archives, where tempers ran hot at one very tense deposition.
This is Jack Garrett, a former chemist for Monsanto, St. Louis
based industrial chemical company
being sued by more than 700 people in Harris County, Texas.
The neighbors are claiming they suffered severe health problems
as a result of living near a toxic waste
dump site once used by the company
to discard hazardous materials.
Garrett's here today for a deposition.
When you were at Monsanto, what was your title?
At Monsanto?
What do you mean?
In Texas City, research chemist.
NARRATOR: So far so good, but that's about to change.
NARRATOR: Interrupting is attorney Edward Carstarphen,
who doesn't represent Garrett but represents
Monsanto, the company.
After you left Texas City--
Yeah.
TUCKER: If you don't represent him,
you don't have any right to be making any objections.
If you do represent him, tell us so.
NARRATOR: Carstarphen has heard Tucker's suggestion
and offers a suggestion of his own.
JOE JAMAIL: No way.
No you're not.
Yeah I am.
Are you threatening to fight?
Hold on just a second.
No, I want to know who's side we're on.
[inaudible]
We're going to be outnumbered, Ed.
NARRATOR: This deposition with lawyers making big bucks
by the hour has officially devolved into an exchange
of childish insults.
Oh, I'd like to knock you on your ass,
but I'm not going to do that.
Come over here and try it, you dumb son of [bleep]..
Wait just a second.
Come over here.
Hold it.
Hey, wait a minute.
Hold on.
No way.
[inaudible]
NARRATOR: Thankfully, the two men never came to blows.
But after the insults stopped flying,
it was Jamail who ultimately landed the knockout punch.
Monsanto company settled the lawsuit
and agreed to pay out $39 million to the plaintiffs.
Next, we go to bond court in Florida's Broward County.
Judge John Hurley presiding.
May I see Abdono Haul.
NARRATOR: He's just called defendant
Abdono Haul, who has an outstanding warrant
for resisting arrest.
All right, Abdono Haul, you want to work
this out right now, Mr. Hall?
Plead no contest, case is over with.
You want to do that?
I'm Abdul Alphala, authorized representative, natural person
in propria persona.
All rights reserved, ex relatione Abdono Haul,
all rights reserved, UPC 1-207/1-038UCC103.
NARRATOR: Now, that is definitely Abdono Haul.
But that is not the name he's using.
I'm Abdul Alphala, authorized representative, natural person
in propria persona.
NARRATOR: Even though the judge has a full plate of cases,
he plays along.
Do you know somebody named Abodono Haul?
Ex relatione.
I'm authorized representative Abdul Alphala.
Oh, you're the representative for him.
Yeah.
Do you know where he is right now?
Authorized representative--
No, I know you're an authorized representative.
But I need to talk to him.
Do you know where he is?
I object.
Object for what?
NARRATOR: Haul is beginning to test the judge's patience.
I object to that.
State the grounds for your objection.
I object because I just gave you my natural propria persona
name.
What is that name?
Abdul Alphala.
NARRATOR: Some judges might take exception to this behavior
and even hold the defendant in contempt.
But not Judge Hurley.
OK.
Authorized representative.
Have you ever been known as Abdono Haul?
I object to that.
What's your-- what's the grounds for your objection?
I object.
NARRATOR: Looks like Judge Hurley
will need an entirely different approach.
All right.
Well, let's do this.
You're Abdono Haul's representative, right?
Authorized representative.
All right.
When you see him, will you tell him his bond is $500?
Thank you.
NARRATOR: Haul is forced to undergo
a psychological evaluation.
But he serves no jail time.
Our next story takes us to Las Vegas, Nevada,
where Judge Douglas Herndon's presiding.
The defendant is Gary Walters, who's on parole
for various financial crimes.
He's in court today over restitution he was ordered
to pay as part of his sentence.
I've been making my payments.
I've been on Social Security.
I've been paying what I can in restitution.
All of a sudden, he says, you got to pay $26,000 a month.
NARRATOR: As Walters makes his case,
there's a man standing a few feet behind him.
And the judge takes notice.
I'm gonna have to go back to original court and then
possibly--
Hold on a second.
Who's this guy staring at me over here?
This is Kim Blandino.
I'm a co-plaintiff in the civil case.
NARRATOR: Kim Blandino has nothing
to do with this criminal case.
And he's not even a lawyer.
But he is a co-plaintiff in a civil suit
that Walters has filed against his former attorney.
Blandino has earned a dubious reputation
for filing frivolous motions and joining civil suits
where he has no affiliation.
But judge Herndon is not about to let
Blandino disrupt his courtroom.
OK, are you an attorney?
KIM BLANDINO: No.
Then you need to sit down and quit staring at me like
somehow you need to talk to me or whatever
because [inaudible].
Pardon?
- No. - OK.
I'm going to make a record about you in a minute.
But you need to sit down and be quiet
because you're not a plaintiff or a defendant
in my criminal case.
You're not an attorney.
You can't appear in my criminal case and act like an attorney.
So sit down and be quiet.
Mr. Walters, go ahead.
NARRATOR: Walters continues.
But when Blandino physically reacts to Judge Herndon's
comments, the judge has a few choice words for him
and his habit of acting like an attorney.
You know what, let me tell you something.
You want to act like an [bleep],, act like an [bleep]..
But I'm telling you, that gets you nowhere in court.
And you know what else gets you nowhere in court?
Sitting in the audience of a court
while a judge is engaging with somebody and shaking your head
and being all demonstrative.
So get out.
No, it wasn't inadvertent.
Don't give me that.
It's not inadvertent.
It's never-- get out.
It's never inadvertent when you come in and act
all disrespectful to people.
NARRATOR: Blandino exits.
But feeling disrespected, he later
filed a motion to have Judge Herndon
disqualified from the case.
The motion was denied.
[inaudible] Kim Dennis Blandino.
NARRATOR: 18 months later, Blandino is back in court
but this time as a defendant.
He's been charged with extortion and is under house arrest.
He has a hearing before Judge James
Bixler, who's well aware of Blandino's
history as a wannabe litigator.
Blandino is representing himself.
But the court has appointed Steve
Alter as co-counsel, which puts Blandino in a combative mood.
Mr. Alter, will you accept appointment
as stand by counsel?
I have an objection.
Shut up.
I have a right to object, I believe, your Honor.
You have the right to get held in contempt of court.
And that's what's going to happen if you don't shut up.
I'm not putting up with any of your crap here today.
Your reputation has preceded you.
Will you accept appointment on him as standby counsel?
Your Honor, I can.
However, Mr. Blandino-- we spoke outside--
wanted a little bit of time to speak to me in detail about
this case and his desires and then
also to look into my background a little bit before he would--
He wanted to interview you?
Yes sir.
[laughing]
I object to that laughing, Judge.
I object to you.
I think the defendant has already categorized himself
as a vexatious litigant.
I object.
Object all you want.
Can I make a record?
No.
I've got a motion--
What did I just say?
No.
I can't say anything?
No.
NARRATOR: Blandino refuses to quit, to the point
where others in the courtroom began reprimanding him.
Shut up.
Blandino, stop.
Shut up.
You're getting real close to getting remanded.
NARRATOR: Blandino finally gets the message
and agrees to meet with the court appointed counsel.
[chuckling]
NARRATOR: Blandino remained under house arrest
for extortion and impersonating a public officer.
Next, we're in Denver, Colorado, for the deposition
of attorney Robert Abrams.
Abrams' firm was added as a defendant
alongside their client in a lawsuit between two
former business partners and are being sued for fraud,
conspiracy, and aiding and abetting
a criminal by the plaintiff.
TOM WERGE: Good morning, Mr. Abrams.
Do you understand why you've been asked
to give your deposition today?
No.
NARRATOR: To say tensions are high in the room
would be an understatement.
Asking the questions off camera is the plaintiff's lawyer,
Tom Werge.
And on the other side of the table
is Abrams' lawyer, Neal Sullenberger.
TOM WERGE: Are you aware that your firm, Abrams
and Associates, is a defendant in a lawsuit that's
going to trial next month?
Yes.
TOM WERGE: Have you had your deposition taken before?
I think so.
TOM WERGE: When have you had your deposition taken?
I don't recall.
TOM WERGE: How many times?
I don't recall.
TOM WERGE: You're sitting here today under oath.
You have no idea whether you've been deposed before.
I have before.
I've answered that question.
Object to form.
Move on.
NARRATOR: Object to form is a quick way
to object during a deposition and, in effect,
ask the attorney to clarify the question.
TOM WERGE: Have you been deposed--
Object to form.
Move to certify the question.
If you feel that I haven't answered,
then you can move for a sanction.
TOM WERGE: We're going to go ahead
and stop the deposition at this point
and dial the special master.
Good morning.
Yes.
We are in the middle of a deposition this morning.
NARRATOR: But when the special master isn't available,
plaintiff's attorney Tom Werge asks the same question again.
TOM WERGE: Mr. Abrams, have you had
your deposition taken before?
NARRATOR: And gets the same answer.
Asked and answered.
Move on.
TOM WERGE: You need to answer the question.
The question was answered.
Excuse me.
Have her read it back.
TOM WERGE: Mr. Abrams, this is not your deposition.
Please don't harass me.
TOM WERGE: No, I'm not harassing you.
We're going to move for sanctions against you.
TOM WERGE: I'm asking you to answer questions.
If you're not going to allow her--
NARRATOR: As the heated back and forth continues,
Abrams, who is a witness, begins making his own objections,
which a witness is not allowed to do during a deposition.
I'm going to raise move to strike, find it objectionable,
and then move for sanctions for harassment under Rule 30(d).
You can look it up if you don't know it.
TOM WERGE: Mr. Abrams, I feel quite
confident that if any sanctions are entered in this matter,
it's going to be against you--
TOM WERGE: --for continuing to obstruct and not
answer any of my questions.
TOM WERGE: You cannot object.
I just did.
TOM WERGE: You cannot.
I just did.
I'm a lawyer.
I'm a licensed, unblemished member of the bar.
Unblemished.
If you laugh at me one more time,
I'm going to walk out of here.
We're going to move for harassment sanctions
against you right now.
NARRATOR: Things only get worse when the arguments
take a personal turn.
TOM WERGE: We're going to be here for a long time
today if you do not answer my questions.
I can't even get through my initial question
you are being so obstructionist today.
That's because you a weak lawyer.
You have a sit down here for fraud.
Ask us fraud questions.
TOM WERGE: OK, let's ask a couple more questions.
Mr. Abrams, what are the pills that you just took?
None of your business.
NEAL SULLENBERGER: Privilege.
TOM WERGE: What are those-- what are those other pills?
None of your business.
But I can tell you that if you took some of these,
they would help get some of your weight off.
I could tell you that.
TOM WERGE: You're referring to when you called me fat when
you walked in here earlier?
I don't recall that.
If you want to raise your weight problem,
Mr. Werge, with the jury and with the special master,
please do it.
But we're not the ones that are sitting here in that condition.
TOM WERGE: I am going to end this deposition now.
Mr. Abrams, we're going to continue it
while we seek intervention of the special master.
Fine.
TOM WERGE: It's clear that you are not here
to answer any questions today.
We are going to move for sanctions against you
and your firm for your conduct during this deposition.
And we will take that up with the special master.
TOM WERGE: Please do.
NARRATOR: After reviewing the transcripts
from the deposition, the special master issued an order
for sanctions against Abram.
His behavior during the deposition
along with other misconduct in the case
would ultimately earn Abrams a nine-month license suspension.
You have no evidence.
Put something in front of me and we'll answer the questions.