Plaintiffs' Plight1984 (© Donald Moses 2009,) is a story of four cases handled by attorney, Daniel Masters. It focuses on the lives, loves, fears and frustrations of clients, and the tragic incidents that tranform their lives. It showcases Masters' experience, skill and luck, enabling him to uncover truths others had tried to suppress. The success or failure of Daniel Masters is the heart of the story. The foundational scene is Masters' law office, located in Rancho Bernardo, a community in the City of San Diego, California. That is where cases are evaluated and masterminded. The story guides the reader through fascinating, yet little known areas of San Diego County. Masters revels in and draws strength from the camaraderie and respect of his employees and business friends. The story includes a family fight, and serious injuries resulting from an industrial accident and two traffic collisions. With the aid of his associates, Masters displays his ability to bring about innovative and surprising resolutions. Although each of the tragedies suffered by the clients are separate and independent, the passionate struggle for justice by Masters unites the stories in a compelling drama.

Plaintiffs' Plight 1984

By Donald Moses

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Donald Moses
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-2633-2

Contents

CHAPTER 1 DANWORTHY Wednesday, 3/28/1984....................................1CHAPTER 2 WITNESS SEARCH Wednesday, 3/28/1984...............................16CHAPTER 3 WITNESS IN THE CEMETERY Wednesday, 3/28/1984......................26CHAPTER 4 THANK YOU Thursday, 3/29/1984.....................................44CHAPTER 5 BUELLSTEIN Monday, 4/12/1984......................................48CHAPTER 6 REDDING'S BANK Tuesday, 4/3/1984..................................79CHAPTER 7 KHUFU CONNECTION Thursday, 4/5/1984...............................95CHAPTER 8 BUELLSTEIN DISCOVERY Friday, 4/13/1984............................107CHAPTER 9 AMANDO Friday, 4/13/1984..........................................115CHAPTER 10 RAIN April 17, 1984..............................................148CHAPTER 11 SPECTER 1982......................................................162CHAPTER 12 WE REPRESENT SPECTER Monday, 4/16/1984...........................164CHAPTER 13 THE DREAM Thursday, 4/19/1984....................................170CHAPTER 14 THE MORROW COMETH Thursday, 4/20/1984............................179CHAPTER 15 GOODBYE AND FARE THEE WELL Monday, 4/30/1984.....................186CHAPTER 16 AMANDO POSTMORTEM Monday, 4/30/1984..............................196CHAPTER 17 MOTIVATION TO SUCCEED Thursday, 5/3/1984.........................198CHAPTER 18 TRAFFIC COURT Thursday, 5/3/1984.................................200CHAPTER 19 OBJECTIONS AND SUPPRESSIONS Monday, 5/7/1984.....................204CHAPTER 20 BARBARA SHARP DEPOSITION Tuesday, 5/8/1984.......................208CHAPTER 21 OFFICE MEETING Monday, 5/14/1984.................................229CHAPTER 22 TRIAL DAY ONE Monday, 5/21/1984..................................234CHAPTER 23 TRIAL DAY TWO Tuesday, 5/22/1984.................................246CHAPTER 24 TRIAL DAY THREE Wednesday, 5/23/1984.............................275CHAPTER 25 TRIAL DAY FOUR Thursday, 5/24/1984...............................288CHAPTER 26 THE VERDICT Friday, 5/25/1984....................................319CHAPTER 27 SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE Monday, 5/28/1984..........................324CHAPTER 28 UNINSURED Tuesday, 6/5/1984......................................331CHAPTER 29 JUNE OFFICE MEETING \ Wednesday, 6/13/1984.......................333CHAPTER 30 UNENFORCEABLE Wednesday, 6/13/1984...............................338CHAPTER 31 BREAKFAST Thursday, 9/6/1984.....................................356CHAPTER 32 LAST BREAKFAST Thursday, 11/15/1984..............................359EPILOGUE......................................................................362

Chapter One

DANWORTHY Wednesday, 3/28/1984

Weeping Willows wallow in misery from wordless woes of worry. Do tears of sorrow soak the ground or is it the other way around? Damp dirt and chilled air spawn grave and ghastly fear. Oh, why do all the Willows weep?

The door opened, and Toby Nabors burst into the lobby. His entrance startled Margaret Meadows. Looking up from her keyboard, she tried to understand what was happening. Nabors' uncharacteristic entrance overwhelmed her. She was well acquainted with him. He had never been anything other than a very friendly soul. Emotionally extracting herself from the shadow of his wrath, Margaret donned a diplomatic smile and said, "Good morning, Mr. Nabors."

He did not return the smile. Instead, he kept a blank expression on his face, and asked, using a demanding tone of voice, "Is he in?"

The person about whom he was inquiring was Daniel Masters, Margaret's boss. She had no doubt, that whatever was troubling Nabors was very serious. He made it apparent that he was not going to tell her what was bothering him. During all his previous visits with Masters, Nabors had never been rude or offensive to her. She liked all of Masters' friends, and until now, Nabors was no exception. Wondering what had happened to change this man, she restrained herself from displaying hurt feelings. Rising from her typewriter, she said, "He's on the phone, but I'll go in and tell him you're here."

Margaret's desk was in a room referred to as the secretarial area, even though Margaret was the only official secretary in the office. A reception desk was situated just below the reception window. The last receptionist who worked for Masters was currently on maternity leave, so Margaret was the sole occupant of the secretarial area.

A door adjacent to the reception window led to the lobby. Doors opened into the secretarial area, connecting it to Masters' private office and other rooms in the suite. There was a conference room filled with law books and a large conference table. A small office was used by the bookkeeper, Sandra Doone. Another even smaller office was for the law clerk, Steve Eaton. Off the back wall was an office kitchen and storage area. Next to the kitchen was an office subleased to another attorney. The sublet office was rarely used.

Margaret walked quickly to Masters' private office. When she opened the door, Masters held up his hand signaling to her to not to interrupt his telephone conversation. He was speaking on the phone with an Allstate insurance adjuster. Margaret stepped fully into his office, closed the door behind her, and waited with her hands anxiously clasped in front of her.

Masters said into the phone "please hold on just a moment." He then placed his palm over the receiver and to Margaret said "what is it Margaret?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Masters, but Mr. Nabors is here. He asked for you, and appears to be quite upset." Margaret said.

"What's wrong?" Masters asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't said much, but I've never seen him like this before." Margaret replied.

"Okay. I need to finish up here. Tell him I just need a minute." Masters said, dismissing Margaret.

Margaret returned to her station, and addressing Nabors through the reception window, said "Mr. Masters knows you need to see him, and said he'll be with you as soon as he gets off the phone, which will be just a minute."

Nabors did not reply, but began pacing. If a person pacing in the lobby walked within a few feet of the window separating the lobby from the secretarial area, he could see the buttons that were illuminated on Margaret's desktop telephone. With each jaunt across the lobby, Nabors looked at those lights. Margaret busied herself and tried to avoid further eye contact with him.

Nabors picked up a waiting room magazine, rolled it into the shape of a tube and continued to pace. He held the rolled up magazine in his right hand, and as he walked back and forth repeatedly slapped it into the palm of his left hand.

The sound of the slapping magazine and his pacing bumped Margaret's anxiety up a level. She glanced up. Nabors' continued scowl and failure to communicate worried and confused her. The next time Toby turned to face away from her, she quickly got up from her desk and walked into Sandra Doone's office. There she found Sandra and Steve Eaton engrossed in conversation, oblivious to the goings on in the lobby.

Steve Eaton was a lanky twenty-two-year-old law student. He kept his full head of light brown hair neatly groomed. He didn't own a suit. At Masters' insistence, Eaton wore a white button-down shirt and tie with a sport coat or cardigan sweater. He had been working for Masters for about...