So Help Me God

by Larry D. Thompson

  "Don't rightly know, Kermit. I'll talk it over with Potts and the judge and get back to you."

  "That's fine, Johnny Bob, but while you're coming up with a number, remember that your client was drunk and ran the stop sign." They ended the conversation and Johnny Bob walked down the hall to report to the judge. Arbuckle had his feet up on his desk and was dozing when Johnny Bob entered. Johnny Bob coughed loudly and the judge's eyes opened. "So tell me, Tank, what does our friend Kermit have to say?"

  After describing the conversation, the judge didn't say anything for a couple of minutes and then he gave Johnny Bob a surprise. "Tell him our demand is $250,000."

  "Judge," Johnny Bob responded, "isn't that just going to force a trial? I want my first trial as soon as I can get it, but if we could get $50,000 to settle this case, wouldn't that be a pretty damn good settlement?"

  "Most of the time, Tank, I'd say you're right on. But there's something else here. This case has been on file for nine months. As ol' Kermit rightly points out, our driver did have a couple of beers and for sure had the stop sign. There's not much reason for the trucking company to pay us any money on those facts. As soon as you tell him we want the driver's log, up pops a settlement discussion. We just need to keep the pressure on and wait to see what's in that log. We'll get it two weeks before trial and all the cards will be on the table. We can afford to wait."

  Johnny Bob started getting weekly phone calls from Kermit, wanting to talk settlement. Initially he said, "You and the judge talked yet? Why don't I try to get $25,000 and we'll wrap this one up?" Then the offer went to $35,000. A few days before he was required to turn over the driver's log, it was raised to $55,000 with the added requirement that if that amount was not accepted in seven days, the offer would be withdrawn and the case would be tried. Johnny Bob was eager to take it. Judge Arbuckle, speaking from thirty years of experience, told him just to keep his powder dry. If $55,000 were available this week, it would still be there on the morning of trial. His advice was to sit tight and wait on that log. Johnny Bob reported all of this to Danny Potts whose eyes grew big at the amount of money being offered. After thinking about it, he said he would go along with the judge. So they waited a week. It was worth the wait. Johnny Bob and the judge took one look at the log and the judge let out a low whistle.

  "Tank, this is even better than I expected. We just got into gross negligence and a distinct possibility of punitive damages. We're still two weeks from trial. Go tell Mable to add a gross negligence paragraph to our petition and to plead for $250,000 in actual damages and $l,000,000 in punitives."

  The petition now read that the truck driver and the trucking company had consciously and recklessly disregarded the safety of others, including Danny Potts. Further, punitive damages should be awarded against the defendants to punish them and set an example so that other similar defendants would be discouraged from such conduct in the future.

  CHAPTER 27

  Constructed at the turn of the century, the old, gothic courthouse with a domed roof and spires at each corner dominated the town square. Johnny Bob was at the courthouse by seven-thirty. His footsteps echoed as he walked down the first floor hallway and up the stairs to the district courtroom. Like his footsteps, thoughts echoed through his mind about what was about to occur. He had to please the new judge, his client, and, more importantly, twelve people from around the county. He didn't know if he was up to the task. Nothing in law school or in the few months since he had been licensed could possibly prepare him for trying a lawsuit.

  As instructed by the judge, Johnny Bob was the first in the courtroom. The first attorney to arrive on the opening day of trial got his choice of counsel tables. Judge Arbuckle told him to take the one closest to the jury box, facing the witness stand. Old trial lawyers always wanted to be as close to the jury box as possible. Given their preference, they would have taken a seat right in the middle of the first row of jurors. Kermit came in a little after eight o'clock, big briefcase in hand and accompanied by the truck driver, dressed neatly in a starched plaid shirt, clean jeans and shiny black boots. Kermit sat his briefcase down at the other counsel table and pointed to a chair for his client.

  "Johnny Bob, let's talk. Step outside with me for a minute," Kermit said, motioning him out the back door of the courtroom. When they walked out into the hallway, Kermit kept his voice low since others, perhaps prospective jurors, were now beginning to filter into the corridor. "I've been beating on my client all weekend and I've got another $25,000. That makes $80,000. A lot of money for a broken leg and a few bumps and bruises, particularly when your drunk busted a stop sign."

  By now, Johnny Bob was learning how to play the game. "Now, Kermit, I admit that's a lot of money for a broken leg and some headaches. But, that doesn't near begin to cover the punitive damages that I expect twelve good citizens of this county to put on your Yankee trucking company. I'll talk it over with my client and Judge Arbuckle. My guess is that when the jury sees that driver's log, they ain't gonna be very happy about it."

  Johnny Bob turned and walked down the stairs to the front of the courthouse to wait for Danny and Judge Arbuckle. As he waited, he mulled over the options. He would have jumped at $80,000 only a few weeks ago. Now he was in agreement with the judge. It wasn't enough. He was bouncing figures around in his head when Danny walked up, dressed in a white shirt, khakis, and brown boots.

  "Well, how's my lawyer doing? Ready to go kick some trucking company ass, Johnny Bob?"

  Before Johnny Bob could reply, Judge Arbuckle joined them and Johnny Bob explained the latest offer. This time Danny's eyes grew even bigger as he mentally calculated his percentage. Once again, Danny acquiesced to the judge's recommendation to reject it.

  Johnny Bob's voice cracked several times on voir dire examination of the jury, that part of the trial where he got to explain a little about his case and question the prospective jurors. However, he said it was his first jury trial. The jurors smiled. The testimony flowed as expected. Judge Arbuckle said that they needed to call the truck driver as their first witness to get the jury on their side before Danny's drinking came into evidence. It was a good move. The driver conceded that he had been on the road for more than forty-eight hours with only seven hours sleep. He admitted he was loaded up on caffeine but denied taking uppers. Still, just the question planted the thought in the jury's mind. He readily agreed with Johnny Bob that he could not have made his schedule if he had taken the mandatory rest stops. That testimony brought looks of disgust to the faces of a number of the jurors. The witness admitted that he had not seen the speed limit sign just up the road from the accident. Still, he was certain that whatever the speed limit, he was not over it. The jury didn't buy what he was selling.

  The next witness was the highway patrolman who had come over to the side of the plaintiff. Of course, he conceded that Danny had left the stop sign. However, based on the skid marks, he would have been out of the intersection if the truck had been traveling within the speed limit.

  Then, Danny's doctor testified that although Danny's leg had almost healed, as he got older it was likely that he would develop arthritis in that leg and might need a cane to get around. The older he got, the more trouble he could expect.

  The plaintiff's last witness was Danny Potts who did a good job. By now, Johnny Bob was feeling more comfortable with his lawyering skills and walked his client through the night in question, even bringing a chuckle from the jurors when it came out that Danny had lost five dollars playing shuffleboard. Of course, Danny saw the big truck. No one could miss it. He had been at that intersection hundreds of times. It was a major highway, but the lights on that truck were hundreds of yards up the road. No doubt in his mind that he had plenty of time to make it across. He denied the accusation from Kermit that his depth perception was impaired by alcohol. After all, he volunteered, he had at least three beers every night and they didn't affect him. Johnny Bob winced at that testimony. After the accident Danny spent ten days in the hospital
with the broken leg, a concussion and other injuries. Although it took longer than expected for the leg to heal, it was doing pretty good now and he hoped to go back to work at the railroad soon in spite of a noticeable limp.

  Kermit's argument was right out of the can. Stop sign, drinking… the accident was the fault of Potts. If anyone needed to be punished, it was Danny Potts for getting out on the highway after drinking for three hours. Certainly, nothing his client did caused the accident or was grounds for punishment. Kermit made the argument very well even though it was hollow and he knew it.

  Johnny Bob's cracking voice returned on closing, causing grins from a couple of jurors. This time he just smiled, apologized and went on with his description of the events, damage to his client and the long-range implications of the severely broken leg. Then, he closed with a stirring damnation of trucking companies who would do what this one did to its drivers and to the Danny Potts of the world, making even the truck driver a victim of the greed of the East Coast corporation. He asked for $250,000 in actual damages and a finding of gross negligence with punitive damages of $1,000,000. The defendants needed to be taught a lesson.

  The jury had been deliberating about three hours when Judge Arbuckle walked to the courthouse. He found Kermit, brow furrowed, talking earnestly with Johnny Bob. Kermit left as the judge approached.

  "What's going on, Tank?"

  "Judge, the jury just sent out a question and asked if they were limited in their damage award by the amount of money that I asked for on closing argument."

  "Well, I'll be damned, son," the judge exclaimed. "Looks like we're fixing to kill a fat hog."

  About that time the bailiff came out and announced that the jury had reached a verdict. The parties and the lawyers filed back into the courtroom and the judge took the bench. As the jurors took their seats, several of them looked at Johnny Bob and nodded. When the verdict was read, Johnny Bob could hardly believe what he was hearing. The jury found both negligence and gross negligence on the driver and his company; none on Danny; and awarded $500,000 in actual damages and $1,000,000 in punitive damages. As the foreman told Johnny Bob afterward, they wanted to send a message to trucking companies that they damn sure better obey the law when they come through Palestine in the future.

  CHAPTER 28

  On the evening after the trial Johnny Bob, Judge Arbuckle, Mable, and Danny celebrated at the Davy Crockett Steakhouse, located on the highway south of town. This time they all drank, keeping the waitress busy bringing beer, scotch and margaritas. Word of the verdict traveled rapidly. A number of the other restaurant patrons stopped by the table to shake Johnny Bob's hand, toasting him and congratulating the others. After devouring the biggest steaks in the place, Judge Arbuckle told them it was time to talk.

  "All right, Danny. Let me explain what can happen from here. We'll prepare a judgment and probably get it entered tomorrow. They will file a motion for a new trial and then the case will go up on appeal. As a former judge, I think I can tell you that there aren't any errors in the case that would cause a reversal. Nonetheless, they'll keep it on appeal for two or three years. We'll be earning interest on the judgment. In the end we will win, but you won't get your hands on the money until the appeal is over. The alternative is for us to talk settlement now. There's something to be said for knocking ten or fifteen percent off the judgment to get our hands on the money. If we did that, say we took ten percent off and they agreed to it, then you would get sixty percent of $1,350,000 or about $800,000. We lawyers would get about $550,000 as our fee and expenses."

  Johnny Bob didn't have to think about it. He wanted the money in his hands, now not later. He was tired of living on beans and hamburgers. His share would buy a lot of steak. However, it was Danny's choice and Johnny Bob didn't want to influence him.

  A smile filled his face as Danny said, "Judge, that ain't hardly any decision at all. $800,000 is a lot more than I ever thought that I would see in my whole life. It'll buy me a new house, a fine bass boat and an even finer pickup. I might even buy the old lady a new Buick. Let's take the money and run."

  They did. The defendant negotiated a little harder than the judge anticipated. After two weeks they settled on $1,300,000. It took two more weeks for the check to arrive from New York and another five days for it to clear the banking system. It was a Monday morning when the judge called Johnny Bob into his office.

  "Well, Tank, this is the day. I just confirmed with the bank that the check has cleared. You can take Danny's check out to him shortly. I wanted to personally give you your share of the fee. Here's a check for $200,000. I threw in a little bonus for the fine work that you did."

  The judge handed him a check payable to "J. Robert Tisdale, Attorney at Law." Johnny Bob stared at the check, his name and the numbers. Then, he sat down in the hard-backed chair and looked up with tears in his eyes. "Judge, I never figured that the law practice would be like this. I don't know what to say."

  "Tank, you don't have to say anything. You did your talking in the courtroom. Let me say a few things. First, you earned this money. You're a natural trial lawyer. Forget your law school grades. Forget all those fancy Houston law firms. Before your career is over you'll make more money than all of their partners combined."

  Johnny Bob's eyes widened as he listened to Judge Arbuckle's praise. Up to this point in his life, compliments from teachers, coaches and professors were few and far between.

  "I've tried cases for thirty years and I know what I'm talking about. You've got the knack. You can connect with a jury like very few lawyers I've ever seen. It's a little like a preacher who becomes one with his congregation. By the time you finished the first day of that trial the jury was in the palm of your hand and was ready to believe whatever you told them. Not to say that you won't have to work your butt off for every trial, and you've got to make sure your case is credible. That it can pass the smell test. If you pick the right cases, jurors are going to do your bidding. Don't mean you won't occasionally lose a case. Any lawyer who's never lost a case just ain't tried very many, but you're going to win more than your fair share and win them big. Stick to the plaintiff's side. Go look for victims. That's where the money is. I'm going to hang around for a few more years and second chair you, not that you need it. I figure with you as my partner, my retirement can be on easy street. If it's okay with you, we'll change the lettering on the door to read Arbuckle and Tisdale, Attorneys and Counselors at Law.

  The first thing that Johnny Bob did was trade in his old beat-up pick up for a brand new red Ford pickup, loaded with every bell and whistle the dealer offered. On a-spur-of-the-moment decision, he also picked out one for Danny. Leaving his new pickup behind, he drove Danny's out to his house, parked the new truck in Danny's driveway and was climbing the steps to the porch when Danny came bursting out of the house.

  "There's my lawyer now. Best goddamn lawyer in East Texas. No, make that the whole state of Texas. See you've already been out buying yourself a new pickup."

  "Came to bring you your money, Danny," Johnny Bob replied as he handed his client a check for almost $800,000. He watched as Danny looked down at the check, then danced around the porch waiving the check over his head before stopping to grab him in as much of a bear hug as a little man could achieve with one the size of his lawyer. Johnny Bob pulled away from Danny, saying, "And there's one more thing. That's not my truck. It's yours. My present to you for putting me on the fast track in my legal career."

  "Just a minute, Johnny Bob," Danny protested. "I damn sure can afford to buy my own pickup now. Matter of fact, I ought to be buying you one."

  "Nope, Danny. I won't hear of it. Let's pile in your new truck and go by the bank to deposit that check. Then you can take me back out to the Ford dealer where my new truck is waiting for its owner."

  CHAPTER 28

  On the evening after the trial Johnny Bob, Judge Arbuckle, Mable, and Danny celebrated at the Davy Crockett Steakhouse, located on the highway south of town. This time they all dr
ank, keeping the waitress busy bringing beer, scotch and margaritas. Word of the verdict traveled rapidly. A number of the other restaurant patrons stopped by the table to shake Johnny Bob's hand, toasting him and congratulating the others. After devouring the biggest steaks in the place, Judge Arbuckle told them it was time to talk.

  "All right, Danny. Let me explain what can happen from here. We'll prepare a judgment and probably get it entered tomorrow. They will file a motion for a new trial and then the case will go up on appeal. As a former judge, I think I can tell you that there aren't any errors in the case that would cause a reversal. Nonetheless, they'll keep it on appeal for two or three years. We'll be earning interest on the judgment. In the end we will win, but you won't get your hands on the money until the appeal is over. The alternative is for us to talk settlement now. There's something to be said for knocking ten or fifteen percent off the judgment to get our hands on the money. If we did that, say we took ten percent off and they agreed to it, then you would get sixty percent of $1,350,000 or about $800,000. We lawyers would get about $550,000 as our fee and expenses."

  Johnny Bob didn't have to think about it. He wanted the money in his hands, now not later. He was tired of living on beans and hamburgers. His share would buy a lot of steak. However, it was Danny's choice and Johnny Bob didn't want to influence him.

  A smile filled his face as Danny said, "Judge, that ain't hardly any decision at all. $800,000 is a lot more than I ever thought that I would see in my whole life. It'll buy me a new house, a fine bass boat and an even finer pickup. I might even buy the old lady a new Buick. Let's take the money and run."

  They did. The defendant negotiated a little harder than the judge anticipated. After two weeks they settled on $1,300,000. It took two more weeks for the check to arrive from New York and another five days for it to clear the banking system. It was a Monday morning when the judge called Johnny Bob into his office.