Interrogatories

My former supervisor, the felon Bryan McMillan, at PNNL has a lawyer who requested a “huge number” (my lawyer’s phrase) of items in their response to my lawsuit. The conclusion we may be able to draw from this is they don’t plan to challenge the point of law about it being a wrongful termination to firing someone because they are a gun owner. The have chosen to go the route to try and make it cost me as much money as possible. Pursuant to that tactic they have requested a lot of financial data from me. With this data they can better judge what my ability is to sustain the legal battle. What they will find out is that our house mortgage payment is lower than most people’s rent, we have no other debt, and Barb and I have very high paying jobs. In essence we can, with minor life style changes, sustain the battle until we retire ten or fifteen years from now. And that doesn’t include all the donations I have received (click on the Make a Donation button here).

Assuming I win I’m paying everyone back with interest but we can’t count on that so you should assume it’s a donation. With a big thanks to some people from the Gun Club at Microsoft donations have covered about half of the legal expenses so far with promises of more as the bills come in. So for other side to try and make it too expensive for me to fight is going to be a losing tactic. All they can do is maybe slow down the inevitable and it actually improves the possibility for me to reach the desired end goal. I don’t have the time right now to explain why that is but the basics are that as long as I win this particular legal battle the more money it costs both sides during the process the better chance I have of seeing the felons actually getting convicted.

Anyway… To prove the point that their game plan is to just drive up the costs, which ironically help me achieve my final goal, here is the list of requests (complete with typos) from the other side:

INTERROGATORY 1:  State your age, birth date, birth place, height, weight, sex, and Social Security Number.

INTERROGATORY 2:  Have you gone under any other name or different spelling of said name?  If so, what name or different spelling?

INTERROGATORY 3:  List the addresses, with the dates, where you have resided during the past ten (10) years.

INTERROGATORY 4:  State the month and year you last attended any school, the highest grade or year completed, and the name and location of said school.

INTERROGATORY 5:  If you are married, please state your spouse’s name and the date and place of your marriage.  If have been married more than once, state the names and addresses of previous spouse or spouses, if living, and the date and place of their death or your divorce.

INTERROGATORY 6:  State the names, addresses, and ages of your children, if any.

INTERROGATORY 7:  Set forth the amount of your earnings during each of the past five (5) years and your earnings to date during the current year.

INTERROGATORY 8:  Are you claiming damages for lost earning capacity, lost wages or benefits?  If so, please state, with specificity:

a. The total amount of claimed damages;
b. How you calculated your damages;
c. All employers relevant to your claim and their addresses and phone numbers; and
d. All dates on which you were unemployed.

INTERROGATORY 9: If you have ever been self-employed, state each period of self-employment and the net monthly earnings of said periods.

INTERROGATORY 10:  Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?  If so, please state:

a. The dates and places at which any bankruptcies were filed; and
b. Whether the bankruptcy proceedings are still pending or whether they have been resolved.  If they have been resolved, please state the date of the dismissal, or discharge, if any.

INTERROGATORY 11:  State where you filed your last income tax return, and the year.

INTERROGATORY 12:  Have you ever been previously involved in a lawsuit?  If so, please state when, where, the nature of the action, the disposition of the case, and the name of the attorney who represented you.

INTERROGATORY 13:  Please advise if you have in your possession or if you have access to statements made by any party or witness to this action.  (For purposes of this interrogatory, a statement is a written statement signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the person making it or a stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other recording or transcription thereof which is a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement by the person making it and reasonably contemporaneously recorded.)  If you do, please identify the name of the person making it, the time and place of its taking, the names and addresses of all persons then present and the name and address of the present custodian therefor.

INTERROGATORY 14:  Have you ever been admitted to a facility or hospital for the treatment of a psychiatric or psychological problem or condition?  If so, state:

a. The name and location of said hospital or facility;
b. Whether said treatment was in-patient or out-patient;
c. The dates of said treatment inclusive;
d. The names and addresses of both treating and admitting physicians, psychologists or care givers; and
e. The type and nature of the treatment received.

INTERROGATORY 15:  Give the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any persons known to you or your attorneys having knowledge of facts pertaining to this lawsuit.   This interrogatory is intended to include all witnesses known to you or your attorney or agents.

INTERROGATORY 16:  Have you ever pled guilty to or been convicted of a crime?  If so, state the nature of the crime, the date, and the ultimate disposition of the matter.

INTERROGATORY 17: Have you and/or your spouse/former spouse ever sought marriage counseling?  If yes, please state:

a. The name and location of where counseling was provided or sought;
b. The dates of said counseling inclusive;
c. The names and addresses of persons who provided counseling; and
d. The type of nature of the counseling received.

INTERROGATORY 18: Please state the date you were Adischarged@ from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Batelle?

INTERROGATORY 19: Please describe in detail the reasons given to you for your discharge, who gave them, and when these reasons were explained to you.

INTERROGATORY 20: Please state the name, address, and phone number of all places at which you have applied for employment since the date of the subject discharge.

INTERROGATORY 21: Please provide details of your current employment including job title, length employed, specifics regarding compensation, duties and if you have a written contract.

INTERROGATORY 22: Since the date of the subject discharge, please state approximately how many days or months you were unemployed.

INTERROGATORY 23: If the answer to the previous Interrogatory was in the affirmative, please state whether you have received any unemployment compensation.  If yes, please state the dates you received such compensation and the amount of each payment.

INTERROGATORY 24: During your employment at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Batelle, were you ever disciplined or educated as a result of what your supervisor determined to be improper conduct or deviation from the company=s policies or procedures?  If yes, please state the dates of such disciplines or educations, persons involved, and the nature and reason for the disciplines or education, persons involved, and the nature and reason for the discipline or education.

INTERROGATORY 25: For all employment held since your discharge from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Batelle, please state:

a. The names and addresses of each employer;
b. The name of your position and a brief job description for each position held;
c. The dates of employment with each employer;
d. Your salary or hourly wage for each position held.

INTERROGATORY 26: In addition the preceding Interrogatory, please list all income, of any type, which you have received since the date of your discharge from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Batelle.  State the source of the income, and the total income received from each source, including but not limited to, worker=s compensation benefits, unemployment benefits, Social Security benefits, income from jobs, and all income from any other source whatsoever.  If you received unemployment or worker=s compensation benefits which are the responsibility of more than one employer, state which employer is responsible for each amount of the benefit.

INTERROGATORY 27:  Please identify by name and address each person consulted by you as an expert and whom you expect to call as an expert witness at the time of trial.  Additionally, as to such individuals so identified, state the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify and state the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert is expected to testify, giving a summary of the grounds for each opinion.

INTERROGATORY 28:  State whether or not you have received any reports of any kind concerning any aspect of your case.  If your answer is in the affirmative, state:

(a) What is the general subject of the report?
(b) The name, title or specialty, address and phone number of the person or expert or experts who made said report or reports.
(c) Who has custody of such report or reports?

INTERROGATORY 29:  Please describe and list each website maintained by you during the time of your employment at PNNL/Batelle and thereafter, including but not limited to the name of each website, its general subject matter, its URL, and the dates when such website was established.

INTERROGATORY 30:  Other than the websites described in your answer to Interrogatory 30, please describe and list each website where you have posted content of any kind or nature that could be viewed by other users of such website during your employment at PNNL/Batelle and thereafter, including the dates that such posts were made and the names and URLs of websites where such posts were made.

INTERROGATORY 31:  Of the websites listed in your answer to Interrogatory 31, please list specifically which websites you posted content referencing your employment at or information about PNNL/Batelle, including the dates of such posts and the name and URL of such websites.

INTERROGATORY 32:  For each post described in your answer to Interrogatory 32, please describe in detail the content of such post.

INTERROGATORY 33: While employed at PNNL/Batelle did you ever access the internet at work for a non-work related purpose?  If yes, please state the approximate dates of such access, the website you visited, its URL, and the purpose of accessing this website.

INTERROGATORY 34:  Please provide all facts to support the allegation in your Complaint that you were Acertified as a firearms instructor,@ including but not limited to the date of your certification and what agency or group granted you certification.

INTERROGATORY 35:  Please provide all facts to support that PNNL/Batelle knew that you were Acertified as a firearms instructor@ during your employment and/or that this influenced the decision to terminate you.

INTERROGATORY 36:  Please list the names of all the people present in May 17, 2005 meeting alleged in your Complaint, and describe what each person told you at this meeting, including the name and URL of the website(s) where it was asserted that you Areleased business and customer-sensitive information.@

INTERROGATORY 37:  Please list the dates and times that APNNL Investigators@ visited your Agun-related websites@ as alleged in your Complaint.

INTERROGATORY 38:  Please state the name of the AHuman Resources Specialist@ referenced in paragraph 3.9 of your Complaint, as well as the names of any others present at this meeting.

INTERROGATORY 39: Did you ever allow others to access the internet through PNNL/ Batelle owned computers?  If yes, please list the dates and times that you allowed others to access PNNL/Batelle owned computers and the name of such persons.

INTERROGATORY 40:  Please state the name of the manager referenced in paragraph 3.10 of your Complaint.

INTERROGATORY 41:  Please provide all facts to support your allegation that Afollowing [your] suspension, neither Plaintiff nor any of his co-workers, project managers, or program managers were asked any questions.@

INTERROGATORY 42:  Please describe in detail what was told to you regarding how you inappropriately and without authorization used PNNL computing resources, failed to comply with company standards, disclosed or used proprietary or confidential information without authorization, and were dishonest as stated in your Complaint at paragraph 3.14.

INTERROGATORY 43:  State the names of any others who were present at your meeting with Bryan McMillan described in paragraph 3.14 of your Complaint.

INTERROGATORY 44:  Please provide all factual support for your allegation that Athe proffered reasons for Plaintiff=s discharge are false and pretextual,@ as alleged in your complaint.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 1:  Please provide legible copies of your income tax returns for the last five (5) years.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 2:  Please provide legible copies of all transcripts or statements of any party or witness to this action.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 3:  Please provide legible copies of all diaries, notes, memoranda, photographs, records, letters, or documents of any kind pertaining to the liability or damage claims of plaintiff.  This request for production is not meant to include materials prepared in anticipation of litigation, attorney work product, or confidential attorney-client communications.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 4:  Please provide true and accurate copies of all job applications you have filled out and submitted since the time of the subject discharge.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 5:  Please provide legible copies of all resume or curriculum vitae which you have sent to an employer since the time of the subject discharge.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 6:  Please provide legible copies of every record or document in your possession which is connected to, relates to, or is otherwise associated with your employment with defendant.  This request for production includes, but is not limited to, correspondence from or to defendant, written reprimands, performance evaluations, and any other documents received by you which relate to your employment with defendant.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 7:  Please provide legible copies of all reports, of any kind, including but not limited to reports of your experts, concerning any aspect of your case.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 8:  For the websites listed in your answer to Interrogatory 30, please provide a hard copy of the log history of each website, from the date you began employment at PNNL/Batelle to date, showing who logged onto each website, at what time, and for how long. Please indicate on the log history, if it is not readily apparent, which entries you believe represent APNNL investigators@ and which represent you.

REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 9: For the websites listed in your answers to Interrogatory 30-32, please provide a hard copy of each posting made by you, from the date you began employment at PNNL/Batelle to date.  This request is intended to include posts in their original form as initially posted as well as any modifications, deletions, or additions made thereafter.  The hard copy may be from the website, from a back-up copy of the posting made by whomever maintains the server, or from any other means available to you.

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11 thoughts on “Interrogatories

  1. Are you legally required to provide all this stuff? What business is it of theres if you and mom had marriage counseling or what your tax records have been?

  2. The counseling question in particular and probably some of the others won’t have to be answered. They are just trying to make things painful. I think it’s funny. It just shows they know they have to test my endurance and resolve rather than facts or the legality of what I claim.

  3. It definitely looks as if they’re just trying to push you out of the game. I’m familiar with the tactic; my ex-husband is using it to try to take custody of the kids. Hang on, this is definitely a sign of desperation on their part, since they obviously think pushing you out is less costly than the possibility of you winning.

  4. I can count at least 15 of those that I know our firm would object to on the grounds that the best evidence should be what is in PNNL’s files.

  5. Phelps,

    Yeah. I know. I think it’s pretty funny. Particularily so because it gave me some ideas for what we can ask for from them. 🙂

  6. Also of interest is what you can tell them about their difficulties based upon their lax security and thereby unguarded poking about in your site.

    I agree with a previous poster that a number of those questions are immaterial and invasive. You are not the one accused of a criminal act.

    I hope your fellow is planning to ask things like:
    -have you ever traveled out of country? please account in detail for all contacts outside of your travelling party.
    -have you ever spoken with a foreign national? Please detail the meeting
    -what did you do at Summer Camp in your 13th year of age?
    -have you ever “peeped” on the neighbor girl(s) [or boys]?
    did you take pictures?
    have you sold them on the internet?
    did you use company computers?
    {Heh, this could be REALLY fun}

    Jeez what a bunch of nonsense.

    Stick with it Joe.

  7. They’re also trying to trip you up into making erroneous factual errors, which they can turn on you to show that you’re unreliable as a source for factual information (ask for a million points of fact, and at least one of them is likely to be in error). If you were divorced, they’d want to contact your ex for some juicy dirt.

    IMO, this is also an attempt to intimidate you out of exercising your constitutionally guaranteed right to sue for justice.

  8. Joe,

    That is a shit sandwich and probably just the beginning.

    I finally got my criminal shit worked out and will hopefully be filing suit against the Sheriff’s Department soon.

    I think it’s good to keep in mind that these people don’t just want to defend their clients, they want to humiliate you and your family. Don’t let that shit happen.

    I don’t like lawyers; even my own.

    Take care,
    Benjamin

  9. Some of the stuff they are asking for looks like they are hoping you had a typo on your resume so they can say they fired you for that.

    If it were me I would ask WHY they want that information and fight with them on everything that does not look like they need it for their defense. Remember you are suing them not the other way around. They have no need of your financial information. Any information you give them can hurt you so I would keep it to a minimum.

    Don’t trust any attorney more than you have too. The more you trust your own attorney the more you should be suspicious. I know a prosecutor that told me its no at all uncommon for attorneys representing underdogs to put on a good show and do pro-bono work AFTER exhausting clients funds all to take a dive in the end.

    If your attorney doesn’t object to a LOT of those questions WITHOUT your prompting then you need to get a new attorney. Worst case you can get a family member to represent you as long as you don’t pay them. Never represent yourself, it makes it very tempting for the other party to find some way to get you locked up. Its a lot more difficult to win a case without the privacy and stress free environment of a private home.

    Also, put (sell, not something fraudulent) your house and one car in the name of a relative or something.

    All this is IMHO. I’m not an attorney.

    Good luck.

  10. I’m not an attorney, but I could play one on TV — I have a lot of experience in “family law” — a topic for another time and place.

    (1) All lawyers are NOT created equal. You should be sure he specializes in your type of case, and check around to be sure you’ve got the best specialist you can afford.

    (2) Have you contacted the NRA/CRDF? Sounds like this would be right up their alley. http://www.nradefensefund.org/requesting_help.aspx

    (3) The Interrogatories look pretty standard to me. In my Custody case they were *MUCH* worse. Much of it is boilerplate — you can tell by the sloppy proofreading/editing…

    The goal here is to lock you in, if you later come up with something (evidence, witness testimony, etc) they can claim (even when twisted out of recognition) they asked for, they can have it quashed based on your “failure to produce.”

    They are also trying to guage how much evidence you have, how good it is, and plan their case against it. There will be no surprises in court — that only happens on TV.

    IMHO, your Attorney should give them exactly, to the LETTER, what they asked for — nothing less, certainly nothing more. If you can FLOOD them with tons of meaningless crap that fits a specific interrogatory, do so. This will waste TONS of their time and money scanning it looking for some speck of dirt. Be sure there’s none there to find. Example: Mine requested “all home movies…” gave them literally hundreds of hours. Someone had to watch all of it, and they found NOTHING they could use.

    If you’re forced to give up something you don’t want to, bury it in the aforementioned “flood” and hope they overlook it.

    BTW: Consider Making them come to your Atty’s office to view discovery docs — too much private info to give it all to them. They can copy whatever they want, but only at your Atty’s office, and they must pay him his going rate for the copies. Wastes their time/money.

    Alternatively, be careful — you may be able to get even by requesting tons of docs that must be copied and catalogued at THEIR expense. You may not want to set the precedent I mentioned above. In my situation they started it… Opponent basically refused to comply with discovery, so we took the opposite “flood ’em” tactic… Cost them LOT$ of CA$H to copy it all, most of it was worthless (but fit their demands to the letter). Best of all, I was shown to be the one with nothing to hide and they came off evasive, dishonest and uncooperative.

    (4) Never trust a lawyer, not even (especially?) yours. Remember that it’s just a job to him — it’s your LIFE, not his. He’ll go on to Bermuda and never miss a minute of sleep — whether you win or lose, you’ll finance his trip, buy all his booze, and he’ll thoroughly enjoy spending your money.

    YOU must be in charge of your case – take the time to educate yourself about the law, procedures, terms, etc so you understand what’s happening and can speak intelligently to your attorney. This will also allow you to spot BS when it comes. It will come.

    Remember that they get together at the Bar/Bar Association banquet/Country Club/Golf Course/Etc. and laugh about their clients and cases. It’s all a game to them, like pro-ballers they get paid insane amounts of money to play. Win some, lose some, get paid either way.

    The two of them (yours and theirs) will work to milk as much $$ as possible out of you and them. It’s how the game is played, your job is to minimize *your* pain while maximizing theirs.

    (5) Keep your own logs of Atty time. When you get the 30-minute bill for a 2-minute conversation, call him on it. Some billing “rounding” is necessary, some is frankly theft. Be prepared to demonstrate the difference.

    (6) Understand the difference between what you know and what you can prove. The former is irrelevant. Bear in mind your Atty will never ask a question he doesn’t already know the answer to. Know that your competition will lie — don’t think your Atty’ll be able to break the opposition down on the stand. That only happens on TV.

    I have to quit — I’m not writing my book on your blog… 😉

    Free advice — guaranteed to be worth 10x what you paid for it…

    Hope it helps!

    DD

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