“While I understand those emotions and want to personally express my condolences at what happened, in my view the person responsible for your wife’s death is Larry Jamison. At most, you might also be able to lay some blame at the feet of the store that illegally sold him the weapon-Peninsula Arms.”
Jason couldn’t believe he was hearing this. Not in a million years had he thought a judge would dismiss the case this early. It was almost too good to be true.
“Nevertheless…,” Garrison said, pausing.
The word was like a sledgehammer to Jason’s midsection.
“My personal view is not what matters. When I took the bench, I took an oath to follow the law.”
The judge sighed and looked out over the courtroom. “The law in this case leaves me no choice. There is an exception in the federal statute protecting manufacturers, and that exception leaves room for suits against manufacturers who aid or abet illegal sales.
“In addition, I’m duty-bound to follow the precedents of this court, especially a case by someone as respected as Judge Moore.”
Garrison turned his attention to Jason and Case. “The motion is overruled. I’m not saying this case will necessarily go to the jury. But for now, the plaintiff has alleged enough to state a cause of action.”
Jason could hear some murmuring behind him, and the judge banged his gavel. Garrison was trying to play the role of ally to the gun groups even as he ruled against them. Nobody in the courtroom was buying it.
“Ms. Starling,” the judge said, “please draft an order reflecting the ruling. Anything else?”
“No, Your Honor,” Kelly Starling said, half-standing as she addressed the court.
Garrison looked at Jason and Case. Case just sat there, waiting long enough that Jason considered standing and responding himself.
When Case finally spoke, it seemed like he was talking to himself. “There are going to be a lot of dealers out of business.”
“What’s that?” Garrison said, clearly perturbed.
Case stood. “If we can be accused of aiding and abetting illegal sales on facts like these, we’ll have to stop selling guns to a lot of dealers.”
Tension lined every wrinkle on Garrison’s face. He wasn’t used to lawyers talking back.
“Speak to Congress about that,” he said. “You’re wasting your breath in here.”
“That last statement is something we can agree on,” Case said.
Judge Garrison seemed stunned by the comment. Livid. But he apparently thought twice before jumping down Case’s throat. His Republican friends would already be upset that Garrison had denied the Motion to Dismiss. No sense making things worse.
“Court adjourned,” Garrison said.
Before she left court, Kelly had one more job to do. She pulled a deposition notice out of her briefcase and checked it one last time. Normally, lawyers called the other side and mutually agreed on dates to take sworn pretrial testimony of key witnesses. But sometimes, when Kelly wanted to make a statement, she sent out deposition notices without even checking. This typically ignited the other side’s fuse, resulting in a big argument.
Eventually a date for the deposition would be established by mutual consent.
But the message would be sent.
This particular notice was for Melissa Davids. Ten o’clock. Kelly’s office in Washington, D.C. She had scheduled it for February 9, just a week and a half away. The defense lawyers would undoubtedly object to the time and place, and Kelly would agree to reschedule-so long as Davids was the first witness to be deposed.
She walked to the table where Case McAllister and Jason Noble were packing their briefcases. She placed the deposition notice in front of Case.
“It’s a notice for Melissa Davids’s deposition,” Kelly said. “I’m willing to be flexible on time and place as long as she goes first.”
“That’s very considerate of you,” McAllister said. He didn’t look at Kelly. Nor did he pick up the document.
She stood there for a second, then returned to her client. “Let’s go,” she said, packing her stuff. “Look straight ahead. Don’t respond to anybody.”
Blake nodded and put on his game face.
As they turned to leave, Kelly noticed that Case McAllister and Jason Noble had already departed. Her deposition notice was still sitting there on the defense counsel table, untouched.
“Jerks,” she said under her breath.
32
Kelly Starling and Blake Crawford emerged from the courthouse side by side, family members and friends trailing in their wake. The protestors gave the entourage room to pass and refrained from yelling slogans in their face. They were on their best behavior.
The media was not.
Cameramen walked backward with their cameras just a couple of feet from Kelly’s face. Reporters fired questions at will.
“Ms. Starling, how do you feel about the court’s ruling?”
“I feel great.”
“What evidence do you have that MD Firearms knew about the sales?”
Kelly smiled. “Lots.”
“Is it true that the investigative report about Larry Jamison was flawed?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Kelly shot back, before she could remind herself to keep her mouth shut.
“Could the defense raise that as contributory negligence?”
Kelly picked up the pace. “Of course not. That’s ridiculous.”
Kelly fielded a few more questions on the fly, until she and Blake outdistanced the reporters. When she parted company with Blake at her car, about a half mile from the courthouse, there were tears in his eyes.
“I’m glad I found you,” he said.
Kelly gave him a quick hug and imagined what a wonderful husband he must have been to Rachel. The man was sensitive and not afraid to show it. And though she hated herself for being so obsessively analytical about it, he would make a strong witness.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” she warned.
She spent most of the ride to D.C. thinking about Blake and Rachel, even pulling a picture of Rachel from her briefcase to remind herself of the woman’s innocent charm. The rest of the time, she was on the phone with the firm’s public-relations director. There would be four local television stations waiting for her in a firm conference room when she returned. The partners were proud of her. They thought a press conference would be a good way to capitalize on the free publicity.
Kelly sighed, but what choice did she have? She would prefer to try her case in the courtroom, but Melissa Davids would probably be all over television that night, spouting off about this money grab by Rachel Crawford’s family.
It couldn’t hurt to even the playing field a little.
On the way to the airport, Case McAllister didn’t seem to be at all bothered by the hearing. He had tossed his suit coat in the back and slouched down in the passenger seat, relaxed and talkative. “We knew going in that we were going to lose,” he reminded Jason. “I’ve got some friends in the Virginia legislature. They’ve got ways of getting the word to Judge Garrison. We may still win this thing on a Motion to Strike at trial.”
Jason wasn’t so sure. He would prepare for the case as if it were going to the jury. Judge Garrison’s ruling had not left a lot of wiggle room for a Motion to Strike.
For most of the trip, Case talked about everything except the lawsuit. When they pulled up to the curb at the airport, he reminded Jason not to talk with the press. “Melissa likes to handle the publicity aspects herself,” Case said.
No kidding, Jason thought.
“You just focus on trial prep,” Case said.
After he dropped Case off, Jason spent a few minutes analyzing the day’s events. Case seemed supremely confident, almost as if he had an inside line on Judge Garrison. But if he did, why would Garrison have ruled against MD Firearms today? Could it be that Davids and McAllister actually wanted to lose this hearing, realizing that the free publicity for their company would be worth millions?