On Richard's site, that pic links to the website for My Home Kitchen, hosted by Richard's wife Debbie and broadcast locally on WGSR Star 39. Check it out for recipes for some good eats!
The man is certainly living up to his county-wide nickname of "Ron the Con" (one that I have heard bandied about everywhere from church to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Eden). Ladies and gentlemen, I posit that the whole sordid drama of this past year has been a massive charade perpetrated by Price and his attorney Douglas Hux. Because this lawsuit had nothing to do with seeking damages for legitimate libel. But it did have everything to do with an elected official using the law to intimidate and silence those who disagree with him.
Does anyone believe that Ron Price would have given up so easily, if he knew beyond all doubt that he possessed such a strong case against Richard and Debbie Moore?
Okay, let me ask this out loud: did Ron Price himself seriously believe that he could sincerely expect a judgment of a quarter-million dollars to be granted in his favor by a jury in a court of law, based on what was said about him in The Neely Chronicle and on WGSR?
I don't believe that Price was out for the money at all. But he was out to make Richard and Debbie Moore spend lots and lots of theirs.
Heck, Price practically admitted as much to The Reidsville Review: "I think we reached our goal", he told the newspaper. For once he wasn't lying, folks. The goal was never to achieve a quarter-million dollars judgment. But the goal was to keep the sword of veritable bankruptcy poised over the Moores' heads by compelling them to spend money on legal defense.
There is something very, very wrong with a system that allows a politician, a corporation, or any other entity to effectively shut-down critics by using a frivolous lawsuit to force those of lesser means into giving up their fight. In that regard, Ron Price did win: Political Soup, one of WGSR's most-watched shows, is no longer on the air (that alone has earned Price more loathing from people in Rockingham County than he would like to know).
Think about that for a moment: a government official - and one who admitted to taking something that wasn't his for the purpose of manipulating an election - has successfully abused the law in order to silence his critics and punish them for speaking out against him.
If that is not an example of tyranny, however localized, then I don't know what is. This kind of thing is supposed to happen in fourth-world banana republics, not Rockingham County.
I doubt that Ron Price feels any guilt or grief about it however. He's certainly of the "neo-conservative" stripe that believes he can get away with anything because God has supposedly "anointed" him, or as he put it "but I was elected."
This was the first time that to my knowledge a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) has happened in Rockingham County. I've never liked the idea of a SLAPP action and now that I've seen it firsthand, my hatred for the concept has grown immensely.
Currently, North Carolina does not have anti-SLAPP legislation on the books. Richard Moore is reporting on his website that in the wake of the Price lawsuit winding-down, that he is contacting members of the North Carolina state legislature about the matter. Since Richard does not believe much in archiving his own website (sigh), it falls to me to publish his salient points for posterity...
So far, Richard is reporting that Representative Nelson Cole and Representative Bryan Holloway have responded and are "exploring new laws to prevent vindictive public officials from violating the First Amendment by filing frivolous lawsuits to silence their critics".SPEECH IS ONLY FREE TO THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT The final total is not in yet, but it looks like Price's vindictive lawsuit is going to end up costing us between $7,500 and $8,000. Contrary to the mythology, freedom of speech is only available to those who can afford it. It is now apparent that Debbie and I are not people who can afford freedom of speech, which is why Political Soup and the Neely Chronicle will not be returning.Ron Price lost his lawsuit, but he has accomplished his mission ("I think we reached our goal"), and I have learned a painful lesson about being involved in political and governmental matters.
If Price had won his lawsuit, however unlikely, Debbie and I would have been stripped of everything we own - no money, no home. no cars, no furniture, no appliances, no clothes - nothing. For calling an elected official who stole campaign signs a thief, we would have been left standing naked on the side of the road without even a tin cup.
If the lawsuit had gone to trial and we had won, the cost of successfully defending ourselves would have left us financially ruined. Due to Price's magnanimous decision to dismiss the lawsuit, our finances are merely seriously mangled. Ron Price can now do a victory lap around the Rockingham County School Board dais. Maybe drink some champagne and drape himself in roses while Celeste and Wayne anoint his feet with oil.
Ron Price has defeated me, even though he lost his lawsuit. The newcomer has managed to do what many old-timers have tried and failed. W.L. Pryor, Don Moss, Wink Hoover, Jeff Sykes, Jeff Eanes, George Fleetwood, David Wise, James Festerman, John Henderson, Celeste DePriest, and many others were unable to budge me from my pompous little political pulpit. But the dark and handsome stranger from Florida figured out a way to hand me my head in short order. Reckless Ron dared go where no one else would.
Hail to Mr. Ronald Filer Price. I am a beaten man. I surrender unto Caesar.
Despite the fact that Ron Price will be hailed as a conquering hero by some folks, particularly those on the Rockingham County School Board and in local government, something is very wrong with a legal system that makes such things possible. In most states, this sort of lawsuit would not be filed because it would be too financially risky for a plaintiff to roll the dice on such a weak case.
The majority of states now have what are called "anti-SLAPP" laws. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. A SLAPP lawsuit is typically filed by a public official, sometimes by a land developer or someone seeking approval for a project, who uses a SLAPP to silence his critics. In states with "anti-SLAPP" laws, a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit has to assume the risk of paying the defendant's legal fees if the defendant is found not guilty. Thanks to mass communications, most people think that's the way it works everywhere.
Unfortunately, in North Carolina, there are no "anti-SLAPP" laws. If someone, like a school board member, doesn't like what you are saying, he can sue you without taking any risk. If the case makes it to trial and you are found not guilty because there never was any merit to the lawsuit, you are still saddled with paying for your defense. The plaintiff simply has to find an attorney who will work on contingency - it only costs the plaintiff a third of whatever he wins in the lawsuit. If the plaintiff's attorney doesn't win the case, then the plaintiff owes nothing. If the plaintiff does win, then he and his lawyer could both strike it rich. The defendant's ass is financially busted either way it goes.
North Carolina is one of only a few states where it is possible for an elected official to use the legal system to silence his critics without taking any financial risk. The First Amendment doesn't shield you from the financial punishment that North Carolina's legal system and a vindictive public official can dish out.
The conventional wisdom has long been "anyone can sue you for anything, but that doesn't mean they will win or be able to collect if they do win." The conventional wisdom, which was probably meant to bolster the confidence of people who would dare criticize a public official, left out a very important detail. It fails to take into account what it will cost you to defend yourself against a frivolous lawsuit filed in North Carolina. Conventional wisdom does not apply in North Carolina.
It is ironic that a confessed thief can skate right through our legal system, but his accusers end up paying a heavy fine. Excuse me if I look the other way the next time I see someone committing a crime, but I don't want to lose my home and I'm sure you don't want to see me standing naked on the side of the highway. I now completely understand why people say "I don't want to get involved" or "Please don't use my name."
Take my advice - don't get involved, mind your own business, let our public officials do whatever they want, and keep your mouth shut about it. My advice to you is now my personal policy.
Ron Price lost his lawsuit, but there is no victor in the suit. Debbie and I are certainly not victors. We are not crowing about beating "ol' Ron", as "ol' Ron" said we would. We have nothing to crow about. We've had the shite kicked out of us by "ol' Ron" and we're tired, very tired.
We are not ashamed of what we did, nor do we fear the truth, but we'll never again complain about a public official, or government employee stealing campaign signs, or embezzling money, or dong anything wrong again. "Ol' Ron" and the North Carolina legal system have taught us a lesson we'll not ever forget.
Freedom has taken a much worse beating than Ron Price and our wallets. Our lawmakers should be ashamed for allowing this threat to liberty to exist and thrive in our state. But, our lawmakers are probably glad to have the right to do some SLAPPing of their own should it become necessary to shut someone up. SLAPPING is a convenient and effective way to get around the First Amendment.
The above commentary has been sent to our state legislators in hopes of bringing some much needed reform to our state's legal system. I will let you know if any of them bother to respond.
They really need to push for this. Because if it could happen to Richard and Debbie Moore, it could happen to you. It could happen to me. Actually it's probably happening to me already: I'm expecting a knock on the door any day now and a deputy sheriff serving me with a lawsuit. Or maybe Price will do the smart thing and forget about it... 'cuz you don't mess with a man crazy enough to blow up a schoolhouse in order to run for board of education.
All I'll say for now is: if Ron Price does hit me with a lawsuit, there's a whole new video already hosted on YouTube - that no one from the public can see yet - that is just waiting to be unleashed. And it's all about Ron Price. And it will have everyone EVERYWHERE laughing at him for all eternity.
That's my own perverse "insurance" against more legal abuse like what Price has already done against the Moores. But in the meantime, if you live in North Carolina, do the right thing: contact your state representatives and senators and tell them that frivolous lawsuit abuse must end. Because it costs regular people a lot more than money: it also costs them their rights... which we only have because many people fought and even died so that we might have them to begin with.
A few days ago Ron Price dropped his lawsuit against Richard and Debbie Moore. There's a story about it in The Reidsville Review, but based on what I've heard from a number of sources, the Review story is... shall we put it... "wildly inaccurate". There was no settlement at all, and certainly no conditions imposed. Ron Price cried "Uncle!" on his own.
Yet in spite of giving up, Price is delusional enough to claim a victory out of this...
Price said he was pleased with the outcome of the case.What was Ron Price's goal? Well, now that I've come in possession of all of them, I'm going to present y'all with the full texts of the depositions that took place on November 15th, 2007 at the office of Douglas Hux (Price's attorney) in Eden. These are the depositions of Richard and Debbie Moore, my own, and Ron Price. And in case anyone's wondering: I don't mind posting my own here either. It's public record anyway, and looking over it I don't think that there's anything to be bashful about (here's my original report after I was deposed). I'll admit that my employment history is, let's just say, a bit "colorful"... but that's okay. I'm self-employed and working toward my own goals now, which is all that matters. Besides, I think that my 'tude on the stand and the snappy answers that I gave to Hux might be classic in their own right :-)"I think we reached our goal," he said.
So here are the depositions...
Debbie and Richard Moore depositionUpdate 9:41 p.m. EST: I received the Ron Price deposition from an anonymous source. Meaning that I don't know who sent it or how they came into possession of it to begin with. I do know that it has been verified as being the actual sworn deposition that Ron Price gave on November 15th, 2007. After some consulting and deliberation, and in light of it being a document in the public record and that it pertains to an issue of local interest, I am reposting it here. Richard Moore had asked me to remove Ron Price's deposition. I have declined to do so due to the important public interest in Price's testimony.
It's Ron Price's deposition that is long, but chock-full of goodies. The most obvious thing is: Price does admit to illegally taking the signs. Price doesn't want to say that he "stole" the signs though, in an exhibition of semantical gymnastics that hasn't been seen since then-President Bill Clinton said that "it depends on what the meaning of 'is' is." In this deposition, you can see for yourself that Ron Price, as was reported in November, claimed that the campaign signs that he stole were "fair game" and that anybody could take them. It's really quite a merry chase to read this deposition, and see how the Moores' attorney Seth Cohen made Price run around in circles.
Even more crazy: Price admits to taking the Brad Miller signs and leaving the Vernon Robinson (who Price supported in the U.S. House race) signs, even though the Robinson signs were just as wrongfully placed as the Miller signs! If you want to see Seth "The Saw" Cohen at his finest, watch how he has Price doing backflips on this particular point.
In his deposition, Price claims that the Moores' alleged harassment because of the "sign incident", as he's referred to it before, has cost him business (though Price can't specifically point out to a single instance where this has led to any financial loss).
Ron Price also stated that he believed Richard Moore was pursuing this because as the next-highest vote-getter in the school board election, that Moore would have received the at-large seat if Price had stepped aside. This is, of course, not true: had Price done the honorable thing and turned down the seat, it would have been up to the Board of Commissioners to appoint someone to fill the seat.
Price also said in his deposition that his grandchildren have been asking him if he stole the signs. And Price suggests that the "sign incident" has caused problems toward his possibly becoming a deacon at the Baptist church that he's a member of.
(By the way Ron, have you had a chance to read 1st Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 1 through 8 yet?)
But so far as reaching some "goal" with this case goes, if you read through the later parts of his deposition, and based on what I've heard about the letter that Price's attorney Doug Hux sent the Moores, I think it's safe to conclude that the whole point of this lawsuit was to intimidate and "punish" Richard and Debbie Moore - two average citizens - for their attempt to hold an elected official accountable for his actions. In the words of Richard Moore via his website...
The letter also explained Constitutional rights are "not absolute", and the press is only allowed to criticize a public official for a "fair amount of time". During his deposition, Price indicated he sued us because the Neely Chronicle and Political Soup exceeded the allowable limit on criticism. It was not what we said, but how many times we said it. As best we could understand Price's law, the media is permitted to criticize a public official not more than three times.Constitutional rights are "not absolute"? Limits on free speech and the press? And this is being said on behalf of an elected public official?
No wonder America is going down the tubes.
I understand completely that by being involved in this, and by even reporting on this issue in my own characteristic way, that I am opening myself up to a similar lawsuit from Ron Price just as he did with the Moores. Indeed, I've got it on good authority from one very reliable source that Price is "incensed" and "outraged" at the various depictions of him that I've posted on this blog (hey, I can't help it if the man has never learned how to use Adobe Photoshop).
But that's not going to stop me from reporting the truth about Ron Price to the community. And elected officials should expect to be held to a higher standard. The moment they begin to act as if they are above and beyond reproach from the rest of us, as Ron Price is now doing, then there becomes an end to any moral relationship between the constituents and that official.
Let's put it this way: Ron Price is still on the school board. But he no longer has any moral authority from the position. And as of now, everyone in the community knows this.
And so far as Price trying to shut down any criticism of him on this blog goes...
"Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, their is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!"Feel free to read the depositions if you want to find out a lot more about what goes on inside the head of one Ronald Filer Price, who has now stated for the record that it's okay to take campaign signs if you see them on the side of the road.-- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J.K. Rowling
Finally, regarding that photo of Ron "The Con" getting sworn in: Richard Moore is now reporting that he is getting "harassment" from Price about that pic. Price wants it permanently removed from Moore's website.
Naturally, I am wondering if I will be getting hit with a "cease and desist" from Price (signed by Doug Hux) ordering me to stop using Price's visage in any more of my reports and Photoshop mash-ups.
I've got enough things to worry about in my life. And as much as I enjoy using my Photoshop skills at mocking a miscreant such as Price, I have to balance that out against everything else that's going on.
So from now on, whenever I talk about Ron Price, I think it'll be a safer thing instead to use a picture of Charles Nelson Reilly, who Ron Price greatly resembles (especially compared to photos of Reilly's later years, although this one is from when Reilly played Hoodoo on Sid and Marty Krofft's psychedelic Lidsville show in the early 1970s). So there ya go: if you see a photograph of Charles Nelson Reilly on this blog, you'll know that it's supposed to be Ron Price instead.
So come on Ron, how about it: do you want to take me to court now? 'Cuz I won't settle either. And if you thought my theatrics in deposition were outrageous, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.
Do you really believe you can be so smug and claim a victory against the guy who, almost single-handedly, took on a multi-billion dollar corporation... and won?
"Are you feeling lucky?"
(P.S.: I made "Buddy Ron". Deal with it.)
(Here is my own report about being deposed and here is Richard's account, which includes not only my own time on the "witness stand" but his own and that of Debbie and Ron Price... who I especially heard did not do so well.)
In my admittedly non-legally trained estimation, this case is going to be laughed out of court. But that won't be before Price and his attorney Doug Hux will have (a) wasted a lot of our valuable time and money, (b) wasted a lot of the public's valuable time and money, and (c) continued to set a horrible example to this county's young people who Price swore to serve when he became a member of the Rockingham County Board of Education. In fact, what Price and Hux are doing is nothing less than gross abuse of the Constitution.
In a sane world, this should not have been allowed to happen at all. There is no reason why Ron Price should have been able to proceed with this kind of ridiculous litigation against the Moores (and he will probably be coming after me too in time, since word on the street is that he really doesn't like how I've lampooned him with my Adobe Photoshop handiwork over the past year).
After reading for years about frivolous litigation, this is my first time personally experiencing it. And it's downright damned honked me off. Especially when I think about how this sort of crap happens all the time throughout the United States.
So over the past few days I've been thinking about what can be done to remedy this problem. And I think that I might have hit on something...
One of the best things about American law - even though it's not our original idea but rather something old enough to have been codified in the Magna Carta - is the concept of the grand jury, which most countries do not have. In matters of criminal law in the United States, before a defendant can be brought to trial he or she must be indicted: meaning that evidence must be presented before a grand jury first. It is the grand jury members who decide whether or not there are sufficient grounds to prosecute a full courtroom case against the defendant. Obviously this keeps the courts from being overwhelmed with full-fledged trials that would otherwise bog down the system. But it also demands that the prosecutors realize fully-well what they are attempting to do in bringing a case against an individual. The grand jury is a check against abuse of power that is as detrimental to the public which must pay for the courts as much as it is to the individual who possibly finds him-or-herself on trial.
If we have grand juries deciding the legitimacy of criminal proceedings, then why not have something like that for civil matters also... such as lawsuits?
Here's my idea:
Establish a three-judge panel, which is randomly drawn from a small pool of judges who are publicly elected for the position every two years and are not appointed for this panel. Call it the "civil merits panel". There will be one for each judicial district. This panel will be charged with "weeding-out" the frivolous lawsuits from those which have serious grounds for proceeding with the serving of lawsuits and issuance of summons.
So before a lawsuit can even begin to be served, the plaintiff's attorney must bring it before the civil merits panel. Much like the courts of appeals, the judges on the civil merits panel vote on whether the lawsuit should or should not proceed. If at least two of the judges agree, then the lawsuit is allowed to go forth as it does now. If the panel does not agree that the lawsuit has merit, it gets tossed out.
In the event that the panel decides not to let the lawsuit proceed, the plaintiff will have the right to appeal the panel's decision, and have the merits of the lawsuit heard by a panel of three different judges drawn from the same elected pool. This panel will also decide if there is basis for a full lawsuit to proceed. If they agree, then the lawsuit goes forth. If not, it all ends right there and the plaintiff will have no more opportunity for appealing this lawsuit before the civil merits panel.
(The angels of my lesser nature would also like to recommend that in the event of a lawsuit's merits being turned down after a second hearing by the panel, that the plaintiff and all of his or her attorneys will be forcefully seized and pistol-whipped hard across the bare buttocks in the town square for not less than one-quarter of an hour, including not less than five minutes by the would-be defendant. However as this is Sunday morning I am trying hard to maintain a Christ-like manner in putting forth this proposal.)
So there's my idea: instead of outright obligating a defendant to hire an attorney and make allowances for the plaintiff's possibly preposterous petition for proceedings, let a panel of judges (who being publicly elected would be held accountable for their rulings and could be periodically removed if need be) decide whether the lawsuit has weight enough to become a nuisance for all involved.
There at least needs to be some kind of oversight at work here. Otherwise, civil litigation will continue to be a right that is abused and a drain on public resources.
D-DAY NOVEMBER 15, 2007. It wasn't exactly the allies storming the beach at Normandy, but it was a bloody, painful assault on one witness. I am talking about Deposition Day in the Ron Price defamation lawsuit against my wife Debbie and me.
For my readers who have been living under a rock without internet access for the past year, Rockingham County School Board member Ron Price is suing Debbie and me for libel and slander because I said Price stole Congressman Brad Miller's campaign signs from the roadside.
Reidsville Police Department officers found Miller signs in Price's car trunk just minutes after two independent witnesses saw Price pulling them up along Highway 14 between Reidsville and Eden.
Price is also suing Debbie and me because Debbie went to a magistrate with a copy of the Reidsville Police Department report that said Price had committed larceny by stealing Brad Miller's signs. The magistrate read the Police Department report and the law and then issued a warrant charging Price with removing or vandalizing public notices (NCGS 14-384).
Price subsequently confessed to taking Miller's signs on his own web site, in several newspaper articles, and on live television.
Price has convinced himself he has been defamed and charged with a crime because I was attempting to take his seat on the Rockingham County School Board.
According to Price, because I received the highest number of votes of the eleven losing candidates, I would have been automatically appointed to fill the seat to which Price had been elected if he abandoned it or was removed from it.
Price believes my accusing him of stealing has nothing to do with Price actually stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs. And, Debbie asking a magistrate about charging Price with removing public notices has nothing to do with Ron Price actually stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs.
I didn't report Wendy Hoover for embezzling money from the school system because I thought I would get her nice paying job. I reported her because it was the right thing to do when the School Board tried to cover up the crime. Debbie felt the same way when she went to a magistrate about Price's "sign incident".
Click here to watch Debbie talk about the charges against Ron Price. The video was recorded in late January, 2007.
Unfortunately the facts do not support Mr. Price's view of our motivations for accusing him of stealing.
There is nothing automatic about selecting a replacement for a vacancy on the Rockingham County School Board. The law says the School Board can make recommendations to the County Commissioners, but the Commissioners decide who fills the vacancy. It doesn't matter why or when the vacancy occurs.
Debbie and I have never for a moment believed the Commissioners would ever select me to fill a seat on the School Board, and we're damned sure the School Board would not recommend me. Would I accept an appointment if hell freezes over? Of course I would. I ran for School Board, why wouldn't I?
Anyways, on November 15, Debbie and I were summoned to the office of Doug Hux in Eden. Hux represented Ron Price during his brief legal problems with the "sign incident." Hux is also representing Price in his lawsuit against my wife and me.
Price was summoned to the deposition by our attorney, Seth "THE SAW" Cohen.
We were all called to give testimony relating to Price's lawsuit.
For those who don't know what the purpose of a deposition is, as best as I can understand it, it's a pre-trial mini-trial. The "witnesses" are under oath and the lawyers ask them a lot of questions. There ain't no judge or jury. The lawyers just size up the potential witnesses. One might call it scouting.
There is a court reporter present who records everything said, puts numbered stickers on documents, and changes tapes in what looked like two oversized cassette tape players. Our court reporter wore a high-altitude fighter pilot mask on her face during the entire deposition. I'm not sure what the mask was about - maybe she has emphysema, a germ phobia, or she was afraid somebody was going to fart in the small conference room in Hux's office.
The deposition questions, at least in this lawsuit, seemed to be as much, or maybe even more, about motivation than the simple facts - otherwise known as the truth. I'm told lawyers ask questions during depositions and then ask the same questions during the actual trial to see if they can catch you giving two different answers. If your answers differ, the lawyer puts you on the spot at the trial.
The beginning questions are fluff designed to put you at ease with the nice man who is about to strap you down on a rack and attach electrified barbwire to your nuts. At first you are asked things like when you were born, where you went to school, your job history, why your web site server is located in Germany.
I felt pretty good with my answers about my birth date, schooling, employment history, etc., but then Hux threw me a real curve ball. The question definitely rattled me for a few seconds, and I'm sure it was obvious to everyone in the room that I was not at ease with my answer.
Hux asked, "Mr. Moore, can you tell me why your web site is located on a server in Germany?"
Damn! Hux is a clever devil! From out of nowhere, Hux nailed me with a question that I couldn't answer. I was never expecting this. I thought I knew the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the "sign incident." I had no fear of the truth. I had no reason to hide from the truth. In fact I wanted the truth about the "sign incident" plastered all over Doug Hux's office.
Prior to Doug Hux asking me why my web site server is located in Germany, I never knew my web server is located in Germany. I don't know how Mr. Hux knows where my web site server is located. He seemed very computer/internet savvy for someone who said he doesn't even have an email address.
Anyways, Doug, wanted to know why my web site is located on a server in Germany. I didn't know the answer, but I thanked Mr. Hux for providing me with a tidbit of useless information that I didn't previously have.
By the way, Doug has a very nice office. Hux said it used to be an old post office. The original brickwork is visible on the interior, there's a high ceiling, an original hardwood floor, a couple of pretty plants line a hallway leading to offices and a conference room. Doug's receptionist was very nice. She told me she really enjoyed my Political Soup program on WGSR-TV. She also likes our My Home Kitchen cooking show, but it comes on too late for her to see it very often. Her sister loves My Home Kitchen.
I should mention Doug was very cordial to Debbie and me, but he didn't indicate whether he ever watched Political Soup for any reason other than to sue me and my wife.
Mr. Hux let me use his toilet a couple of times and he gave me some bottled water to help lubricate my answers. Mr. Hux seems to be a nice man, but so does Ron Price when you first meet him.
Hux let me have a blank writing pad that appeared to have been lifted from a Clarion Hotel. When I showed my lawyer the Clarion logo on the pad, Hux immediately explained the pad was lawfully obtained. Yeah, sure Doug, whatever you say.
There's a bigger story behind the Clarion pad and Hux's reaction to me showing it to Seth Cohen, but I can't say any more right now. If you read Chris Knight's comments on the deposition, you might figure it out.
By the way, my lawyer has a real nice office too. It looks like something you see on a TV legal drama. I have to admit Doug's plants are nicer than Seth's, and Seth has never offered Debbie and me any refreshing beverages. I think Doug Hux may be my new best buddy. I hope Ron doesn't mind.
Chris Knight was also summoned to give a deposition, but nobody could ever understand why.
Chris didn't understand. My wife and I didn't understand. Our lawyer didn't understand. And by the end of Chris' 15-minute deposition, I'm guessing Doug Hux and Ron Price weren't sure why they deposed Chris either.
Seth Cohen didn't have any questions for Chris because Seth had no idea why Chris was even there. Chris was summoned by Price and Hux, not by Debbie and me or our lawyer.
We (Debbie, Seth, and myself) didn't understand why Chris was summoned before the deposition, and we understood even less after the deposition.
One thing we did understand after Chris' deposition was Chris worked for and supported Ron Price's school board candidacy. According to Chris, he even offered to make a campaign TV commercial for Ron for free.
Chris' said he did an abrupt about-face after Price was caught stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs. During the deposition, Chris made it very clear in a very dramatic style that he now considers Price to be a scoundrel who sacrificed integrity and honesty on the altar of political gain when Price took Miller's signs and replaced them with signs for Miller's opponent Vernon Robinson.
Chris was considered a "witness" for the Plaintiff (Ron Price) because the Plaintiff summoned him to the deposition. If Chris Knight was deposed as a witness to support the Plaintiff's claims against Debbie and me, it probably didn't work out quite the way Ron and Doug hoped.
I had planned to give you all the juicy details about the deposition, including posting the actual verbatim transcripts. My lawyer asked me not to do that right now. I don't exactly know why because I think the depositions are public records, but I am paying Mr. Cohen for his advice, so I'll follow it.
I think I can tell you a few things without disregarding Mr. Cohen's advice.
I was the first "witness". Hux spent about an hour interrogating me. Except for the Germany question, I was pretty comfortable with everything.
Several times Hux asked questions that I didn't quite understand what he was getting at. A queerly phrased question can be a bit unsettling because you have to struggle to figure out which answer goes with the question.
There is only one truth in the "sign incident", but that truth is composed of many facts. It was sometimes puzzling as to which particular fact Mr. Hux was seeking. Although I'm not entirely sure I answered the questions that were being asked, I tried my best to answer everything as honestly as I possibly could.
There were a lot of theoretical questions, a lot of "what-ifs". I was very puzzled about those kinds of questions.
There were questions about what I thought Mr. Price's intentions were. Hell, I don't know for sure what Price's intentions were with the signs or are with the lawsuit. I just know Price stole the signs because he admitted he took them, and the police found them in his possession, and the police said the signs were stolen, and the police took them away from him.
My wife tells me I did too much answering, but my lawyer said my unnecessarily lengthy answers weren't detrimental. If my answers were excessive, it was because I was trying to figure out what the hell the question was. I got a little confused by some of the questions, but none of them made me angry or anxious.
Debbie was much more concise in her answers, although she too was somewhat buffaloed by some of the questions. Maybe it was just the way Hux phrased things. Debbie was on the "witness stand" (a nice leather-covered chair in Hux's conference room) for about 30 minutes.
Debbie and I were very composed. I think we were good witnesses. Debbie is always composed, and I took a 10mg Allakhazam before the deposition.
Everybody went to lunch after Debbie's deposition. Did you know lawyers take 90 minutes for lunch? Debbie and I ate a tasty breakfast at Chaneys. You can really linger over your pancakes when you have 90 minutes to eat. Seth went somewhere by himself. Ron and Doug went somewhere on what Doug called a "business lunch". I guess "business lunch" means tax deductible.
After lunch, Chris Knight was called in for a brief, unproductive, and pointless interrogation. Much of the time was spent on Chris' employment history. In addition to being brief, unproductive, and pointless, Chris' deposition was also weird. I got the feeling if Chris had worn his Jedi light saber to the deposition, he would have gone over to the Dark Side of the Force on Hux.
Hux seemed really interested in whether Chris and I were friends. Hux asked the question of both Chris and me. My answer was Chris and I are casual friends. We know each other, but I've never been to Chris' home or met his wife. Chris has never been to my home. We are cordial when we meet, but we've never gone fishing together.
When Chris was asked the friend question, his answer was much, much, much longer than mine, but the bottom line was the same.
Chris and I have no more idea what the friends question was about than why Chris was deposed. It was just another mystery in this whole bizarre "sign incident".
Next up was the star of the deposition - Mr. Ronald Filer Price. As I have said, I have been asked not to go into details, but in summary I don't think it went well for Mr. Price.
My lawyer, Seth Cohen, grilled Price for almost two hours. For most of that time, it did not seem Mr. Price was comfortable with the questions, his answers, or the circumstances of the deposition. Price did a lot of hand-wringing, twitching, grimacing, squirming, stammering and hesitating. There were a lot of contradictions and back-peddling that were driving Price's dramatic body language.
A couple of times I noticed Mr. Hux snickering. I could be wrong, but I got the impression Mr. Hux was snickering at Mr. Price's answers to Seth's question. I have to admit I snickered a time or two myself. I even noticed the court reporter's eyes twinkling a bit. I couldn't tell if she was in a full-out snicker because that damn pilot's oxygen mask was covering most of her face.
In summary, at the end of two hours Seth Cohen had Price tied up in so many knots I don't know if he'll ever get himself untangled. Seth Cohen's nickname is "THE SAW", but "THE SHEEP SHANKER" (a type of knot) might be more appropriate.
Speaking of knots, at one point Chris and Hux got into a verbal scuffle about who was the best Boy Scout. Chris easily won because Chris achieved the top rank of Eagle Scout and Hux didn't. I told you it was weird.
At the conclusion of the deposition, Seth Cohen indicated he might depose Ron Price's wife because she was riding around in the car with Price when the "sign incident" occurred. Apparently, Seth thinks Ms. Price might have been yet another eyewitness to Ron stealing Congressman Miller's signs.
Hux said he might want to depose Chris Knight again. Hux may have been joking, but I couldn't tell for sure. I know if Hux drags Chris into his office one more time, it'll be a lot worse than weird. Remember the bar brawl in the first Star Wars movie?
THINGS WE LEARNED. 1) Debbie and I learned for the first time exactly how much Mr. Price wants from us for his suffering over the "sign incident". Hold on to your hats, here it comes - $250,000. Yes, folks, Ronald Filer Price wants Debbie and I to pay him a cool quarter of a million dollars for accusing him of stealing and tattling on him to a magistrate. For the record, if Debbie and I sold everything we own, including our home, our cars, our business, our clothes, our furniture and appliances, including a big screen TV and a DVD player, and tossed in all the cash we have, we couldn't begin to come up with $250,000. Price might as well have asked for $100 gazillion dollars.
2) Although Ron Price has been promising for months to give everyone a "complete and factual account of the sign incident" once his litigation against us has been settled, if Price's testimony during the deposition was the real "complete and factual account of the sign incident", and we have to assume it was because he was under oath, then nothing has changed. The "complete and factual account" is the same account as what you've read here and in other newspapers, and heard on WGSR-TV. Price's account given during the deposition is more detailed, but no different. I won't say more about the details at this time.
3) According to Price's deposition testimony, I am the real thief rather than him. Price accused me of being a thief because after the election someone gave me a Ron Price for School Board sign which I displayed in last year's Christmas parade. I posted on my web site a request for people to bring me Ron Price and Brad Miller campaign signs which they had come by honestly. Only one person responded to my request and he brought me a Price sign and a Miller sign. I think I still have them somewhere.
Although Ron has never asked me to return his sign, Ron is sure I am a thief because I have not returned his sign. Indeed, even as he was accusing me of being a thief for keeping his sign, he still never asked me to return it.
Ron did say if he runs for School Board again, he will need his sign back. I think if Ron has any sense at all, he won't run for School Board or anything else ever again. Even in Rockingham County, I am confident Ron Price is a one-term School Board member.
Price suggested it was OK for him to take Congressman Miller's signs before the election because he was going to take them to the DOT storage yard because they were illegally planted on the highway right-of-way, and he wanted to make it hard for Miller's supporters to find their signs to replant them before the election, but someone giving me a Ron Price sign two weeks after the election was theft. It was just one of many logic knots in which Price found himself ensnared.
Seth Cohen told me Doug Hux had told him to expect some major fireworks (startling revelations) during the depositions. Neither Seth nor I could imagine what Hux was talking about. Again I'm guessing here, but I think Hux thought tossing out a photo of me holding a Ron Price for School Board sign was going to be the smoking gun that proves Ron Price didn't steal Congressman Miller's signs.
If there was any kind of startling revelation during the deposition, it was Ron Price's dismal performance on the witness stand. In defense of Price, no one would have an easy time getting out of the corner into which Ron Price has painted himself. Performing miracles is not simple work, even for Ron Price.
I told Debbie that Ron should go to a magistrate and take out a warrant if he believes I stole one of his campaign signs a year ago. I can handle it. Defending myself against a charge of vandalizing or removing a public notice will be a helluva lot cheaper than defending myself against a frivolous lawsuit.
Whether Price charges me with sign theft or not doesn't change the fact that Price stole Congressman Miller's signs, and then filed a quarter-million dollar lawsuit against the people who complained about what he did.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT. The deposition is over. Everyone is packing up to leave while doing some friendly chatting. I have just returned from Doug's toilet to hear Ron in the process of telling Seth Cohen that he went to the Berger law firm to find someone to help him with his problems. The Berger firm turned him down. Ron asked if they had a recommendation for another lawyer. The Berger people told Ron to call Seth Cohen. Ron told Seth that he just never got around to calling him and then finally decided to hire Doug Hux.
During the entire four hours of testimony, I made only two comments to Ron Price. The second and final one was, "Ron, I think you made the right decision hiring Mr. Hux rather than Mr. Cohen." I looked at Hux, who was standing right beside me, when I paid Mr. Hux the compliment. I hope the remark didn't hurt Seth's feelings.
My first comment to Ron Price was "Good morning, Ron" when I arrived. Much to my surprise, Ron politely returned my greeting.
STANDBY FOR LAUNCH. Be patient. As soon as it's possible, I will report the "complete and factual account of the sign incident", including the sworn testimonies of Ronald Filer Price and myself. You've already heard mine, but I think it's important for you to hear Mr. Price's side of the story too.
