovi ded t hat .

2 My r equest asked f or one or t wo mot i ons her per

3 hear i ng. Appar ent l y, by your act i ons, you deni ed

4 t hat . So, we have a pr obl em t her e.

5 THE COURT: We coul d have a pr obl em.

6 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor ?

7 THE COURT: Yes.

8 MR. RODEMS: I woul d l i ke t o addr ess t wo

9 poi nt s . Fi r s t of al l , t he t hree mot i ons t hat

10 Mr . Gi l l espi e del i ver ed t oday, I have not seen

11 t hem, and I woul d obj ect t o t hem bei ng hear d t oday

12 on t he basi s t hat I have not had an oppor t uni t y t o

13 r evi ew t hem. The second poi nt i s - -

14 THE COURT: Wel l , t he Cer t i f i cat e of Ser vi ce

15 says t hat i t was hand del i ver ed t oday t o your

16 of f i ce.

17 MR. RODEMS: Yes, si r . That i s t r ue. They

18 wer e gi ven t o me when Mr . Gi l l espi e ar r i ved at t he

19 cour t r oom today.

20 THE COURT: Okay. So, you have, at l east ,

21 t aken a l ook at t hem, r i ght ?

22 MR. RODEMS: No. I haven' t . I had t o get

23 r eady f or t he mot i ons t hat wer e l i st ed t oday.

24 These wer e l i t er al l y j ust handed t o me: The Mot i on

25 f or Leave t o submi t pl ai nt i f f 1st Amended


13/69

Page 13

1 Compl ai nt , t he Mot i on t o Di scl ose Ex- par t e

2 Communi cat i on wi t h J NC, and a Mot i on t o Di scl ose

3 Conf l i ct. Those wer e gi ven t o me t oday. I have

4 not had a chance t o r ead t hem. I do obj ect t o

5 havi ng t hem hear d t oday.

6 The second poi nt I woul d l i ke t o make i s,

7 whi l e Mr . Gi l l espi e has made a cl ai m t hat he has a

8 di sabi l i t y and has di ct at ed now t o t hi s Cour t

9 exact l y how he t hi nks t he pr ocedur e shoul d wor k,

10 under t he ADA, when a l i t i gant makes r equest s of a

11 f aci l i t y pr ovi di ng ser vi ces t hat ar e so ext r eme

12 t hat i t changes t he nat ur e of t he ser vi ces, t hat

13 per son no l onger qual i f i es as an i ndi vi dual wi t h

14 di sabi l i t y.

15 MR. GI LLESPI E: Your Honor , we not aski ng f or

16 anyt hi ng out of t he ordi nary.

17 THE COURT: Mr . Gi l l espi e - - Mr . Gi l l espi e,

18 pl ease si t down and don' t i nt er r upt . And t hen, I

19 wi l l gi ve you ampl e t i me t o r espond, okay? Thank

20 you.

21 MR. RODEMS: Now, Your Honor , t here have been,

22 as you can see f r om j ust what ' s l i st ed her e t oday,

23 numer ous mot i ons t hat have been f i l ed i n t hi s case.

24 Mr . Gi l l espi e' s r equest t hat we t ake one or

25 t wo at a t i me i s goi ng t o pr ej udi ce my cl i ent and


14/69

Page 14

1 deny t hem due pr ocess of l aw by vi r t ue of t he f act

2 t hat we ar e never goi ng t o be abl e t o get t hi s case

3 r esol ved.

4 I am awar e, and I t hi nk t he Cour t can t ake

5 j udi ci al not i ce, t hat i n t he 13th J udi ci al Ci r cui t ,

6 and i n much ar ound t he St at e of Fl or i da, t he case

7 l oad t hat ci rcui t j udges, such as yoursel f , are

8 car r yi ng i s at an al l - t i me hi gh due t o t he number

9 of f or ecl osur es.

10 Most of t he t hese mot i ons t hat ar e i n t he

11 Not i ce of Hear i ng t oday can be r esol ved i n a f ew

12 mi nut es. They ar e not goi ng t o t ake hour s. I

13 bel i eve t hat Mr . Gi l l espi e has t he abi l i t y t o hear

14 mor e t han t wo mot i ons.

15 And I woul d al so poi nt out t hat what ever

16 communi cat i ons Mr . Gi l l espi e has made wi t h t he

17 Court system regardi ng hi s al l eged di sabi l i t y,

18 i ncl udi ng t hi s r epor t f r om some counsel or i n

19 Phoeni x, I bel i eve i t i s, have never been ser ved on

20 the def endant s.

21 I know of no pr ovi s i on t hat al l ows

22 Mr . Gi l l espi e to cl ai m i n thi s cour t , where

23 ever yt hi ng i s supposed t o be a publ i c r ecor d, t hat

24 he has a di sabi l i t y, but yet , demand t hat t he

25 def endant s i n t hi s case, who al so have due pr ocess


15/69


16/69

Page 16

1 case. Among ot her t hi ngs, t hi s i s pr ej udi ci ng my

2 cl i ent . We have a j udgment agai nst Mr . Gi l l espi e

3 f or i n excess of $11, 500. We ar e at t he st age of

4 t r yi ng t o col l ect t hat j udgment . One of t he t hi ngs

5 t hat we have been t r yi ng t o do si nce t he j udgment

6 was ent er ed i s obt ai n di scover y f r om Mr . Gi l l espi e.

7 He has r ef used t o at t end deposi t i ons, he' s r ef used

8 a f or mal r equest f or pr oduct i on, he' s r ef used t o

9 respond to i nter r ogator i es.

10 THE COURT: Now you ar e movi ng i nt o, I t hi nk,

11 some of your mot i ons.

12 MR. RODEMS: Those ar e our cont ent i ons t hat we

13 have f or t hose mot i ons. The poi nt I am t r yi ng t o

14 make, Your Honor , i s t hat what Mr . Gi l l espi e i s

15 r equest i ng, t hat we can onl y t ake one or t wo

16 mot i ons at t he t i me, gi ven t he Cour t ' s vol ume of

17 cases and t he due pr ocess of t he ot her def endant s

18 and pl ai nt i f f s i n t hi s ci r cui t i n t hi s Cour t ' s

19 di vi s i on ar e ent i t l ed t o and t hat my cl i ent s ar e

20 ent i t l ed t o, Mr . Gi l l espi e' s al l eged accommodat i ons

21 ar e r eachi ng a poi nt wher e t hi s Cour t cannot

22 pr ovi de what he i s aski ng f or and yet st i l l pr ovi de

23 t he ser vi ces t hat t he St at e of Fl or i da r equi r es;

24 meani ng, t hat Mr . Gi l l espi e i s not a qual i f i ed

25 i ndi vi dual wi t h a di sabi l i t y under t he ADA.


17/69


18/69

Page 18

1 Mr . Gi l l espi e.

2 MR. GI LLESPI E: Yes, Your Honor . Fi r st of

3 al l , i f Mr . Rodems or t he Cour t woul d l i ke a t en or

4 f i f t een mi nut e br eak or r ecess t o r evi ew t oday' s

5 f i l i ngs, I don' t see any probl em wi t h t hat .

6 Second of al l , t he r eason t hi s case has gone

7 on so l ong i s because Mr . Rodems shoul d not be

8 r epr esent i ng t hi s cl i ent .

9 Al so, the Cour t has not f ul f i l l ed i t s case

10 management r esponsi bi l i t i es. When Mr . Rodems was

11 maki ng mot i ons f or sanct i ons, t he Cour t al l owed hi m

12 a hal f an hour t o come i n and hear one si ngl e

13 mot i on. When I come i n f or mot i ons, you gi ve me

14 t wel ve i n one hour , so - -

15 THE COURT: Wel l , I am goi ng t o gi ve you - - as

16 I have i ndi cat ed, I am goi ng t o gi ve you - - we can

17 be her e unt i l 7: 00 or 8: 00 o' cl ock t oni ght .

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , t hat i s ni ce of you,

19 J udge, but I can' t be her e t hat l ong. I have

20 di abet es.

21 And by t he way, as t o hi s concer n about my

22 di sabi l i t y, hi s f i rm represent ed me and

23 i nvest i gat ed my di sabi l i t y cl ai m. They ar e wel l

24 f ami l i ar wi t h i t .

25 I n f act , t he t ranscr i pt , whi ch i s t he subj ect


19/69

Page 19

1 of a Mot i on t o Di scl ose Conf l i ct - - Page 20 of t he

2 t r anscr i pt i s t he quest i oni ng by opposi ng counsel

3 on my di sabi l i t y.

4 So, Mr . Rodems knows about t he di sabi l i t y, t he

5 def endant s know about t he di sabi l i t y. They have

6 known about i t f or al most t en year s. They have a

7 t r anscr i pt about t he di sabi l i t y. So, al l of t hi s

8 nonsense t hat he doesn' t know what t he di sabi l i t y

9 i s, he i s bei ng di shonest wi t h t he Cour t , Your

10 Honor , and I am - - I am t i r ed of i t .

11 Now, I f i l ed a mot i on her e t o convene a case

12 management conf er ence and a mot i on t o decl ar e t hi s

13 compl ex l i t i gat i on so t hat we can pr oceed i n an

14 or gani zed manner . And t he way i t i s now, by

15 set t i ng t wel ve mot i ons, you ar e not havi ng a

16 hear i ng. You ar e havi ng a f r ee- f or - al l .

17 And as f or my Mot i on t o Di scl ose Conf l i ct , I

18 want t o know how much money Mr . Rodems' f i r m has

19 pai d your wi f e i n cour t r epor t i ng f ees because - -

20 unt i l you ment i oned i t , I di dn' t know f or sur e t hat

21 you wer e mar r i ed t o her . And I am t aki ng your

22 st at ement t hat she i s a cour t r epor t er and t hat

23 Cher e Bar t on i s your wi f e; i s t hat cor r ect , Your

24 Honor ?

25 THE COURT: That i s cor r ect. Yes.


20/69

Page 20

1 MR. GI LLESPI E: Al l r i ght . And I woul d l i ke a

2 di scl osur e of t he moni es t hat t hi s l awyer has pai d

3 your wi f e. And I want an evi dent i ar y hear i ng about

4 i t .

5 And I al so want t o know about t he ot her t hi ngs

6 i n t he Mot i on t o Di scl ose Conf l i ct , such as Bar t on

7 Li mi t ed and Ms. J acquel yn Bar t on, and Ger al d

8 Bar t on, and any i nt er est i n t he May Pr o Fr anchi se

9 ( phonet i c) t hat Mr . Rodems' l aw par t ner i s i nvol ved

10 wi t h. That i s al l I have to say.

11 THE COURT: Al l r i ght .

12 MR. RODEMS: J udge, I don' t know your wi f e. I

13 don' t know what f i r m she i s wi t h. I don' t know i f

14 she i s on her own. I wi l l be happy - - i f t he Cour t

15 want s t o hear i t , I woul d be happy t o t el l you what

16 I do know about t he si t uat i on.

17 THE COURT: Wel l , I wi l l not e t hat i n an

18 unr el at ed case back i n 2001, my wi f e, appar ent l y

19 under her company name, was t he cour t r epor t er when

20 Mr . Gi l l espi e' s deposi t i on was t aken, appar ent l y,

21 by somebody f r om your f i r m. Whi ch, al most ni ne

22 year s ago, i s news t o me. And i n any event , t hat

23 i s t he ext ent of my knowl edge.

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Thank you, J udge. The r ecor ds

25 t hat I handed you show t hat al most $500 was pai d t o


21/69

Page 21

1 your wi f e. I woul d l i ke t o have an evi dent i ar y

2 hear i ng so t hat we can have a di scl osur e of what

3 t he amount of money t hat has been pai d t o your wi f e

4 by t he def endant s. And I t hi nk t hat i s a

5 reasonabl e request .

6 And based on what t he r esponses ar e, a mot i on

7 t o di squal i f y may be i n or der . Can you answer t he

8 rest of t he r el at i onshi p quest i ons i n t hi s mot i on,

9 J udge?

10 THE COURT: Yes. The name, appar ent l y, i s t he

11 same wi t h t hi s company i n Annapol i s, Mar yl and i n

12 some r eal est at e t r ansacti on and, I don' t know,

13 Ri ver bay Road. I don' t know wher e t hat pr oper t y

14 was. I am l ooki ng at your mot i on, so - - and May

15 Pr o - - I have no connect i on wi t h any of t hose

16 Bar t ons i n t hi s r equest , so - - I have never hear d

17 of t hose f ol ks bef or e, nor ar e t hey, as f ar as I

18 know - - wel l , I guess we ar e al l r el at ed i f you go

19 back f ar enough, but I don' t t hi nk I am r el at ed t o

20 any of t hose f ol ks.

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , i n t he manner i n t hat a

22 husband and wi f e - - f or t he pur pose of

23 r el at i onshi ps, t hey ar e consi der ed as one. So,

24 under Fl or i da l aw, i f your wi f e accept ed money f r om

25 Mr . Rodems, i t ' s t he same as i f you accept ed money


22/69

Page 22

1 f rom Mr . Rodems' f i rm.

2 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor , I have a comment on

3 t hat . I bel i eve t hat t he cour t s and gover ni ng

4 bodi es have l ooked at j udges who r un f or el ect ed

5 of f i ce. And I bel i eve t hat t he l aw al l ows an

6 at t or ney t o make a campai gn donat i on t o t he j udge

7 as t he j udge i s goi ng t hr ough r eel ecti on. Of

8 course, t here i s a st at ut ory cap.

9 THE COURT: Wel l , l et me i nt er r upt you f or a

10 second.

11 MR. RODEMS: Yes, si r .

12 THE COURT: That coul d be as cl ose of a

13 si t uat i on as you can come up wi t h on t he spur of

14 t he moment because you sai d - - and I t hi nk t he

15 Cer t i f i cat e of Servi ce bears t hi s out , you j ust got

16 ser ved wi t h bot h of t hese mot i ons t oday.

17 So, who knows what i s i n t he of f i ce. I do

18 know t hat t here i s a - - I bel i eve i t ' s cal l ed t he

19 J EAC opi ni on i ssued by t he Et hi cs Advi sor y

20 Commi t t ee whi ch says t hat , f or exampl e, when t her e

21 i s a cour t r epor t er , t hat cour t r epor t er shoul d not

22 have speci f i c dut i es, and i f t he court report er i s

23 mar r i ed t o t he j udge, she shoul d not be t he cour t

24 r epor t er i n t he j udge' s hear i ng or on any of t he

25 j udge' s cases. And t hat has been scr upul ousl y


23/69

Page 23

1 adher ed t o over t he year s.

2 Cer t ai nl y, when t hi s deposi t i on back i n 2001

3 t ook pl ace, t hi s case we ar e her e on t oday di dn' t

4 exi st , and who coul d see t hat f ar i nt o t he f ut ur e?

5 But i t st i l l mi ght be a basi s f or recusal . I don' t

6 know because, ri ght now, we ar e j ust l ooki ng at t he

7 f act s.

8 But , cl ear l y, the case l aw i s t hat i f there i s

9 at l east an arguabl e cl ai m f or recusal , t hat i s t he

10 f i r st i ssue t hat shoul d be addr essed. And I now

11 know what your i nt ent i ons ar e, Mr . Gi l l espi e, now

12 that t he f act s are i n, and - -

13 MR. RODEMS: I woul d l i ke t o r ai se one ot her

14 poi nt bef or e we go down t hat pat h.

15 THE COURT: Okay.

16 MR. RODEMS: Mr . Gi l l espi e had a dut y t o br i ng

17 al l of t he bases f or a mot i on f or di squal i f i cat i on

18 at t he t i me t hat he br ought hi s f i r st one.

19 THE COURT: To t he ext ent t hat he knew t hem.

20 MR. RODEMS: To t he ext ent t hat he knew t hem,

21 r i ght . The document s t hat he i s r el yi ng on - - we

22 need t o know f r om Mr . Gi l l espi e how l ong i t ' s been

23 i n hi s possessi on.

24 THE COURT: Wel l , what I am goi ng t o r equi r e

25 hi m t o do i s - - because, r i ght now, t here i s no


24/69

Page 24

1 mot i on on t he t abl e, but i t sounds l i ke t her e coul d

2 be one; i s that cor r ect , Mr . Gi l l espi e?

3 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, I woul d l i ke t o know

4 t he ext ent of t he busi ness deal i ngs wi t h t he l aw

5 f i r m of Bar ker , Rodems & Cook, P. A. wi t h your wi f e.

6 I onl y f ound out about t hi s by scanni ng t he

7 t r anscr i pt t hi s past week. As you say, when t he

8 t r anscr i pt was made, Cher e Bar t on was j ust anot her

9 f ace i n t he cr owd.

10 THE COURT: Ri ght .

11 MR. GI LLESPI E: Al l of t hese document s wer e

12 put away i n a box and mor e or l ess f or got t en about .

13 Last week, when I was scanni ng document s - - and

14 t hat was somet hi ng i n my ADA r equest , t he scanni ng

15 of document s, we haven' t got t en ar ound t o t hat yet ,

16 but whi l e I was scanni ng t he document s, now t he

17 name means somethi ng t o me.

18 And I di d some basi c i nvest i gat i on, and you

19 have j ust conf i r med t hat t hi s i s your wi f e. Now,

20 i f t he def endant s ' l aw f i r m has done a l ot of - -

21 subst ant i al busi ness or any busi ness wi t h Regency

22 Cour t Repor t i ng, I thi nk t hat we need t o know about

23 i t and go f r om t her e.

24 THE COURT: Now, I t hi nk i t ' s an i ssue t hat

25 has t o be addr essed, f r ankl y, bef or e we go any


25/69

Page 25

1 f ur t her .

2 MR. RODEMS: Ver y wel l , Your Honor .

3 THE COURT: I mean, i f i t was - - you know, my

4 wi f e' s busi ness i s her own. And i t ' s pret t y cl ear

5 t hat I don' t i nt er f er e wi t h her busi ness, and she

6 does not i nt er f er e wi t h my dut i es as a j udge. And

7 somet i mes coi nci dences l i ke t hi s do happen wher e

8 event s t ake pl ace t hat br i ng di f f er ent t hr eads

9 t oget her .

10 So, you can per f or m t hat eval uat i on f ai r l y

11 qui ckl y?


13 THE COURT: Because, as I sai d, t her e i s

14 somet i mes - - and I don' t - - I real l y don' t bel i eve

15 t hat Mr . Gi l l espi e i s sandbaggi ng anybody on t hi s,

16 t o use a common t er m. Had he been awar e of t hi s,

17 i t woul d have been pr esent ed a l ot ear l i er .

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: And may I add anot her concer n?

19 THE COURT: Yes.

20 MR. GI LLESPI E: Thi s t ranscr i pt t hat ' s i n

21 quest i on - - and I have t he t r anscr i pt her e, i f you

22 woul d l i ke t o see t he f ul l t ranscr i pt . Thi s

23 t r anscri pt i s one wher e Mr . Cook, who was

24 r epr esent i ng me, al l owed Mr . J ohn Ant hony of Gr ay

25 Har r i s t o do a ver y t hor ough quest i oni ng of my


26/69

Page 26

1 di sabi l i t y. Even t hough t hi s was a t rut h i n

2 l endi ng l awsui t about check cashi ng my di sabi l i t y

3 bor e no bear i ng what soever on. And yet , t hi s l aw

4 f i r m per mi t t ed t went y pages of quest i oni ng about my

5 di sabi l i t y. I mean, i t ' s absol ut e negl i gence.

6 But be t hat as i t may, t hi s t ranscr i pt - - I am

7 assumi ng your wi f e has kept a copy of i t .

8 THE COURT: You know, I am amazed at what

9 cour t r epor t er s do. And ot her t han t o know t hat

10 she i s wor ki ng ever y day and does t r anscr i pt s, I

11 coul dn' t begi n t o t el l you what t he pr act i ces of

12 her of f i ce ar e.

13 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t he Depar t ment of

14 Cor por at i ons shows t he r egi st er ed agent of Regency

15 Repor t i ng Ser vi ce at 3711 W. Cor ona St r eet and t he

16 of f i ce i s at 625 E. Twi ggs St reet .

17 I am assumi ng t hat she doesn' t have t wo

18 of f i ces and t hat one of t hese addr esses i s her

19 home.

20 THE COURT: Wel l , i f you knew - - and we have

21 t wo cour t r epor t er s her e who can t el l you t hat

22 whi l e we ar e busy sl eepi ng, t hey ar e i n t hei r homes

23 - - i n t hei r of f i ces at homes pul l i ng al l - ni ght ers ,

24 as my wi f e st i l l does, prepar i ng t ranscr i pt s , so I

25 can t el l you t hat .


27/69

Page 27

1 I can tel l you that , i n f act , one of t hose

2 addr esses i s my home, t her e i s al so an of f i ce i n

3 our home. So, t hat i s why she has l i st ed t hem

4 bot h. I assume. I don' t real l y know.

5 MR. GI LLESPI E: So, t hat woul d mean t hat t he

6 t r anscr i pt , i f she has kept a copy of i t , i s

7 avai l abl e t o you i n your home.

8 THE COURT: Wel l , I al so know t hat she doesn' t

9 keep - - i f you can i magi ne - - i f she was t he cour t

10 r epor t er i n 2001. I f you can i magi ne, i f she kept

11 per sonal copi es of deposi t i ons - - al l of t hese

12 hear i ngs and deposi t i ons t hat she has done, we

13 woul d have t o be l i vi ng i n a f i f t y- r oom mansi on,

14 not t hat we coul d af f or d i t , but - - so, the short

15 answer i s, no, she does not keep t r anscr i pt s.

16 As I underst and i t , t hey are stored ei t her i n

17 t he comput er f or a l engt h of t i me, unt i l i t ' s no

18 l onger r equi r ed or t hey ar e on di scs and t hi ngs

19 l i ke t hat . Agai n, I am not i n on t he det ai l s of

20 how that i s al l done.

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t hat i s f i ne, J udge. And

22 t hi s i s why I t hi nk we need an evi dent i ar y hear i ng

23 t o f i nd out wher e t hi s t r anscr i pt i s and who has

24 seen i t . Because i t does cont ai n al l t he

25 i nf or mat i on t hat Mr . Rodems i s st andi ng her e


28/69

Page 28

1 t el l i ng you he knows not hi ng about . And, yet , i t ' s

2 i n t hi s t r anscr i pt r i ght her e.

3 MR. RODEMS: That i s a compl et e

4 mi srepr esent at i on of what I sai d. I have sai d

5 Mr . Gi l l espi e has not pr oven i n a cour t of l aw wi t h

6 act ual evi dence what hi s di sabi l i t y i s.

7 MR. GI LLESPI E: That i s f i ne.

8 THE COURT: St op.

9 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, can I r espond t o t hat ,

10 J udge.

11 THE COURT: Not r i ght now. I f you can come up

12 wi t h - - you know, i f i t ' s a one- shot deal wher e you

13 say, pl ease cover - - who or der ed t he cour t r epor t er

14 t hat day? Was i t your f i r m or was i t t hi s ot her

15 Ant hony - -

16 MR. RODEMS: I can t el l you - - I can t el l you

17 unequi vocal l y t hat t he cour t r epor t er was or der ed

18 by t he par t y t aki ng t he deposi t i on, whi ch was J ohn

19 Ant hony, At t or ney at Law.

20 THE COURT: Okay. Then, i f you can go back

21 and do some r esear ch and see whet her - - i f your

22 f i r m has ever r et ai ned my wi f e or her f i r m, Regency

23 Cour t Repor t i ng.

24 MR. RODEMS: I f we can t ake a t en- mi nut e, I

25 can cal l t he of f i ce and get t hat i nf or mat i on.


29/69

Page 29

1 THE COURT: Wel l , what I am r eal l y aski ng you

2 i s to get that i nf ormat i on, put i t i n wr i t i ng i n

3 t he next coupl e of days - - because, as I sai d, thi s

4 needs t o be addr essed. And t hen, I am goi ng t o - -

5 how much t i me, once t hi s i nf or mat i on i s obt ai ned,

6 bef or e you - -

7 MR. GI LLESPI E: Your Honor , I don' t t r ust

8 anyt hi ng t hi s man says. And l et me j ust r espond t o

9 hi s asser t i on t hat I have not pr oved i n any cour t

10 of l aw about my di sabi l i t y.

11 My di sabi l i t y has been det er mi ned by t he

12 f ederal gover nment . I t ' s not f or hi m t o deci de. I

13 have been det er mi ned di sabl ed; I am di sabl ed by t he

14 Uni t ed St at es gover nment . And t hat suf f i ces f or

15 t hi s pur pose.

16 You know, I don' t t r ust what he says. And i f

17 he i s goi ng t o gi ve t est i mony, I want hi m i n t he

18 wi t ness chai r , or someone f rom hi s f i rm i n t he

19 wi t ness chai r swor n under oat h, and t hen we ar e

20 goi ng t o get t o t he f acts of t hi s mat t er . But we

21 are not goi ng t o t ake hi s wor d f or i t .


23 MR. GI LLESPI E: Because, i f you l ook at t he

24 amended - - t he 1st Amended Compl ai nt , Mr . Rodems i s

25 now a def endant i n t hi s mat t er and he i s a par t of


30/69

Page 30

1 a ci vi l conspi racy. So, he i s i n no posi t i on to

2 stand t her e and t est i f y t o t he t r ut h of mat t er s.


4 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor , l et me - - may I

5 r espond?

6 THE COURT: You ar e goi ng t o compl y wi t h t he

7 Cour t ' s r equest , cor r ect ?

8 MR. RODEMS: Yes.

9 THE COURT: Wi t hi n how many days?

10 MR. RODEMS: I can do t hat t hi s af t er noon. I

11 can have t he comput er r ecor ds - -

12 THE COURT: Okay. How are you goi ng go get i t

13 t o Mr . Gi l l espi e?

14 MR. RODEMS: I wi l l pr epar e an af f i davi t and

15 ser ve i t t o hi m by mai l .

16 THE COURT: Okay. I s t her e any ki nd of a f ax

17 or e- mai l ?

18 MR. RODEMS: He has r ef used t o al l ow us t o

19 send hi m anyt hi ng by f ax or e- mai l .

20 THE COURT: Okay. So, mai l i t . And t hen,

21 af t er t hat i s done, how much t i me do you need t o

22 det er mi ne i f you ar e goi ng t o f i l e a mot i on t o

23 recuse the Cour t ?

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , J udge, I t hi nk mor e of a

25 det er mi nat i on i s needed t o what t he under l ayi ng


31/69

Page 31

1 f act s are. Thi s was a probl em i n t he

2 di squal i f i cat i on of J udge I som. We had a si mi l ar

3 hear i ng. And J udge I som and Mr . Rodems engaged i n

4 a conspi r acy of s i l ence. I t was a Mot i on t o

5 Di scl ose Conf l i ct, and yet , t hey conceal ed t he f act

6 t hat J udge I som' s husband was a l aw par t ner wi t h

7 t hi s f i r m, okay?

8 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor , I am sor r y f or

9 i nt er r upt i ng, but - -

10 THE COURT: So don' t , al l r i ght ? I am

11 assumi ng t hat much, i f not al l of what each of you

12 ar e sayi ng, you bot h di sagr ee. And I di sal l owed

13 hi m to i nt er r upt . I am not goi ng to l et you

14 i nter r upt hi m ei ther , okay?


16 THE COURT: That ' s t he way t hi s case has been

17 goi ng on. I am your t hi rd j udge. And i f t her e i s

18 goi ng t o be a f our t h j udge - - I have al r eady deni ed

19 one mot i on t o r ecuse, but I mi ght gr and t he next

20 one. I j ust want t o know how much t i me,

21 Mr . Gi l l espi e, you ar e goi ng t o need t o det er mi ne

22 whet her you ar e goi ng t o f i l e a mot i on t o r ecuse

23 t he Cour t .

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , l et me answer your

25 quest i on t hi s way, J udge, because you bought up t he


32/69

Page 32

1 i ssue i f t here wi l l be a f our t h j udge.

2 Mr . Rodems, i n addi t i on t o bei ng named - -

3 THE COURT: I guess what - - I mean, t hi s i s

4 ki nd of unusual i n t he sense - - we usual l y have - -

5 t he st er eot ype i s def endant s want t o del ay as much

6 as possi bl e, and t he pl ai nt i f f s ar e pushi ng and

7 pushi ng and - - you know, t hi s i s sl owi ng your case

8 down and i t ' s your cal l . I mean, i f i t needs t o be

9 sl owed down, t hen i t shoul d be, but I j ust want you

10 t o know, Mr . Gi l l espi e, i f you ar e goi ng t o get

11 anyt hi ng out of t hi s case - - t hi s i s a 2005 case

12 f or event s t hat appar ent l y happened wel l bef or e

13 then. I t ' s j ust - - i f I were i n your shoes, whi ch

14 I am not , but - - I mean, i t needs t o be - - i t needs

15 t o be pushed f or war d.

16 MR. GI LLESPI E: And l et me r epeat , J udge, had

17 t hi s case been managed pr oper l y, i t woul d be

18 concl uded. Mr . Rodems woul d have been

19 di squal i f i ed, and t hi s case woul d be r esol ved wi t h

20 J udge Ni el sen. He deci ded t o submi t per j ur y t o t he

21 Cour t . That was on mor e t han one occasi on.

22 Then J udge I som got t he case, and t hey engaged

23 i n a conspi r acy t o hi de t he f act t hat her husband

24 was a l aw par t ner wi t h t he pr edecessor f i r m, whi ch

25 i s a subst ant i al par t of t hi s case.


33/69


34/69

Page 34

1 t er m, means t hat t he Cour t i s gr ant i ng f avor t o an

2 at t orney f rom i t s own di st r i ct and agai nst a part y

3 f r om out of t own. And I am f r om out of t own, whi ch

4 i s i n anot her count y and i n anot her di st r i ct .

5 THE COURT: Al l r i ght . So, my quest i on t hen

6 i s, once you r ecei ve what you ar e goi ng t o r ecei ve

7 f r om Mr . Rodems, how l ong wi l l you need t o f i l e a

8 mot i on t o recuse or f or di squal i f i cat i on?

9 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , I woul d l i ke t o see what

10 he has t o say. I don' t know i f per haps some

11 di scover y of a non- par t y - - t o your wi f e woul d be

12 appr opr i at e, dependi ng what hi s answer s ar e. Or i t

13 may be not dependi ng on what t he answer s ar e.

14 Woul d you have a pr obl em wi t h t hat , J udge?

15 THE COURT: Wi t h?

16 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wi t h a di scover y r equest on

17 t hi s i ssue t o your wi f e as a non- par t y.

18 THE COURT: We see di scover y on non- par t i es

19 al l t he t i me. I mean, par t i es need t o do what t hey

20 t hi nk t hey need t o do.

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , because t hi s j ust came

22 up and I was pr epar i ng f or t oday, I di dn' t have

23 t i me t o do r esear ch on a non- par t y di scover y

24 r equest t o t he wi f e of a j udge. But I can l ook i t

25 up and get t hat out i n t he mai l , i f you don' t have


35/69

Page 35

1 any obj ect i on.

2 THE COURT: Wel l , i t ' s not f or me t o obj ect .

3 I mean, i t ' s f or you t o - - I have no standi ng t o - -

4 I mean, I can r ul e on mot i ons and - -

5 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , f or t he pur pose of a

6 per son or a r el at i on, a j udge and a wi f e ar e

7 consi der ed one per son. So, i t woul d be t he same as

8 i f I ser ved a di scover y r equest on you, J udge.

9 Woul d you obj ect t o t hat ?

10 THE COURT: I have not r eal l y consi der ed t hat .

11 I al ways under st ood t hat - - cer t ai nl y, j udges and

12 t hei r spouses, i n some l egal senses, ar e one and

13 t he same; but i n many ot her s, t hey ar e separ at e and

14 apar t . That i s why spouses of j udges have t hei r

15 own busi nesses and t hei r own l i ves. That i s f or

16 t hem t o deci de, what t hey do and don' t do, i n t er ms

17 of get t i ng any di scover y r equests.

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: But wi t h you, J udge, woul d you

19 obj ect t o a di scover y r equest f r om a par t y?

20 THE COURT: On my - - on my wi f e' s busi ness?

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , under t he l egal t heor y

22 i n Fl or i da t hat a husband and wi f e ar e consi der ed

23 t o be t he same.

24 THE COURT: Wel l , I don' t know t hat I agr ee

25 wi t h you on t hat pr i nci pl e of l aw. Agai n, t her e


36/69

Page 36

1 ar e t he same f or some pur poses, but cer t ai nl y not

2 f or busi ness pur poses and ot her t hi ngs. So, I am

3 - - I ' m not sure unt i l I see what you f i l e. But

4 agai n, you need t o do what you need t o do, and not

5 wor r y about whet her I obj ect or not .

6 MR. GI LLESPI E: Al l r i ght , J udge. Wel l , when

7 I get t hi s l et t er , I wi l l know bet t er f r om thei r

8 r esponse. But I pr obabl y am goi ng t o make a

9 non- par t y di scover y r equest t o Ms. Bar t on.

10 THE COURT: Okay.

11 MR. GI LLESPI E: And I woul d j ust ask i f we ar e

12 goi ng t o move ahead wi t h t he compl ex l i t i gat i on

13 desi gnat i on? That r eal l y shoul d have been done

14 f our year s ago. And i f we ar e goi ng t o have a

15 pr et r i al conf er ence? Because I have ser ved not i ce

16 on Mr . Rodems about t hat .

17 THE COURT: About what ?

18 MR. GI LLESPI E: The pr et r i al conf er ence,

19 J udge. The case management conf er ence, I am sor r y.

20 THE COURT: Case management conf erence.

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: The case management

22 conf erence. Ri ght .

23 THE COURT: Sur e. I mean, we woul d have one

24 anyway. But t her e i s a not i ce f or t r i al . Do you

25 want your case set f or t r i al yet or not ?


37/69

Page 37

1 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , he has t o r espond t o

2 Pl ai nt i f f ' s 1st Amended Compl ai nt .

3 MR. RODEMS: That i s not t r ue.

4 THE COURT: Wel l , t hat hasn' t been l egal l y

5 f i l ed yet . I t i s t rue under t he rul e and procedure

6 t hat you ci t ed t hat a par t y can amend once as a

7 mat t er of cour se wi t hout l eave of Cour t , i f t he

8 Compl ai nt has not been answer ed, whi ch - - I t hi nk

9 i t ' s been answer ed and we ar e at i ssue. That i s

10 why you moved t o set t he case f or t r i al .

11 MR. RODEMS: Ri ght .

12 THE COURT: That i s why you have t o f i l e t he

13 mot i on and have t he Cour t gr ant your mot i on - -

14 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , we have a mot i on - -

15 THE COURT: - - t o f i l e a 1st Amended

16 Compl ai nt .

17 MR. GI LLESPI E: Thank you, J udge. I have

18 Pl ai nt i f f ' s 1st Amended Compl ai nt her e, si gned and

19 ready to go. Can I f i l e i t t oday?

20 THE COURT: You can put anyt hi ng i n t he cour t

21 f i l e t hat you want . The quest i on i s , i s i t l egal l y

22 f i l ed? And i t ' s not l egal l y f i l ed unt i l I gr ant

23 you l eave t o f i l e i t - -

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Al l r i ght .

25 THE COURT: - - t o have i t l egal l y r ecogni zed.


38/69

Page 38

1 And t hat i s not set f or hear i ng t oday.

2 MR. GI LLESPI E: Al l r i ght . Wel l , based on

3 t hat . I wi l l f i l e and we wi l l go by what you

4 deci de.

5 But as f ar as t he compl ex l i t i gat i on

6 desi gnat i on and case management conf er ence, have

7 you made a deci si on on t hose yet - - on how you want

8 t o go? Because I sent t hose t o you l ast week.

9 THE COURT: Ri ght . Whi ch we wi l l r ul e on

10 t hose once we, f i r st of al l , det er mi ne t he Cour t ' s

11 f ur t her i nvol vement i n t hi s case. I mean, I don' t

12 want t o make - - I don' t want t o make r ul i ngs t hat

13 ar e goi ng t o bi nd t he successor j udge i f I am not

14 goi ng t o be t he j udge on t he case.

15 I thi nk the l et t er and spi r i t of t he rul es

16 rel at i ng t o di squal i f i cat i on and recusal say t hat

17 once t hat i ssue r ai ses i t s head, i t needs t o be

18 deal t wi t h bef or e anyt hi ng el se.

19 MR. GI LLESPI E: Thank you, J udge. And

20 Mr . Rodems i s at a sl i ght di sadvant age because he

21 doesn' t know what my ADA r equest was. But I can

22 assure hi m, i t ' s not hi ng out of t he ordi nar y. I t ' s

23 t o f ol l ow t he f eder al appr oach t hat J udge Bar t on

24 and you and I agr eed t o at t he l ast hear i ng, i t ' s

25 f or a case management conf er ence, whi ch i s a Rul e


39/69

Page 39

1 of Ci vi l Procedure, i t ' s a compl ex l i t i gat i on

2 desi gnat i on, whi ch absol ut el y shoul d be done i n

3 t hi s case, i t ' s a r equest f or case management by

4 t he Cour t , whi ch t he Cour t has a r esponsi bi l i t y t o

5 do and, i n my vi ew, has not done.

6 What t he Cour t has done i s gi vi ng t hem ever y

7 oppor t uni t y t o r ack up sanct i ons agai nst me. And

8 t hen, when I go t o def end agai nst t hem, i t want s

9 t en or t wel ve mot i ons t o be hear d i n one day. And

10 t hat i s not f ai r .

11 THE COURT: So you don' t want your mot i ons

12 hear d.

13 MR. GI LLESPI E: I want t hem hear d i n a pr oper

14 way, J udge.

15 THE COURT: Wel l , "pr oper " as you def i ne i t ,

16 appar ent l y.

17 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , "pr oper " as t he Fl or i da

18 Ci vi l Rul es of Pr ocedur e t el l us under t he a

19 det er mi nat i on of compl ex l i t i gat i on.

20 THE COURT: Ri ght . Has t hi s case been

21 desi gnat ed as compl ex l i t i gat i on?

22 MR. RODEMS: No. And i t doesn' t meet t he

23 standards of compl ex l i t i gat i on.

24 THE COURT: So, I know, Mr . Gi l l espi e, you

25 have r ead a l ot , and, f r ankl y, I admi r e you f or


40/69

Page 40

1 your abi l i t y t o gr asp cer t ai n l egal concept s, but

2 t he mot i on t o amend has t o be set bef or e i t ' s

3 gr ant ed and bef or e t he Amended Compl ai nt i s f i l ed

4 and ser ved; i f t he case i s goi ng t o be t r eat ed as a

5 compl ex l i t i gat i on, i t has t o meet t he cr i t er i a and

6 i t has t o meet t he rul i ngs on t hat .

7 Thi s case has become compl ex because of t he

8 pl et hora of s i de i ssues t hat - - because i t ' s very

9 f rust r at i ng t o t he Cour t , as I thi nk i t i s to you

10 and I t hi nk i t i s t o t he def ense as wel l t hat we

11 spent f i ve year s now - - you al l have, I haven' t

12 because I have not been on t he case t hat l ong. But

13 whi l e t he case i s at i ssue, i t may not be i f a

14 mot i on t o a amend i s gr ant ed. And t hen, wher e ar e

15 we goi ng t o be i n anot her f i ve year s?

16 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , J udge, wi t hi n s i x

17 mont hs, I hope t hi s wi l l be i n f eder al cour t

18 because t her e wi l l be ot her def endant s. But t he

19 pr obl em i s, he shoul d have been di squal i f i ed on

20 Apr i l 25t h, 2006 because of pr i or r epr esent at i on.

21 And not j ust i n t hi s case, but t hey r epr esent ed me

22 on a number of i ssues. Ther e i s a count er cl ai m.

23 The count er cl ai m i s absol ut el y r el at ed t o t he pr i or

24 r epr esent at i on.

25 THE COURT: Wel l , I guess, s i nce - - i s i t your


41/69

Page 41

1 t heor y of t he case t hat s i nce t he l aw f i r m and

2 Mr . Cook r epr esent ed you and t hey know a l ot about

3 you, t hey shoul d not be abl e t o def end t hemsel ves?

4 MR. GI LLESPI E: They shoul d be abl e t o def end

5 t hemsel ves. Absol ut el y, J udge, but t hey need t o

6 hi re counsel to do that .

7 THE COURT: Wel l , t hey have.

8 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t hey need t o hi r e counsel

9 t hat has not r epr esent ed me. They can hi r e any

10 ot her l aw f i r m i n t he wor l d. And t her e i s case l aw

11 on t hi s, J udge. How can you det er mi ne t he st andar d

12 on whet her or not i t ' s t he same mat t er ? And t he

13 st andar d - - and I don' t have t he case l aw her e

14 t oday because, as I sai d her e i n my l et t er , I have

15 wi t hdr awn t hat mot i on t o di squal i f y t hem, but I can

16 put t he i nf or mat i on i n t her e about J udge I som.

17 But t he st andar d i n Fl or i da i s t hat what ever

18 an or di nar y per son wi l l det er mi ne r el at ed. I f an

19 or di nar y per son woul d see t he l awsui t wi t h Amscot

20 Cor por at i on and t he whol e i ssue about t r ut h i n

21 l endi ng, and whet her or not t hat ent i t l es t hem t o

22 $50, 000 and t hi s l awsui t whi ch i s sayi ng, no, you

23 ar e not ent i t l ed t o $50, 000 under a t r ut h i n

24 l endi ng cl ai m - - i f an ordi nary person woul d

25 under stand t hat , t hen he i s di squal i f i ed. And i t


42/69

Page 42

1 shoul d have been f our year s ago.

2 THE COURT: Wel l , as you say - - I t hi nk I

3 hear d you say you have wi t hdr awn t hat mot i on, so - -

4 MR. RODEMS: J udge?

5 THE COURT: Yes, s i r .

6 MR. RODEMS: May I be hear d?

7 THE COURT: You may.

8 MR. RODEMS: J udge Ni el sen al r eady hear d t he

9 mot i on t o di squal i f y. And al l of t he ar gument s

10 have been made bef or e J udge Ni el sen, and J udge

11 Ni el sen rul ed on i t . I don' t know i f Mr . Gi l l espi e

12 knows t hat J udge Ni el sen i s t he j udge who pr esi des

13 over t he compl ex l i t i gat i on busi ness l i t i gat i on

14 secti on i n t hi s ci r cui t , and he has al r eady moved

15 t o di squal i f y hi m, and J udge Ni el sen deni ed t hat

16 and r ecused hi msel f on hi s own vol i t i on.

17 I woul d l i ke t o poi nt out t o t he Cour t t hat

18 Fl or i da Rul es of Ci vi l Pr ocedur e 2. 330 does r equi r e

19 t hat mot i ons t o di squal i f y t o be i n wr i t i ng,

20 al l eged speci f i cal l y t he f act s and r eason upon

21 whi ch t he movant r el i es, and be swor n t o. And i t

22 al so r equi r es t he mot i on t o be f i l ed wi t hi n t en

23 days of t he di scover y of t he f act s const i t ut i ng t he

24 gr ounds f or t he mot i on. Mr . Gi l l espi e comes i n

25 her e wi t h r ank specul at i on, no basi s what soever ,


43/69


44/69

Page 44

1 pr oceedi ngs.

2 I wi l l be happy t o f i l e t he i nf ormat i on wi t h

3 t he Court regardi ng t he court report i ng f i r m of

4 Regency Repor t i ng and t he cour t r epor t er named

5 Cher e J . Bar t on and any moni es t hat have been pai d

6 t o her by Bar ker , Rodems & Cook. I wi l l do so

7 wi t hi n t went y- f our hours .

8 But , Your Honor , t he l ast t i me we had hear i ngs

9 i n t hi s case was i n J anuar y. I t ' s t aken us unt i l

10 May t o get back bef or e you. Thi s i s now goi ng t o

11 cause a f ur t her del ay. And t he Cour t i s aski ng

12 Mr . Gi l l espi e how l ong he needs t o gat her

13 i nf ormat i on t o f i l e a mot i on t o di squal i f y - - Your

14 Honor , wi t h al l due r espect t o my cl i ent s, i f

15 Mr . Gi l l espi e has a mot i on t o di squal i f y, he needs

16 t o f ol l ow t he rul es , put i t i n wr i t i ng, swear t o

17 i t , and f i l e i t wi t h t he cour t .

18 Runni ng ar ound wi t h wi l d specul at i on and

19 comi ng i nt o t hi s cour t r oom and i mpugn j udges and

20 ot her peopl e who ar e swor n t o uphol d t he

21 const i t ut i on and t he l aws of t he stat e - -

22 MR. GI LLESPI E: Obj ect i on, Your Honor .

23 THE COURT: J ust - - no. Don' t i nt er r upt .

24 Enough i s enough. I am not goi ng t o say i t agai n.

25 MR. GI LLESPI E: I am sor r y, Your Honor .


45/69


46/69

Page 46

1 Bar t on and/ or Regency Cour t Repor t i ng - - or

2 what ever t he cor por at e name i s. Not onl y i n t he

3 case t hat you f ound, but any ot her s.

4 MR. GI LLESPI E: Can I j ust - - j ust t o be

5 cl ear , so i t woul d be payment t o Regency Repor t i ng

6 Ser vi ces, whet her or not Ms. Bar t on was t he act ual

7 per son doi ng t he t r anscr i bi ng. I don' t know i f she

8 has empl oyees.

9 THE COURT: Sur e. She usual l y has one or t wo

10 peopl e t hat wor ks wi t h her .

11 MR. RODEMS: Our sof t war e does have t he

12 capabi l i t y t o search f i l es ei t her by i ndi vi dual

13 names and al so by cor por at e names, so I wi l l be

14 happy t o do t hat .

15 THE COURT: Gr eat .

16 MR. GI LLESPI E: I am al so goi ng t o make a

17 non- par t y di scover y r equest on Ms. Bar t on i n her

18 capaci t y and see i f t he answer s ar e t he same.

19 THE COURT: Okay.

20 MR. GI LLESPI E: I hope t hey ar e.

21 THE COURT: And t hen, I wi l l - - agai n, I wi l l

22 - - I r eal l y don' t f eel - - because thi s i s not

23 whet her i t ' s r emot e or whet her - - I mean, i t coul d

24 be t hat Mr . Gi l l espi e get s t hi s i nf or mat i on and he

25 may say, wel l , i t was ni ne year s ago and I am not


47/69

Page 47

1 goi ng t o f i l e a mot i on, or , you know, he may t hi nk

2 t her e i s enough. That wi l l be hi s deci s i on. And I

3 am goi ng t o gi ve hi m t en days t o do t hat af t er he

4 i s provi ded t he i nf ormat i on.

5 MR. RODEMS: Yes, si r . Coul d you - - J udge, i s

6 i t possi bl e t hat whi l e we her e t oday, t hat we f i nd

7 out when we can have addi t i onal hear i ng t i me i n

8 f r ont of you?

9 THE COURT: Cor r ect . And I t hi nk i t woul d be

10 good t o - - and agai n, my game pl an i s t o set a

11 bl ock of t i me, l i ke t oday. I f we woul d have got t en

12 t hr ough any of t hese mot i ons, whi ch appar ent l y, we

13 have not , t hen we woul d t ake a br eak at 4: 00, and

14 t hen come back and do t he r est . That i s ki nd of my

15 game pl an f or t he case management conf erence and

16 t hese mot i ons. And we wi l l see how many, i f any,

17 of t hese we wi l l get t hr ough.

18 Agai n, Mr . Gi l l espi e, I am t ryi ng t o hel p you

19 pr oceed f or war d t o get your case set f or t r i al ,

20 whi ch i s, I assume, somet hi ng t hat you want . And I

21 know you have made anot her r equest t o keep t r yi ng

22 t o f i nd a l awyer , whi ch, i f t hat happens, I am sur e

23 t hat woul d be a gr eat benef i t t o you as wel l .

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , l et me ask you t hi s,

25 J udge, because I haven' t r ecei ved t he r esponses


48/69


49/69

Page 49

1 under Fl or i da l aw, f or t he most par t , i f somebody

2 want s a hear i ng on mot i ons - - agai n, t her e ar e a

3 f ew except i ons, of cour se, t he Cour t has t o af f or d

4 t hem one. Under t he f eder al system, i n t he ci vi l

5 cour t s, j udges have di scr et i on - - as I under stand

6 i t , i t ' s t ot al di scret i on on any and al l mot i ons as

7 t o whet her a hear i ng l i ke t hi s i s gr ant ed or not .

8 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , t he way I under st ood t he

9 descr i pt i on under t he f eder al appr oach l ast t i me - -

10 and we have a t r anscr i pt t hat we can go back t o - -

11 was t hat t he mot i ons woul d be submi t t ed t o you, and

12 t hen, you woul d set t i me f or t he hear i ng. Now, you

13 ar e t el l i ng me somet hi ng - -

14 THE COURT: That i s not t he f eder al appr oach.

15 The f eder al appr oach i s deci di ng whet her t hey - -

16 t he Cour t t hi nks i t needs a hear i ng or not , and i t

17 woul d onl y set hear i ngs on mot i ons t hat i t f el t

18 woul d be benef i ci al t o have a hear i ng on, as

19 opposed t o ent i t l ement t o a have a hear i ng. But i f

20 you t hi nk t hat i s appropr i at e, I wi l l be gl ad t o do

21 t hat , Mr . Gi l l espi e.

22 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor - -

23 THE COURT: Mr . Gi l l espi e, i s t hat what you

24 want me t o do?

25 MR. GI LLESPI E: Wel l , that i s a di f f i cul t - -


50/69

Page 50

1 t hat i s a di f f er ent standar d of what you sai d l ast

2 t i me. So, my ADA r equest i n f r ont of you now i s

3 based upon what you sai d t he l ast t i me. Now you

4 ar e sayi ng somet hi ng di f f er ent . So, I woul d l i ke

5 t o t hi nk about t hat .

6 THE COURT: Okay. I n any event , t he f eder al

7 appr oach al so set s - - when a hear i ng i s set , t o not

8 coor di nat e t he hear i ng t i me wi t h ei t her si de, and

9 j ust t o set t hem. And t hat i s what I di d t hi s

10 t i me. I di dn' t coor di nat e t hi s t i me wi t h anybody.

11 We j ust pi cked a dat e on t he cour t ' s cal endar and

12 set i t . I wi l l be gl ad t o keep doi ng t hat .

13 MR. RODEMS: Your Honor , i f I may?

14 THE COURT: Yes.

15 MR. RODEMS: Si nce Mr . Gi l l espi e has expr essed

16 some r eser vat i on wi t h hear i ng mul t i pl e mot i ons at

17 t he same t i me, what you j ust suggest ed woul d seem

18 t o be a r easonabl e accommodat i on, i n t hat

19 Mr . Gi l l espi e woul d have, as i n f eder al cour t ,

20 f our t een days f r om t he dat e a mot i on i s f i l ed t o

21 f i l e a r esponse, and t hen t he Cour t woul d deci de

22 t he mot i ons based on t he mot i on and t he l egal

23 memor anda. I f t hat syst em wer e i mposed, t hen

24 Mr . Gi l l espi e woul d have f our t een days t o pr epar e a

25 wr i t t en r esponse t o any par t i cul ar mot i on, whi ch


51/69

Page 51

1 woul d - - i f conduct i ng mot i ons one af t er t he ot her

2 i n a hear i ng woul d pose a pr obl em, deci di ng t hem on

3 paper , as i t i s, woul d avoi d t hat pr obl em. And we

4 cer t ai nl y woul d be agr eeabl e t o t hat suggest i on.

5 And qui t e f rankl y, i f t hat were t he case, I

6 t hi nk t hat we coul d pr obabl y move t hi s case al ong

7 much f ast er .

8 THE COURT: I n any event , I wi l l t ake a l ook

9 at t hat . And agai n, i n t er ms of set t i ng hear i ngs,

10 I wi l l cont i nue t o do what I have done t hi s t i me,

11 whi ch i s , agai n, as I underst and i t , part of t he

12 f eder al appr oach, whi ch i s t o set hear i ngs, and

13 par t y wi l l show up or not . They don' t have t o show

14 up i n a ci vi l case.

15 Your r equest t wo and f i ve about case

16 management conf er ences, I wi l l set case management

17 conf er ences. As t o t hr ee, I don' t bel i eve t hi s

18 case qual i f i es as compl ex l i t i gat i on, so I am - -

19 t hese ar e not - - t hese ar e r ul es of pr ocedur e, but

20 I don' t t hi nk t he Cour t i s r equi r ed t o abr ogat e t he

21 st andar ds of a r ul e of pr ocedur e, and I am not

22 goi ng t o.

23 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, may I ask a quest i on?

24 Mr . Rodems had i ndi cat ed t hat J udge Ni el sen i s i n

25 char ge of t he busi ness compl ex l i t i gat i on. I s a


52/69


53/69


54/69

Page 54

1 di vi s i on, whi ch i s r oughl y f i ve t housand cases,

2 r at her t han t he l ess t han one t housand cases onl y a

3 f ew year s ago, I scr een any r equest f or hear i ng

4 t i me mor e t han a hal f an hour , so - -

5 MR. GI LLESPI E: J udge, get t i ng back t o compl ex

6 l i t i gat i on, I don' t see how you cannot concl ude

7 t hat i t i s compl ex. The r ul es stat e t hat i t may - -

8 "Any i ssues t hat requi r e ext ensi ve j udi ci al

9 management t o expedi t e t he act i on, keep cost s

10 reasonabl e, or promot e j udi ci al ef f i ci ency. "

11 And I have gone t hr ough an exhaust i ve

12 expl anat i on as t o why i t appl i es. Ar e you sayi ng

13 t hat you don' t bel i eve t hat ?

14 THE COURT: Wel l , f i r st of al l , I am not goi ng

15 t o - - I am not goi ng t o establ i sh a case i s compl ex

16 l i t i gat i on by vi r t ue of an ADA r equest. Now, i f

17 you have a mot i on f or t he Cour t - - a f or mal mot i on

18 t o have t he Cour t deci de under t hat r ul e of

19 pr ocedur e t o desi gnat e t hi s as compl ex l i t i gat i on,

20 you know, I wi l l be gl ad t o t ake a l ook at t hat .

21 MR. GI LLESPI E: Ther e i s one, Your Honor .

22 THE COURT: Okay.

23 MR. GI LLESPI E: And I have gi ven you bot h - - I

24 have gi ven you t wo oppor t uni t i es. I have gi ven you

25 one oppor t uni t y i ni t i al l y under t he ADA. I di dn' t


55/69

Page 55

1 get a r esponse. I t ook t hat as a no. Then I gave

2 you a second i ndependent mot i on j ust l i ke any ot her

3 at t or ney woul d submi t .

4 THE COURT: Okay.

5 MR. GI LLESPI E: And I bel i eve i t shoul d be

6 consi der ed, and I bel i eve i t shoul d be deci ded.

7 THE COURT: Okay. Wel l , agai n, at some poi nt ,

8 I wi l l make a r ul i ng on t hat . But agai n, I want t o

9 f i gur e out and make a r ul i ng on whet her or not I am

10 goi ng t o cont i nue t o be t he j udge i n t hi s case.

11 And we have got our game pl an t o do t hat , and

12 t hat i s as f ar as we ar e goi ng t o go t oday.

13 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t hat i s f i ne, J udge. You

14 made a deci si on i n t hi s case al r eady. You f el t

15 t hat Mr . Rodems was ent i t l ed t o $11, 500 f or some

16 real l y mi nor mi sst eps.

17 THE COURT: Wel l , t hat i s your

18 charact er i zat i on. That , obvi ousl y, wasn' t t he

19 Cour t ' s.

20 MR. GI LLESPI E: Yes, t hat i s my

21 charact er i zat i on. Do you st i l l f eel t hat t hat was

22 appr opr i at e?

23 THE COURT: Yes.

24 MR. GI LLESPI E: Okay. Wel l , I t hi nk t hat we

25 have a wi de gul f her e.


56/69

Page 56

1 COURT REPORTER BONANNO: I am sor r y?

2 THE COURT: A wi de gul f , I under st ood hi m t o

3 say.

4 COURT REPORTER BONANNO: Thank you.

5 THE COURT: And t hat i s pr obabl y t r ue i n ever y

6 case t hat I have got , Mr . Gi l l espi e. And somet i mes

7 bot h si des f eel t hat t her e i s a wi de gul f bet ween

8 what each si de want s t he Cour t t o do and what t he

9 Cour t does. That ' s why we have Appel l at e Cour t s,

10 so - -

11 MR. GI LLESPI E: And t he Appel l at e Cour t s,

12 unf or t unat el y, ar e j ust r ubber stamps of t he t r i al

13 cour t s.

14 THE COURT: Wel l , havi ng been r ever sed by t he

15 Appel l at e Cour t , I can t el l you t hat what you ar e

16 sayi ng i s i naccur at e. And agai n, you ar e

17 i nt el l i gent , you are ar t i cul at e, but your l ack of

18 exper i ence i n l egal mat t er s i s evi dent . And I wi l l

19 t r y t o wor k wi t h you t o get your case r eady f or t he

20 t r i al t hat you t hi nk i t deser ves. And I hope t hat

21 we event ual l y get t o t hat poi nt .

22 But , agai n, i f you can get t hi s i nf ormat i on t o

23 Mr . Gi l l espi e, draf t an or der set t i ng up t he

24 pr ocedur e, and t hen I wi l l l ook t o see - -

25 Mr . Gi l l espi e, I know you have been doi ng t hi s


57/69


58/69

Page 58

1 of wor k and a l ot of hour s. And I know t hat i s how

2 t hat cour t oper at es. You woul d not , because you

3 have never been on t he i nner wor ki ngs of t hat

4 cour t . And so, I can under st and how you mi ght f eel

5 way, but al l I can do i s say, you know, i n my

6 exper i ence bei ng wi t hi n t he cour t , not onl y as an

7 associ at e j udge but al so havi ng cl er ked wi t h an

8 appel l at e court i n t he l ast mi l l enni um, t here i s a

9 l ot t hat goes on i n t hose cases t hat peopl e j ust

10 never see, even wher e t her e i s a ver y br i ef "per

11 cur i um af f i r med" .

12 I f you can draf t t hat or der . And we wi l l t r y

13 t o keep t he case movi ng al ong.

14 MR. RODEMS: Br i ef l y, J udge. Wi l l t he Cour t

15 be maki ng a deci si on on whet her we ar e goi ng t o

16 pr oceed wi t h t he f eder al pr ocedur e of deci di ng

17 mot i ons based on t he submi ssi on of mot i ons?

18 THE COURT: I have i ndi cat ed what my

19 pr ocedur es ar e goi ng t o be i n t er ms of t he ADA

20 r equest t hat we have j ust gone over , but t hat i s

21 about as f ar as I am goi ng t o go unt i l I f i gur e out

22 and r ul e on t he mot i on t o r ecuse t hat has not been

23 f i l ed t hat may be f i l ed.


25 THE COURT: That i s t he next st ep her e. And


59/69

Page 59

1 wi t h t hat , we ar e adj our ned.

2 ( End of pr ocedur e. )

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


60/69

CHEETAH SYSTEMS TURBO CATCOMPUTER- AI DED TRANSCRI PTI ON

Page 60

1 CERTI FI CATE OF COURT REPORTER

2

3

4 STATE OF FLORI DA

5 COUNTY OF HI LLSBOROUGH

6

7

8 I , SONJ A BONANNO, COURT REPORTER f or t heCi r cui t Cour t of t he Thi r t eent h J udi ci al Ci r cui t of t he

9 St at e of Fl or i da,

10 DO HEREBY CERTI FY t hat I was aut hor i zed t o,and di d r epor t t he pr oceedi ngs and evi dence i n t hi s

11 her ei nbef or e- st yl ed cause, as st at ed i n t he capt i onat t ached, and t hat t he pr ecedi ng t r anscr i pt at t ached

12 her et o i s a t r ue, accur at e and cor r ect comput er i zedt r anscr i pt i on of my r epor t of t he pr oceedi ngs had at

13 sai d sessi on.

14 I FURTHER CERTI FY t hat I am not empl oyed by orr el at ed t o t he par t i es t o t hi s mat t er nor i nt er est ed i n

15 t he out come of t hi s act i on.

16 I N WI TNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunt o set myhand and seal i n Tampa, Hi l l sbor ough Count y, Fl or i da,

17 t hi s 8t h day of May, 2010.

18

19 ___________________________

20 SONJ A BONANNO, Cour t Repor t er

21

22

23

24

25


61/69

Page 1

A

ability 14:13 40:1

able 9:7,14 14:241:3,4 52:1

abrogate 51:20

absolute 26:5

absolutely 39:240:23 41:5

accepted 21:24,25

accommodate 6:4

accommodation50:18

accommodations4:11 10:23 16:20

accounted 6:2,7

accurate 60:12

accuses 43:3

accusing 43:5action 54:9 60:15

actions 12:3

actual 28:6 46:6

ada 5:1,3,25 6:2410:24 11:4 12:1

13:10 16:25 24:14

38:21 48:1 50:2

54:16,25 58:19

add 25:18

addition 32:2 33:12

additional 47:7

address 12:8

addressed 5:22

23:10 24:25 29:4

57:6

addresses 26:1827:2

adhered 23:1

adjourned 59:1

administration17:22

admire 39:25 53:6

advisory 22:19affidavit 30:14

affirmed 57:24

58:11

afford 27:14 49:3

afternoon 4:2,1030:10

agent 26:14

ago 20:22 36:14

42:1 46:25 54:3

agree 35:24

agreeable 51:4

agreed 38:24

agreement 9:21

ahead 33:9,1036:12

air 52:12albert 43:17

allegations 17:11

alleged 14:17 15:7

16:20 42:20

alleges 17:6

allnighters 26:23

allow 30:18

allowed 18:1125:24

allows 14:21 22:5

alltime 14:8alpert 43:12

amazed 26:8

amend 37:6 40:240:14

amended 10:1612:25 29:24,24

33:16 37:2,15,18

40:3

amount 21:3

ample 13:19

amscot 41:19

annapolis 21:11annual 57:11

answer 21:7 27:15

31:24

answered 37:8,9

answers 34:12,13

46:18

anthony 25:24

28:15,19

anybody 25:15

50:10

anyway 36:24 57:1apart 35:14

apparently 12:3

20:18,20 21:10

32:12 39:16 43:5

45:13 47:12

appeal 57:10,13,18

57:19

appeals 57:11

appear 57:20

appearances 2:1

appellate 56:9,11

56:15 57:6,8 58:8

apples 52:4

applies 54:12

apply 53:8,9,20

appreciate 9:22approach 38:23

48:16,17,24 49:9

49:14,15 50:7

51:12

appropriate 34:12

45:5 49:20 55:22

april 40:20

arguable 23:9

argument 48:18

arguments 42:9

arrived 12:18article 53:7

articulate 56:17

ashley 2:8

asked 12:2 45:10

asking 13:15 15:516:22 29:1 44:11

53:23

assertion 29:9

assistance 8:11

associate 57:19

58:7

associated 43:11assume 27:4 47:20

52:18

assuming 26:7,1731:11 33:14

assure 38:22

attached 60:11,11

attend 16:7

attorney 22:628:19 34:2 55:3

attorneys 33:21

53:16authority 57:9

authorized 60:10

availability 9:8

available 8:14,21

27:7

avoid 51:3

aware 14:4 25:16

B

back 20:18 21:1923:2 28:20 43:18

44:10 47:14 49:10

53:3,7 54:5

bailiff10:17 48:9

bar 52:17

barker 1:8 4:3 24:543:7 44:6

barton 1:14 19:2320:6,7,8 24:8 36:9

38:23 44:5 46:1,6

46:17

bartons 21:16

based 5:20 21:6

38:2 50:3,22

58:17

bases 23:17

basic 24:18basis 12:12 23:542:25 45:7 57:11

bearing 26:3

bears 22:15

behalf2:2,6

believe 10:9 11:1

14:13,19 22:3,5

22:18 25:14 51:17

52:7 54:13 55:5,6

beneficial 49:18

benefit 10:4,5,7

47:23

berryhill 1:23

best 8:14

better 5:11 36:7

beyond 17:21

bind 38:13

block 47:11

blvd 1:24

bodies 22:4

bonanno 1:20 6:15

56:1,4 60:8,20

bore 26:3bought 31:25

box 24:12

breach 17:23

break 4:20,20

11:22 18:4 47:13

brief58:10

briefly 58:14

bring 23:16 25:8

bringing 9:22

brought 7:25 23:18

business 24:4,21,21

25:4,5 35:20 36:2

42:13 51:25 52:2

52:5

businesses 35:15

busy 26:22

C

calendar 50:11

call 28:25 32:8

called 15:13 22:18

campaign 22:6

cant 7:14 15:1018:19

cap 22:8

capability 46:12

capacity 46:18

caption 60:11

carrying 14:8

case 1:6 4:19 8:22

13:23 14:2,6,25

15:19 16:1 17:9

17:14,20,23 18:6

18:9 19:11 20:18

23:3,8 31:16 32:7

32:11,11,17,19,22

32:25 33:3,16,17

33:21,25 36:19,20

36:21,25 37:1038:6,11,14,25

39:3,3,20 40:4,7

40:12,13,21 41:1

41:10,13 44:9

45:4 46:3 47:15

47:19 51:5,6,14

51:15,16,18 52:1

52:7 53:11 54:15

55:10,14 56:6,19

58:13

cases 16:17 22:2533:5 53:14,25

54:1,2 57:14 58:9

cashing 26:2cause 44:11 60:11

causing 43:25

certain 40:1

certainly 23:2

35:11 36:1 51:4

certificate 3:4


62/69

Page 2

12:14 22:15 60:1

certified 52:16,17

certify 60:10,14

chair 29:18,19

chambers 1:164:19

chance 13:4changes 13:12

characterization55:18,21

charge 51:25

check 26:2

chere 19:23 24:844:5 45:25

christopher 2:7

circuit 1:1,1,3,15

14:5,7 16:18

42:14 60:8,8circumstances 17:1

cited 37:6 52:9

civil 1:3 30:1 39:139:18 42:18 49:4

51:14 52:9,17,24

claim 13:7 14:22

18:23 23:9 41:24

claims 17:12

clear 9:4 25:4 46:5

clearly 9:8,15 23:8

clerk 57:2

clerked 58:7client 13:25 15:9

16:2 18:8

clients 15:18 16:1917:12 44:14

close 22:12 48:24

closure 45:1

coincidences 25:7

collect 16:4

combined 33:6

come 8:23 11:22

18:12,13 22:1328:11 43:1 45:6

47:14 57:3

comes 42:24

coming 44:19

commencing 1:19

comment 22:2

committee 22:20

common 25:16

communicating

15:4

communication5:19 10:15 13:2

communications14:16

company 20:19

21:11complaint 10:16

13:1 29:24 37:2,8

37:16,18 40:3

complaints 10:21

complete 28:3

complex 19:1336:12 38:5 39:1

39:19,21,23 40:5

40:7 42:13 51:18

51:25 52:1,2,5,20

53:4 54:5,7,15,19compliance 5:11

complied 5:16

11:15 48:11

comply 30:6 45:22

computer 27:1730:11

computerized60:12

concealed 31:5

concepts 40:1

concern 15:9,24

18:21 25:18 45:9

concerned 15:3

conclude 54:6

concluded 32:18

concur 9:19

conducting 51:1

conference 19:1236:15,18,19,20,22

38:6,25 47:15

conferences 51:16

51:17

confirmed 24:19conflict 10:13 13:3

19:1,17 20:6 31:5

33:1,7,12 43:22

connection 21:15

consider 4:5

considered 21:23

35:7,10,22 55:6

conspiracy 30:1

31:4 32:23

conspiring 43:4

constituting 42:23

constitution 44:21

contain 27:24

contemplate 17:22

contentions 16:12

continue 51:1055:10

contract 17:23

convene 19:11

cook 1:8,9 4:3,424:5 25:23 41:2

43:7 44:6

coordinate 50:8,10

coordinator 5:3

copies 15:6 27:11

copy 7:8 26:7 27:6

57:3,4corona 26:15

corporate 46:2,13

corporation 1:841:20

corporations 26:14

correct 6:25 7:11

19:23,25 24:2

30:7 47:9 60:12

costs 54:9

couldnt 26:11

counsel 19:2 41:6,8

counselor 6:314:18

counterclaim 40:22

40:23

countless 57:21

county 1:2,16 34:4

60:5,16

couple 29:3

course 5:22 22:837:7 49:3

court 1:1,20,23 4:2

4:24 5:7,9,17,246:1,11,13,13,15

6:16,19,22,25 7:3

7:9,10,13,21,23

7:23 8:2,6,17,19

8:24,25 9:1,4,16

9:23,24 10:9,11

10:18,21 11:9,13

11:16,18 12:5,7

12:14,20 13:8,17

14:4,17,22 15:2,4

15:7,12,16,18

16:10,21 17:2,16

17:25 18:3,9,11

18:15 19:9,19,22

19:25 20:11,14,17

20:19 21:10 22:922:12,21,21,22,23

23:15,19,24 24:10

24:22,24 25:3,13

25:19 26:8,9,20

26:21 27:8,9 28:5

28:8,11,13,17,20

28:23 29:1,9,22

30:3,6,9,12,16,20

30:23 31:10,16,23

32:3,21 33:18,20

34:1,5,15,18 35:235:10,20,24 36:10

36:17,20,23 37:4

37:7,12,13,15,20

37:20,25 38:9

39:4,4,6,11,15,20

39:24 40:9,17,25

41:7 42:2,5,7,17

43:23 44:3,3,4,11

44:17,23 45:8,9

45:21,25 46:1,9

46:15,19,21 47:9

48:1,5,9,12,15

49:3,14,16,23

50:6,14,19,21

51:8,20 52:2,4,13

52:19,21,24 53:5

53:11,12,24 54:14

54:17,18,22 55:4

55:7,17,23 56:1,2

56:4,5,8,9,14,15

57:10,13,16,18,19

57:23 58:2,4,6,8

58:14,18,25 60:160:8,8,20

courtesy 57:3

courthouse 1:16

courtroom 12:19

44:19

courts 4:14 16:16

16:18 22:3 30:7

38:10 49:5 50:11

52:25 55:19 56:9

56:11,13 57:8

cover 4:13 28:13

covered 6:23

credibility 43:3

criteria 40:5

crowd 24:9

curium 57:2458:11

D

date 1:18 50:11,20

dated 4:6

dates 43:18

day 7:16 15:1826:10 28:14 39:9

60:17

days 29:3 30:9

42:23 45:15,19

47:3 50:20,24

deal 28:12 52:2553:12

dealing 7:16

dealings 24:4

dealt 38:18 53:2

december 33:14

decide 8:18 10:429:12 35:16 38:4

50:21 54:18

decided 32:20 55:6

deciding 49:1551:2 58:16

decision 5:3,6 38:747:2 53:12,12

55:14 58:15

declare 19:12

defamatory 33:13

defend 39:8 41:3,4

defendant 2:629:25

defendants 1:10

14:20,25 16:1717:9 19:5 21:4

24:20 32:5 40:18

defense 40:10define 39:15

delay 15:25 32:5

44:11

delays 43:25

delete 7:11

deleted 8:20


63/69

Page 3

delivered 12:10,15

demand 14:24

15:16

dempster 1:23

denied 12:3 31:1842:15

deny 14:1department 5:5

26:13

depending 34:12

34:13

deposition 20:20

23:2 28:18

depositions 16:7

27:11,12

depression 15:15

described 5:21

description 49:9deserves 56:20

designate 54:19

designated 39:2152:1

designation 36:1338:6 39:2 52:20

details 27:19

determination30:25 39:19

determine 30:22

31:21 38:10 41:11

41:18 57:23

determined 29:1129:13

diabetes 18:20

dictate 45:5

dictated 13:8

didnt 5:14,21 19:2023:3 33:4 34:22

50:10 54:25

different 25:8 50:1

50:4

difficult 49:25disability 13:8,14

14:17,24 15:7,13

15:25 16:25 17:6

17:8 18:22,23

19:3,4,5,7,8 26:1

26:2,5 28:6 29:10

29:11

disabled 29:13,13

disadvantage 38:20

disagree 31:12

disallowed 31:12

disclose 10:13,1413:1,2 19:1,17

20:6 31:5 33:6,11

43:22 45:24,25

disclosed 33:1disclosure 20:2

21:2

discovery 16:6 33:5

34:11,16,18,23

35:8,17,19 36:9

42:23 45:6 46:17

discretion 49:5,6

discs 27:18

discuss 7:4

discussed 11:18

33:21dishonest 19:9

disorder 15:14,15

dispose 9:24

disposed 17:13

disqualification23:17 31:2 34:8

38:16

disqualified 32:19

40:19 41:25

disqualify 21:7

41:15 42:9,15,19

44:13,15 45:3,7

distinction 52:14

district 34:2,4

57:10,18,19

division 1:3,7 16:1952:5 54:1

documents 15:623:21 24:11,13,15

24:16

doesnt 15:12 19:8

26:17 27:8 33:9

38:21 39:22doing 46:7 50:12

56:25

domestic 53:1

donation 22:6

dont 7:5,9 9:2010:4,7 13:18 18:5

20:12,13,13 21:12

21:13,19 23:5

25:5,14,14 27:4

29:7,16 31:10

34:10,25 35:16,24

38:11,12 39:11

41:13 42:11 44:23

45:4,19 46:7,22

48:1 51:13,17,20

52:7,13 54:6,13doubt 8:13

draft 56:23 58:12

drafted 45:11

53:16

dragged 17:10

dramatic 17:2

drive 2:8

due 14:1,8,25 16:1717:3 44:14

duties 22:22 25:6

duty 23:16E

earlier 25:17

east 1:24

efficiency 54:10

eight 15:22

either 27:16 31:14

46:12 50:8

elected 22:4

ellababidy 5:20

email 5:19 30:17,19

employed 43:1460:14

employees 46:8

engaged 31:3 32:22

entered 16:6

entire

transcript judge barton 3.00 pm may 05 2010

Documents