by James Ross
“I think that what I am in is a life-altering mess,” J Dub joked.
Judge Miles led the men into his office and shut the door. Denny had already assumed a seat on the sofa. “And what is your role?” Judge Miles asked Curt.
“I’m a guy that has been trying to help his brother,” Curt explained. “I had the time to chase all of this stuff down for him.”
“I’m normally stuck in the pro shop,” J Dub added.
“I understand,” Judge Miles stated. “Let me say something if I could.”
“Please do,” J Dub murmured. Everyone in the room anticipated what the ex-judge was going to say next.
“I’ve met with the heirs to the Morton Estate. We spent three days together, day and night on a short cruise.” He paused to look out the window toward the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River that flowed below. “What has happened to you is wrong!” Judge Miles yelled. “If there is anything that gets my juices flowing in the morning . . . the one thing that really makes me want to get out of bed, then it’s catching bad guys. I abhor what has happened to all of you in this case.”
“Denny has filled me in on the details of the case. I’ve been down to meet with Lucille and Matt,” Judge Miles continued. “I want to make sure that justice is served in this case. If all of the evidence is what you say that it is, then we have two legs up on these guys right now.”
Denny helped Judge Miles occasionally. “Do you want to tell them about the smoking gun?”
The judge looked at Denny. “They don’t know?” Denny shook his head. “We have evidence that the original contract that was signed has a forged signature on it,” Judge Miles bellowed. “We’re also fortunate enough to have one of the best known handwriting experts in the country living right here under our noses.”
“Won’t they just deny that the contract was forged?” J Dub asked.
“We expect them to,” Judge Miles replied. “But we’ve ordered an affidavit of authenticity from Dr. G. G. Browne. He’s the handwriting expert . . . and he is the best that there is in this part of the country. He’s maybe one of the five best in the nation.”
“I would think that they would get their own expert to dispute things,” Curt suggested.
“In this part of the world, it’s a horse race to see who can get to Dr. G. G. Browne first. We’ve already won the race. He’s our expert witness,” Judge Miles declared. A smile came over his face. “We’ll have the affidavit that we need next week.”
J Dub was back at it with the questions. “What’s our new plan?”
“If the contract was forged, as we claim, then that means that this Zerrmann fellow has unlawfully detained possession of the property for damn near the last twenty years,” Judge Miles clarified.
J Dub pried further. “What are the consequences of that?”
“The legal result is that the property has to revert back to the original owner,” Judge Miles stated.
J Dub turned to Curt. “Lew will blow a gasket.”
Judge Miles was not finished. “The kicker is that the courts also say that all money that has been earned on that property for all of the years that it was unlawfully detained must also be forfeited.”
“That’s probably long gone,” J Dub suggested.
“But we can obtain a judgment for that amount that was earned. Then we can file liens on any and all assets that are owned by the parties that unlawfully detained the property,” Judge Miles clarified.
The news of what Judge Miles had delivered took a minute to register with J Dub. With a gasp he said, “That will clean him out.”
“ . . . And well it should. Crime doesn’t pay!” Judge Miles shouted.
“What about Norman?” J Dub continued.
“Who is he?” Judge Miles asked.
“He’s the guy that owns it now.”
“I wouldn’t want to be his banker,” Judge Miles joked. “We’re going to go in and get that property back.”
Denny waited until the time was right to comment. “If the property goes back to the estate, then Norman will have to pay his loan to the bank. But he won’t be able to do that. So, it is safe to assume that the bank will sue Norman for the amount of their loan. And then Norman will have to sue Lew for the money that he paid to get the property.”
“But we expect that the money is long gone,” Judge Miles interrupted. “I’m sure that this Zerrmann character has moved it out of the local banks.”
“In the meantime we will have them fighting amongst themselves,” Denny advised.
“Where will the title company come in?” J Dub probed some more.
“Lew has filed suit against the title company,” Denny informed. “We just found that out.”
“Then you need to contact them and get them on our side,” Curt hinted.
Judge Miles nodded his head in agreement. “We think that’s a good idea. I’ve made contact with their attorney and informed him of the forged signature on the original contract. Needless to say, he was extremely interested in what we could bring to the table.”
“It makes sense. They have the deepest pockets and would have a vested interest in correcting a bogus title transfer that happened under their nose,” Curt added.
“Our hopes are, that once we give them a copy of the affidavit from the handwriting expert, then that will give the title company the ammunition that they will need to defeat this Zerrmann guy,” Judge Miles thought out loud.
J Dub was concerned about his role in the lawsuit. “If the estate gets the property back, then how will I get compensated?”
“You were defrauded from the start. We’ll go after a monetary judgment for you,” Judge Miles stated matter-of-factly.
“I don’t think that the estate wants the ground up here. They live in Florida,” Denny interceded. “I’m sure that they would agree to sell it to you at a favorable price. They realize your role in the scam. In talking to them it sounds like you both are concerned about the well-being of the other.”
“How quickly will all of this happen once we get the affidavit?” J Dub questioned the group again.
“We’ll re-file the lawsuit for you and the Morton heirs very soon,” Judge Miles announced. “I would think that we will be able to get some sort of resolution within eighteen to thirty-six months. That’s our hope anyway.”
J Dub glanced at Curt. “I guess that for as long as I’ve been involved with the guy, that’s a short period of time.”
“Just live your life. It’ll be here and gone before you know it,” Curt responded. J Dub and Curt finally felt that progress would be made. It was nice to see that they could force a little grin at each other.
Chapter Ninety-Six
Late Spring of 2002 . . .
The events of the next several months occurred very similar to the way that Judge Miles had described them. MILES & MILES & MILES, PC was a powerful law firm that was not the least bit concerned about going over into Lew’s territory. Dominic Miles went to Illinois and filed a lawsuit. It was now time for Lew and Walter and Norman to be served again by the process server. By now, he had gotten their habits down.
Walter was about at the end of the rope. The Morton Estate case against him was coming to trial any day. He had managed to get the trial delayed further due to a medical emergency from his legal counsel. With the current complaint, he faced possible civil liability to J Dub. His pockets were not nearly as full as Lew’s pockets. His legal bills were boxing him into a corner. Walter wanted the entire dilemma to get over. Nora was bitching at him every day.
Norman also had a couple of lawsuits filed against him. If he knew what his brother, George, had done, then he was not tipping his hand. He had title to a lot of property and was too greedy to get to the truth of the situation. It was his opinion that he was going to force the burden of proof on J Dub and the Morton heirs.
Lew, once again, employed Grady Patterson. The case was assigned to Judge Walter O. Bremsky. As expected, Lew and Grady pulled their usual shenanigan
s in court. Right off the bat, they asked for a change of venue. Judge Bremsky quickly denied that motion. Their strategy all along seemed to delay the process and challenge every court decision. It was the same tactics that they had used before. Grady didn’t mind. He kept collecting his fees.
The next ploy that they tried was to ask for a motion to dismiss. After hearing arguments from Dominic Miles, Judge Bremsky did something that no one expected. He said that he did not have enough information to make that decision. He did not accept the motion to dismiss, nor did he deny the motion to dismiss. Judge Bremsky stayed the motion to dismiss.
He ordered the parties to go through the discovery phase. He also ordered Dominic Miles to depose the defendants before making his decision. Lew and Walter and Norman vehemently opposed the order to be deposed. Their arguments went on deaf ears. They were on the clock that Judge Bremsky had imposed. It was one hundred twenty days and counting.
The days clicked off and nothing happened. The stalling techniques that Lew had successfully used in the past seemed to be working this time around too. Judge Bremsky did not intend for those same techniques to fly in his court. When Lew and Norman and Walter did not cooperate with discovery, Judge Bremsky was livid. The favorable court decisions that Lew had enjoyed for so many years seemed to disappear. He had done an adequate job of angering the judge.
Walter’s day in court, on the separate suit that the estate had filed, rapidly approached. Dominic Miles had taken over that case from Denny as well. They tried to get Walter to admit his wrongdoing in exchange for civil leniency. Walter went against the wishes of his wife, Nora. He battled the estate in civil court and was eventually held civilly liable for inappropriately handling the affairs of the estate. The civil judgment against him wiped out all of his errors and omissions insurance plus some. Nora filed for divorce.
That’s the first card to fall in this house of cards,” Denny proudly said to J Dub in a follow-up phone call. Needless to say, the estate was ecstatic. Finally after well over a decade of wrangling in court they prevailed.
It had been too long of a process and too frustrating for J Dub to get very excited. “One down and a few more to go,” J Dub responded. “Let’s see what happens with Lew.”
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed that it turns out in our favor,” Denny stated. “If we stay the course, then we should be okay.”
The handwriting affidavit from Dr. G. G. Browne was submitted as official evidence during the discovery phase of the process. It was difficult for Lew and Walter and Norman to combat that piece of evidence. Shortly thereafter the deposition testimony of Walter’s separate suit with the estate was entered into evidence. J Dub was clearly starting to make some progress down the stretch.
Those two documents were both entered into evidence in the title company lawsuit as well as the case that the liability insurance company had filed. Without a doubt, the tide had turned. Lew was in court facing adversaries that were bigger and stronger than him. They were after the truth and were not going to stop until they got it. Grady tried unsuccessfully to get Lew to cut his losses, but Lew adamantly refused his advice.
The Fall of 2002 . . .
After staying the motion to dismiss, the day had finally arrived for Judge Bremsky to rule on the motion that Grady had filed on behalf of Lew. To everyone’s surprise Judge Bremsky dropped a bombshell. He granted the motion to dismiss. No reason was given, only simple instructions for the clerk to notify all attorneys. Abruptly, it appeared that the end of the road had come for J Dub and the Morton heirs. Lew claimed that a prior court decision with which he had been victorious over the Morton Estate prevented any further legal action because the previous decision had been deemed final.
Hurriedly, a meeting between Denny Sneed, Dominic Miles, J Dub, and the heirs to the estate was called. “How can that happen?” J Dub asked.
“If you read between the lines, the narrative behind the decision doesn’t hold any water,” Denny explained, “because there was no narrative.”
“What good does that do us now?” J Dub went on to ask.
“It means that we have an excellent chance of being victorious in the Court of Appeals,” Denny went on to say. “We’ll file an accelerated appeal. It’s the easiest way for us to win there.”
“ . . . And how long is that going to take?” J Dub pried.
“Anywhere from six to twelve months,” Denny replied.
“There’s another setback to the middle part of my life . . . and then what?” J Dub asked.
Denny chose to break the news as gently as he could. “That’s our last chance. If we lose there, then we are done.”
“For crying out loud,” J Dub shouted. “They are accomplishing exactly what they wanted to accomplish.”
“The delays are working in their favor,” Lucille chimed in. “We’ve been delayed in this legal process for nearly two decades.”
“Welcome to our American system of justice,” Dominic stated.
“I guess what they say is true,” J Dub said with a tone of resolve in his voice.
“What’s that?” Denny asked.
J Dub pondered his next statement. “We’ve got boxes of evidence. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
“Or maybe how much money you have. Somebody had to get to the judge,” Matt offered. “Can he make a decision like that?”
“Judges like to play God,” Denny stated. “They can do what they want.”
“ . . . But they have to have legal justification,” Dominic Miles butted in.
“It would be interesting to see if either Lew or Grady contributed to Bremsky’s political campaign,” Matt argued. “It looks to me like Judge Bremsky owed a favor to someone.”
“With the documents that we have the whole process smells of corruption,” Lucille offered.
“I’m absolutely sure that Lew and his buddies exercised their influence over the judge,” J Dub stressed. “Somebody had to get to him.”
“On the surface it may appear like that,” Denny countered. He didn’t want to insinuate that the justice system in America worked in the way that J Dub and the heirs were suggesting. Denny turned to Dominic Miles for more clarity.
“We think that Judge Bremsky is giving them a false sense of security. His narrative was non-existent and had no legal support,” Dominic stated. “We think that the decision will be overturned in the Court of Appeals.”
“What makes you so sure?” J Dub inquired.
“First of all, we have the law on our side,” Denny said matter-of-factly.
Dominic Miles picked up where Denny left off. “ . . . And secondly, a lot of the appellate judges are . . .” Dominic stopped and weighed his response carefully. “Let’s just say that I was a judge for a long time earlier in my career.”
A collective grin broke out among them. J Dub’s words suddenly took a familiar ring. “I guess it’s a no-brainer,” he offered as he read between the lines. “Let’s wait the necessary time and hope for a favorable reversal.”
Six Months Later During the Spring of 2003 . . .
The appellate court for the Southern District of Illinois was housed in an ancient two-story building in Mount Vernon about an hours’ drive from St. Louis. What appeared to be at least a dozen coats of white paint had white-washed the brick building. A black wrought iron fence surrounded the property which at one time most certainly had been the hub of the town. Oak trees flourished and forsythias bloomed a radiant yellow backdrop to rows of contrasting red tulips. A horseshoe shaped staircase that once provided access to a second story entrance had been closed and now only one ground-level entrance was available to the public.
As they walked onto the grounds and across the red brick sidewalk J Dub commented to Curt, “I can’t believe that we’re down to the eleventh hour on this thing. These oral arguments better go well.”
Curt marveled at the history that surrounded them. “Look at this place! I bet Abraham Lincoln has been here before. That would ha
ve been over a hundred and fifty years ago.”
“Then let’s hope that his ghost is looking after our side,” J Dub offered as a last resort. The thought of being down to the wire had unnerved him.
The two brothers entered the building and passed through a portable metal detector. During heightened security that didn’t seem abnormal even though Mount Vernon was a small town and it appeared that many of the residents probably didn’t even lock their doors at night. They made their way to the second floor courtroom and promptly grabbed two of the twenty or so seats. Lucille and Matt entered a few minutes later and sat nearby. Their case had been placed second on the docket for the days’ business.
A buzzer startled all in attendance. “All rise!” the bailiff shouted. He had probably been on the state payroll for thirty years, but looked like he had the employment history of a weekend rent-a-cop. His tie was six inches above his belt and stained with vegetable beef soup. There was yellow mustard on his shirt.
Three appellate judges entered the courtroom and assumed their seats behind the bench. The judge seated in the middle said, “The first case to be argued today is Catamaran versus Catamaran which had been dismissed from Judge Bremsky’s court.”
Curt stuck his elbow into J Dub’s ribs. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered.
“What?” J Dub inquired.
“I thought the guy at the end looked familiar,” Curt said softly.
“ . . . The little Mexican looking guy?” J Dub asked.
“Yeah, that’s Alvarez Catamaran.”
“Who’s that?”
“He was the local jockey that was called up as a substitute four or five years ago to ride in the Derby. They put him on a long shot and he brought the horse home,” Curt murmured. “His nickname is Alley Cat. He rides at the track and when the racing card is over he goes to the bars until closing looking for the easy marks. His wife filed for divorce.”
“So,” J Dub naively shrugged.
Curt rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. “You just heard the judge. It was thrown out by Judge Bremsky. He must be a money hungry SOB.”
