maybe, just maybe, the damage is lessened.”
“And they taught you this at Harvard?”
“I really don’t remember what they taught me at Harvard.”
“So how did you become an expert on trial practice?”
“I’m not an expert, but I am reading a lot, and watching Perry Mason reruns. Sweet little Emma is not sleeping well and I’m roaming around at night.”
“I feel better.”
Wally said, “With some luck, we can find a bogus pharmacologist for $25,000 or so. There will be a few more expenses, but Rogan has not put up much of a fight.”
“And now we know why,” Oscar said. “They want a trial, and fast. They want justice. They want a quick, clear verdict that they can take and broadcast around the world. You guys fell for their trap, Wally. Varrick started talking settlement, and the mass tort boys started buying new jets. They strung you along until the first trial was only a month away, then they pulled the rug. Your close friends at Zell amp; Potter hit the back door, and here we are, with nothing but financial ruin.”
“We’ve had this conversation, Oscar,” Wally said firmly.
A thirty-second time-out was observed as things settled down somewhat. Wally calmly said, “This building is worth $300,000 and debt free. Let’s go to the bank, put up the building for a line of credit, cap it at $200,000, and go search for experts.”
“I was expecting this,” Oscar said. “Why should we throw good money after bad?”
“Come on, Oscar. You know more about litigation than I do, which isn’t much, but-”
“You’re right about that.”
“It’s not enough to simply walk into court, start the trial, pick a jury, then duck for cover when Nadine starts firing cannons at us. We won’t even get to the trial if we don’t find a couple of experts. That in itself is malpractice.”
David tried to help. “You can bet this guy Shaw will be in the courtroom, watching us.”
“Right,” said Wally. “And if we don’t at least try to put on a case, Seawright might consider it frivolous and hit us with sanctions. As crazy as it seems, spending some money might save us a bundle down the road.”
Oscar exhaled and clasped his hands behind his head. “This is insanity. Complete insanity.”
Wally and David agreed.
W ally withdrew his motion to dismiss his cases and sent copies to Bart Shaw for good measure. Nadine Karros withdrew her response and Rule 11 Motion for Sanctions. When Judge Seawright signed both orders, the boutique firm of Finley amp; Figg breathed easier. For the moment, the three lawyers were not in her gun sights.
After reviewing the firm’s financials, the bank was reluctant to make the loan, even with the office building free and clear. Unknown to Helen, David signed a personal guaranty for the line of credit, as did his two partners. With $200,000 now available, the firm kicked into high gear, which was made complicated by the fact that none of the three was clear on what needed to be done.
Judge Seawright and his clerks reviewed the file daily, and with growing concern. On Monday, October 3, all lawyers were summoned to chambers for an informal update session. His Honor began the meeting by stating, unequivocally, that the trial would begin in two weeks and nothing could change this. Both sides claimed to be ready for trial.
“Have you retained experts?” he asked Wally.
“Yes sir.”
“And when do you think you might share this information with the court and with the other side? You are months past due on this, you know?”
“Yes, Your Honor, but we’ve had a few unexpected events in our timeline,” Wally said beautifully, like a real smart-ass.
“Who’s your cardiologist?” Nadine Karros fired from the other side of the table.
“Dr. Igor Borzov,” Wally shot back confidently, as if Borzov were known as the greatest heart expert in the world. Nadine did not flinch, nor did she smile.
“When can he be here for a deposition?” the judge asked.
“Whenever,” Wally said. No problem. The truth was that Borzov was having a difficult time making a decision about walking into a buzz saw, even for $75,000.
“We won’t be deposing Dr. Borzov,” Ms. Karros said, quite dismissively. In other words, I know he’s a quack, don’t care what he says in a depo, because I will annihilate him in front of the jury. She made this decision on the spot, with no need to confer with her minions or ponder things for twenty-four hours. Her iciness was indeed chilling.
“Do you have a pharmacologist?” she asked.
“We do,” Wally lied. “Dr. Herbert Threadgill.” Wally had actually spoken to this guy, but no agreement had been reached. David got his name from his pal Worley at Zell amp; Potter, who described Threadgill as “a nut job who’ll say anything for a buck.” But it was proving not to be that easy. Threadgill was asking for $50,000 to compensate for some of the humiliation he would undoubtedly face in open court.
“We don’t need his deposition either,” she said, with a slight flip of the hand that conveyed a thousand words. He’ll be dog meat too.
W hen the meeting ended, David insisted that Oscar and Wally follow him to a courtroom on the fourteenth floor of the Dirksen building. According to the federal court’s Web site, an important trial was getting started. It was a civil case involving the death of a seventeen-year-old high school senior who’d been killed instantly when a tractor-trailer rig blew through a red light and hit the kid broadside. The rig was owned by an out-of-state company, thus the federal jurisdiction.
Since no one at Finley amp; Figg had ever tried a case in federal court, David felt strongly that they should at least watch one.
CHAPTER 36
Five days before the trial, Judge Seawright reconvened the lawyers in his courtroom for the final pretrial conference. The three stooges looked remarkably put together and professional, thanks to David’s efforts. He had insisted they wear dark suits, white shirts, ties that were anything but flashy, and black shoes. For Oscar, this had not been a serious problem since he had always dressed the part of a lawyer, albeit one from the streets. For David, it was second nature because he had a closet full of expensive suits from his days at Rogan Rothberg. For Wally, though, it had been more of a challenge. David found a men’s store with moderately priced clothing, and he had actually gone with Wally to make selections and supervise the fitting. Wally had bitched and bickered throughout the ordeal, and he nearly bolted when the final tally came to $1,400. Eventually, he put it on a credit card, and he and David both held their breath when the clerk processed it. The charges cleared, and they hurried away with bags of shirts, ties, and one pair of black wing tips.
On the other side of the courtroom, Nadine Karros, in Prada, was surrounded by half a dozen of her attack dogs, all spiffed up in Zegna and Armani suits and looking like ads from glossy magazines.
As was his custom, Judge Seawright had not released the list of prospective jurors. The other judges released their lists weeks before trial, and this invariably set in motion a frenzied investigation by highly paid jury consultants for both sides. The bigger the case, the more money was spent probing into the backgrounds of the jury pool. Judge Seawright detested these shadowy maneuverings. Years earlier, in one of his cases, there had been allegations of improper contact by investigators. Prospective jurors had complained of being watched, followed, photographed, and even approached by smooth-talking strangers who knew too much about them.
Judge Seawright called the meeting to order, and his clerk handed one list to Oscar and another to Nadine Karros. There were sixty names, all of which had been prescreened by the judge’s staff to eliminate any juror who (1) was taking or had ever taken Krayoxx or any other cholesterol medication; (2) had a family member, relative, or friend who was taking or had ever taken Krayoxx; (3) had ever been represented by a lawyer remotely connected to the case; (4) had ever been involved in a lawsuit involving a drug or product alleged to be defective;
