John Grisham - The Litigators

Varrick’s stock opened at $42.50 on Monday morning, its highest value in over two years. David scanned the financial sites and blogs, and they were still buzzing with speculation about the future of Krayoxx litigation. Since David had no role in that future, he was losing interest fast.

He searched the near-impenetrable Web site of Cook County — Courts — Criminal — Warrants & Affidavits and found no record of a complaint for assault filed by one Aaron Deentz. On Saturday, the Hung Juror had blogged about the ending of the Klopeck trial but did not mention getting punched out in the men’s restroom on the twenty-third floor of the Dirksen Federal Building.

Oscar had a friend who had a friend who worked in Warrants & Affidavits, and this friend was supposedly on the lookout for a filing by Deentz. “You really decked him?” Oscar had asked with genuine admiration.

“Yes, a stupid thing to do.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just simple assault. I got friends.”

When Sandroni’s report arrived, David read it carefully and almost salivated at its conclusion: “The levels of lead in the paint used in coating the Nasty Teeth toys are of toxic levels. Any child, or person, using this product in the exact manner in which it was designed to be used, to wit, insertion into the mouth, over the real teeth, would face the grave risks of ingesting quantities of lead-based paint.”

For good measure, Dr. Sandroni added: “In thirty years of testing products for sources of poisoning, primarily lead poisoning, I have never seen a product so grossly and negligently designed and produced.”

David copied the six-page report and placed it in a binder with color photos of the original set of Nasty Teeth used by Thuya and photos of the samples David had purchased the week before. He added a copy of the lawsuit and a medical summary prepared by Thuya’s doctors. In a pleasant but straightforward letter to a Mr. Dylan Kott, chief in-house counsel for Sonesta Games, David offered to discuss the matter before filing suit. However, this offer was good for fourteen days only. The family had suffered greatly, continued to suffer, and was entitled to immediate relief.

When he left for lunch, he took the binder and shipped it to Sonesta Games by FedEx, overnight priority. No one else at the firm knew what he was doing. For contact information in the letter, he used his home address and cell phone.

Oscar was leaving as David returned, and his chauffeur was a tiny little woman of dubious ethnicity. At first David thought she was Thai, then she appeared more Hispanic. Regardless, she was pleasant to chat with on the front sidewalk. She was at least twenty years younger than Oscar, and during the brief conversation David got the clear impression that the two had known each other for some time. Oscar, who looked quite frail after an easy morning at the office, slowly folded himself into the passenger’s seat of her little Honda, and away they went.

“Who is that?” David asked Rochelle as he closed the front door.

“I just met her myself. Some weird name I didn’t get either. She told me she’s known Oscar for three years.”

“Wally’s skirt chasing is well-known. I’m kinda surprised about Oscar. Are you?”

Rochelle smiled and said, “David, when it comes to love and sex, nothing surprises me.” She held out a pink phone message slip. “While we’re on the subject, you might want to call this guy.”

“Who is it?”

“Goodloe Stamm. Paula Finley’s divorce lawyer.”

“I don’t know a thing about divorce law, Rochelle.”

Rochelle gave an exaggerated look around the room, around the offices, and said, “They’re all gone. I guess you’d better learn fast.”

Stamm began with a sappy “Too bad about the verdict, but I really wasn’t surprised.”

“Nor was I,” David said tersely. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, first of all, how’s Mr. Finley?”

“Oscar’s fine. His heart attack was only two weeks ago today. He actually came to the office this morning for a few hours, and he’s making steady progress. I suppose you’re calling to ask about the Krayoxx litigation and hoping there might still be a chance of some fees coming our way. The answer, unfortunately for us, for our clients, and for Mrs. Finley as well, is that there is no prospect of making a dime off these cases. We are not going to appeal the Klopeck verdict. We are in the process of notifying all of our Krayoxx clients that we are withdrawing as counsel. We hocked the office to finance the trial, which cost us about $180,000 in cash. The senior partner is recovering from a heart attack and bypass surgery. The junior partner has taken a leave of absence. The firm is now being run by me and one secretary, who by the way knows a lot more about the law than I do. In case you’re curious about Mr. Finley’s assets, let me assure you that he has never been broker than he is right now. As I understand his offer to your client, he is willing to give her the house, all the furnishings, her car, half the cash in the bank, which was less than $5,000, in return for a simple, uncontested divorce. He just wants out, Mr. Stamm. I suggest you and your client take this offer before he changes his mind.”

Stamm digested this and finally said, “Well, I appreciate your candor.”

“Good. Here’s some more. On behalf of your felonious client Justin Bardall, you’ve filed a lawsuit against Oscar Finley for that unfortunate shooting incident. As I read the file, your client is headed back to prison for attempted arson. As I mentioned, Mr. Finley is quite broke. His insurance company is refusing coverage because it deems his actions intentional, as opposed to negligent. So, with no insurance coverage and no personal assets, Mr. Finley is judgment-proof. You cannot squeeze a nickel out of him. Your lawsuit is worthless.”

“What about the office building?”

“Heavily mortgaged. Look, Mr. Stamm, you cannot get a verdict, because your client is a twice-convicted felon who was caught in the act of trying to commit a crime. Extremely lousy jury appeal. But if you got lucky and got a verdict, Mr. Finley would file for bankruptcy the next day. You can’t touch him, you understand?”

“I get the picture.”

“We have nothing and we are hiding nothing. Please have a chat with Mrs. Finley and Mr. Bardall and explain this to them. I would love to close these files as soon as possible.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

A week passed with no word from Sonesta Games. David watched the calendar and the clock. He fought the urge to dream of a quick settlement, and he dreaded the idea of filing a lawsuit in federal court against a large corporation. That treacherous road had just been traveled. At times he felt like the old Wally — lost in dreams of easy money.

The firm slowly returned to a routine that somewhat resembled the old days. Rochelle arrived at 7:30 each morning and enjoyed her quiet time with AC. David was next, then Wally, whose car had been towed during the drinking spree and was not damaged. Oscar rolled in around ten, delivered to the front door by his girlfriend, a charming lady who managed to impress even Rochelle. At some point each morning, Wally faced each of his colleagues and said, “Day 12 of sobriety.” Then Day 13, and so on. He received congratulations and encouragement and was once again proud of himself. He found an AA meeting almost every night somewhere in the city.

The phones were still ringing with calls from disgruntled Krayoxx clients, all of whom Rochelle routed to Wally and David. The ex-clients were generally subdued, even pitiful, as opposed to belligerent. They had been expecting money — what happened? The lawyers were apologetic and tended to blame things on some mysterious “federal jury” that had ruled in favor of the drug. The lawyers were also quick to point out that “it had been proven in court” that Krayoxx was safe. In other words, your lawsuit is gone but your heart is much healthier than you thought.