© 2022, All rights reserved -- mimaster
Ashley goes to court; the Edwards entertain over the weekend.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thursday morning, April 18th
Maggie sat at the table, a legal pad full of notes in front of her. There were also several piles of paper, all neatly labeled and organized for easy access. Two chairs down sat Alex, who had his open briefcase in front of him filled with documents and file folders. Between them was Ashley Davenport, the plaintiff in the case against Allison, Hughes and Walling, her former law firm. She had a laptop open, but she was nervously clicking a pen.
Elliott Walling sat smugly at the defendant's table, three of his junior attorneys at his side as he represented himself. It was a foolish move, but one Alex had anticipated. They hadn't bothered to hire outside counsel, even after what seemed to be a disastrous preliminary hearing. Walling was viewing the proceeding as a training session for his up and coming lawyers.
Judge Hal Newcomb entered the courtroom as all parties stood. He told everyone to be seated in what would be a bench trial. Elliot was surprised Alex went in that direction, feeling better about the possibility of a favorable outcome with a judge ruling instead of the unpredictability of a jury. Alex felt the opposite, believing the facts of a case against a law firm would be best suited ruled by one man familiar with the law, and the inner workings of judicial proceedings.
Because of the format chosen and the nature of the case, Judge Newcomb was very casual in his approach, dispensing with formalities. That too was an advantage as far as Alex was concerned. It played to his strengths, being able to adjust to the way the actual case was being reviewed. Elliott was a very rigid man, using his knowledge of the system to his benefit. It was why he was being sued to begin with. He expected the court to be run in the formal way it usually was. It was anything but.
Bringing the court to order, Judge Newcomb said, "Let's get this rolling. Alex, you're up. Who's your first witness?"
"Ashley Davenport, Hal," he nodded.
Walling stood up, surprised by the way the proceeding began. "Your honor, are we not following proper courtroom decorum?"
"This trial is entirely about just that, Elliott. That being said, I have no intention of presiding over it like it's a supreme court decision. The more we dispense with the window dressings, the quicker we get to see the view on the other side of the window. Ashley, take the stand please."
She did, and was sworn in. Alex remained seated and asked her just a couple of questions. Holding up a paper, he wondered, "Why did you write this email? The one stating you were no longer going to try cases in front of Jack Austin's bench?"
She smiled and replied, "I wrote it because I realized after I'd lost my case representing the Patterson Corporation against Miss Swanson that I'd been a pawn in a game to manipulate Judge Austin's court. I actually realized that early on, when I was directed by my boss at the time to request numerous delays and continuances in the case instead of trying it on it's merits. It was all in order to create an advantage."
"And your boss was?"
"Elliott Walling."
"And what advantage was he referring to?"
"Cassie was pregnant. The prevailing theory Elliott was operating under was..."
"Objection, your honor!" Elliott called out, but not offering a reason why.
Hal waited for a moment and then sighed. "What is it Elliott?"
"I... I'm just not comfortable with the decorum."
"We're not here to provide you comfort. We're here to get to the bottom of this case, and I want to do that the quickest way possible."
"But your honor."
"My court, my rules on how I run it. Let's move on."
"Can she at least refer to me as Mr. Walling? I've earned that much."
Hal sighed again, and it wasn't a good one. "This isn't
A Few Good Men
, you're not Colonel Jessep, and I'm not Judge Randolph. Stop delaying this from proceeding. Ashley, if you would be so kind as to refer to Elliott as Mr. Walling, I'd appreciate it."
"Of course Hal. As I was saying, the prevailing theory...
Mr. Walling
... was operating under was that Cassie would have the baby in just a couple of months. So, I was instructed to keep asking for continuances, knowing eventually someone else would have to be assigned when the time came. Someone green and unfamiliar with the case.
Easy pickins'
is how he put it to me."
"And how'd that work out for you?" Alex asked.
She chuckled and said, "Instead of being opposed by some inexperienced junior attorney,
you
showed up in court, and you fucked me royally that day."
"Your honor!" Elliott objected.
"Language, Ashley," Judge Newcomb chuckled.
"Apologies. That was meant to be taken figuratively," she shrugged. "But... Alex also basically raped Patterson, and that was closer to literal. When he took over for Cassie, he talked with Emily. In that meeting, she remembered something she thought was insignificant. Alex apparently realized pretty quickly it wasn't. It turned out that Mr. Patterson and Mr. Walling purposely withheld evidence from me. An email that Emily was blind copied on. Once that came to light, I was forced to settle a case that in my opinion I know I could have won if I'd been allowed to go head to head with Cassie from the start. She's good, but so am I. Anyway, because of that, I had nothing to negotiate with. Alex had me where he wanted me, and yeah, I got fucked, right here in the courthouse. I'm not going to apologize again for saying it that way, because that's what really happened. I wrote that email because I have a moral and legal obligation to the court. I'd used Judge Austin's kindness as a way to manipulate him. I can't in good conscious stand before his bench again. I got fired for taking that stance."
"That's it. Your witness Elliott."
Walling practically leapt up, buttoning the jacket of his power suit.
"Miss Davenport, what... "
"It's Ashley."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I want you to call me Ashley. Hal has already established we're not going to be formal, despite your silly objection. There's also no need to button your jacket to try and intimidate me. It's not going to work, so ask your questions."
"Your honor, I'd like permission to treat the witness as hostile."
Hal laughed. "Are you kidding? She's right. I told you how this is going to go. Stop delaying. Request denied. Get on with it Elliott."
"Uh... very well. Ashley, what do you have in the form of emails or a letter that can corroborate you were ever instructed by anyone at our firm to ask for continuances?"
"Other than my notes?"
"Yes."
"None. I don't have any emails, or a letter from anyone at your firm."
"So you have nothing that can prove that I, or anyone else told you to delay. No proof that this hypothesis of yours about using Cassie Stafford's pregnancy as a legal strategy is anything other than an attempt to get back at my firm for letting you go because of the way you handled the Patterson case."
"You asked if I have documents other than my notes, which are meticulously detailed, by the way. My answer was I don't have any documentation, written or electronic, by you or anyone at your firm instructing me to do that. That communication was verbal. I can't speak to your motive to fire me, other than to save face with your partners. I was forced to settle the case when it became evident that vital information was kept from me. And before you ask, no, I didn't ask permission to do that. But I also didn't have a leg to stand on. They were both cut out from under me as soon as Alex became opposing counsel."
"Your honor, she's pontificating. I've not asked her about motive for her termination."
"That's alright. Alex will on redirect, or did you forget how this works?"
"Ashley, behave," Hal warned.
"Sorry, but he's wasting this courts time just like he had me do in Jack's."
"You've not proven that yet," he replied.
"I wouldn't be here if I couldn't," she grinned.
