HomeMy Public PortalAboutMichael G. Ahearn transcript 1/28/151
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO: 9:14-cv-80317-DMM
MARTIN O'BOYLE,
Plaintiff,
VS.
TOWN OF GULF STREAM, and WILLIAM THRASHER,
Defendants.
DEPOSITION OF
MICHAEL G. AHEARN
TAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENDANTS
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
1:55 p.m. - 3:25 p.m.
2455 East Sunrise Boulevard
10th Floor
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Theresa Tomaselli, RMR
ESQUIRE
January 28, 2015
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 2
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
On behalf of the Plaintiff
THE O'BOYLE LAW FIRM, P.C.
BY: GIOVANI MESA, ESQUIRE
1286 West Newport Center Drive
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442
Tel: 954.574.6885
Fax: 954.360.0807
E-mail: gmesa@oboylelawfirm.com
On behalf of the Defendants
JOHNSON, ANSELMO, MURDOCH,
BURKE, PIPER & HOCHMAN, P.A.
BY: HUDSON C. GILL, ESQUIRE
2455 East Sunrise Boulevard
Suite 1000
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Tel: 954.463.0100
Fax: 954.463.2444
E-mail: hgill@jambg.com
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 3
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INDEX OF EXAMINATION
2
WITNESS
PAGE
3
MICHAEL G. AHEARN
4
DIRECT EXAMINATION
4
5
BY MR. GILL
6
7
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
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EXHIBIT DESCRIPTION
PAGE
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10
Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 1 - Subpoena
4
Duces Tecum
11
Defendant's I.D. Composite Exhibit No. 2 -
7
12
Complete File
13
Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 3 - Curriculum
17
Vitae
14
Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 4 - Witness's
25
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report
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(Original Exhibits have been attached to the
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original transcript.)
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
DEPOSITION OF MICHAEL G. AHEARN
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
January 28, 2015
4
MICHAEL G. AHEARN
having been first duly sworn, testifies as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GILL:
Q. Please state your name for the record.
A. Michael, initial G., Ahearn, A -h -e -a -r -n.
Q. Mr. Ahearn, you are an attorney; are you not?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. So you understand what a deposition is?
A. Yes.
Q. And you understand the process?
A. Yes.
Q. I can forego the rules?
A. Absolutely.
MR. GILL: We will mark this as the first
exhibit.
(Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 1 - Subpoena
Duces Tecum was marked for identification.)
BY MR. GILL:
Q. Back on the record. Mr. Ahearn, did you
receive a subpoena to be here today?
A. Yes, I did.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 Q. And is that what was marked as Exhibit 1?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. And the subpoena asked you to bring certain
4 documents with you; did it not?
5 A. Yes, it did.
6 Q. And did you do that?
7 A. I have some, not all.
8 Q. Okay. Why didn't you bring all the documents
9 with you?
10 A. My assistant has my billing file on this
11 right now, and she -- basically, I have not billed this
12 file to the client yet. I can have it to you no later
13 than Friday if you need it, but essentially right now,
14 she has my handwritten notes which basically needs to be
15 transcribed over into a bill.
16 Also, one of the issues was that I realized
17 that we have not segregated our billing in this case
18 because I've been represented in two different matters
19 regarding the same Plaintiff, so we need to go back and
20 do that again.
21 Other than that, I do have the other
22 documents you requested.
23 Q. Just so I'm clear, what you do not have is
24 your billing records?
25 A. Correct. You asked for my bills, but then I
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 don't have -- I have never tendered them a bill yet.
2 You did ask for any notes -- I guess I call them
3 notes -- that I have regarding what my -- basically,
4 that I took notes, establishing my bill, which then I
5 would turn over to my assistant. She would then
6 generate a form bill for. So I don't have those
7 handwritten notes either.
8 Q. Okay. But they are all related to billing?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And you said you can provide those by Friday?
11 A. Absolutely.
12 Q. Okay. I can give you my e-mail address.
13 That's fine.
14 A. That's fine.
15 Q. Or paper copies. Okay.
16 What did you bring with you?
17 A. I have a copy of my CV. I have my Terms of
18 Engagement between myself and the client. I have my
19 report, the First Amended Complaint, and the Order on
20 the Motion to Dismiss. I believe that there is a cover
21 letter that I do not have here that, again, I did
22 provide to the client with my terms of engagement,
23 laying out my request for the actual retainer.
24 And, again, I'll provide a copy of that to
25 you as well when I send over everything else on Friday.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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Q. And can we mark those as like one composite
exhibit, what your file is that you brought with you?
A. Yep. And there's a copy of your subpoena.
Q. Okay.
A. This is it.
Q. Okay. So will you organize it how you keep
it organized, or what you consider the best way to
organize it?
A. Okay. Do you want me to just give you as a
composite after, or do you want to put it all together
now?
Q. Let's put it all together now and we can mark
it.
A. I will put it basically, as much as I can in,
basically, how I received it.
Q. So this is the entire file that you brought
with you today?
A. Correct.
MR. GILL: We will mark that as Composite
Exhibit 2.
(Defendant's I.D. Composite Exhibit No. 2 -
Complete File was marked for identification.)
BY MR. GILL:
Q. Mr. Ahearn, I know we know the rules, but I
feel like we are talking over each other a little bit.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1
The court
reporter is going to get mad at us.
2
A.
I understand.
3
Q.
Do your best to wait for each other to
4
finish.
5
A.
Yes.
6
Q.
The subpoena that you received for this
7
deposition, your CV, and this document that's entitled,
8
"Terms of
Engagement," that is the Terms of Engagement
9
you sent to the client?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
Then there's another document that's
12
entitled,
"Standard Rates for Costs and Expenses." Does
13
that go with your Terms of Engagement?
14
A.
Yes.
15
Q.
Then you have a copy of your report, correct?
16
A.
Correct.
17
Q.
And then it looks like a copy of the Order on
18
Motion to
Dismiss?
19
A.
Correct.
20
Q.
First Amended Complaint?
21
A.
Correct.
22
Q.
And other than the billing records we have
23
discussed,
this is your entire file?
24
A.
Yes.
25
Q.
With respect to your terms of engagement, is
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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that your standard terms of engagement you use for
nonexpert cases?
A. No. That is a -- again, I have never been an
expert in a case before. It was kind of a document I
had put together that was not -- it was not my normal
law firm engagement letter. That is my hybrid of a
letter that I had used with a lobbying client.
Q. It references attorney/client relations in
there?
A. It should not.
Q. So you don't have an attorney/client
relationship with Mr. O'Boyle; do you?
A. I do not. I'm not here as counsel, and if it
is in there, it's an error. And I realize now upon
reviewing it, that when I actually titled the document,
I should have contracted under my corporation of Michael
Ahearn Consulting and not the P.A.
Q. With respect to the billing records that you
are going to be providing, can you give me an estimate
of what your first bill to Mr. O'Boyle will be?
A. Yes. I would approximate between six to
eight hours depending on how late we go today.
Q. And that is total time?
A. That is total time on the Gulf Stream case.
Q. You mentioned that you have been retained by
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 10
1 him to act as an expert in another case; is that
2 correct?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. What case is that?
5 A. There's a -- I believe it's in my engagement
6 letter. There's a separate case number. May I?
7 Q. Yes.
6 A. If they have -- Mr. O'Boyle has a case
9 against the City of Delray Beach. I apologize. I have
10 two case numbers written on my engagement agreement, but
11 which one -- this was 80317.
12 I am retained in the matter of, I believe
13 it's Mr. O'Boyle versus the City of Delray Beach, case
14 number 14-80270, before Judge Middlebrooks.
15 Q. And does it say anywhere in your terms of
16 engagement what precisely you were engaged to provide
17 expertise in?
18 A. Probably, I believe it does.
19 No, actually -- and again, it refers to legal
20 services, which, again, which is not what I'm providing
21 here. But, again, no, it does not specifically state.
22 It was understood in the oral agreement between myself
23 and the client. And again, they also -- we do not
24 have -- I looked for a signed agreement. We don't have
25 a signed agreement. Essentially, I had forwarded them
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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this document. And then they had retained me, given me
an initial retainer, and that's basically what sealed
the deal.
Q. What was the retainer?
A. $4,000.
Q. And what was the oral understanding of what
you would be providing?
A. I was providing them my analysis as an expert
in regards to campaigns; specifically, the -- my expert
analysis regarding the value impact of campaign signs,
yard signs, et cetera.
Q. And is that the same in the Delray case?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. You mentioned that it should be -- strike
that.
The terms of engagement is on behalf of
Michael G. Ahearn, P.A., correct?
A. Correct, which is my law firm.
Q. And you also have a consulting business?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. What is that called?
A. Michael Ahearn Consulting.
Q. Do you have any other businesses?
A. No. May I add, Michael Ahearn Consulting --
yes, I do. Actually, I do have other businesses.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 12
1 Michael Ahearn Consulting is registered as a fictitious
2 name with the State of Florida. Another corporation I
3 have is called South Florida Arbitrations, which also
4 runs an additional fictitious name called Michael -- I'm
5 sorry -- Ahearn Dispute Resolution, which I do
6 mediations under.
7 Q. Okay. So I guess, generally speaking, you
8 have a P.A.?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. You also have a consulting business?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. And then you have a dispute resolution
13 business?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. Do you have any other businesses that you
16 conduct?
17 A. No.
18 Q. How long have you been an attorney?
19 A. Seventeen years.
20 Q. And when did you graduate from law school?
21 A. 1997.
22 Q. Where did you attend law school?
23 A. St. Thomas University.
24 Q. Where did you attend undergrad?
25 A. Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 13
1 Q. What did you get your undergraduate degree
2 in?
3
A.
Political Science.
4
Q.
What year did you obtain that degree?
5
A.
1994.
6
Q.
You are admitted to the Florida Bar?
7
A.
Yes, I am.
8
Q.
Are you admitted in any other state Bars?
9
A.
No, I am not.
10
Q.
Have you ever been admitted to any other
11
state Bars?
12
A.
No, I have not.
13
Q.
Other than attending law school, have you
14
attended any
other postgraduate programs?
15
A.
No, I have not.
16
Q.
How long have you had your P.A.?
17
A.
I believe approximately from 2000, 2001, so
18
about 13,
14 years.
19
Q.
How long have you had your consulting
20
business?
21
A.
The business itself was created as a
22
fictitious
name in 2014. I had accepted payment as a
23
consultant
previously and had put it under my other
24
company of
South Florida Arbitrations. I received funds
25 1 for the first time on that in 2012.
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1
Q.
"That" being the dispute resolution business?
2
A.
Yes.
3
Q.
Okay. So that was 2012 is the first time you
4
received funds?
5
A.
Correct.
6
Q.
But the year 2014, with respect to funds you
7
brought in between -- well, in total, can you break down
8
percentage -wise through the P.A., the consulting, and
9
the dispute resolution?
10
A.
I would have to look at my tax returns. I
11
mean, I know what I was paid for consulting --
12
Q.
Okay.
13
A.
-- if you would.
14
Q.
What were you paid for consulting in 2014?
15
A.
I was paid, I believe, $37,000 by a judicial
16
candidate,
Russell Thompson, Broward County. I was paid
17
$2,500 by
Judge Raag Singhal, S -i -n -g -h -a-1. And I
18
believe I
was paid $1,500 -- between $1,500 and $2,000
19
from Judge Steven DeLuca.
20
Q.
What was the last amount?
21
A.
Somewhere -- I think it was -- it was between
22
1,500 and
$2,000.
23
Q.
That was for consulting work in 2014?
24
A.
Correct.
25
Q.
And then can you give me any kind of estimate
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 for your dispute resolution business, how much you were
2 paid in 2014 for that?
3 A. I would have to look at my tax returns.
4 Q. Okay. I'm just looking to get an estimate of
5 how much work you do in each area.
6 A. Okay.
7 Q. If there's a way you can do that that I'm not
8 asking, please go ahead.
9 A. I can't give you a percentage because what
10 happens is with my consulting -- basically, with
11 politics is, my primary income comes from my law firm,
12 and the resolution business. I spend a lot of --
13 significant amount of time. Again, because of the money
14 that I get from those businesses, it affords me a lot of
15 leeway and opportunity to do work with people and
16 candidates that I don't always necessarily am paid for.
17 But, again, people come to me. They come to
18 me for advice, this and that. I have those clients
19 which I have stated that I have actually been paid and
20 hired for.
21 There was another campaign that I worked in
22 2014 that I was involved with, that I was not paid for.
23 But I played -- basically ran it, was a significant role
24 in it. It was -- again, I do things for people. A lot
25 of time I do things for friends. Fortunately, I have
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 the luxury of being able to help people I believe would
2 be good for elected office. And, again, if the means
3 are there to pay me, again, I'm glad to -- obviously,
4 I'll accept them, but many times they are not.
5 Q. Okay. So your primary comes from your P.A.
6 and your dispute resolution business?
7 A. Absolutely.
8 Q. Could you, in terms of time, break it down by
9 2014, like what percentage of time?
10 A. I couldn't.
11 Q. Okay. In terms of your P.A., what kind of
12 work do you generally do?
13 A. I do general civil litigation, some criminal
14 litigation, primarily focusing on guardianship and
15 probate. I do some civil transactional work. I do also
16 criminal work as well.
17 Q. Are you a member of the Federal Bar?
18 A. Yes, I am.
19 Q. What about the 11th Circuit?
20 A. I took the Federal Bar exam in 1999, and I
21 think absent about a couple, two or three bankruptcies I
22 did probably in the late 190s, I haven't seen the inside
23 of a Federal Court since. So I don't know -- I know
24 it's a long answer. I have no -- again, I just assumed
25 that I was in the 11th, but maybe, again -- again, maybe
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 17
I was not.
MR. GILL: Fair enough. We will mark this as
the next exhibit. There are going to be four
exhibits.
(Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 3 - Curriculum
Vitae was marked for identification.)
BY MR. GILL:
Q. Have you seen that document before?
A. Yes.
Q. Is that your CV?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. In your file, there was another copy of your
CV; is it the same copy?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. Is this a true and accurate representation of
your, I guess, experience to date?
A. Yeah. The only thing I would -- again, I
would say on there, again, I list my active campaign
work from 2010 to present. As I stated in my report, I
mean, I kind of grew up in the campaign business as
coming up as a lawyer; did everything from putting out
fires and other things to probably 50, 60 candidates
over the 190s and through that time period.
So I mean, basically, the candidates that I
have listed here are candidates that I either directly
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 ran the campaign or played a very significant role in
2 the campaign. But I mean, again, I've pretty much done
3 every job there is in a campaign coming up.
4 Q. Okay. Are there any candidates or campaigns
5 not listed here that you have either ran the campaign or
6 played a significant role in?
7 A. The only campaign I would add at this point,
8 because I believe I may have been retained subsequent to
9 this is Michael Lynch for Circuit Court Judge in Broward
10 County.
11 Actually, I notice on here that candidate
12 Russell Thompson is -- I don't have him listed on here
13 either, who I worked for him last year, and Ken Keechl
14 for Broward County Commission.
15 Q. Since graduating from law school, have you
16 attended any seminars or workshops or classes on running
17 campaigns?
18 A. No, I have not.
19 Q. How about advertising for campaigns?
20 A. What do you mean?
21 Q. Have you attended any workshops, seminars, or
22 educational programs on specifically advertising
23 political campaigns?
24 A. No, I have not.
25 Q. Other than the three businesses we talked
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 about and three businesses on here, which are basically
2 the same, do you have any other source of income?
3 A. No, I do not.
4 Q. Since graduating from law school, have you
5 had any other employment other than what's listed on
6 your CV?
7 A. Yes. I worked for a law firm out of law
8 school, so it would be roughly 197 to when I opened my
9 P.A. It was either 2000, 2001. Shepard & Leskar in
10 Plantation, Florida.
11 Q. You said you had an oral agreement when you
12 were retained in this case. Who did you speak with
13 about that agreement?
14 A. Mr. Mesa.
15 Q. Have you ever spoken to Mr. O'Boyle?
16 A. No, I have not.
17 Q. How did Mr. Mesa contact you?
18 A. I believe Mr. Mesa -- my understanding is he
19 was -- they were looking for an expert and someone had
20 referred or had given him my name to call. I don't
21 recall who it was.
22 Q. Before he contacted you about this case, had
23 you ever met Mr. Mesa before?
24 A. No, I had not.
25 Q. Other than the Amended Complaint and the
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 20
1 Court's Order on the Motion to Dismiss, did you rely on
2 any other sources of information in preparing your
3 report?
4 A. No. My own personal experience in working
5 with campaigns and dealing with vendors and pricing and
6 things like that.
7 Q. Okay. In terms of the information regarding
8 Mr. O'Boyle's campaign, did you rely on any other source
9 of information other than the First Amended Complaint
10 and Court's Order on the Motion to Dismiss?
11 A. No, I did not.
12 Q. You weren't involved in Mr. O'Boyle's
13 campaign in March 2014?
14 A. No, I was not.
15 Q. In terms of your consulting business and then
16 your campaign work, is it primarily in judicial
17 campaigns?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. In terms of the campaigns that you either
20 played a substantial role in or actually ran the
21 campaign, were any of those for municipal commissions?
22 A. Mayor of Fort Lauderdale. Mayor of Fort
23 Lauderdale, and Keechl race was Broward County
24 Commission District 4.
25 Q. And when you say "Mayor of Fort Lauderdale,"
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
who are you referring to?
A. Mayor Jack Seiler.
January 28, 2015
21
Q. What was your role in Mayor Seiler's
campaign?
A. I have served as a campaign advisor to
Mayor Seiler since he first -- I've been involved with
Mr. Seiler's campaign since I was his law clerk back in
1997. The three mayoral campaigns from 2009 to,
literally, present today, I have served as campaign
advisor basically being involved with all decision in
all matters in the business of the campaign.
Q. Explain to me what a campaign advisor does.
A. I do everything from, again, being involved
with speech -writing, creating message, creating --
working with graphic designers to create mail pieces,
Web sites. I also do -- I'll deal with different
community leaders. I'll deal with distribution of
materials, ordering yard signs, placement of yard signs,
replacing yard signs, which happens often. Quite
honestly, pretty much anything and everything in
between.
Q. With respect to Mayor Seiler, did he have
more than one campaign advisor?
A. He had my wife -- my wife, again, because of
my relationship with Jack, Jack is someone who is a very
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
22
1 close friend, my best man at my wedding. I have never
2 been a paid employee of his campaign. My wife has -- is
3 a paid employee of the campaign for him in 2012 and 2015
4 currently.
5 Q. Is your wife an attorney?
6 A. No, she's not.
7 Q. What was her role in the campaign?
8 A. She's basically -- she's the person in my
9 life. She's the organizer of things and the person that
10 makes sure that, you know, the appointments are kept,
11 that everybody is in place on election day. She's,
12 basically, I would say, his executive assistant in the
13 campaign.
14 Q. Other than you and your wife, did anyone else
15 work on Mayor Seiler's campaign in a similar, I guess,
16 level?
17 A. Not that I'm aware of.
18 Q. What was your position with Ken Keechl's
19 campaign?
20 A. I served as advisor as well.
21 Q. Did he have any other advisors?
22 A. Not that I'm aware of.
23 Q. Does your wife perform that function on any
24 other campaigns?
25 A. She performed that function for -- until
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 23
1 recently, my wife had worked in my office. So it was
2 kind of all hand-in-hand. My wife now has taken a job
3 with a bank here in Fort Lauderdale, so I'm kind of
4 rolling between assistants at the moment.
5 She did perform that role with Judge Dale
6 Ross in 2012.
7 Q. I guess, in terms of what you would classify
8 your wife's profession as, is she a professional
9 campaign --
10 A. No. Sorry.
11 Q. -- person?
12 A. She is not.
13 Q. And I may have asked this already, but have
14 you ever provided expert testimony before?
15 A. No, I have not.
16 Q. Have you ever appeared in court as a witness
17 regarding campaigns in general?
18 A. No, I have not.
19 Q. Do you know how many lawsuits Mr. O'Boyle is
20 currently engaged in against the Town of Gulf Stream?
21 A. No -- well, one.
22 Q. Okay. Fair enough.
23 Other than this lawsuit, are you aware if
24 Mr. O'Boyle has any other lawsuits against the Town of
25 Gulf Stream?
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1
A.
No.
2
Q.
Are you aware if he had any pending on March
3
11th, 2014?
4
A.
No.
5
Q.
Have you ever seen Mr. O'Boyle's Web site?
6
A.
No.
7
Q.
Have you ever seen any polling data for
8
Mr. O'Boyle's campaign for Gulf Stream Town Commission?
9
A.
No.
10
Q.
Do you know if he conducted any polling data?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
Do you know if Mr. --
13
MR. MESA: When you're saying "no," you're
14
saying no to, you have never seen polling data?
15
THE WITNESS: No.
16
BY MR. GILL:
17
Q.
And you're not aware if he has done any?
18
A.
No.
19
Q.
Do you know what Mr. O'Boyle's campaign
20
platform
was for Town Commission?
21
A.
No.
22
Q.
Do you know how many total signs Mr. O'Boyle
23
put out
in his campaign to be Town Commissioner?
24
A.
I don't recall. I may have. I don't recall
25
if I ever knew a hard number.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
25
Q. Do you know if Mr. O'Boyle used any other
forms of advertising in his campaign?
A. No.
Q. Do you know what the final results were in
terms of votes in the March 11th, 2014 Commission
election?
A. No.
Q. Have you ever spoken to Mr. O'Boyle?
A. No.
Q. And you've never met him?
A. No.
MR. GILL: Mark this as the next exhibit.
(Defendant's I.D. Exhibit No. 4 - Witness's
report was marked for identification.)
BY MR. GILL:
Q. Before we get to the next exhibit, you
provided a report in this case?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Do you have any other opinions that are
not -- regarding the case, that are not contained in the
report?
A. No, I do not.
Q. Who drafted the report?
A. I did.
Q. Did you provide it to Mr. Mesa or anyone
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
1 1 associated with him before it was finalized?
January 28, 2015
26
2
A.
I sent him -- I sent Mr. Mesa a copy of it
3
when I believed
it was finalized. There was an error in
4
it because
I had mixed -- I had -- I believe I had
5
mixed -- I
had the wrong case number and the Defendant,
6
and he sent
it back to me, and I believe there were a
7
couple of
typos in it that he had pointed out.
8
Q.
Okay. Other than those changes you just
9
discussed,
did Mr. Mesa either suggest or recommend any
10
other changes?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
Did he suggest any changes to your opinions?
13
A.
No.
14
Q.
I show you the next exhibit.
15
A.
I have my copy of it.
16
Q.
Let's use that one. Is that copy signed?
17
It's part
of your file.
18
A.
No, it's not.
19
Q.
That's the one you signed, so let's use that
20
one. Take a moment to make sure it's...
21
A.
Okay. I reviewed it before coming in, so I'm
22
ready to go with it.
23
Q.
Do you know if Mr. O'Boyle's opponent in the
24
March 11,
2014 election had any campaign signs?
25
A.
No.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 Q. In preparing this report that's been marked
2 as Exhibit 4, did you rely on any published materials or
3 studies or things of that nature?
4
A.
No.
5
Q.
Did you review the Town of Gulf Stream's sign
6
ordinance
in preparing the report?
7
A.
I believe -- well, I had reviewed the
8
complaint,
which I believe referenced it.
9
Q.
Do you have any experience in your law
10
practice in dealing with First Amendment claims
11
regarding
sign ordinances?
12
A.
No, I have not.
13
Q.
On page 2, I guess the first paragraph, you
14
reference:
"The primary value of campaign signs are
15
location,
location, location, and as to the message,
16
repetition, repetition, repetition."
17
What did you rely on in providing that
18 1 opinion?
19 A. My personal experience in being involved in
20 campaigns for 17 years.
21 Q. Are you aware of any studies that have been
22 performed to determine effectiveness of campaign signs
23 versus any other modes of communication?
24 A. No.
25 Q. Below I guess subparagraph A, it says:
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
28
"In my almost 20 years of being involved in
political campaigns, it is my opinion that one of
the most effective ways to create a cohesive
campaign is through the use of campaign yard
signs."
What do you mean by that?
A. Essentially what I mean by that is, that
again, we are dealing -- there's various terms for it.
I'm talking about the general smaller sign that would be
placed with a candidate's name and identifiers on it
that it would be placed in typically a yard or business.
Essentially what I mean by team building is
that it brings the people together who are supporters.
It's kind of their piece of the rock, their piece of
being involved in the campaign; I have this person's
sign in my yard, in front of my business, in front of my
commercial property; you know, I'm showing the world
that I am involved and I'm the team, which is comprised
as the campaign.
Q. So when you say "campaign team," you mean
supporters in general?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you know where the campaign signs were
located that were allegedly removed by the Town?
A. Upon review of the Complaint and the Order,
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
29
it is my understanding that some were placed in front of
private properties; others were placed near
right-of-ways.
Q. Would the sounds -- excuse me.
Would the signs that were on a right-of-way
as opposed to on private property, would those be part
of this opinion of involving a cohesive campaign team?
A. Yes, it would. I believe that there would be
a tie between it, because I believe that if people saw
the sign, for whatever reason wanted to have an interest
in the candidate, reached out to the candidate, wanted
to learn more about the candidate, they too, themselves,
may come along and wish to have a sign in their own yard
or have some other participation in the campaign.
Q. But I guess in terms of this opinion
regarding campaign team, if there's no team member
associated with that location, meaning, it's not in
someone's front yard?
A. Correct.
Q. I mean, would that still -- I mean, I don't
see how it's part of a team if it's on public property
and not in front of a specific person's house.
A. Right, but the ultimate effect of having a
sign -- again, having a sign visible, the point is
having visibility and having it seen by potential voters
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
30
1 and/or supporters. So, again, if it ultimately could
2 lead to team building, if someone were to see this sign
3 and say, hey, I have an interest in this candidate or
4 this issue, I learn more about it, and then I become a
5 supporter.
6 Q. Is there such a thing as too many signs?
7 A. No.
8 Q. So if a campaign or candidates for some
9 election puts out a sign every foot in a right-of-way,
10 papers the Town with signs, you don't think that would
11 have a negative impact on the campaign at any level?
12 A. No, I don't.
13 Q. And what are you basing that opinion on?
14 A. Based on the opinion that I will deduct from,
15 essentially, a water down -- not a water down opinion --
16 I view it as the same light as generally negative
17 campaigning or negative commercials.
18 Everybody says that they don't like negative
19 commercials and everybody says they don't like the
20 proliferation of signs everywhere, but every cycle,
21 there's more and more. And typically, people -- again,
22 in my experience, and this is not scientific fact --
23 people who tend generally to have more signs win.
24 Q. You also say and this is in Section B:
25 "Political signs can equal credibility." Explain that
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
to me.
January 28, 2015
31
A. Well, in my opinion, in what I have seen in
my time as working in campaigns, is that my opinion is
that people believe -- I believe that people think when
they see more signs, they think that the candidate is
more active, that they think that, you know, he's
probably well-financed, that he is -- you know, again,
he's popular. These may not be ultimately accurate, but
on the other side of it, that seems to be how these
things work is that, you know, again, going back to the
original analogy, the person with the most signs
typically wins.
Q. Do you think your opinions would change if
the, I guess, jurisdiction that the election is for was
so small that everyone already knows everyone?
A. No.
Q. Meaning, if you have a small town with a
hundred residents, do you still believe that the more
signs would have an impact on the election, even though
everyone already knows who is running?
A. Yes.
Q.
Why do
you believe
that?
A.
Because
I believe
you can never have enough
ability; you can never have enough means to get your
name out there. How -- again, we will go into
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
32
1 hypotheticals. Now, again, maybe it's the same, I don't
2 know, five town fathers who have been commissioners for
3 the last 20 years. And unfortunately, one of them turns
4 around and gets, as I said, the old expression from
5 politics, the live boy or the dead girl. Then, all of a
6 sudden, that candidate is not going to be guaranteed
7 anything anymore. Again, the person with the most signs
8 who may be in the right place at the right time, wins an
9 election.
10 Q. Going to the next page, I guess page 3, on
11 the second paragraph, it says: "The belief here is that
12 said signs will be helpful to the uninformed and the
13 informed voter."
14 Do you have any information that any of the
15 voters in the Town of Gulf Stream are uninformed about
16 Mr. O'Boyle?
17 A. No, I do not.
18 Q. Do you know who worked on Mr. O'Boyle's
19 campaign?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Do you know how much he spent in his
22 campaign?
23 A. No, I do not.
24 Q. The last sentence of that paragraph says:
25 "Accepting as true that the Plaintiff was
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 considered the least well-known candidate in the
2 Town election, the loss of campaign signage has a
3 more pronounced effect on its campaign than
4 compared to the effect it would have on a
5 incumbent's or well-known City Advisory Board
6 Member's campaign."
7 What if Mr. O'Boyle was not, in fact, the
8 least well-known candidate and was incredibly well-known
9 in the Town; would that change that opinion?
10 A. I think overall, any candidate who is running
11 for office who has signs up, signs are removed,
12 whether -- you know, whether the most popular man in
13 town, whether the guy who just came into town yesterday
14 and doesn't know anybody, I believe that the -- again,
15 if signs were placed, signs were removed, and it was,
16 you know, before an election and the time that -- you
17 know what I mean? Again, it would be odd for signs to
18 be removed. I believe that people would question as to
19 why and question the person.
20 Q. But I guess in terms of how pronounced the
21 effect was, if Mr. O'Boyle was, in fact, a well-known
22 candidate, would it be less impact for him?
23 A. I don't know if I can go that far to
24 speculate it, because I think there's other factors that
25 could be part of that.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 34
Q. Such as?
A. Well, such as the fact that it is my
understanding in reviewing of the Complaint and the
Order, that the signs were removed by the City.
If people, residents of the City were driving
through town, and saw that City employees in a City
truck were removing signs, would probably not leave a
good impression as to the person whose name are on those
signs, that for some reason, they may have done
something wrong.
Q. What if they were removing both the
candidate's signs and the opposing candidate's signs?
A. Really outside of my realm for speculation.
Q. Well, I mean, you're giving an opinion
that --
A. It wouldn't -- I'll -- fine. I would say
that it's not good for anybody to have anyone see your
signs being removed by City employees because it
certainly would leave an impression that you've done
something wrong.
Q. Does the City of Fort Lauderdale have a sign
code that places restrictions on political campaign
signs, the standard signs? I'm not sure -- what do you
call those exactly?
A. Yard signs.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
35
1 Q. Yard signs. Does the City of Fort Lauderdale
2 have any restrictions on yard signs?
3 A. No.
4 Q. So you can put them up year-round, 365 days,
5 in any location?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. For Mayor Seiler's campaign, did they place
8 yard signs along major roadways in the right-of-way?
9 A. I did not have anyone that placed signs under
10 my direct control or any -- or my wife, that would
11 direct people to put them in swales or medians or
12 anything like that.
13 Did I -- could I say that I've never seen one
14 in the swale? I have. So, again, I don't do that
15 because, again, as far as I'm concerned, that's tacky.
16 But it has -- you know, it probably has been done.
17 Q. So in your experience, you don't do that when
18 you were running Mayor Seiler's campaign?
19 A. Again -- no, I don't.
20 Q. You don't direct your staff to do that?
21 Basically, they could ignore your directions, but that's
22 not --
23 A. No. There's also -- because there's not just
24 staff. I mean, again, there's people who come into the
25 campaign and say, listen, you know, I want to go put out
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 36
1 some signs. Okay, well, go put out some signs.
2 I don't give -- you know what I mean? As I
3 said, we all see it during campaigns, signs end up
4 everywhere. I mean, during this last campaign with
5 Governor Scott and Charlie Crist, I don't think there
6 was probably one inch of greenery and probably that you
7 could put two pieces of metal into a ground that didn't
8 have a sign.
9 Q. Sure. I guess I'll rephrase my question.
10 As Mayor Seiler's campaign advisor --
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. -- you don't direct staff members to put
13 signs in the swale or in the right-of-way, I guess, on
14 the side of roads; is that accurate?
15 A. No, I do not.
16 Q. And you don't do that because you believe
17 it's tacky?
18 A. I believe that -- again, if it's -- it's
19 not -- if I don't have authorization to put a sign
20 somewhere, I don't. But that doesn't mean that, again,
21 others don't. Candidates do it all the time.
22 Q. Moving on to the damages portion of your
23 opinion --
24 A. Okay.
25 Q. -- explain to me how you came up with your
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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1 damages.
2 A. Is there any specific part? I do actually
3 expound on a number of different...
4 Q. Well, let's start --
5 A. About four pages of it.
6 Q. Sure. Let's work our way backwards.
7 A. Okay.
8 Q. On the last page, you come up with a minimum
9 of $50,000 for the loss of the benefits of his campaign
10 signs, not including loss of reputation to the campaign
11 and the Plaintiff, to the signs that were wrongfully
12 removed. How did you come up with $50,000?
13 A. Essentially, I would say building upward as
14 far as getting out name recognition. If a person were
15 to lose their signs for whatever reason, then obviously,
16 they would have to turn to alternative media to get
17 their message out, which I've laid out through the
18 report.
19 That could go anywhere from -- you know, I
20 mean, it can go point -by -point, but anywhere from direct
21 mail to cable, to network, to newspapers, other
22 periodicals, banner planes -- again, this is a
23 beach -front area -- banner planes and anywhere upward
24 and onward that could be done to get your name out
25 there.
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
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Q. Okay. But what does the $50,000 represent,
the cost of replacing those lost signs?
A. No. It's the cost of replacing getting the
name -- getting the name out there. Literally, I mean,
obviously, the signs cost anywhere between, I believe,
3.50 and $5 per sign.
It's beyond the literal value of the sign.
It's a matter of getting the name out there, getting
your theme out there, getting -- you know, repetition,
repetition, repetition, getting your name out there.
Q. Do you know if Mr. O'Boyle used a banner
plane during the election?
A.
No,
I do not.
Q.
Do
you know if
he sent out mailings
during
the election?
A. No, I do not.
Q. In terms of coming up with the specific
number, 50,000, how did you come up with that specific
number as opposed to, you know, $49,999?
A. Again, starting from the -- again, the
portion of the report and the four pages that encompass
my damages, it's essentially, basically, a combination
of, again, maximizing each of the items that I detail.
Essentially, everything on the list of items that one
could do to get their name out there.
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
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1 Q. So is that $50,000 the total cost of what it
2 would take to do all these things you listed?
3 A. Well, obviously, the things I have listed,
4 1 you could do more of, less of, or none of. I'm saying
5 that if you did all of them, cumulatively, that would be
6 the cost.
7 Q. Okay.
8 A. I mean, again, TV commercials alone could
9 cost you $50,000 and that's one item. If you combined
10 every item I put here -- again, everything is a varying
11 level -- it could come up to $50,000.
12 Q. Okay. It could come up to more; it could
13 come up to less, right?
14 A. Absolutely.
15 Q. Okay.
16 A. I don't believe it could -- obviously, it
17 depends on how much money you have available to you. I
18 mean, if we are talking about -- I don't know. I mean,
19 if we are talking about -- again, if we're talking about
20 an unlimited budget, well, certainly, it could go over,
21 up, and beyond.
22 But, again, on the other side, if it's a
23 budget constraint, then, you know, it may not be 50-.
24 But I mean to do the -- to do the perfect impact or the
25 most substantial impact, I should say, you know, again,
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O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM 40
1 50-, 50- would probably be the best number to overcome
2 to get your name out there and get rid of any stigma
3 that may be attached with having your signs removed.
4 Q. Do you know how many signs were removed?
5 A. No, I do not.
6 Q. Have you seen any polling data that happened
7 from the day before the signs were removed to the day
8 after?
9 A. No, I have not.
10 Q. So you don't really know if there was any
11 specific impact on this campaign for the removal of the
12 signs?
13 A. I don't think anyone does. No, I do not and
14 I don't believe that, again, anyone -- anyone would,
15 unless you actually talked to -- again, you don't
16 know -- as I said before, you may have someone who saw
17 the signs being removed by the City who may have an
18 opinion of it.
19 You may have someone who, for whatever
20 reason, never paid attention, saw the signs in the first
21 place, or they saw the sign, saw it removed, and
22 wondered what happened to it. I mean, polling, again,
23 without literally probably talking to every resident of
24 the City, you -- no one is going to have -- no one is
25 going to have an accurate. But certainly, if they are
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1
removed,
people are going to wonder who saw it, why it
2
was removed.
3
Q.
Well, you could do polling data; could you
4
not?
5
A.
Sure.
6
Q.
You could have taken a poll the day before
7
and you
could have taken a poll the day after. That
8
would at
least give you an estimate of what the damage
9
was?
10
A.
Absolutely.
11
Q.
And you don't know if that was done in this
12
case?
13
A.
I have no idea.
14
Q.
And you haven't done that?
15
A.
No, I have not.
16
Q.
Do you know if Mr. O'Boyle got his signs
17
back?
18
A.
I believe in my recollection of the
19
complaint,
that I know that he went to the City, like in
20
a garage
area or something and saw them. I don't
21
know --
I don't recall right now if he specifically got
22
them back, but I do recall that he went to complain to
23
the City
and there was a truck that had some in the back
24
of it or
something of that nature.
25
Q.
Would that make a difference if he received
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN January 28, 2015
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1 all the signs back the next day versus if he never
2 received them back, in terms of your opinion?
3 A. I don't think -- the issue is not whether he
4 literally received them back in hand; it's whether he
5 could put them back up.
6 Q. Do you know whether he was allowed to put
7 them back up on private property?
8 A. No, I do not.
9 Q. Would that make a difference?
10 A. As to ones that were on private property, it
11 would make a difference. But, again, it also goes back
12 to the fact that, you know, we don't know the impact of
13 those who either realized they were removed or, again,
14 worse yet, saw City employees out there pulling them out
15 of the ground.
16 Q. In, I guess, part B, damages section, so it's
17 damages to candidate's reputation, the last paragraph in
18 that on the next page, the sentence reads: "While
19 putting a specific dollar amount on the damage to the
20 reputation of the Plaintiff and his campaign would be
21 difficult, there certainly was a damage which I would
22 believe a jury would compensate the Plaintiff for.,,
23 A. Okay.
24 Q. Focusing on that, do you understand what the
25 Town's code says regarding placement of campaign signs?
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1
A.
Yes.
13
2
Q.
Okay. What if the Plaintiff had
complied
3
with the
ordinance, regardless of whether it
was
4
constitutional
or not, and only put them on
private
5
property?
18
violated the sign code.
6
A.
I don't understand your question.
7
Q.
Well, if the damage was the removal of the
8
signs, couldn't the Plaintiff have complied
with our
9
sign code
and not have the damage?
he put them in other areas. Does that make
10
A.
I don't mean to be rude. I don't
understand
11 1 the question.
12
Q. Fair enough. Part of the damage
that I
13
believe you identified is the fact that the
signs are
14
being removed by the Town.
15
A. Correct.
16
Q. Okay. The reason they were being
removed by
17
the Town, according to the Town at least, is
that they
18
violated the sign code.
19
A. Okay.
20
Q. As I understand the sign code, it
does allow
21
campaign signs in certain areas, but for whatever
22
reason, the Plaintiff didn't put them just
in that area,
23
he put them in other areas. Does that make
sense to
24
you?
25 A. Okay. He had -- I am aware that he had signs
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1 in other places, other than private property.
2 Q. Right. Well, let me make it even a little
3 more simple.
4 A. Okay.
5 Q. The sign code at the time permitted signs,
6 campaign signs at least, in the right-of-way.
7 A. Okay.
8 Q. It permits them on private property.
9 A. Okay.
10 Q. Mr. O'Boyle chose, for whatever reason, to
11 put them in the right-of-way. Do you understand that?
12 A. Okay.
13 Q. Had he chosen to put them on private
14 property, they would have never been removed by the
15 Town, so couldn't Mr. O'Boyle have limited the damage by
16 complying with the sign code?
17 A. Well --
18 MR. MESA: Objection to form.
19 THE WITNESS: -- but he also would have
20 limited his ability, I'm assuming.
21 Again, I have never been to the Town of Gulf
22 Stream, so I don't know the layout of the Town.
23 I don't know. I don't know the neighborhood.
24 I would just say, again, based on what you're
25 saying, is that he still loses visibility of the
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1 signs. He still loses -- again, he's curtailing
2 his visibility to get his name out.
3 BY MR. GILL:
4 Q. Isn't every candidate that complies with the
5 sign code and doesn't put them in the right-of-way, also
6 curtailing their visibility?
7 A. Yes.
8
Q.
Do campaigns sometimes hire people to hold
9
signs?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
What is that referred to as?
12
A.
It's usually poll workers. Again, poll
13
workers
-- just to define: Poll workers usually are
14
people
that are hired to work a poll, hold a sign, but
15
again,
it's kind of a catchall term for what you would
16
do when
you volunteer for people.
17
Q.
I know. I'm getting there. Some people call
18
it sandwich boards, the people -- I don't think they use
19
it anymore -- but I was just wondering if in campaigns,
20
there's
some sort of phrase for people holding signs,
21
like on
the side of the road.
22
A.
They are just -- really, they are just
23
campaign workers.
24
Q.
Do you have an opinion whether having a
25 1 person hold a sign is more effective than having a sign
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1 stuck in the ground?
2 A. All depends who it is.
3 Q. How so?
4 A. How so is, I have been -- in all my
5 candidacies involved in Broward County, I have seen
6 people who, you know -- use an example. I have seen
7 candidates hire homeless people to hold up signs. Not
8 a -- in my opinion, not a very good representation for a
9 candidate.
10 You know, again, I think, obviously, if it's
11 someone of a clean-cut look, someone who, again, is --
12 you know, basically, someone who is a clean-cut look as
13 opposed to someone who is homeless would have more of a
14 positive impact.
15 Q. So if you had been advising Mr. O'Boyle,
16 would you have advised him, if he had the funds, to hire
17 a clean-cut person to hold his signs around the Town as
18 opposed to putting them in the right-of-way where they
19 were going to be confiscated?
20 A. I would advise him to do whatever he had to
21 do to get his name out. If that was one of the things
22 that was an option available to us, absolutely.
23 Q. In the next sentence it says: "Costs of
24 funding alternative media to bring exposure to the
25 candidate."
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1
A.
Okay.
2
Q.
Is that really,
I guess, the methodology you
3
used to
come up with the
final figure, the $50,000?
4
A.
Yes. Again, as
you see, paragraph C, and
5 then precede into one, two, three, four subparagraphs,
6 which breaks down, again, different forms of media to
7 get your name out.
8 Q. I guess I just -- do you have a specific
9 methodology you use to come up with a $50,000 figure
10 from the signs that were confiscated?
11 A. Again, essentially, I am basically putting
12 together everything that is listed as a potential means
13 to get the name, the word out, and using, basically, a
14 full value of each item that you could do.
15 As we said earlier, you could -- if you have
16 less, if you don't have money available, then obviously,
17 you're constrained by that amount. If you have
18 unlimited funds, then you can do a lot more.
19 Q. So, for example, number 1 talks about
20 campaign commercials.
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. Is there a specific amount of campaign
23 commercials you would have to do to make up for the lost
24 signs?
25 A. There's never enough of anything, one thing
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1 that I have listed here, that someone can do. There's
2 never a cap. Anything and everything that you can do to
3 get your name and your message out that you have the
4 means to pay for, you need to do it.
5 And especially, again, if there's a situation
6 where, you know, you may have voters with one -- or
7 again, or a hundred or more -- that have become aware
8 that, you know, again, they saw the City truck pulling
9 up signs, or you know what I mean, or that there was
10 some kind of, you know, word about town that the signs
11 were removed.
12
I mean, essentially, again, in any campaign
13
you look
at the pros and cons. Again, in November, Rick
14
Scott and
Charlie Crist on down. Essentially, if
15
there's a
negative out there on you, then you need to
16
spend whatever you can spend to counter the negative.
17
Q.
With respect to like number 1, you say that
18
you give
an estimate of .30 or 1 -- is that a minute
19
commercial?
20
A.
Yeah, a 30 -second or a one -minute commercial.
21
Q.
Okay. A 30 -second or a minute commercial
22
could run
anywhere from 1,500 to $7,500; where do you
23
get those
figures?
24
A.
Those are figures based on my experience of
25 I candidates that have run commercials.
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1 Q. Is there any specific station or person you
2 reached out to get those numbers with?
3 A. For this report?
4 Q. Yes.
5 A. No.
6 Q. Number 2 is direct mailings. Do you know if
7 Mr. O'Boyle did any direct mailings?
8 A. No, I do not.
9 Q. If he did do direct mailings, would that
10 change your opinion on what his damages were?
11 A. If he did them -- rephrase the question,
12 please.
13 Q. Okay. well, one of the things that you have
14 listed are campaign direct mailings.
15 A. Okay.
16 Q. If Mr. O'Boyle had, in fact, done direct
17 mailings, would that change your opinion at all on what
18 his ultimate damages were, meaning, you got one --
19 A. If Mr. O'Boyle did -- I'm sorry. I
20 apologize.
21 Q. I was going to say -- go ahead.
22 A. Never good when two lawyers are doing a
23 deposition. I apologize.
24 Q. So you go ahead and give your answer and then
25 I will give my question.
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1 A. If Mr. O'Boyle had to do direct mail in order
2 to respond to his signs being reviewed, that -- removed,
3 to have his -- to get his name out there, then
4 obviously, yes, that would be part of the damage.
5 Q. So if he had done it, your damages would go
6 up or go down?
7 A. That's part of the -- there is direct
8 mailings that is part of the ultimate $50,000 that I've
9 already -- that I have mentioned in the report, was that
10 if he had -- again, did he -- it's like cable; it's like
11 any of this, you do as much or as little as you want.
12 There's never enough.
13 Q. If, hypothetically, the day after the signs
14 were removed by the Town for the last time, the Town
15 gave Mr. O'Boyle $50,000, would that have made up for
16 the loss?
17 A. First of all, you -- we -- now, my
18 understanding is that there were signs that were removed
19 at different times. You said "the last time." Are you
20 talking about the signs that I believe were removed on
21 election day?
22 Q. Fair enough.
23 How about we focus on -- well, can you give
24 me a value of the signs on election day versus the signs
25 in advance of the election?
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
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A. No, I wouldn't vary it. I think -- like I
said, I think it's all extremely valuable. I don't
think one is more valuable than another. Anything that
gets the name out is valuable.
Q. Do you know if he was allowed to keep any
signs up on election day?
A. No, I do not.
Q. Are you familiar with the -- I believe it's
the state law that says, no campaigning can take place
within 100 feet of a campaign place?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. Explain to me, in your understanding, what
that law says.
A. Subject to much interpretation from the
Supervisor of Elections Office for where you're doing
it, is that it is -- one of the issues is that it's a
hundred feet. Many times what happens is, is that
nobody really knows where the hundred feet starts. Does
it start with the first polling machine; in the area
where the -- where you vote; is it from the front door;
is it from the parking lot, to wherever. But
essentially, again, you're supposed to be a hundred feet
away.
Q. That means the candidate and anyone with the
campaign can't be campaigning within the hundred feet?
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1 A. Correct.
2 Q. How does it work if someone wears a T-shirt
3 to the --
4 A. You cannot do it. You cannot do it. You
5 could not -- let's say you were voting. You would,
6 again -- or you would be told to either change your
7 shirt or, again, what happens many times, is you wear
8 your shirt inside out.
9 Q. Does that apply meaning if, Joe Schmo walks
10 off the street and he's a big Obama supporter, could he
11 just walk in and vote with that shirt on, even if he's
12 not associated with the campaign?
13 A. No, he cannot do that.
14 Q. How about absentees; it will make it easier.
15 A. Smart.
16 MR. GILL: Why don't we take a brief break?
17 I will gather my notes. I don't think I have
18 that much more.
19 THE WITNESS: All right.
20 (Thereupon, a recess was taken.)
21 BY MR. GILL:
22 Q. Back on the record.
23 Can you quantify the value of a single
24 campaign sign?
25 A. What do you mean by "quantify"?
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
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Q. Can you assign a value to a specific campaign
A. I can say -- I guess to say quantify -- we
are using semantics of literally or quantify. I mean,
the actual price of probably going to a vendor is
probably -- again, as I stated -- probably between 3.75
and $5 a sign. A broken down sign is usually one price,
the stake is usually another, and then we combine it
together.
Q. In terms of the value to the campaign, can
you assign a value specifically to an individual
campaign sign --
A. No.
Q. -- to the campaign?
A. No.
Q. Can you, I guess, rank signs in terms of
their value to a campaign, meaning, this sign is worth
more, this sign is worth less?
A. I think it's a matter of visibility. I mean,
it's a matter of how much traffic it sees. I think,
again, no, I can't get specific, but clearly, as I said
before, there's never enough. I mean, it's just -- it's
advertising.
Q. I guess a sign that's stuck behind a garbage
can that can't be seen is certainly worth much less
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1 1 value than one that can be seen?
2
A.
Right.
3
Q.
Would you say that a
sign placed
on private
4
property
in front of a home is
worth more
than a sign
5
placed,
say, on the side of the
road?
6
A.
I think they have --
I think --
I don't think
7
I can make
it as compares more
valuable, less
valuable.
8
I think
they each have their own specific
intrinsic
9
values.
10 Q. Okay. Can you describe what the specific
11 extrinsic value is of one compared to the other?
12 A. Okay. A sign is placed on private property.
13 Again, depends on the traffic of the neighborhood, is
14 going to -- has its visibility, but typically what
15 happens with a sign in the neighborhood is, is that if,
16 you know, Jim Smith has a sign in his yard, and let's
17 say, Bob Jones who lives across the street likes Jim
18 Smith and respects Jim Smith, looks at the sign and
19 says, I don't know this candidate whose sign is in his
20 yard, but you know, if my neighbor likes him, I like
21 him; maybe I want to take a moment to learn more, hear
22 about him. And then again, that's why I go back to
23 team -building, where again, you're building your support
24 base on that.
25 1 Now, on the other side of it, if you have
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1 signs in, like I said, commercial areas, right-of-ways,
2 or high visibility traffic areas, again, it could
3 have -- there's an infinite number of ways that that
4 could have value.
5 Again, the same idea. Somebody says, oh,
6 they see the name. You know, people vote in elections
7 because they like a name. People -- Irish names do very
8 well in Broward County. I mean, it's just a name and
9 where placement is on a ballot, it could be a name that
10 they say, you know what, I want to go look that up.
11 A lot of times, again, there's -- we went
12 into this a little bit before -- but like signs on
13 election day. Signs on election day have, again, not --
14 I won't say more value or less value, but they have a
15 different value on election day, because people driving
16 home from work, people going to work may say, gosh --
17 and especially in a municipal election where, you know,
18 it's probably not on your radar that it's election day.
19 You know, they say, oh, shoot, you know, I got to go
20 vote today. I saw this guy's sign up and it reminds you
21 to vote. Again, you may or may not go vote for this
22 person, but it may remind you that there's an election.
23 Q. Could you have provided a more precise
24 estimate of damages if you were given the precise
25 location of the signs that were taken?
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1 A. No.
2 Q. So if it turns out that, for example, all the
3 signs that were taken were hidden behind a garbage can,
4 or a Dumpster, that wouldn't have less value than if all
5 the signs were taken in a high -visibility area?
6 A. If you're saying to me, again, if the
7 hypothetical is, what is being relayed to me is, if you
8 have a sign in a place that no one can see, that -- then
9 there's no value.
10 Q. Okay. Is all your campaign experience in
11 Broward County?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Do you have any campaigning experience in
14 Palm Beach County?
15 A. No, I do not.
16 Q. Do you know what the population of Gulf
17 Stream is?
18 A. No, I do not.
19 Q. Do you know what the demographic breakdown of
20 Gulf Stream is?
21 A. No, I do not.
22 Q. Do you know how many contested elections,
23 municipal elections, there have been in Gulf Stream in
24 the last 20 years?
25 A. No, I do not.
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1
Q.
During any of your time in advising
2
Mayor Seiler
in his campaigns, has there ever been a
3
situation
where some of his signs have been removed?
4
A.
Removed by whom?
5
Q.
Well, let's start first by the City of Fort
6
Lauderdale.
7
A.
No.
8
Q.
How about by the opposing candidates?
9
A.
There have been allegations of that.
10
Q.
Okay. Were the allegations of like a
11
concerted
effort to do that?
12
A.
I would -- again, there have been allegations
13
that maybe
someone with -- someone, again, that we were
14
opposing in
the campaign or opposing us may have removed
15
signs.
16
Q.
I mean, do you know approximately how many
17 1 signs it was?
18 A. No, no. I mean, no. I mean, it wasn't --
19 like I said, it was never -- we never kept track. I
20 mean, essentially, somebody calls up and says, hey, I
21 had a sign in my yard, the sign is removed. You know,
22 somebody -- one of us sends it over and we replace it.
23 Q. Let me ask you this: Are you aware in your
24 experience of another situation where campaign signs
25 were sort of removed on a more systematic scale than
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1 just one guy taking down a sign?
2 A. Be a little more specific.
3 Q. Sure. Are you aware of any situation similar
4 to what happened as alleged in the First Amended
5 Complaint?
6 A. In the sense that it was done by a
7 municipality?
8 Q. If there are, that's great, but also, I would
9 say, if they are by the other campaign. I'm just
10 wondering -- I want to see if you know of any other
11 incidences of this kind of stuff happening.
12 A. I mean, there's -- in every campaign, there
13 are allegations of one side or another side taking
14 somebody else's signs. Is it proven? Have I ever been
15 in a campaign where it was proven X, Y, Z, we have
16 someone on tape? No.
17 Q. I guess where I was going with this is: I
18 was trying to give you a hypothetical, if you knew where
19 you could provide me and give me another estimate of
20 damages for another campaign.
21 A. No. I don't have -- again, I've had
22 situations where, you know, again, signs have been
23 removed, stolen, whatever, but I can't say that -- I
24 don't understand where you want me to go with it.
25 Q. Sure. You advised Judge Ross?
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1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Did he put up signs?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. How many signs did he put up?
5 A. I don't know the specific number.
6 Q. What kind of signs did he put up?
7 A. There were two signs. There were yard signs
8 which are basically, again, the standard, I don't know,
9 one foot by one foot or -- I'm not great with
10 measurements. And then there were large signs which
11 were essentially four-by-four signs.
12 Q. And how many of those four-by-four signs did
13 he put up?
14 A. We usually put two to a location. I think
15 we -- again, we did at least 25. We at least did 50,
16 two signs to a location, 25 locations.
17 Q. Okay. So can you assign a value in terms of
18 damages if one of those 25 sets of signs had been
19 removed?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Why not?
22 A. Because, again, the value is -- the value is
23 in the eye of the viewer. It's not in me that -- again,
24 the bottom line is, if I have 500 people ride by a sign
25 in one day, and 500 people -- 499 of them don't take
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1 notice of it, but one person does and one person says,
2 you know what, I'm going to vote for him; that's a vote.
3 Now, again, obviously in a race with Judge
4 Ross where there's 135,000 -- there was 135,000 people
5 who voted -- one vote isn't going to sway the world. If
6 you're -- but again, as I said, I've dealt with a race
7 where it had 355,000 votes, and it came down to 550, or
8 if you're in a small municipality, one vote, a low
9 amount of votes could swing everything.
10 Q. Okay. Can you use whatever methodology you
11 use to come up with the $50,000 to come up with a value
12 for that -- one of those 25 sets of signs for
13 Judge Ross?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Why not?
16 A. Again, going back to it, it's not that I
17 don't -- the value overall of a sign is, again, views,
18 repetition, repetition -- you know, views and
19 repetition. I mean, is it a sign -- again, probably
20 more damage would be caused if a sign had been up for a
21 longer period of time than a shorter period of time.
22 We go back to what I said earlier, that it
23 could be more than just, oh, the sign is gone. If you
24 have people from the City coming out and pulling up
25 signs, that in itself could be far worse than just, oh,
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1 it was there today, gone tomorrow.
2 Q. Could you put a value up if the City of Fort
3 Lauderdale had removed one of Judge Ross's sets of
4 signs?
5 A. If it was -- if someone from the City of Fort
6 Lauderdale was in a City of Fort Lauderdale vehicle
7 pulling up signs, no, I could not put a specific dollar
8 sign on it, but it would be -- it would be
9 significant -- probably a significant problem, because
10 again, if it was done -- you know, if it was done at
11 4:00 o'clock in the morning, and few to none -- few
12 people saw it. Again, if anybody saw it, it's a
13 problem.
14 Q. Are you aware of any treatises or, you know,
15 Horne books on campaigning?
16 A. No -- well, I mean there's certainly all
17 types of books about campaigns and running campaigns. I
18 mean, there's -- you know, I mean, James Carville
19 wrote -- his autobiography is a book about campaigning,
20 so certainly, there's books about campaigning.
21 Q. Do you rely on any of those in your opinions?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you been asked to provide any opinions
24 since providing this one?
25 A. For who?
O ES QUIRE 800.211.DEPO (3376)
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
62
Q. For Mr. O'Boyle.
A. No.
MR. GILL: I have no further questions for
the witness?
MR. MESA: I have no questions.
THE WITNESS: Okay.
MR. GILL: You have the right to read your
deposition to make sure it's been transcribed
accurately or you have the right to waive it.
THE WITNESS: Read.
MR. GILL: We will order.
THE COURT REPORTER: Copy?
MR. MESA: Yes, please.
(Witness excused.)
(Deposition was concluded.)
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
DEPOSITION ERRATA SHEET
January 28, 2015
63
Assignment no: 263071
MARTIN O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY
I declare under penalty of perjury that I have
read the entire transcript of my deposition/examination
under oath taken in the captioned matter or the same
has been read to me, and the same is true and accurate,
save and except for changes and/or corrections, if any,
as indicated by me on the DEPOSITION ERRATA SHEET
hereof, with the understanding that I offer these
changes as if still under oath.
Signed on the day of
2015.
ESQUIRE
MICHAEL G. AHEARN
I
800.211.DEPO (3376)
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
64
ESQUIRE
800.211.DEPO (3376)
EsquireSolutions. com
DEPOSITION ERRATA SHEET
Page No.
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SIGNATURE:
DATE: 2015
MICHAEL G.
AHEARN
ESQUIRE
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
65
0ESOUIRE
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DEPOSITION ERRATA SHEET
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SIGNATURE:
DATE: 2015
MICHAEL G.
AHEARN
0ESOUIRE
800.211.DEPO (3376)
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
January 28, 2015
66
C E R T I F I C A T E O F O A T H
STATE OF FLORIDA )
COUNTY OF BROWARD )
I, the undersigned authority and Notary
Public certify that MICHAEL G. AHEARN personally
appeared before me and was duly sworn on Wednesday,
January 28, 2015.
2015.
Sworn to before me this 30th day of January,
Theresa Tomaselli, RMR
Notary Public - State of Florida
My Commission No. EE91591
My Commission Expires 8/27/2015
263071
ESQUIRE
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MICHAEL G. AHEARN
O'BOYLE vs. TOWN OF GULF STREAM
REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
January 28, 2015
67
I, THERESA TOMASELLI, Registered Merit
Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of
Florida at Large, do hereby certify that I was
authorized to and did report said deposition in
stenotype; and that the foregoing pages are a true and
correct transcription of my shorthand notes of said
deposition.
I further certify that said deposition was
taken at the time and place hereinabove set forth and
that the taking of said deposition was commenced and
completed as hereinabove set out.
I further certify that I am not an attorney
or counsel of any of the parties, nor am I a relative or
employee of any attorney or counsel of party connected
with the action, nor am I financially interested in the
action.
The foregoing certification of this
transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the
same by any means unless under the direct control and/or
direction of the certifying reporter.
DATED this 30th day of January, 2015.
ESQUIRE
r
THERESA TOMASELLI
263071
800.211.DEPO (3376)
EsquireSolutions. com