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SCO Lawyers Ambush IBM Witness
Mr. E. writes "In a sneaky legal maneuver, SCO's lawyers managed to ambush an IBM witness into having to give a no-holds-barred deposition in front of an unrelated court in another state. After SCO was limited in what they could depose Mr. Otis Wilson about by the Utah court, the company blindsided IBM with last-second subpoenas before a North Carolina court. IBM's lawyer was on vacation at the time, didn't give prior notice to big blue, and now they've won the right to ask him anything they want. They've asked him about whether he has a criminal record, about ex-wives, etc. and they have four hours in which to do so. According to PJ of Groklaw, 'I'd say [Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells] has thrown poor Mr. Wilson to the wolves in North Carolina and told him it's his own fault.' SCO, of course, is fishing for something — anything — they can use to stave off IBM's Motion for Summary Judgement which is fast approaching, and if they can somehow trip up Mr. Wilson, they might be able to do just that. However, there was at least one line of cold comfort in Magistrate Well's order '[T]he court wishes to note that its decision should not be viewed as any type of invitation to reopen the discovery process.'"
The poor guy's search history might've been released by AOL.
He'd... better... talk... reeeaaaallll... sssllllloooooowwwwww....
SCO Attorney: "Let the record show that Mr. Wilson likes chocolate ice cream, baseball and buys his underwear at J.C. Penney. Which I think speaks for itself in regards to the nefarious activities of IBM!!!"
Judge: "I'd say it speaks volumes what a loonie lot you are. I find for IBM"
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I would love to read what other /. readers who actually are lawyers think.
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
A judge! Juuudge! Juuudge! Ooooooh, it's a judge! It's some
.
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
Lawsuit, Lawsuit!
Money money money money money money money money money money money money money...
A judge! Juuudge! Juuudge! Ooooooh, it's a judge! It's some...
/ to the tune of "Badger badger badger"
You missed "due to", "on having all" and "1980s". Please turn in your grammar Nazi swastika.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
If they have only 4 hours to depose you, talk v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Your name is Otis so no one can hold that against you -- plus you are in North Carolina so no one will notice...
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
fighting a wizard in his keep. I just have my rouge hide in the shadows for a critical hit in round 3, my warrior hacks away with his axe, the Ranger with his bow, one wizard heals, one protects and one casts Gotterdamurung every turn. I find the same strategy works aganst lawyers, only they've got more HP.
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SCO seem to be irritating the judge in Utah. IBM could try playing this card and get the North Carolina court (and judge) found in contempt of the Utah court for trying to alter the proceedings of the original case with this new nonsense of a case
You can do that, right?
Alternatively, he could just alternate between "I can't hear you", "I don't understand you", "I don't understand the question", "do you mean this or that?", answering something other than 'yes' or 'no' to a yes/no question, "sorry, pardon? I was distracted by that fly/laybird/pigeon", "I don't remember" and having his own lawyer shout 'objection' a lot.
Mix that up with a good dose of verbal acrobatics, a unscheduled power cut, dozens of toilet breaks, a quick dose of flu/chicken pox/bubonic plague, myriad bomb/fire alarms, the whole case getting lost due to a mysterious computer error, the electrical frequency in the building being increasing - making the clocks go 50% faster, a convenient paper cut and the SCO lawyers going down with food poisoning. The four hours will fly by!
IANAL, can you tell?
FGD 135
The distinction between 'ethical' and 'legal' doesn't matter to me in this case. These people are simply DISHONORABLE. I move for a change of venue to a Klingon court.
These people looked deep into my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined.