HomeMy Public PortalAbout502013CA17717 Transcript.Depo of Robert Sweetapple 12-22-146a281478-857d-471b-9e71-80559ed1289aElectronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
Electronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CASE NO. 50 2013 CA 17717 AA
CHRISTOPHER F. O'HARE,
Plaintiff,
vs
TOWN OF GULF STREAM,
Defendant.
________________________/
- - -
VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF ROBERT SWEETAPPLE
TAKEN AT THE INSTANCE OF THE PLAINTIFF
- - -
Boca Raton, Florida
Monday, December 22, 2014
11:31 a.m. - 2:34 p.m.
Stenographically Reported by
Mary Ann Hengstler, RPR
Notary Public, State of Florida
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1 APPEARANCES:
2 JONES FOSTER JOHNSTON & STUBBS, P.A.
505 South Flagler Drive, Suite 110
3 West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Counsel for the witness
4 joconnor@jonesfoster.com
BY: JOANNE M. O'CONNOR, ESQUIRE
5
GMM/MADISON P.A.
6 401 South County Road, #3272
Palm Beach, Florida 33480
7 Counsel for the Plaintiff
service@g3mlaw.com
8 BY: MARK J. HANNA, ESQUIRE
9 ALSO PRESENT: Bill Ring
Lou Radar (by phone)
10 Christopher O'Hare
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
6a281478-857d-471b-9e71-80559ed1289aElectronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
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1 INDEX
2 WITNESS PAGE
3 ROBERT SWEETAPPLE
4 Direct Examination by Mr. Hanna 3
5
6
7
8 EXHIBITS FOR IDENTIFICATION PAGE
9 Plaintiff's Exhibit A 8
10 (Memorandum dated 4/10/98 to
Mayor Kaleel from Paul Nicoletti)
11
Plaintiff's Exhibit B 48
12 (4/7/98 letter from Edwin Jonas to
Paul Nicoletti)
13
Plaintiff's Exhibit C 58
14 (E-mail dated 9/8/14 to Mark Hanna
from Robert Sweetapple)
15
Plaintiff's Exhibit D 81
16 (Warranty Deed dated 7/14/96)
17 Plaintiff's Exhibit E 81
(Quit claim deed dated 3/1/01)
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
6a281478-857d-471b-9e71-80559ed1289aElectronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
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1 The videotaped deposition of ROBERT SWEETAPPLE
2 was taken before me, MARY ANN HENGSTLER, Registered
3 Professional Reporter, RPR-CP, Notary Public, State of
4 Florida at Large, at 20 S.E. 3rd Street, in the City of
5 Boca Raton, County of Palm Beach, State of Florida,
6 beginning at the hour of 11:31 a.m., on Monday,
7 December 22, 2014, pursuant to Notice filed herein, at
8 the instance of the Plaintiff in the above-entitled cause
9 pending before the above-named Court.
10 - - -
11 THEREUPON,
12 ROBERT SWEETAPPLE,
13 being by me first duly sworn to testify the whole truth,
14 as hereinunder certified, testified as follows:
15 DIRECT EXAMINATION
16 BY MR. HANNA:
17 Q. Can you tell us your name.
18 A. Robert Sweetapple.
19 Q. And what is your professional address?
20 A. 20 Southeast 3rd Street, Boca Raton, Florida.
21 Q. Do you -- What firm are you practicing at,
22 under?
23 A. Sweetapple, Broeker and Varkas, P.L.
24 Q. What type of firm is that?
25 A. That's a LLC law firm. And my firm Sweetapple
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1 and Varkas, PA is a member of that.
2 Q. Do you have any other locations for that
3 firm?
4 A. Yes. We have an office in downtown Miami, 44
5 West Flagler Street.
6 Q. Okay. And what is your residence address?
7 A. 333 Northeast Spanish Trail, Boca Raton.
8 Q. What is your work telephone number?
9 A. The office number is 561-392-1230.
10 Q. And was that the same number that you used in
11 1997, 1998?
12 A. I believe so.
13 Q. Okay.
14 A. In Boca.
15 Q. What about in Miami, do you have that number?
16 A. It's 305-374-5623 I think. Had that number
17 for 30 something years.
18 Q. And do you have a fax number?
19 A. I wouldn't know the fax number anymore. I
20 don't --
21 Q. Well, is the, is the fax number to the best
22 of your knowledge the same as it was in 1997, 1998?
23 A. I presume.
24 Q. What is your professional e-mail address that
25 you use?
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1 A. They have pleadings@Sweetapplelaw.com or
2 something.
3 Q. I mean for your personal, or your
4 professional use individually?
5 A. RSweetapple@Sweetapplelaw.com.
6 Q. Do you have a personal e-mail account?
7 A. I believe so.
8 Q. What are the -- What is that address?
9 A. I don't know what it is. It's something that
10 was set up with my phone. I don't use it very often.
11 Q. Okay. Well, when you communicate with other
12 people, clients, do you use your professional e-mail
13 address or your personal?
14 A. Well, I think that's, that's my business
15 information. I'm not going to discuss that. We're
16 here to depose me regarding allegations that I
17 represented Mr. O'Hare in 1998. The way I conduct my
18 business is confidential business information, and I'm
19 happy to give you my public information which I've
20 done.
21 Q. Well, there is possibility that you
22 communicated by Mr. O'Hare through e-mail.
23 A. In 1998?
24 Q. Yes.
25 A. I did not have e-mail in 1998.
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1 Q. When did you get e-mail?
2 A. Last five years.
3 Q. Okay.
4 A. I don't think they had e-mail in 1998.
5 Q. Well, also there's, the standard as you know
6 is the same or similar matter as the current
7 litigation, and there are e-mail communications that
8 might be pertinent currently in 2014.
9 A. I don't, I don't think so. You can ask the
10 judge that.
11 Q. Okay.
12 A. I'm not going to provide you with any of my
13 e-mails now.
14 Q. Okay.
15 A. You're alleging --
16 Q. Well, let's, let's get this out of the way.
17 A. Okay. We know what the matter is now.
18 The --
19 MR. RADAR: Mark, Mark, excuse me.
20 MR. HANNA: Yes.
21 MR. RADAR: Is there a way to turn up the
22 volume because both of you, your questions and his
23 answers, seem to be breaking in and up, breaking
24 up, going in and out.
25 THE WITNESS: We turned the phone around and
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1 I've turned it up as high as it will go.
2 MR. RADAR: Okay. Thanks.
3 BY MR. HANNA:
4 Q. Okay. Regarding the subpoena and the notice
5 of deposition, there was an exhibit attached to it
6 requesting that you bring documents.
7 MS. O'CONNOR: Do you have an extra copy,
8 Mark, by chance?
9 MR. HANNA: Yeah, I think so. I'm going to
10 mark that as Exhibit A.
11 BY MR. HANNA:
12 Q. I believe we covered, in the records
13 custodian depositions, you produced all the documents
14 that refer to Christopher O'Hare.
15 A. Other than the documents I told you I
16 obtained from the clerk of the Town of Ocean Ridge.
17 Q. Right. Now regarding number... Okay. Number
18 eight: "Any and all documents or communications
19 between you and Paul Nicoletti."
20 Did you bring those with you?
21 A. I did not. I'm asserting a work product
22 privilege as to my communications with Mr. Nicoletti
23 that occurred this year.
24 Q. Okay. Are there documents that exist?
25 A. Yes.
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1 Q. Okay. All right. Item number 10: "Any and
2 all documents or communications between Robert A.
3 Sweetapple and Joel Chandler that refer or concern
4 Christopher F. O'Hare or Shelly Childers O'Hare."
5 A. I'm asserting a work product privilege as to
6 those.
7 Q. Okay. Are there documents that exist?
8 A. I'm not going to disclose that.
9 Q. Well, you've filed documents with the Clerk
10 of Courts in other court cases.
11 Have you filed all the documents or is there
12 other documents that exist?
13 A. I'm not going to disclose that.
14 Q. Okay. Any and all documents or
15 communications -- or I'm sorry, number 11. "Any and
16 all documents or communications that refer to or
17 concern Robert A. Sweetapple's representation of
18 Christopher O'Hare or Shelly O'Hare between Robert A.
19 Sweetapple and any of the following people: John
20 Randolph, Joanne O'Connor, William Thrasher, Scott
21 Morgan, Joan Orthwein, Thomas Stanley, Donna White,
22 Robert Ganger."
23 Are there any such documents?
24 A. Are you talking about representation in 1998?
25 Q. No. I'm talking about discussing the subject
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1 matter of the motion to disqualify in your prior
2 representation of Mr. O'Hare.
3 A. I'm not going to discuss my work product.
4 That would be my work product.
5 Q. So you're refusing to answer that question?
6 A. Yeah.
7 Q. Okay. And you didn't bring any documents
8 with you?
9 A. I didn't. I'm not going to give you my work
10 product with my clients that concern your clients. If
11 we could do that, we wouldn't need to have litigation
12 process.
13 Q. All right. When did you graduate from law
14 school?
15 A. I graduated from law school in 1979. Seems
16 like a moment ago.
17 Q. Okay. No kidding. Of course I was only in
18 eighth grade then. You have a little bit on me.
19 When you graduated from law school, what did
20 you do after that?
21 A. I was employed by a litigation firm in the
22 AmeriFirst building in downtown Miami by the name of
23 Bartel, Shupert and Dubinski, and I began trying cases.
24 Q. What kind of matters did you handle?
25 A. I, at that firm, handled criminal cases,
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1 domestic cases, medical malpractice cases, personal
2 injury cases, legal malpractice cases, fraud and unfair
3 deceptive trade practice cases, gun running cases in
4 federal court, paternity cases. It was a five-man firm
5 that at that time handled every type of litigation
6 under the sun. Quite, quite an education.
7 Q. Now when you say litigation, would you become
8 involved in cases that were already filed or did you
9 start them from inception?
10 A. When I arrived, I had just left an internship
11 with the Public Defender's Office my last year at the
12 University of Florida. And the judge who recommended
13 me to Stan Bartel had indicated that I had substantial
14 trial experience during the Mariel boatlift as an
15 intern, and I immediately began trying cases for the
16 firm, their cases. And then as I brought in cases I
17 would work on them.
18 Q. Okay. And that was in Miami?
19 A. Downtown Miami.
20 Q. Were you primarily plaintiff or defense?
21 A. There was no, no such thing.
22 Q. Pretty much even mix?
23 A. Depended on what type of case it was.
24 Q. Okay. And approximately how many cases would
25 you handle a year do you think?
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1 A. How many files did I have?
2 Q. Yeah.
3 A. Or how many trials did I have?
4 Q. How many trials or files in a year?
5 A. I tried probably half a dozen jury trials in
6 my first year. I probably had 40 cases.
7 Q. And that number 40, I know that's an
8 estimate, would that be a caseload that you would
9 carry, about 40 cases for years?
10 A. I'd say that's typically been my caseload --
11 Q. Okay.
12 A. -- my entire career.
13 Q. So you --
14 A. That's about as many as I can effectively
15 handle.
16 Q. Okay. So you have about, around 40 cases a
17 year, some are previous cases, some are new cases?
18 A. Right. Back then. Now of course I have
19 lawyers in Miami and lawyers here that work cases up
20 for me. So I guess you would call my caseload a lot
21 higher, but back then I was, I was the low man on the
22 totem pole.
23 Q. Okay. Now after you left that firm, what did
24 you do?
25 A. I opened up my own practice in August of 1981
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1 with Mark Kamilar. Was a firm called Sweetapple and
2 Kamilar, and I continued to try cases.
3 Q. How do you spell Kamilar?
4 A. K-a-m-i-l-a-r.
5 Q. And that was in Miami?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. How long did that firm last?
8 A. I was with Mark three years, and then I
9 relocated to Boca Raton.
10 Q. What brought you to Boca Raton?
11 A. I had settled a substantial legal malpractice
12 case in 1984, I believe, for a man named Rafaello
13 Russo. He took the proceeds of that settlement and
14 opened a restaurant on Palmetto Park Road, and invited
15 me and my wife to come up regularly to dine. And at
16 that point we were thinking about starting a family,
17 and I wanted to ultimately live on the water. I grew
18 up in Fort Lauderdale. All my wealthy friends lived on
19 the water, and I, I never got to. So I thought maybe
20 I'd realize my dream of living on the water in Boca
21 Raton and could raise a family in some place other than
22 Miami. And in 1986 I moved.
23 Q. I understand why you would want to get out of
24 Miami.
25 A. I enjoy going to Miami now. But when you're
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1 starting to have a family, it's the suburban flight,
2 right?
3 Q. Yeah. Nice, nice place to visit.
4 A. Yeah. I went down last Wednesday for my
5 daughter's UM graduation, and she insisted we go to
6 Monty's, and as we sat there, I said, I stood on that
7 very table right there in May of 1980 celebrating
8 passing the Bar. So it's nice to go full circle. Nice
9 to visit, but I much prefer living here.
10 Q. So then '86 you moved to Boca?
11 A. Mm-hmm.
12 Q. And did you join another firm or did you --
13 A. No. I commuted to Miami until 1989.
14 Q. Okay.
15 A. And in 1989 I opened a second office in, in
16 Boca. My Colgate roommate, Doug Broeker, was a partner
17 of Fowler White, and I convinced him to come work with
18 me and to take over the Miami office.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. But I worked at both offices for some time
21 and then realized that was not a good way to make it to
22 60.
23 Q. That's a hefty commute.
24 When did you start working primarily out of
25 the Boca Raton office?
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1 A. I bought a building in Boca in December of
2 '89. My daughter was born, my first daughter was born
3 in February of '89. I would say by '89 I was spending
4 at least three days a week in Boca. The fax machine
5 had been invented, I got a Miami line. So I typically
6 would go down two days a week.
7 Q. Okay. And at some point Alexander Varkas
8 joined the firm?
9 A. Oh, Alex joined the firm before Doug Broeker.
10 Alex has been with me 28 years.
11 Q. Okay. So around 1990 -- When did you --
12 Where did you practice from when you moved to Boca;
13 where was the office located?
14 A. Palmetto Park Road. 465 East Palmetto Park
15 Road.
16 Q. How long were you at that location?
17 A. I think 'til '98. I think I sold the
18 property in '98.
19 Q. Okay. Where did you go after that?
20 A. Bought a building on Boca Raton Road, where I
21 was until last year.
22 Q. And now you're at?
23 A. 20 Southeast 3rd Street.
24 Q. What was the address for the Boca Raton
25 Boulevard?
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1 A. 465, I think, Boca Raton Road. I think.
2 It's been awhile. Been a whole, whole year now.
3 Building's been knocked down.
4 Q. In 1998 did you have any associates that
5 worked for you?
6 A. Yes. I'm pretty sure I did, but I couldn't
7 remember which of them. I've had associates throughout
8 the years.
9 Q. Okay. What about Edwin Jonas?
10 A. Edwin Jonas was of counsel to my firm for a
11 period of time, maybe about a year. I'm estimating.
12 He had moved down from New Jersey, had, at the time I
13 thought substantial experience, maybe it was like ten
14 years of experience, handled real estate and
15 administrative matters that I didn't handle. And as I
16 recall, he ended up somehow being in my office suite,
17 either he shared space or he gave me time for, you
18 know, did work on my cases for rent, and I sent him
19 matters to handle that, you know, I didn't typically
20 do, real estate. In this case it looks like I referred
21 Mr. O'Hare to him involving a code enforcement matter,
22 which I don't do typically. I don't think I've done
23 more than one code enforcement hearing, or maybe two in
24 my entire career. And he would either bill the clients
25 on the cases that he handled or he would work for me
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1 and I would pay him on my cases. That's my best
2 recollection of how it worked.
3 Q. Okay. When he would work on his cases, did
4 he do it under your law firm?
5 A. He used my stationery. He had moved down --
6 The way I met him is he was renting a house that I
7 owned, used to own in, in my neighborhood in Boca. And
8 I became friendly with him. And he was a lawyer in
9 north -- in New Jersey, and he, he was a member of the
10 Bar here and he was looking to, you know, get
11 established in Florida. And, you know, I didn't want
12 to make him a partner. I didn't -- Obviously wasn't in
13 a position to hire him as a ten year practitioner, and
14 we came up somehow with the idea he'd be of counsel to
15 the firm.
16 Q. When you say he's of counsel; what was the
17 meaning of that?
18 A. I mean, I, I don't even know what the terms
19 of the arrangement were as I'm sitting here. I don't
20 know if this was a formal agreement. I don't know -- I
21 don't remember the specifics of it. I have a general
22 recollection that that's how it worked. Somewhere
23 around those lines.
24 Q. In the late '90s what kind of cases were you
25 handling?
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1 A. The late '90s, I would say -- When did I
2 become Board Certified; do you know?
3 Q. No.
4 A. I think I became Board Certified as a civil
5 trial lawyer maybe 20 years ago, and as a business
6 litigator 15 years ago.
7 The progression of my practice has been, even
8 though I've tried ever type of case I can think of
9 before a jury and handled every type of case I can
10 think of, my practice basically funneled, and I stopped
11 handling federal and state criminal cases in about
12 1984. I stopped doing domestic cases probably around
13 the late '90s. I didn't handle any personal injury
14 cases.
15 I would say most of my cases were civil and
16 business related in some form, commercial related,
17 probate. Mostly, you know, nonpersonal injury, non,
18 non-domestic, noncriminal litigation.
19 Q. And did you handle any civil rights claims?
20 A. I've handled 1983 cases and those types of
21 cases, yes.
22 Q. What about defamation cases?
23 A. First jury trial I tried before Lenore
24 Nesbitt in 1980 was a defamation case.
25 Q. Okay. And you currently represent Gulf
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1 Stream, the Town of Gulf Stream, correct?
2 A. I think that's a matter of public record, but
3 I'm not going to discuss any details of that.
4 Q. Well, you represent them, that's --
5 A. Yeah, I do represent them.
6 Q. Okay. Have you represented other
7 municipalities or government entities?
8 A. I would have to go back and look. I'd have
9 to go back and look. I think we have represented City
10 of Miami, noise and abatement boards and other
11 government entities.
12 I typically have sued government entities
13 and, and eminent, defended eminent domain cases. I was
14 doing a lot of eminent domain at the end of, in the
15 '90s, now that you mention it.
16 Q. Okay.
17 A. But we have represented, you know,
18 governments from time to time. I know that we did
19 quite a bit of work for City of Miami.
20 Q. Now eminent domain, what, what is that?
21 A. Eminent domain is the power of the sovereign
22 to take property for an alleged public use. I was
23 involved in all the Mizner Park takings. I represented
24 the largest landowner in Boca Raton in the 1990s
25 regarding the eminent domain cases of the city and the
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1 Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency, both at the
2 trial level and at the Fourth District Court of Appeal,
3 including for the development of Mizner Boulevard and
4 other roadways that were ancillary to the development
5 of Mizner Park.
6 And in a little full circle moment, since I
7 like those little stories. Joanne's secretary, Mary,
8 was Adams Weaver's secretary in 1989, and I worked with
9 her regularly because Adams Weaver was my opposing
10 counsel on many of those cases. He represented the
11 Boca Raton CRA. So when I call Joanne now I get to
12 chat with Mary. So it's a small, small town.
13 Q. Have you ever had, handled civil RICO cases?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Against who?
16 A. Matter of public record. I think I have a
17 form of one that we prepared that we've been using.
18 And research, extensive research files on civil RICO.
19 Q. Okay. Well, what -- Who did you represent,
20 the plaintiff or the defendant?
21 A. I don't remember. I'd have to look at the
22 research files and the form files.
23 Q. Did any of them ever go to trial?
24 A. I don't think that, I don't think we have
25 actually tried plaintiffs or defendants RICO.
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1 Q. Okay.
2 A. I've, I've handled continuing criminal
3 enterprise cases also, which is the, a criminal cousin
4 of RICO. I handled those in the eastern and western
5 districts of the Federal courts of Louisiana, in
6 Lafayette and New Orleans.
7 Q. What did those cases involve?
8 A. Those cases involved a criminal enterprise
9 that was alleged to be actually ultimately convicted of
10 running marijuana and money laundering. I represented
11 a lawyer at some point who ended up pleaing to a
12 criminal, continuing criminal enterprise. He was from
13 Miami and he was charged in the Western District of
14 Louisiana.
15 Q. Okay. Do you ever handle any public records
16 litigation?
17 A. I have made numerous public records requests.
18 I've never sued for fees. Never, never actually gone
19 after fees or defended a claim for public records on
20 behalf of an entity prior to this litigation.
21 Q. Well, when you say you've made numerous
22 public records requests, and you said that no
23 litigation --
24 A. Yeah.
25 Q. -- resulted from it.
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1 A. Yeah, I've, I've made Sunshine requests and
2 public records requests obviously since the law has
3 been in effect.
4 Q. Why wasn't there any litigation out of that?
5 A. Because I, I've rarely, I've rarely -- I've
6 seen a lot more litigation in public records requests
7 of late that is not bona fide, and I have never had a
8 problem, in terms of getting records from government
9 ultimately, and I've always made discrete requests for
10 documents I really need for a, for a lawsuit, and
11 they've been provided.
12 Q. So the governmental entities provided the
13 records requested?
14 A. Yeah. But I've never seen a situation where
15 a group of people have inundated a clerk with thousands
16 of public records requests in order to close the town
17 down under the guise of trying to get open government.
18 But I -- of course, I guess when you practice law
19 enough you get to see everything in this world.
20 Q. Have you reviewed the cases that have been
21 filed in Christopher O'Hare versus Town of Gulf Stream?
22 A. That's my work product. I'm not going to
23 disclose that.
24 Q. Well, have you reviewed them? I'm not asking
25 for any --
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1 A. I'm not going to tell you what I've done as a
2 lawyer. I'm not going to tell you what I've
3 researched, I'm not going to tell you what I've
4 written, I'm not going to tell you what I've thought.
5 I'm not going to tell you who I've spoken to. That's,
6 that's my client's private business information. They
7 hired me to perform a service, and I intend to perform
8 it.
9 Q. So what is the basis of your refusal to
10 testify about that?
11 A. Work product privilege.
12 Q. Okay. Now getting back to the areas that you
13 practice. Has it changed in the last, say, ten years
14 since '98?
15 A. My practice has varied throughout depending
16 on any number of circumstances. The clients I've
17 gotten, the nature of the economy. I handled some
18 major lender liability cases in the first recession
19 that I was involved in, which was 1981, and sued some
20 banks, and they were fairly high profile cases. And as
21 a result, I was hired to handle a mass of lender
22 liability case in 2002 that listed to 2007.
23 As a result of that, I ended up getting a lot
24 of lender liability claims during this last recession.
25 I ended up representing a major boat manufacturer,
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1 Donzi, Fountain, Proline and Baja. So I ended up
2 getting a lot of commercial litigation in North
3 Carolina and other states for that company.
4 So my practice really is driven by, by my
5 clients. I get, I get called in to handle complex
6 litigation matters by clients, not only in the State of
7 Florida but in over a dozen, over a dozen states in the
8 country.
9 Q. Now in 1998 you represented some Ocean Ridge
10 residents against the Town of Ocean Ridge?
11 A. I don't know if it was 1998. I don't think
12 it was 1998.
13 Q. 1998, 1999?
14 A. I'm not sure of the year.
15 Q. Okay.
16 A. I don't remember. But I, I, I handled
17 litigation in, in the circuit court, and I think it was
18 before a judge who is in the criminal division now.
19 He's been in the criminal division forever.
20 MS. O'CONNOR: Judge Rapp.
21 THE WITNESS: Yeah, Judge Rapp I think had
22 the case.
23 BY MR. HANNA:
24 Q. What did that case involve?
25 A. It involved a dispute between adjoining
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1 property owners regarding the development rights of a
2 piece of property that had been sold by the Audubon
3 Society, generally.
4 Q. One second.
5 (Discussion off the record).
6 MR. HANNA: Lou's having trouble hearing you.
7 I'll speak up.
8 THE WITNESS: Okay. Lou, can you hear me
9 now? Lou. Hello.
10 BY MR. HANNA:
11 Q. Lou?
12 A. Lou? Lou, can you hear us?
13 MR. RADAR: Yeah, now I can hear you. I'm
14 trying to get Chris to give me a cell phone
15 connection because I'm only hearing about half of
16 what's being asked and about half of what's being
17 answered.
18 MR. O'HARE: Yeah, but I didn't want to do
19 that until everybody agrees.
20 THE WITNESS: Okay. So you want me to switch
21 to cell phone? We'll switch to cell phone.
22 MR. RADAR: What did you just say?
23 THE WITNESS: Okay. We're going to switch to
24 cell phone. You have him on?
25 MR. O'HARE: I didn't put it on speaker.
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1 I'll try it.
2 MR. RADAR: Hello.
3 MR. O'HARE: Lou, can you hear us now?
4 MR. RADAR: Yeah, I can hear you, Chris,
5 right now. Let's see if I can hear him talking.
6 THE WITNESS: All right, Lou. Can you hear
7 me?
8 MR. RADAR: Yes, I can hear you.
9 MR. HANNA: Can you hear me, Lou? Lou, can
10 you hear me?
11 MR. RADAR: Yeah, I can hear you now.
12 MR. O'HARE: Hopefully I won't get any calls.
13 BY MR. HANNA:
14 Q. All right. You were telling us about the
15 case of, the Audubon Society, nature preserve I think
16 it was.
17 A. That was a, yeah, that was a piece of
18 litigation I handled that had multiple, multiple
19 parties. And when I was advised that Mr. O'Hare
20 thought that I had represented him in the past, I
21 presumed that that was, that he somehow was involved
22 with that group, and I -- They pulled the pleadings and
23 he was not one of the parties that I represented in
24 that case.
25 Q. Okay. You represented the individuals in
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1 that case; not the town?
2 A. I think I represented individuals. I think
3 one of the, one of my clients was a, an elected
4 official. I don't think the Town was a party to the
5 litigation as I recall. Although they were a party to
6 mediations.
7 Q. Okay.
8 A. That's my general recollection. I haven't
9 looked for that purpose.
10 Q. Okay. Bernd Schulte's name?
11 A. Bernd Schulte was a commissioner I guess.
12 Q. And Rich Lucibella?
13 A. Right.
14 Q. They were the property owners around it?
15 A. Right. And that, that just is why I was most
16 concerned when Mr. O'Hare testified I had been at a
17 meeting with Mr. Nicoletti with him at Town Hall,
18 because I don't believe I've ever, I was ever in the
19 old Town Hall in Ocean Ridge. Even in that case.
20 Q. Okay.
21 A. At least I have no recollection of ever
22 being, being in that building. I drove by it a hundred
23 times taking my kids to Gulf Stream for 19 years.
24 Q. Have you discussed the contents or the
25 allegations of the Motion to Disqualify with any of the
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1 other attorneys representing Gulf Stream?
2 A. First of all, I'm not going to discuss that,
3 because that would be my work product and lawyer
4 client.
5 Q. Okay.
6 MR. O'HARE: I'm not asking for the content;
7 just if it happened.
8 BY MR. HANNA:
9 Q. Have you discussed any contents of the
10 allegations in the Motion to Disqualify with anybody
11 from the Town, any of the Town officials?
12 A. I'm not going to discuss that because that
13 would be work product. That would be in conjunction
14 with my representation of the Town.
15 Q. Okay. We're asking --
16 A. This is a motion filed in this case.
17 Q. I'm asking for whether it occurred, not
18 whether -- not for the content.
19 A. Well, you, the content is in your question.
20 So that's silly. I heard your client say that to you
21 and I laughed at how silly of a notion that is. You
22 can't ask a question that has the content in it and
23 then say it doesn't have the content.
24 Q. Have you ever represented Christopher O'Hare
25 before?
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1 A. Not that I have any recollection of.
2 Q. Okay.
3 A. And if you have something to refresh my
4 recollection, I'd love to see it. I see from my
5 records he was in my office apparently, and I could
6 have had an initial conference with him before he was
7 sent to -- before this was assigned or given to
8 Mr. Jonas.
9 For 35 years I've met with people and I do
10 not charge for initial consults. If someone talks to
11 me on the phone and I think that I should speak to
12 them, and there's something that's of a legal nature
13 that I should pursue, I don't write time slips for my
14 first consult.
15 So it's possible that he came in and talked
16 to me. It's possible he spoke to me on the phone. I'm
17 not doubting that. I just don't have any recollection
18 of him or any matter for him.
19 Q. Okay. Have you seen the memorandum from Paul
20 Nicoletti?
21 A. I, I saw that when I obtained it from the
22 Town of Ocean Ridge. It makes reference to me being on
23 a conference call with Mr. Jonas and calling
24 Mr. Nicoletti.
25 Q. Do you have any recollection of that phone
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1 call?
2 A. None at all. But I have no doubt it
3 occurred.
4 MR. HANNA: I'm going to mark this as Exhibit
5 A -- or what are we -- Yeah, this is Exhibit A on
6 this one.
7 THE WITNESS: I'll just write it here and
8 then you can put a thing on it.
9 (Plaintiff's Exhibit A).
10 BY MR. HANNA:
11 Q. And is that the memorandum from Paul
12 Nicoletti to the Ocean Ridge Town Commissioners
13 regarding that phone call?
14 A. Yeah. The first time I saw this was before
15 your client's depo. I obtained it from Town of Ocean
16 Ridge.
17 Q. And we had sent that to you also.
18 A. I think I'd obtained it before you did.
19 Q. All right.
20 A. Because I was there right after you were
21 there.
22 Q. Now regarding the phone call, you indicated
23 that you have no recollection of it but that the phone
24 call occurred?
25 A. No, I said I'm not disputing it occurred.
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1 Q. Okay.
2 A. I have no knowledge one way or the other.
3 But it, it certainly, it certainly looks like something
4 I would do in the course and scope of representing a
5 client.
6 Q. Okay.
7 A. And it would be consistent that Mr. Jonas, if
8 there was a litigation issue, would involve me, and
9 appears I made a phone call. I guess had the case not
10 resolved itself three days after this memo and there
11 would have been litigation, then I would have gotten
12 involved.
13 Q. Well, in the memorandum you discuss, it
14 discusses that, threats of a civil rights and
15 defamation case, are those the kind of cases that you
16 would have handled against public entities back in
17 1998?
18 A. It would depend on the facts. In this case,
19 from looking at everything that I've seen now, it
20 appears that the O'Hares had some approval already for
21 use of a building, and that a government under color of
22 law was attempting to deny them of the use of their
23 property. So I was probably thinking in terms of a
24 1983 action, and I had brought 1983 actions, including
25 all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
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1 Q. What are the damages that you typically would
2 seek to recover in these kind of cases?
3 A. There's no such, there's no such thing as
4 typical. I mean, the last 1983 case I handled was
5 against the chief judge of Broward County.
6 Q. Okay.
7 A. For locking another judge out of the
8 courthouse. I mean, what would the damages be? It
9 depends on the facts of the case. Some cases you get
10 an injunction.
11 Q. Are there any mental or emotional distress
12 components to a 1983 action?
13 A. I don't know. I would have to go look at the
14 law.
15 Q. Have you ever made --
16 A. I, I, I don't, I don't, I don't recall.
17 Under Florida law obviously you'd need a touching.
18 Would have to be the tort of outrage or a touching.
19 And I've, I've, I don't recall ever, you know, pleading
20 emotional damages in a 1983 case, but I'd have to go
21 back and look at the law.
22 Q. What about other cases that you could file
23 against a public entity for some property type dispute?
24 A. That would depend on -- you're asking me for
25 my legal opinion now. I would have to research it and
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1 look at the, the theories.
2 Q. Who is Heath King?
3 A. Heath King is a counselor who I met through a
4 client of mine over 25 years ago. Probably the
5 smartest man I've ever met.
6 Q. What type of -- Was he a psychotherapist? Is
7 he a physician?
8 A. He's not a physician. And I don't know his,
9 you know, his full CV. He was a professor at Yale
10 University and is a highly published thinker and
11 writer. I don't know if his training is in psychology,
12 interdisciplinary studies. But I -- He was appointed
13 by the court to counsel one of my clients, and the
14 client raved about him probably closer to, closer to 25
15 year, I'd say 25 years ago. And maybe 22 years ago,
16 somewhere in that range. And I met him, and since then
17 I've referred family members, friends, friends of my
18 children, clients. And even when I get stressed out,
19 I'll invite him to lunch.
20 Q. Okay. Now when you say you refer clients
21 there, are they ever related for treatment for a
22 pending case?
23 A. No. No, no. I don't handle cases, I don't
24 think I've filed a case where I've hired a psychologist
25 or a psychiatrist to testify, because I haven't handled
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1 any personal injury type cases or cases where I've
2 sought pain and suffering. I've never used him as an
3 expert or, or consulted him in that regard.
4 The first time I, I learned of he, he'd been
5 appointed by a court, a client of mine threw a vase at
6 his son in a construction trailer. And I didn't handle
7 the criminal case, but the judge ordered him to go to
8 anger management therapy with Mr. King.
9 But I've sent people that are having stress,
10 you know, from litigation. I've sent people who are
11 having marital counseling. I've sent people who are
12 depressed.
13 I mean, I can give you a little personal
14 background on why I do that. But early in my career I
15 had a young man in my office, about 1981, young Cuban
16 boy who was very distressed, and I didn't know anything
17 about sending people to counseling. And he kept
18 telling me -- I'm haunted even to this day -- he would
19 say Paula, Paula, I love her but she doesn't love me.
20 And he would rage. And, and I just thought, well, this
21 guy seems a little wacko, and within a month he had
22 stalked Paula's brother and murdered him in a grocery
23 store in Hialeah. And I've had clients and friends
24 who've killed themselves who've been in litigation.
25 So I've learned the hard way that any time I
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1 see anybody in our society which is very stressful that
2 is having any kind of issue, that typically being a
3 litigator and filing lawsuits doesn't relieve stress,
4 it causes it. So I've probably referred 50 to a
5 hundred people to Heath King, and I know he's referred
6 people to psychiatrists and psychologists and others.
7 But I've done it in the hope that I won't have to hear
8 about a client killing another person or another client
9 killing themselves.
10 But I don't do it for purposes of obtaining
11 testimony. Nor do I ever speak with Mr. King about
12 anyone I send to talk to him. And I certainly wouldn't
13 do that. And I saw that in your motion and I thought
14 that was pretty irresponsible to suggest it.
15 Q. Now regarding Heath King, did you refer
16 Mr. O'Hare to Mr. King?
17 A. I have no recollection of ever doing that,
18 but as I said to Mr. O'Hare, I think in your presence
19 at the depo, the fact that he says I went to -- that I
20 referred him to Heath King is... makes, makes me very
21 confident that he and I at some point spoke. And I
22 don't doubt that, his statement that I suggested or
23 recommended Heath King to him.
24 Q. Now normally would you --
25 A. I still refer people to Heath King regularly.
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1 Q. After having discussed their problems with
2 them; isn't that true?
3 A. No, not necessarily. I mean, I've, I've
4 recommended people to Heath King at a cocktail party.
5 I've recommended people to Heath King when I've heard
6 that a girl was not eating because her boyfriend broke
7 up with her at St. Andrews and she was a friend of my,
8 my daughter. And I've said, I never even met this girl
9 but tell her mother she should call Heath King and find
10 out where the best treatment could be for her.
11 Q. But you just don't arbitrarily tell somebody
12 to go to Heath King?
13 A. Not arbitrarily. I mean, I recommended one
14 of my best friends go to Heath King when he told me he
15 was getting divorced. The minute I heard divorce, I
16 said, don't do that alone. Go talk to a professional.
17 Q. But you have --
18 A. Without knowing any details.
19 Q. -- you have no recollection of what you and
20 Chris O'Hare talked about that resulted in you
21 referring him to Heath King?
22 A. I have no, I have no recollection of even
23 referring him to Heath King, or giving him his name or
24 phone number.
25 Q. Do you have any recollection of meeting Chris
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1 O'Hare?
2 A. I have no recollection of meeting Chris
3 O'Hare.
4 Q. Okay.
5 A. And I've racked my brain.
6 Q. Do you have any recollection of discussing
7 this case with Edwin Jonas?
8 A. None.
9 Q. Okay. Do you have any recollection of
10 receiving payment by Mr. O'Hare?
11 A. None.
12 Q. Do you have any recollection of --
13 A. Do you have anything to refresh my
14 recollection, like a check or a retainer agreement or
15 an invoice or something?
16 Q. We'll get to that.
17 A. Okay. I mean, I wish you -- I'm as curious
18 as you are what happened.
19 Q. Okay. Do you recall or have any recollection
20 regarding payment to Edwin Jonas for his work in the
21 O'Hare case?
22 A. I have, I have absolutely -- I've racked my
23 brain and I have absolutely no recollection of, of
24 Mr. O'Hare.
25 Q. Who is Diane Scully?
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1 A. Diane Scully was Diane Faulk.
2 Q. Okay.
3 A. And she was my brother's girlfriend after
4 high school or after college for many years, and I
5 considered her a dear friend, just through my brother.
6 She's -- My brother's five years younger than me. I
7 think she's probably two or three years younger than
8 me. So I didn't know her in high school but I knew her
9 after.
10 Very dear person. Wonderful person. Her
11 brother, Kenny, is a good friend of my brother's, and
12 has been for 30 something years. And I see him once or
13 twice a year. I see Diane once or twice a year.
14 Typically at my brother's Christmas party. And her,
15 her older brother I knew at Nova High School. He was
16 in my class. But he unfortunately died about ten years
17 ago. So I've not seen or talked to him.
18 Q. Who passed away?
19 A. Dale.
20 Q. Dale. Who is Dale?
21 A. Dale is Diane's brother who was my age.
22 Q. Okay. When did your, you said your brother
23 dated Diane Scully?
24 A. Dated --
25 Q. Diane Faulk.
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1 A. -- for some period of time.
2 Q. What was the time period?
3 A. I, you know -- I know it wasn't high school.
4 And I don't know if it was when he was at Florida State
5 or when he was, when he had graduated. It was 20 -- I
6 mean, she's been married for 20 years I would say.
7 Q. How long did --
8 A. He's been married, he's been married at least
9 that long I think. I mean, you're going back.
10 Q. So is it in the '80s, '90s?
11 A. I -- Let's see, I graduated from Nova in
12 1972. He graduated in '77. So I think it would have
13 been late '70s or early '80s.
14 Q. Okay. And you maintain contact with her
15 through the --
16 A. I see her, I see her at different things.
17 And I grew up in Plantation. I still have a lot of
18 friends in Plantation.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. My brother lives on Gordon Island in Fort
21 Lauderdale. So I go there. He's got triplets, I see
22 them regularly, I'm down there.
23 Q. Does she refer cases to you?
24 A. No.
25 Q. Okay.
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1 A. No, I haven't -- I mean, when I -- That's
2 another thing, when I heard from, at his depo that
3 Diane Faulk gave him my name. Surmising, speculating
4 the reason I don't have any time listed, even if he did
5 call me, how many ever times he says he called me, is
6 if he was sent by Diane or anybody I considered family,
7 if I didn't have a case for that person I didn't end up
8 appearing, it's not unusual that I would not give a
9 bill.
10 Q. When you, when you take on a case, are they
11 already in litigation at that point?
12 A. I have to say that now, at this point in my
13 career, I'm called in to try cases and take over cases
14 probably as often as I'm called in at the beginning of
15 cases.
16 For instance, this litigation is fairly
17 typical of my practice. I have people come in, and
18 I've tried cases, you know, that have a whole filing
19 cabinet and have a month to get ready.
20 I just got hired on a case before Judge
21 Hurley that's going to trial in February that I'm
22 getting geared up to try over the holidays.
23 Q. Well, do you ever get calls from people that,
24 whatever, the incident just happened, nothing has been
25 filed, and you take them on as a client?
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1 A. Oh, sure. That used to be the nature of my
2 practice when I started.
3 Q. Okay.
4 A. And obviously it's changed.
5 Q. Did they all result in filing of litigation?
6 A. Well, I typically don't get hired unless, you
7 know -- People come in to see me for litigation.
8 People are sent to me for litigation.
9 Q. Well, in the late '90s, did you ever have any
10 cases that you signed the person up but for whatever
11 reason it never was filed, a form of litigation?
12 A. If that happened, it would be extremely rare.
13 I normally don't get a retainer, you know, to handle
14 litigation unless there's litigation. To file a
15 lawsuit or defend a lawsuit.
16 People come in -- When people come in to hire
17 me when it's not already a pending case, it's for
18 purpose of defending a case that's been filed or for
19 filing a case.
20 Q. Okay. So a case that's already in
21 litigation, that's typically when someone would come to
22 you?
23 A. Absolutely. Yeah, I don't, I don't just
24 consult with people or...
25 Q. Now when you consult with people that have
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1 the case in litigation, do you always take the case?
2 A. Of course not.
3 Q. Do you -- Strike that.
4 Have you been contacted by people that are
5 involved in litigation and you've filed a different
6 litigation out of that as a result of the first filed
7 suit?
8 A. You mean when people come back to me?
9 Q. Yes.
10 A. Sure. I have clients that I've represented
11 for decades.
12 Q. Okay.
13 A. I have clients that I've handled --
14 Mr. Russo, for instance, I handled a personal injury
15 case for, his divorce, a criminal case, a legal
16 malpractice case. I could write a book on litigation
17 just on that one client.
18 Q. Well, do you have a new representation
19 contract every time you have a new case or do you have
20 a --
21 A. It depends on the nature of the
22 representation. If I'm taking on a contingency
23 commercial case, if I'm going to have co-counsel. For
24 instance, I'm filing class actions now with the Farmer,
25 Jaffe, Weissing firm down in Lauderdale against some
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1 entities in Broward that include potential RICO claims
2 that we're researching now. If I have co-counsel, even
3 though I already have one case for these people that I
4 just got a judgment against the same entity in front of
5 Judge Ross, you know, it's now going to have other
6 lawyers involved, it's going to have contingency
7 factors. So I have a new fee agreement, even though I
8 represented some of the same people through a trial.
9 Q. What kind of fee agreement would you use --
10 Strike that.
11 There's the fee representation contract and
12 there's also some, attorneys use an engagement letter?
13 A. I've, I've used -- I use different types of
14 agreements for different types of matters. I've
15 charged flat fees, nonrefundable fees, contingency
16 fees, hourly fees. Engagement letters. I have form
17 retain, retainer agreements that have different boxes
18 that are checked for the type of case it is.
19 Q. Do you still have financial records from
20 1998?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Why don't you have any of those records?
23 A. Because they would have been purged years and
24 years ago. Because I can only afford so much warehouse
25 space. If I had all my records from '98, A, by now the
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1 cockroaches would have eaten them all, because even my
2 seven-year-old records look like they're food for...
3 that's what happens to all these people's disputes,
4 they end up being eaten by cockroaches.
5 Q. Well, do you have any records from 1998 for
6 any closed client file?
7 A. I haven't looked to see, but I'd be very
8 surprised. Other than the research I told you about.
9 Q. Other than the research files.
10 A. I --
11 Q. How far, what is your -- Do you have a set
12 timeframe where you purge files?
13 A. Seven years. Well, I mean, we go in
14 periodically, like every other year, every year. Right
15 now it's when the -- I have a warehouse space that's
16 probably 2000 feet of files, and when you don't have
17 room to put the files from here, we end up throwing
18 out, you know, files that are over seven years old.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. I'm hoping with all these electronic records,
21 that I won't have all this filing.
22 Q. Except you're going to have gazillion --
23 A. Discs.
24 Q. -- discs of everything and 15 copies of the
25 same thing.
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1 So, then, there are no files, other than the
2 research files, from any cases in 1997, 1998, 1999 in
3 your possession?
4 A. That would be my best guess, although I
5 haven't gone through all of the files. But I -- The
6 times I've been in the warehouse, I've never seen
7 anything from the 1990s or 1980s.
8 Q. Is it possible, then, that a file for
9 Christopher O'Hare was opened and destroyed?
10 A. Anything's possible. You're asking me to
11 speculate.
12 Q. Okay. Well, just because -- You have, you've
13 presented us with, in the records custodian deposition
14 with the few documents that you have representing
15 Mr. O'Hare. Are you contending that that proves that
16 you didn't represent O'Hare or that there was no file
17 open?
18 A. Not at all.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. Not at all. I'm taking Mr. O'Hare at his
21 word that he was sent to me by Diane Scully, that he
22 met with me, that he talked to me, that I recommended
23 to him that he go talk to Heath King. I can see that
24 the day before a letter was sent by Mr. Jonas as of
25 counsel to my firm. We opened him up in our system.
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1 And I'm contending that it looks like I never filled
2 out a time slip.
3 Q. Okay.
4 A. Now did, did Mr. Jonas render a bill? Was
5 there a bill typed up without a, without time slips
6 because it was one week's representation? Did
7 Mr. O'Hare call me on the phone and, and ask me
8 questions about, about other things? I have no, I have
9 absolutely no recollection and no way of knowing.
10 Q. Okay. So in October 1997, it's possible that
11 Mr. O'Hare called you regarding the Pace, Emmett Pace
12 versus Ocean Ridge litigation that he was involved
13 with?
14 A. It's possible. I have no recollection.
15 Q. Well, that's consistent with --
16 A. With '07?
17 Q. Of '97?
18 A. '97?
19 Q. Yes. That's consistent with how your
20 practice operated then, somebody in litigation that
21 would bring you in to help them with that case; isn't
22 that true?
23 A. Well, it's, it's possible that he called me
24 because he had a litigation matter. It's possible.
25 Q. But that's something you would have handled?
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1 A. No, someone calls me about a litigation
2 matter, I would speak to them generally. Whether or
3 not I would handle it or not, I'd need to know what the
4 case is about. I have no recollection of any
5 litigation with an Emmett Pace.
6 Q. Okay.
7 A. I think that's one of the files they went to
8 look at online to see if I ever was involved in it.
9 I've got no letters or documents. I mean, if you have
10 something that shows in his calendar that he met with
11 me in October and talked about somebody, show it to me.
12 I don't think it's going to help refresh my
13 recollection, because I've listened to his depo, I've
14 seen all the documents, and I still don't have a
15 recollection of him.
16 Q. Okay. Well, because you don't have a
17 recollection of it, does that mean that it didn't
18 happen?
19 A. Absolutely not.
20 Q. Okay.
21 A. No, I think it's likely that, I think it's
22 likely, based on everything I'm seeing, that he did
23 meet and talk with me at some point, especially judging
24 from this, that we opened a client number for him.
25 Because no other lawyer in the firm would decide that a
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1 case goes to Edwin Jonas or someone else, it would have
2 been me.
3 Q. Did you ever handle cases with Edwin Jonas?
4 A. I presume so.
5 Q. What was Edwin Jonas' role in the firm? Now
6 you've already said of counsel.
7 A. Right.
8 Q. Was he --
9 A. He, he -- I know that he had experience in
10 real estate. I didn't do any, you know, I do no
11 transactional work at all. And I represented a lot of
12 developers. I know that whenever there was a real
13 estate case that came in, a closing, I gave that to
14 him.
15 You know, other than that, I don't have a
16 recollection of what -- I see from this document that
17 I, he got involved in a code enforcement case. But I
18 have no -- I can't recall any specific case that I
19 worked on with him.
20 Q. Okay. I'm going to show you --
21 MR. HANNA: I'm going to mark this, what is
22 this?
23 THE REPORTER: B.
24 MR. HANNA: B?
25 (Plaintiff's Exhibit B).
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1 BY MR. HANNA:
2 Q. Can you tell us what that is?
3 A. This is a letter that you obtained and I
4 obtained from the Ocean Reef clerk, or Ocean --
5 Q. Ridge.
6 A. Ocean Ridge clerk.
7 Q. We know what you meant. Is this your, look
8 like your letterhead from 1998?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Who was Jeffrey Bennett?
11 A. Jeffrey Bennett was an associate in the firm,
12 and it's my brother-in-law.
13 Q. Okay.
14 A. What about Paul Feltman.
15 A. Paul Feltman was an associate in the firm.
16 Q. And Alexander Varkas, was he a partner or
17 member, shareholder, whatever it is was?
18 A. Yeah. Well, named.
19 Q. Yeah. Now how did Jeffrey Bennett function
20 in the firm?
21 A. He was paid a salary.
22 Q. Okay. But what kind of role? Would he --
23 A. He did litigation. All we did was
24 litigation.
25 Q. Now did they work separately or was it a
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1 team-type situation?
2 A. It depended on the case. I mean, there were
3 cases that associates had that I would supervise and
4 they would primarily be responsible for. Then there
5 were cases that Jeff and I went to the Florida Supreme
6 Court on. Depended on the case.
7 Q. Now how did, if it did function differently,
8 did Edward Jonas function for the firm?
9 A. That's what I'm telling you, he was there
10 for, for a defined period of time when he was trying to
11 establish in Florida, and had, you know, ten years or
12 more experience as a lawyer. And he handled -- I
13 didn't supervise him, you know. I didn't treat him
14 like an associate. I would send him things. And I
15 don't remember specifically, but I suspect that, you
16 know, if he handled it, he would bill for it and he
17 would get the fee. I, I have a vague recollection, but
18 it, I have no, I would not rely on it, that either,
19 either -- Because I own the building. So he had an
20 office. And I think that I credited -- If he did work
21 on one of my cases, I'd credit it towards his rent
22 maybe. Something like that, you know. It was some,
23 some, some dealing with the fact that he was, you know,
24 operating out of my building.
25 Q. Do you, do you think maybe you paid him
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1 hourly?
2 A. No, I don't think I paid him hourly. I think
3 I might have paid him for his time in a case or he got
4 his fees in the case, but I got a credit for what he
5 owed for rent. I have some general recollection,
6 something like that, but I could -- I would never swear
7 to it.
8 Q. Did he work on cases for you?
9 A. I don't remember what he worked on. I would
10 think, I would think that I had cases that he helped me
11 with.
12 Q. Okay.
13 A. But I, I can't remember one case that he
14 worked on. I haven't spoken to him in 15 years.
15 Q. Do you know where Edwin Jonas is?
16 A. No idea.
17 Q. Have you tried to find him?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Okay. Now regarding Paul Nicoletti, he was
20 the Ocean Ridge town attorney. Did you have any
21 contact with Mr. Nicoletti for the litigation involving
22 the Audubon property, Rich Lucibella?
23 A. I, I don't know.
24 Q. Okay.
25 A. I don't, I don't remember him. I remember
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1 that Ken Spillias was, was the attorney, I think, for
2 the Town. It's my recollection, now that you mention
3 it. I haven't thought about that for years. But I do
4 remember Ken. I've litigated with Ken on a number of
5 cases, and I seem to remember Ken was involved in
6 mediations in that case.
7 Q. How long did that case last?
8 A. I don't remember.
9 Q. Referring you back to Exhibit B, the letter.
10 It says Exhibit A on the bottom but it's really Exhibit
11 B.
12 A. The letter to Mr. Nicoletti?
13 Q. Yeah.
14 A. Which says Edwin Jonas, and then he, he typed
15 it looks like of counsel for firm under the stationery.
16 So that shows you what a transient arrangement it was.
17 Q. Well, who was, in the corner it says ERJ:CSE;
18 do you know who that would be?
19 A. Edward R. Jonas and Carol Eugene.
20 Q. Okay.
21 A. Who was a paralegal who then became a
22 paralegal for North Miami. I smile when I see those
23 initials because when I started practicing in 1980 she
24 was at, she's a, was a Haitian woman, who was about 20,
25 and she was studying at Miami Dade Junior College, and
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1 I was, got a call and was asked if we would consider
2 mentoring her. We did. She became a paralegal, and
3 she ultimately ended up working for the City of North
4 Miami Beach. She was with us for 10 or 15 years. It's
5 U-e-g-e-n-e. Carol Eugene. And I think she's in North
6 Miami. So that's, that's who typed the letter if you
7 want to contact her.
8 Q. Okay. Well, in the -- So it's possible she
9 typed "of counsel" for the firm?
10 A. Looks like a typewriter.
11 Q. Yeah.
12 A. So it's possible we even had a typewriter in
13 1990.
14 Q. I'm saying she -- You indicated Mr. Jonas
15 typed that in.
16 A. Well, I don't know who typed it. I, I don't
17 remember ever seeing this letter 'til, 'til I got it
18 from the clerk.
19 Q. Okay. In the second paragraph it says, "In
20 order to properly represent Mr. O'Hare at the Special
21 Master proceeding, we would need an additional 30 days
22 to prepare."
23 What do you take the "we" meaning?
24 A. I would think it would mean him and whoever
25 he's working with.
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1 Q. Okay. Would that have been possibly you?
2 A. Possibly me.
3 Q. You have no recollection of it?
4 A. I have absolutely no recollection of this.
5 Q. But based on this the firm, Sweetapple,
6 Broeker and Varkas, P.A. representing Christopher
7 O'Hare?
8 A. Well, I think that's a legal conclusion for
9 the judge. It's of counsel. The Settlement Agreement
10 says he represented the O'Hares, not the firm.
11 Q. Okay.
12 A. So that's a legal representation. You know,
13 I don't think any of this is even relevant to the, to
14 the determination based on, even if everything your
15 client said is true, I don't think that it, it
16 qualifies as a representation in the same or similar
17 matter under any stretch.
18 And, you know, my legal opinion, which I've
19 told you, is that this is just a bad faith litigation
20 strategy. Even if everything you said were true. But
21 I'm not here to give my legal opinion. I'll let the
22 judge decide if my firm was representing him.
23 Q. Why do you say that it's not similar? And
24 you make the representation it was similar.
25 A. Because you look at -- Because how, how -- It
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1 has nothing to do with --
2 Q. Okay.
3 A. -- anything that's happened 16 years later.
4 Q. Okay. Well, have --
5 A. It couldn't. Your whole argument's legally
6 preposterous, and I'll be, I'm obviously seeking fees
7 under 57.105. And I just filed my motion in the
8 O'Boyle case, and after we have our evidentiary hearing
9 in this case I expect I'll do the same thing.
10 Q. Okay. Well, you're making the argument that
11 it's not the similar case.
12 A. Did this case involve a group of individuals
13 filing thousands of public records requests to Gulf
14 Stream and other towns in the, in the state for
15 purposes of, of frustrating and abusing process and
16 closing governments and shaking down governments to get
17 attorney's fees for a law firm that we allege is not a
18 bona fide law firm?
19 Q. Where do you, where do you get the contention
20 that that's where, that's what they're doing?
21 A. I'm just -- I'm saying is that what this case
22 is -- That's what I think, that's what I think the
23 current litigation is going to. I'll be filing
24 pleadings that you'll have before this evidentiary
25 hearing. There'll be a number of pleadings filed. And
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1 when you see what this case is all about, I don't think
2 the litigation that you've described in 1998 had any
3 involvement with public records requests. I don't
4 think it had any involvement with the O'Boyle law firm.
5 I don't think it had any involvement with bogus, not
6 for profits that have been defrauding entities
7 throughout the state and holding themselves out as not
8 for profits. So we'll have, the judge will --
9 Q. Are you familiar, are you familiar with all
10 the cases Mr. O'Hare has filed?
11 A. I'm not appearing in all the cases
12 Mr. O'Hare's filed.
13 Q. Okay.
14 A. I haven't -- So, so, no, I'm not.
15 Q. You've indicated before that you are
16 appearing, you're entering appearances in all of
17 Mr. O'Hare's cases.
18 A. That's for you to testify to. I --
19 Q. Okay. You didn't send an e-mail to that
20 effect?
21 A. Not all his cases in terms of his, his -- I'm
22 handling the public records requests cases.
23 Q. That's all, that's all you're doing for the
24 Town of Ocean Ridge?
25 A. I intend to appear --
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1 Q. Sorry. The Town of Gulf Stream.
2 A. I intend to appear in all of his public
3 records request cases. There's insurance counsel and
4 other counsel in those cases.
5 Q. Did you ever make a representation that
6 you're going to be pursuing a civil RICO case against
7 Mr. O'Hare?
8 A. I'm not going to discuss confidential
9 settlement communications.
10 Q. That's not confidential settlement
11 communications. It's items that have been, that are
12 public record with Town of Gulf Stream.
13 A. I have, I have communicated with counsel on
14 that subject, and I'm not going to discuss those
15 communications.
16 Q. Have you discussed it with Mr. Morgan?
17 A. That's work product. I'm not going to
18 discuss it.
19 Q. That's the basis of your objection?
20 A. Yeah. Yeah, that's work product.
21 Q. Okay.
22 A. I think the Town is, has actually voted to
23 bring civil RICO claims against Mr. O'Hare and
24 Mr. O'Boyle, and I understand --
25 Q. But you have nothing to do with that?
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1 A. I'm not going to -- That's my work product.
2 MR. HANNA: I'm going to show you, we'll mark
3 this as Exhibit C.
4 (Plaintiff's Exhibit C).
5 THE WITNESS: This is a reference to your
6 public records request cases. I don't know if you
7 have other cases that you're involved in.
8 BY MR. HANNA:
9 Q. Well, are you familiar with Mr. O'Hare's
10 Federal lawsuit?
11 A. Just generally.
12 Q. Okay. Well, you know that that's a 1983
13 action civil rights case?
14 A. I haven't -- I don't, I'm not familiar with
15 that.
16 Q. Defamation?
17 A. I'm not familiar with that.
18 Q. It's not similar to -- Would those case,
19 would those cause of actions be similar to what you
20 were --
21 A. I'm not --
22 Q. -- threatening Ocean Ridge with?
23 A. I'm not handling, I'm not -- The federal case
24 I understand there's insurance counsel. Right?
25 Q. Right.
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1 A. I've not been asked to take over any federal
2 case. And I don't know if you're handling it or not
3 but... I'm, I'm -- Have you filed a motion to
4 disqualify me in the federal case?
5 Q. No.
6 A. I presume you filed them in the public
7 records request cases.
8 Q. Is that your, an e-mail from you, does that
9 fairly accurately depict the e-mail?
10 A. Yes. But this was in reference to our
11 discussion of public records request cases.
12 Q. That's an e-mail you sent me?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Yes.
15 MR. HANNA: Where are the -- do you have the
16 exhibits? I can't tell you how many times I've
17 walked out with exhibits in my hand.
18 THE WITNESS: I'm famous for it.
19 BY MR. HANNA:
20 Q. So, then, as we sit here today, the only
21 cases you're representing the Town of Gulf Stream
22 against Mr. O'Hare are public records cases; that's it?
23 A. No, the only case that I have appeared in is
24 a public records case.
25 Q. So --
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1 A. But I am not -- I, I, I have not -- I'm, I've
2 not been asked to appear in any federal case that's
3 pending.
4 Q. Okay. So under your rational, until you
5 actually file a lawsuit and you file, or file a notice
6 of appearance, there's no representation?
7 A. I'm not here to give legal opinions or legal
8 conclusions.
9 Q. It's not -- I'm asking you to clarify your
10 response. You're saying because you never entered an
11 appearance, or because no lawsuit's been filed, that
12 you don't represent the, the Town of Gulf Stream in
13 these cases?
14 A. Are you asking me a fact question?
15 Q. Yes.
16 A. Okay. I, I have not reviewed your federal
17 case.
18 Q. Okay.
19 A. I have not been asked to give any opinions on
20 your federal case. I have not given any opinions on
21 your federal case. There's insurance counsel that's
22 handling that case.
23 Q. What about the lawsuit that the Town of Gulf
24 Stream filed against Mr. O'Hare regarding Polo Cove?
25 A. I have not reviewed that file.
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1 Q. Okay.
2 A. Nor have I been asked to provide any legal
3 services on that case.
4 MR. HANNA: Why don't we take a quick break.
5 THE WITNESS: Okay.
6 (Off the record).
7 BY MR. HANNA:
8 Q. Back on. What color was your hair in 1997?
9 A. Probably all brown.
10 Q. Okay. That was from your deposition of
11 Chris, you wanted to know what color your hair was.
12 A. Probably all brown. I was being facetious I
13 think.
14 Q. Yeah.
15 A. I know that my daughter was born in February
16 of that year. So while Mrs. O'Hare talks about her
17 being distracted. I don't think I slept in 1998. I
18 remember the colic and the walking on the dune more
19 than anything else.
20 Q. All right. Let's get back to it. See what
21 I've already covered.
22 All right. Joel Chandler; do you know him?
23 A. I'm not going to discuss my work product and
24 conversations with Joel Chandler. I didn't know him, I
25 didn't know him in 1998.
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1 Q. Well, currently you're dealing with Joel
2 Chandler as part of the representation of the Town of
3 Gulf Stream?
4 A. I'm not going to discuss that.
5 Q. You haven't filed any affidavits from Joel
6 Chandler?
7 A. I'm not gonna, I'm not going to discuss my
8 work product with Joel Chandler.
9 Q. Well, did you use Joel Chandler to make the
10 allegations against Christopher O'Hare regarding civil
11 RICO?
12 A. I'm not going to discuss any of my
13 conversations regarding Mr. O'Hare in this litigation,
14 any of my discussion with witnesses, any of my work
15 product or research or anything else in this
16 litigation.
17 Q. What about the conversations you've had with
18 non Town personnel where you've made representations to
19 Mr. O'Hare that you were going to file civil RICO cases
20 against him?
21 A. I'm not going to discuss any communications
22 I've had with any witnesses or any individuals
23 regarding the litigation.
24 Q. Did Mr. Chandler ever make any statements
25 against Christopher O'Hare?
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1 A. I'm not going to, I'm not going to disclose
2 the communications I've had with Mr. Chandler regarding
3 Mr. O'Hare.
4 Q. Okay. Well, did you represent that you
5 stopped Joel Chandler from providing information about
6 Christopher O'Hare?
7 A. I'm not going to disclose my conversations
8 even with you regarding Mr. Chandler that were made
9 during confidential settlement and mediation
10 proceedings, but...
11 Q. You're asserting that because it occurred in
12 a settlement --
13 A. I'm not going to disclose my --
14 Q. Didn't you tell, didn't you tell --
15 A. The purpose for this deposition is
16 exclusively to determine whether or not your motion for
17 leave to disqualify me has any merit. The fact that
18 you're attempting to do something else that's not even
19 designed to solicit admissible evidence shows that, you
20 know, you're acting in bad faith.
21 Q. No.
22 A. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to testify
23 about --
24 Q. This is --
25 A. -- settlement negotiations.
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1 Q. Didn't you tell Mr. Desousa that settlement,
2 the privilege for settlement negotiations doesn't apply
3 in --
4 A. I'm not, I'm not going to give you legal
5 opinions or conversations with lawyers.
6 Q. Okay. Now with Mr. Chandler, the reason why
7 it would be relevant is because you told Mr. O'Hare and
8 others --
9 A. Mr. O'Hare?
10 Q. Yes.
11 A. -- that you stopped Joel Chandler from
12 discussing Mr. O'Hare when he gave his statement.
13 A. I have not spoken to Mr. O'Hare outside the
14 presence of any attorney. And I've only spoken to
15 Mr. O'Hare in a settlement conference that was deemed
16 to be a mediation conference.
17 Q. Do you remember telling me that you stopped
18 Mr. O'Hare --
19 A. I'm --
20 Q. -- or stopped Mr. Chandler from giving
21 information about Mr. O'Hare?
22 A. No, I'm not going to talk about our
23 conversations, other than to tell you that what you're
24 saying is false. I actually told you that I did not
25 have what Mr. O'Hare told me about Mr. -- Mr. Chandler
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1 told me about Mr. O'Hare on the videotape, that I had
2 the discussions with him after the videotape. And
3 Mr. Chandler has made statements to me regarding
4 Mr. O'Hare, but they are my work product.
5 Q. Okay.
6 A. And, and I think that would have been clear
7 to you because I was able to, to ask Mrs. O'Hare about
8 Mr. Chandler's presence at meetings with Mr. O'Hare and
9 his attorney and the things that were discussed between
10 Mr. Chandler and Mr. O'Hare.
11 Q. Okay. Well, what were those things that were
12 discussed between Mr. Chandler?
13 A. That's my work product. But it's pretty
14 clear from my questioning and from Mrs. O'Hare's
15 answers that obviously Mr. Chandler or someone has
16 given me information about Mr. O'Hare's involvement
17 with Mr. Chandler and their attempts to use public
18 records requests for their illicit and illegal
19 purposes.
20 And I actually read from an e-mail at Mr. --
21 Mrs. O'Hare's deposition where they talked about head
22 shots, targeting, making money. And while, while
23 Mrs. O'Hare talked about the fact that she thought it
24 was slimy; her testimony of who she was referring to
25 doesn't exactly jive with Mr. Chandler's. But when I
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1 take Mr. Chandler's depo next month, you'll find my
2 work product. And I will be taking Mr. Chandler's
3 deposition next month, in this case.
4 Q. Okay.
5 A. Because I want to have all of my discovery I
6 can have done before I file my amended pleadings in
7 this litigation, which I intend to do before the Motion
8 to Disqualify me is heard.
9 Q. All right, then. When did you meet Joel
10 Chandler?
11 A. I'm not going to disclose my work product.
12 Q. Do you have any e-mails or confidential
13 information from -- given to you by Joel Chandler from
14 Mr. O'Hare?
15 A. I'm not going to disclose my work product.
16 Q. Do you have any --
17 A. But if your, if you want non-work product, I
18 suggest you look at pleadings and responses that were
19 filed Friday in the case of Caffey (phonetic), an
20 alleged not-for-profit entity, that Mr. Ring is --
21 MS. O'CONNOR: Is that Lou Radar calling?
22 THE WITNESS: Is Lou trying to get on?
23 MR. HANNA: Oh, yeah. Chris, how do you get
24 Lou on?
25 MR. O'HARE: I'm sorry, what's going on?
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1 THE WITNESS: Mr. Ring, who is sitting here
2 is apparently a director of Caffey and an employee
3 or partner of Mr. O'Boyle's, as well as the
4 resident member of the O'Boyle law firm. And that,
5 that entity, Caffey, sued my law firm, and there is
6 a response that was filed Friday, as well as a
7 motion to transfer that case to Judge Blanc. And
8 if you read my response, I think you'll, you'll see
9 our legal position.
10 BY MR. HANNA:
11 Q. What's that motion regarding?
12 A. A motion for order to show cause. There's a
13 response to it that we filed that outlines the law.
14 Q. For what?
15 A. For whether or not documents are confidential
16 or not. Aside from the crime fraud exception and the
17 fact there was joint representation by Mr. Chandler by
18 the firm that Mr. Ring ran and the Caffey organization
19 that he ran, and Mr. O'Boyle. Who somehow, Mr. Mitch
20 Berger showed up before Judge Blanc and said that
21 Caffey had given him, Mr. O'Boyle's attorney all the
22 records that they say I have that are confidential.
23 But Mr. O'Boyle testified he has nothing to do with
24 Caffey, which is apparently contrary to everything that
25 I have been able to learn from my work product.
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1 But if you're interested in my legal
2 opinions, I'm not going to give them to you. And if
3 you're interested in my work product, I'm not going to
4 give it to you. If you'd like to see my legal position
5 with regard to the issue of confidentiality, I suggest
6 you look at the bogus lawsuit that Caffey has filed
7 against my law firm, alleging that there's an
8 appropriate order to show cause, and my response as to
9 why there's no privilege. If there was a privilege,
10 it's been waived. Why the crime fraud exception
11 creates no privilege because Caffey was involved in
12 fraudulent and criminal conduct.
13 Q. Do you have any documents from Joel Chandler
14 that were generated by Mr. O'Hare or any of his
15 attorneys?
16 A. I'm not going to disclose my work product at
17 this time.
18 Q. You've already, you've already indicated that
19 you've disclosed this to the court so...
20 A. I disclosed -- You have to read my pleading,
21 and you'll see the pleading.
22 Q. Isn't it true that a matter that's not
23 confidential in the client's hand isn't confidential
24 just because the lawyer has it?
25 A. I'm not going to debate the law with you. I
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1 just said, if you want to talk about Caffey, I'm making
2 you aware that there are pleadings --
3 Q. I'm not talking about Caffey.
4 A. -- that were filed.
5 Q. I'm talking about Christopher O'Hare.
6 A. Christopher O'Hare, what do you want, what do
7 you want -- You want my work product with regard to
8 Christopher O'Hare? Do you want to know what I'm
9 thinking? Do you want to know what I'm going to do?
10 Q. No, I want to know what you've been given by
11 a third person, that's not work product, that's
12 information, that's facts, it's documents.
13 A. Then I suggest you look at the other bogus
14 case that was filed which was the Caffey versus
15 Chandler file where I was subpoenaed, and there's a
16 memo in that case, as part of our motion for protective
17 order, that discusses when something's work product and
18 when it's not.
19 I'm asserting the work product privilege and
20 I'm happy to debate the law with the judge with you.
21 Q. What cases do you represent the Town of Gulf
22 Stream in versus Mr. O'Hare?
23 A. I'm not going to disclose that. I've told
24 you, cases I'm not, but I'm not going to disclose what
25 I am doing.
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1 Q. Do you remember a Sun Sentinel reporter named
2 Merl Augustin? Augustin. A-u-g-u-s-t-i-n?
3 A. I don't recognize that name.
4 Q. Do you remember them possibly from coverage
5 of the Ocean Ridge matters?
6 A. From when, 1998?
7 Q. Yes.
8 A. Which Ocean Ridge matter are you referring
9 to?
10 Q. The apartment complex that you were involved
11 in with the code enforcement?
12 A. I don't even recall being involved in an
13 apartment complex, much less a reporter. Do you have
14 some article you can show me that I'm quoted in?
15 Q. You've been given the articles that we have
16 regarding the incident. I'm not sure if you were
17 quoted in any of them.
18 A. I've looked. I didn't see my name anywhere,
19 and I didn't recognize or remember anything in the
20 article.
21 Q. That's what I'm asking you.
22 A. None.
23 Q. If it jogged any memory --
24 A. None.
25 Q. -- or did it help you remember anything?
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1 A. None.
2 Q. Di you ever represent Emil Dancui in regard
3 to Mizner Park?
4 A. I did.
5 Q. Did you ever have a retainer agreement with
6 him?
7 A. I don't recall. I, I represented him in a
8 suit against the City of -- I think a derivative suit.
9 I think I represented him as Mayor of Boca Raton. You
10 asked if I represented other entities.
11 Q. You also represented him in an ethics
12 violation?
13 A. Right. Because he did not -- Because I did
14 not charge him and I did it without a charge, as I
15 recall they deemed that to be a donation to him. I did
16 it as a public service when they tried to open a, a
17 business on land that was zoned for public use in
18 Mizner Park.
19 Q. Now when was that, what timeframe? Early
20 '90s, late 90s?
21 A. Let's see, Mizner Park opened in early '90s,
22 '90, I'd say it was '93, '94 that I represented the
23 Mayor of Boca Raton.
24 Q. And that involved a administrative hearing
25 with the State of Florida?
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1 A. Oh, that was after we filed the lawsuit. We
2 filed the lawsuit, as I recall Emil, I represented
3 Emil, and I filed the lawsuit saying that the city was
4 using public land for a private department store. And
5 then Mike Moskowitz, then after Emil filed it, a group
6 of citizens came in, they hired Mike Moskowitz, and the
7 development was stopped. And then Al Travasos, who was
8 a city councilman on the other side of the issue, filed
9 an ethics charge against Emil, and I went to
10 Tallahassee for that. And they found -- They
11 reprimanded him because he and I both candidly admitted
12 that I was not doing this for money, that I did it
13 because he asked me, because I thought it was the right
14 thing to do. And that was deemed to be a donation or,
15 or something.
16 Q. But the case itself involved land use and
17 lease agreements regarding the properties?
18 A. The land use -- The case involved a bond
19 issue that had designated specific areas of Mizner Park
20 to be used for public amenities; to wit museums. And
21 the Town attempted to locate a retail operation and it
22 signed a lease. And that was before Judge Redd, and I
23 think Scott Richardson was my co-counsel. Early -- I
24 mean, you're talking, now we're talking 30 years ago.
25 That's my best recollection.
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1 But normally I have a pretty good
2 recollection when, you know, people have, when I've
3 done something that I had some kind of involvement in.
4 That was a lawsuit and it went on for some time.
5 Q. Scott Morgan.
6 A. Scott Morgan.
7 Q. Yes.
8 A. Mayor of Gulf Stream.
9 Q. Did you know him before he was the Mayor?
10 A. Not well. But I knew, I knew him casually,
11 socially. Never represented him or had any dealings
12 with him.
13 Q. Now when you say socially. Were you guys
14 good friends or?
15 A. He had his -- No. His, one of his daughters
16 was at Gulf Stream when my oldest or second daughter
17 was there. And his son was at Gulf Stream when my
18 youngest daughter was there. So when he did go to the
19 school and I was at the school I would see him there.
20 Q. Okay. How did you become involved with these
21 lawsuits with Gulf Stream?
22 A. I'm not going to discuss my work product, my,
23 my communications with my client on that topic.
24 Q. Was it Scott Morgan that contacted you about
25 getting involved?
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1 A. I'm not going to discuss that.
2 Q. Before he was Mayor?
3 A. I'm not going to discuss that.
4 Q. And you represented Scott Morgan prior to
5 representing the town?
6 A. I appeared at a deposition of Scott Morgan.
7 Q. Okay. So that wasn't representing him?
8 A. I, I think it was in his individual capacity.
9 Q. But do you consider that representing him?
10 A. Well, that's a legal conclusion. But my
11 opinion would be that I represented him at a
12 deposition, yes.
13 Q. Well, is there, was there attorney/client
14 privilege between you and Scott Morgan as a result of
15 that representation or --
16 A. That's a legal conclusion.
17 Q. So as you stand here today, you don't know
18 whether you had attorney/client privilege with Scott
19 Morgan when you represented him during that deposition?
20 A. In other words, did I discuss something that
21 was privileged?
22 Q. Yes.
23 A. A, I'm not going to answer that, because if I
24 did it would be privileged. I appeared at a deposition
25 and made objections on the record so...
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1 Q. But you don't consider that to be
2 representation?
3 A. If I, if I -- I didn't say that. I said I
4 represented him in a deposition. Whether or not I had
5 lawyer/client communications with him that I would
6 consider privileged, that's privileged.
7 Q. I said do you feel that that would be
8 applicable to your communications?
9 A. Why are my feelings being asked about here?
10 Why aren't we dealing with --
11 Q. Not your feelings. I'm asking you, when you
12 represented Mr. Morgan individually, was there an
13 attorney/client relationship?
14 A. That's a legal conclusion. And, and I don't
15 think it has -- I'm not going to discuss other, other
16 legal work I've done for people.
17 Q. Well, did you -- Do you have to have a
18 representation contract for there to be attorney/client
19 privileged relationship involved?
20 A. Why are you, why are you asking me to give
21 legal opinions on matters that are obvious black letter
22 law? I served as the vice chair of the Ethics
23 Committee for the Florida Bar for many years. You know
24 and I know that for there to be a lawyer/client
25 representation there doesn't have to be a written
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1 agreement, there doesn't have to be payment. There's
2 all kinds of cases on this.
3 Q. Thank you.
4 A. Okay. So --
5 Q. So what's the answer to my question?
6 A. So if you're, if you're saying that
7 subjectively Mr. O'Hare thought I was his lawyer on
8 something, you're going to make that argument to the
9 Court. But my opinion on what the state of the Florida
10 law is on that subject is really unnecessary.
11 Q. Have you ever testified as an expert before?
12 A. I have. On dozens of occasions.
13 Q. Okay. Do you consider yourself an expert in
14 the legal field?
15 A. Depends on the area.
16 Q. Okay. Well, regarding client relationships?
17 A. I have testified dozens of times on the topic
18 of legal fees, because I was the chair of the Fee
19 Arbitration Committee in Dade County for many years.
20 And I'm not here as an expert, you haven't paid me. If
21 you want to call an expert at the time of our hearing
22 to disqualify me, you're welcome to do whatever you
23 need to do.
24 But I'm not here as an expert. I'm not going
25 to give you my legal opinions. Even though I
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1 volunteered a couple of them to you so I get you to
2 move on to something relevant.
3 But what, what, why do you want to know if
4 I'm, if I'm a legal expert?
5 Q. Well, I'm asking you some questions regarding
6 whether you had a representation agreement with a
7 client. You've already testified that --
8 A. That's not calculated to lead to discovery of
9 admissible evidence in this case, and I'm not going to
10 answer it. Keep going. I'm not going to talk about my
11 other clients.
12 Q. Okay. Mr., Mr. O'Hare, did you represent him
13 or not? Yes or no?
14 A. I -- I, I don't have any recollection of
15 Mr. O'Hare.
16 Q. Despite seeing the memorandum, despite seeing
17 your letterhead signed by Edwin Jonas --
18 A. Mm-hmm.
19 Q. -- you do not feel that you had any
20 represent -- any attorney/client relationship with
21 Mr. O'Hare in 1998?
22 A. I have no recollection of having any
23 communication with Mr. O'Hare at all. None whatsoever.
24 I don't, I don't -- I didn't recognize Mr. O'Hare when
25 he came up to me at City Hall. So whether or not the
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1 documents you have produced and Mr. O'Hare's testimony
2 will establish a lawyer/client relationship or the
3 extent of it will be decided by Judge Blanc; not me.
4 Do you have a retainer agreement? Do you
5 have a billing? Do you have, do you have any notes?
6 Do you have a memo to him? An e-mail? We didn't have
7 e-mails. Do you have any communication between he and
8 I?
9 He's testified as if I've been to his house,
10 I've been to the City Hall with him. He made all these
11 allegations in his motion before he went looking for
12 records. And then you went scrambling to City Hall to
13 see what you could find. And I've heard about press
14 conferences. It seems that Mr. O'Hare has a very
15 active recollection of my events.
16 Q. So Mr. O'Hare's delusional, then?
17 A. I don't know if he's delusional, but he seems
18 to be making statements about a representation that
19 doesn't seem to be borne out by any documents I've
20 seen. I've asked repeatedly, do you have something
21 concrete to refresh my recollection? He's testified
22 about payments. He said he got money, put money in my
23 trust account and got a refund. I looked at my, my
24 billing package and there's no, no trust account
25 deposit. Normally my retainers on litigation are
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1 nonrefundable. And my initial retainer is a
2 nonrefundable retainer. So if he got a refund, that
3 would indicate to me that that's outside the norm of my
4 practice, A. And, B, how much work would I have done
5 if I would have given him a refund? But my records
6 show no time in my system for me representing
7 Mr. O'Hare.
8 Q. But those --
9 A. And I make a living filling out time slips
10 and getting paid for my time.
11 Q. Those records aren't your complete file in
12 this matter.
13 A. They could be. They could be. I may not
14 have anything more than that. I may not have ever had
15 any more than that. That's why I'm waiting for
16 Mr. O'Hare, who has made all of these statements under
17 oath, to show me something that bears this out where I
18 represented him in litigation with his neighbor, where
19 I represented him with regard to a State Attorney.
20 Where I, you know, was at a press conference, where I
21 was at City Hall with him. Where I came to his home,
22 you know. I'm, I'm waiting, I'm waiting to see just
23 how senile I am.
24 Q. So Mr. O'Hare's testimony regarding that
25 isn't sufficient in your mind?
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1 A. I, I attend, either myself or to have counsel
2 there, and I think Mr. O'Hare is subject to
3 considerable impeachment, but that's just my legal
4 opinion. This isn't the place to debate it. The place
5 to do that is in the courtroom, and we will.
6 Q. Did you represent Shelly O'Hare also?
7 A. I, I saw Mrs. O'Hare for the first time at
8 that deposition. I don't remember ever seeing her in
9 my life. I don't remember ever being at her house. I
10 don't believe I was ever at City Hall with Mr. O'Hare.
11 And she testified she was in the Class of '74. I was
12 in the Class of '72 at Nova High School. Maybe I saw
13 her in high school. I don't even know what her maiden
14 name was.
15 Q. Well, if Shelly O'Hare was the owner of the
16 building, the subject building --
17 A. She wasn't.
18 Q. If she was --
19 A. That's a hypothetical. She wasn't.
20 Q. Okay.
21 MR. HANNA: (Handing). Mark these as -- What
22 are they? Where are we at? C and D?
23 THE REPORTER: D.
24 MR. HANNA: D and E. Take a look at those.
25 MS. O'CONNOR: Which one's D and which one's
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1 E?
2 MR. HANNA: The 2000 -- Hold on a second.
3 The 1996 deed is D, and E would be the March 1st,
4 2001, deed.
5 (Plaintiff's Exhibit D and E).
6 THE WITNESS: So you're testifying she owned
7 it with Mr. O'Hare?
8 BY MR. HANNA:
9 Q. Yes. There was --
10 A. The Settlement Agreement said to the
11 contrary; didn't it?
12 Q. No, the Settlement Agreement was signed by
13 Shelly O'Hare also.
14 A. Some document referred to a --
15 Q. No, this was the deeds for these properties.
16 A. Yeah, but one of the documents you show me
17 from, at the deposition, referred to an entity, an LLC
18 or something.
19 Q. Right. That's what they -- In March 2001
20 they sold the property or transferred the property to
21 Ocean Ridge Holdings, LLC, in 2001. '96 they owned it
22 together.
23 A. Okay.
24 Q. The code enforcement hearings were against
25 them personally.
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1 A. Personally? Okay. Well, then, that makes me
2 feel like Mr. Jonas at least had the right parties on
3 the Settlement Agreement.
4 Q. Okay.
5 A. When I look at this now. Because the
6 Settlement Agreement referred to them individually, and
7 at the depo there was a reference to an LLC owning it.
8 But that occurred after the settlement.
9 Q. So as part of the representation, your firm
10 would have represented Shelly O'Hare also?
11 A. I don't even concede that my firm represented
12 Mr. O'Hare. I think that Mr. Jonas did. I made a
13 phone call for Mr. O'Hare based on that memo.
14 Q. So when you made that phone call, you don't
15 consider that to be representation?
16 A. That will be for the judge to decide. I,
17 I --
18 Q. Okay.
19 A. I would think that if you make a phone call
20 for somebody, that could be deemed representation.
21 Q. Okay.
22 A. I think, I think that --
23 Q. But your position is that you did not
24 represent Christopher O'Hare?
25 A. My, my position is I don't even recall him.
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1 Q. Okay.
2 A. And all I have is what you, what I've gotten
3 from the clerk of --
4 Q. Do you remember conversations with Edwin
5 Jonas about the O'Hare case?
6 A. No.
7 Q. Okay. Do you remember if you referred the
8 case to Edwin Jonas?
9 A. The only thing that has refreshed my
10 recollection about any of this are the documents you've
11 shown me here and the Settlement Agreement which has
12 his name on it, and the fact that it was a Monday and
13 it shows who was there and I wasn't, and last week
14 when, pursuant to your subpoena, they gave me a screen
15 shot of Mr. O'Hare and it has Mr. Jonas' initials on
16 April 6th, the day before he wrote the letter that he
17 signed of counsel.
18 Q. How far back do the financial records go for
19 your firm?
20 A. For the Day Pics records?
21 Q. Whatever the financial records indicating
22 whether there was a deposit made.
23 A. I don't know. I haven't asked.
24 Q. Okay.
25 A. That, the Day Pics records I presume go back
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1 from when we started with Day Pics.
2 Q. When did you -- What is Day Pics?
3 A. That was the program that we used for, for
4 generating bills.
5 Q. Case management --
6 A. Case management.
7 Q. -- system? Like Client Profiles?
8 A. It's a dinosaur.
9 Q. Time Slips, whatever?
10 A. It's a dinosaur.
11 Q. It's not Client Profiles at least.
12 A. Compared to what I have now it's a dinosaur
13 but...
14 Q. Well, did you check any bank records?
15 A. I don't have bank records back to 1998.
16 Q. Okay. So those records wouldn't exist
17 currently?
18 A. I imagined if we knew which bank. I mean, I
19 think I banked with Boca Bank when I --
20 Q. Okay.
21 A. In the '90s. I don't think Boca Bank -- I
22 don't even know who Boca Bank is now.
23 Q. So it probably would be impossible to get
24 those?
25 A. I'm speculating. I haven't tried. I thought
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1 Mr. O'Hare, based on his testimony in his deposition,
2 would have, have some documentation to help refresh my
3 recollection.
4 Q. And the name --
5 A. To solidify his position.
6 Q. And the name of the bank that you had was
7 Boca Bank?
8 A. I remember I banked with Boca Bank for some
9 time in the '90s. And they were at Mizner Park. And
10 Phil Pye was the president.
11 Q. Have you read any of the Florida Statutes
12 regarding the public records law?
13 A. Sure.
14 Q. Have you --
15 A. Are we here to get my legal opinion on public
16 records law which is the subject of our litigation?
17 Q. I'm going to ask you some questions about
18 this particular case.
19 A. I'm not going to answer questions in a Motion
20 For Leave to Disqualify me --
21 Q. Okay.
22 A. -- about the underlying lawsuit and the law
23 that pertains to it.
24 Q. Didn't you just in Shelly O'Hare's deposition
25 take the contrary position, that that was appropriate
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1 subject matter to inquire with her about?
2 A. I can ask witnesses questions, material
3 witnesses and parties. I'm the lawyer in this case,
4 Mr. Hanna. There's a whole different standard. I
5 could have moved for a protective order as to my depo,
6 but because I wanted to have a complete record of the
7 testimony as it relates to your Motion to Disqualify, I
8 agreed to appear before you even subpoenaed me.
9 But I'm not going to debate the law that
10 underlies this litigation. Except in the courtroom.
11 Q. Did you take part in filing the Bar complaint
12 against Jonathan O'Boyle?
13 A. I'm not going to testify about any
14 administrative or criminal proceedings that have been
15 filed by anybody. And I'm certainly not going to
16 discuss Bar complaints, which I presume are to be
17 confidential.
18 Q. Do you have your --
19 A. Are you, are you referring to Mr. Chandler's
20 sworn affidavit that was filed that concerned
21 allegations of Jonathan O'Boyle's felony practice of
22 law in the State of Florida? Unauthorized practice of
23 law? That's, that's --
24 Q. No. What are you talking about?
25 A. Mr., Mr. Chandler's affidavit was filed in
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1 one or more of these public records cases. I think in
2 the Caffey case as well. And he's made allegations
3 that Mr. Jonathan O'Boyle was practicing law full-time
4 in the State of Florida, was not licensed, was handling
5 cases, was taking over cases. But that's, that's,
6 that's filed -- that's his testimony in a, in a case,
7 and that will go to the issue of whether or not the
8 O'Boyle law firm has any entitlement to fees when we
9 get to that juncture in the pleadings, which we're not
10 there yet.
11 But as to a Bar complaint, I would presume
12 that that would be confidential, and I'm not going to
13 testify or talk about Bar complaints.
14 Q. Well, the affidavit from Joel Chandler, where
15 was that? That was filed in something?
16 A. Yeah. It's been filed repeatedly in cases.
17 It's filled in the O'Boyle case. It's filed in the
18 Caffey case. It's a matter of public record.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. And he goes into great detail.
21 Q. Did you file that in any of Mr. O'Hare's
22 cases or was it filed in Mr. O'Hare's cases?
23 A. I don't think it's been filed in Mr. O'Hare's
24 case.
25 Q. Does it mention Mr. O'Hare?
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1 A. I have to look -- You have to look at it and
2 see. It's a matter of public record.
3 Q. What about his sworn statement, was that
4 filed with anything?
5 A. I'm not going to testify -- I'm not going to
6 disclose my work product in that regard. I've
7 disclosed to you public records.
8 Q. That's what I'm asking you, if his statement
9 was filed in anything?
10 A. I'm not going to disclose where that, that
11 has gone. If anywhere.
12 Q. And what's the basis for not discussing the
13 bar complaints?
14 A. Work product and confidentiality of
15 proceedings, pursuant to Florida law.
16 Q. Okay. Did you meet with Scott Morgan prior
17 to his deposition on March 26th?
18 A. I'm not going to discuss my meetings or
19 discussions with people.
20 (Thereupon, Mr. King left the room).
21 Q. So anything that I ask you regarding Scott
22 Morgan and any communications you've had with him,
23 you're not going to answer?
24 A. Not in the context of me --
25 Q. Okay.
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1 A. -- providing any legal representation or
2 something he might deem was legal representation. It's
3 the client's right to decide subjectively whether or
4 not I was an attorney, and to decide subjectively
5 whether or not they communicated to me in a
6 confidential manner, as you know.
7 So I would never presume to disclose what
8 people said to me until I've spoken to that person and
9 had their permission. Because I don't want to be the
10 subject of a Bar complaint, because I haven't yet.
11 Q. Now regarding the public records cases that
12 are pending by Mr. O'Hare and the Town of Gulf Stream;
13 you've made an appearance in one case?
14 A. That's correct.
15 Q. Why did you make an appearance in one case
16 and not the others?
17 A. Well, you filed a motion to disqualify me,
18 and I thought the best thing to do was before filing my
19 pleadings and amending my pleadings and filing answers,
20 affirmative defenses and counterclaims, that I owed it
21 to Mr. O'Hare, and the court system, to let the judge
22 decide whether or not you filed this motion in bad
23 faith as a litigation strategy, or whether or not the
24 Court thinks there's any merit to it whatsoever. And
25 you filed a motion to disqualify me --
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1 Q. Why would it be --
2 A. You filed a motion to disqualify me in cases
3 I haven't even appeared in yet.
4 Q. The cases you indicated that you were going
5 to be filing an appearance in.
6 A. Right.
7 Q. You filed a notice of appearance in, when in
8 this case, 17717?
9 A. I don't know the date I filed that.
10 Q. April 30th?
11 A. It's a matter of record.
12 Q. Okay. So you file a motion, you file an
13 appearance in one case in April?
14 A. Mm-hmm.
15 Q. You don't file any other appearances until
16 September 8th when you indicated that you're going to
17 be involved in all the cases against Mr. O'Hare in
18 Gulf, against Gulf Stream. How is that bad faith, or
19 how is that litigation strategy, to file the motion to
20 disqualify, after you notify us that you're going to be
21 taking on all the cases?
22 A. Mr. Hanna --
23 Q. Yes.
24 A. -- I'm not going to argue my case with you.
25 It's my legal opinion, as often is the case, that
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1 opposing parties file motions to disqualify counsel
2 because they don't want that counsel to be litigating
3 against them and to try to stop the litigation.
4 Your, your theory, your theory that any of
5 the representation that I'm undertaking for Gulf Stream
6 in any way relates to anything that I achieved for
7 Mr. O'Hare in 1998 is so preposterous that it's silly.
8 The cases and the ethics opinions say that means I have
9 to be attacking a result I obtained for him in the
10 prior representation. That's the standard. Okay? I
11 have to be doing something now that actually affects a
12 result I obtained for him in 1998.
13 Mrs. O'Hare's statements that I know
14 Mr. O'Hare's mind or, or your, your ridiculous
15 pleadings that Gulf Stream borders Ocean Ridge, okay,
16 are legally preposterous.
17 Q. Okay.
18 A. You are wasting everyone's time and money.
19 That's my opinion.
20 Q. Okay. Your opinion --
21 A. So don't ask me --
22 Q. We're talking about your opinion here. If a
23 client discloses --
24 A. I'm not going to keep debating my opinions
25 with you.
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1 Q. A client discloses to you mental health or
2 healthcare information to the lawyer --
3 A. Mm-hmm.
4 Q. -- and the lawyer could use that in
5 representing his new client; isn't that true?
6 A. Okay. I'm not going to debate --
7 Q. You're making these statements but you don't
8 want, you don't want to back it up.
9 A. Because you keep wanting to have an argument
10 with me about the law.
11 Q. I'm not --
12 A. Let's do it in court.
13 Q. You're making these arguments that that's
14 not a --
15 A. Okay.
16 Q. How could Mr. O'Hare's, your prior
17 representation of Mr. O'Hare, how could he -- how could
18 you possibly use that against Mr. O'Hare in his current
19 litigation. You sent Mr. O'Hare to a mental healthcare
20 professional.
21 A. No, I didn't.
22 Q. Yes, you did.
23 A. I don't think, I don't think Dr. King is a
24 psychologist or a psychiatrist.
25 Q. He's a psychotherapist.
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1 A. He's not, he's not a mental healthcare
2 professional. He's a counselor.
3 Q. So Dr. King is not a mental, mental health --
4 A. I don't -- I wouldn't use that term for him.
5 I don't think he's a psychiatrist --
6 Q. What do you call him?
7 A. -- or a psychologist.
8 Q. What would you call him?
9 A. I'd call him a counselor.
10 Q. Okay. He doesn't provide mental healthcare
11 services?
12 A. That's a conclusion I can't even reach. I
13 don't know.
14 Q. Well, you've --
15 A. I've never seen --
16 Q. -- you've made the conclusion before when you
17 referred people to him.
18 A. He's --
19 Q. You talked about the daughter of somebody
20 that had anorexia --
21 A. Right.
22 Q. -- or wasn't eating.
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. That's not a mental health issue?
25 A. No, but he sends people to various doctors
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1 and to professionals and rehab, and he's been involved
2 in putting people in rehab, sending them to eating
3 disorder people, psychiatrists. He works with
4 psychologists. He's done anger management classes.
5 He's done all kinds of counseling.
6 Q. Okay.
7 A. I don't know that I would call him a mental
8 health professional. I mean, you could call him that I
9 guess. I don't know the definition.
10 What I'm suggesting to you, Mark, is that I
11 don't think your motion is bona fide. This isn't the
12 place to discuss that. Let's try it before the judge.
13 You think it's going to take three hours. I think it's
14 going to take 30-minutes.
15 Q. 30 minutes after a five hour deposition?
16 A. Listen, we'll, we'll --
17 THE REPORTER: I'm sorry?
18 THE WITNESS: We'll discuss this some other
19 time. I've given you my, my opinion. I'm sitting
20 here answering your questions about my involvement
21 in 1998.
22 BY MR. HANNA:
23 Q. Which you --
24 A. That you --
25 Q. -- you have no recollection of having any
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1 involvement; that's right?
2 A. I had -- I don't remember Mr. O'Hare at all.
3 Q. You don't remember referring Mr. O'Hare to
4 Heath King?
5 A. That's the fourth time you've asked me that
6 question.
7 Q. Yes. Do you remember referring Mr. O'Hare to
8 Heath King?
9 A. I do not remember ever talking to Mr. O'Hare.
10 I don't remember ever meeting him. And what I've said
11 to you, on at least three occasions is, it was my, it
12 has been my practice, since at least 25 years ago, that
13 for any number of reasons I have, I have recommended 50
14 to a hundred, maybe more than a hundred people, that if
15 they have any kind of issue at all that involves
16 anything, emotional, social, interpersonal, that I,
17 that I give them his name. And I have been, you
18 know --
19 Q. That, that has been your answer three or four
20 times.
21 My question is, do you recall specifically
22 referring Chris O'Hare to Heath King?
23 A. Okay.
24 Q. Not speculating on what you have done with
25 other people. I'm talking about this specific
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1 instance. Do you remember; yes or no?
2 A. Let me, let me try again. Let me try again.
3 No for the third or fourth time to that exact answer.
4 And what I'm going to do, at the end of the deposition,
5 is I'm going to have an associate make a list of every
6 time you've asked the same question, and then we'll ask
7 the judge whether or not I should get fees for being
8 here.
9 Q. Typical, the threatening.
10 A. I'm not threatening. I'm saying that's what
11 I'm going to do. Because you don't understand that
12 you're asking the same --
13 Q. Because you editorialize every time someone
14 asks you a yes or no question?
15 A. We're here, we're here at 20 of two. I've
16 told you no, but I've told you also that if Mr. O'Hare
17 says that I recommended Heath King to him, that's
18 likely true. Because that would be very consistent
19 with my pattern of practice. And as I said to you and
20 him prior to this depo, and I've said twice in this
21 depo, the fact that he says that makes me believe that
22 he and I discussed Heath King and that I recommended
23 Heath King for some reason.
24 Q. What about the fact that Mr. O'Hare says that
25 you discussed his mental health and issues that were
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1 going on in his life?
2 A. I don't have any recollection of that at all.
3 And, and I -- I don't.
4 Q. So you believe part of it but not all of it?
5 MS. O'CONNOR: Objection. Mischaracterizes
6 his testimony.
7 THE WITNESS: I'm speculating. I'm
8 speculating. I have, I have no recollection at all
9 of Mr. O'Hare or speaking to him. So I'm
10 speculating that what he said about Heath King is
11 accurate.
12 MR. HANNA: Let's take a quick break.
13 THE WITNESS: Okay.
14 (Off the record).
15 MR. HANNA: One last inquiry.
16 MR. O'HARE: Are we back on the record?
17 MR. HANNA: Yeah.
18 MR. O'HARE: Okay.
19 BY MR. HANNA:
20 Q. Do you have a situation with Delray Beach, or
21 Deerfield Beach, the Deerfield Beach Club?
22 A. I have a lawsuit, yes, I'm representing.
23 Q. What does that involve?
24 A. It's a matter of public record. There's a
25 lawsuit pending regarding land use of oceanfront
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1 property.
2 Q. Is there any --
3 A. It's almost settled, but we're waiting for a
4 vote of the council to approve a settlement. There's a
5 stay that's been entered.
6 Q. Now did you put a mobile trailer on to the
7 property?
8 A. My client did, yes.
9 Q. Who's your client?
10 A. Deerfield Beach Club, LLC.
11 Q. Are you a member?
12 A. I'm, I'm a member. I think it's in a
13 corporation I'm the president.
14 Q. Okay. What was the purpose of putting the
15 trailer on the beach?
16 A. To use it. It's got paddle boards in it and
17 beach chairs and suntan lotion and coolers, and I think
18 right now my son is there with about eight of his
19 college friends playing volleyball and hanging out.
20 Q. Would you consider the parking of the trailer
21 to be harassment?
22 A. No. It's perfectly legal. It's a lawful use
23 of the property.
24 Q. Okay. So actually using, doing something
25 that's legal or you have a right to do wouldn't be
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1 considered harassment?
2 A. It depends. You can -- Legal actions can be
3 harassment. There are things you can do that are legal
4 that are harassment. You're asking me a legal opinion
5 in certain matters, sure.
6 Q. How many times have you sued the, or
7 threatened to sue the City of Boca Raton?
8 A. How many times have I sued them?
9 Q. Or threatened to sue them.
10 A. I don't know. In terms of actually suing
11 them... I sued them in the Emil Dancui case. I sued
12 them in a land use case in the '90s that I, that I got
13 a summary judgment from Judge Baker on involving the
14 redevelopment of Palmetto Park Road.
15 Most of the time I've litigated with them
16 they've been the plaintiff, eminent domain. How many
17 times have I sued them, other than those two... Land
18 use, other land use cases? I can't think of any other
19 cases where I've sued them other than those two.
20 Q. Were those multiple clients or a single
21 client?
22 A. The case, the case that we got a summary
23 judgment before Moses Baker in 1998 or whatever that
24 changed the land use on Boca Raton Road was a two
25 plaintiffs case.
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1 Q. What percentage of your, of the lawsuits that
2 you have handled, how many would you say that were
3 against a government body?
4 A. What percentage?
5 Q. Yeah.
6 A. Five.
7 Q. Five percent. Over the years?
8 A. Yeah.
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. Maybe less. The adage is you don't sue City
11 Hall unless you can win.
12 Q. That question was how many times you've sued,
13 percentage that you've actually sued, represented a
14 party against a government entity?
15 A. Against any government entity?
16 Q. Yeah.
17 A. I'd still say about five percent. I mean,
18 I -- You don't, you don't take on litigation against
19 governments unless you are well funded and you have a
20 clear claim. So I've -- You know, I'm talking about --
21 I mean, I have a case against Sunrise in federal court
22 now. I have a case that we just filed against Palm
23 Beach Gardens. I would say if I have a hundred cases
24 in my office, I never have more than five against a
25 government entity.
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1 Q. And the other 95 percent, who are they?
2 A. They're commercial, general, you know, gamut
3 of civil litigation. But non-PI, non-domestic.
4 Q. Okay.
5 A. You're not going to ask me what I want for
6 Christmas?
7 Q. What do you want for Christmas?
8 A. I don't know. World peace?
9 Q. That's a copout answer.
10 A. Pretty funny. I keep telling my family
11 there's nothing I need but that's because I don't want
12 them to spend any more money.
13 Q. Same with me. Don't get me any gifts.
14 A. Please, let's stop the shopping now.
15 Q. Last minute gifts are usually expensive.
16 A. Oh, boy. I'm going to leave here and go to
17 the bank.
18 MR. HANNA: All right. I don't have anything
19 further.
20 THE WITNESS: Okay. Thank you very much. I
21 hope you guys have a great holiday. I'll read.
22 MS. O'CONNOR: He'll read.
23 (Proceedings were concluded at 2:34 p.m.)
24
25
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1 CERTIFICATE OF OATH
2
3 STATE OF FLORIDA
4 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH
5
6 I, Mary Hengstler, the undersigned authority,
7 certify that ROBERT SWEETAPPLE personally appeared
8 before me and was duly sworn.
9
10 WITNESS my hand and official seal this 26th day of
11 January, 2015.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 _____________________________
20 Mary Hengstler
21 Notary Public, State of Florida
22 My Commission #EE147085
23 Expires: December 23, 2015
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6a281478-857d-471b-9e71-80559ed1289aElectronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
Electronically signed by Mary Hengstler (501-151-220-3837)
561-689-0999
Florida Court Reporting
Page 103
1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2
3 THE STATE OF FLORIDA, )
)
4 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH. )
5 I, MARY ANN HENGSTLER, Registered
6 Professional Reporter, do hereby certify that I was
7 authorized to and did stenographically report the
8 foregoing deposition; and that the transcript is a true
9 and correct transcription of the testimony given by the
10 witness.
11 I further certify that I am not a relative,
12 employee, attorney or counsel of any of the parties,
13 nor am I a relative or employee of any of the parties'
14 attorney or counsel connected with the action, nor am I
15 financially interested in the action.
16 Dated this 26th day of January, 2015.
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22 _______________________________
MARY ANN HENGSTLER, RPR-CP
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