2012.01.31_TC_Minutes_Executive SessionPage: 1
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1 THE STATE OF FLORIDA, )
2 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH. )
3
4
5
6 IN RE:_rIGINAL.
7
8 TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH
9 ATTORNEY/CLIENT SHADE MEETING
10
11
12
13
14
15
Highland Beach, Florida
16 DATE: January 31, 2012
2:50 - 3:20 p.m.
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APPEARANCES:
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MAYOR BERNARD FEATHERMAN
4
5
VICE -MAYOR MIRIAM S. ZWICK
6
COMMISSIONER DENNIS J. SHERIDAN
7
8
COMMISSIONER JOHN J. PAGLIAROI
9
TOWN MANAGER KATHLEEN D. WEISER
10
11
TOWN ATTORNEY GLEN J. TORCIVIA, ESQUIRE
12
LYMAN H. REYNOLDS, JR., ESQUIRE
13
14
TOWN CLERK BEVERLY BROWN
15
16
17
18
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20
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25
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(The following proceedings were had):
3
- - -
4
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Is there any miscellaneous
5
items left over?
6
Beverly, turn it on, and we'll get started.
7
(Thereupon, audio recorder was turned on.)
8
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Good afternoon. It's
9
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 2:50 p.m. I now call
10
the order of the Town commission attorney/client
11
private meeting.
12
Can you take a role call, please?
13
THE TOWN CLERK: Commissioner Sheridan?
14
COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: Here.
15
THE TOWN CLERK: Commissioner Pagliaroi?
16
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: Here.
17
THE TOWN CLERK: Commissioner Trinley?
18
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Here.
19
THE TOWN CLERK: Vice-president?
20
MR. REYNOLDS: Here.
21
THE TOWN CLERK: President?
22
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Here.
23
THE TOWN CLERK: Attorney Torcivia?
24
MR. TORCIVIA: Here.
25
THE TOWN COURT: Town Manager Weiser?
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TOWN MANAGER WEISER: Here.
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THE TOWN CLERK: And the attorney for --
3
MR. REYNOLDS: Lyman Reynolds, here.
4
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: We have to raise -- rise
5
for the pledge of allegiance again.
6
(Thereupon, the pledge of Allegiance was
7
cited by all present.)
8
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Thank you.
9
Town Clerk, will you please recite the
10
Civility Pledge.
11
(Whereupon, the Town Clerk recites the
12
Civility Pledge.)
13
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Thank you very much.
14
Are there any additions or deletions to the
15
agenda? Hearing none, the agenda is accepted as
16
submitted.
17
Public comments and requests at this time?
18
There are no public comments or requests.
19
Town Attorney Torcivia, will you please
20
review the procedures of this meeting?
21
And I would say that after he does that,
22
Beverly, could you please close the door and have
23
the sign put on appropriately?
24
The Town attorney?
25
MR. TORCIVIA: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The
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11 purpose of this private section is for the town
2 commission and counsel to discuss settlement
3 negotiations or strategy regarding the litigation
4 in the case of Dale S. Sugarman versus the Town of
5 Highland Beach, 2011 CA 015192XXXXMP filed
6 October 3rd, 2011.
7 The entire session will be recorded by a
8 certified court reporter. The persons attending
9 the Attorney/Client Session are Mayor Featherman,
10 Vice -Mayor Zwick, Commissioner Trinley,
11 Commissioner Pagliaroi, Commissioner Sheridan, Town
12
Manager Weiser, myself
and Attorney
Lyman Reynolds.
13
And with that, I
would turn it
back over to
14
the mayor
to close the
session.
15
MAYOR
FEATHERMAN:
At this time, the Town
16
clerk and
the public will leave
the meeting.
17
Town
Clerk, please mark the
door in an
18 appropriate manner.
19 (Town Clerk complies with request.)
20 MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Thank you. I call the
21 attorney/client meeting back to order at 2:53 p.m.
22 Okay. Now, the public comments, you go
23 ahead, please, and -- and make your statement.
24 MR. REYNOLDS: Thank you, Mayor. Lyman
25 Reynolds, again. I met with you all before
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mediation with regard to the status of settlement
2
negotiations, which we anticipated at the
3
mediation. Anything that transpires in mediation
4
is -- is confidential.
5
You -all are the clients, so you're entitled
6
to know what transpires at mediations. So this
7
isn't a disclosure of what transpired at the
8
mediation, but that having been said, the
9
negotiations did not result in settlement of the
10
case. The parties were just far -- far too far
11
apart.
12
Where we are presently is: The Plaintiff,
13
Dr. Sugarman, has filed what's called a Proposal
14
for Settlement. The Proposal for Settlement in
15
this case was $250,000.
16
If the Defendant, which is the Town, does not
17
quote, unquote, beat the settlement by 25 percent
18
or better, the Plaintiff, who's filed the Proposal
19
for Settlement, can obtain attorney's fees and
20
costs from the time of filing that Proposal for
21
Settlement up through whatever the point in time is
22
the judgment or the judgment is upheld on appeal.
23
What the reason for this Shade meeting is:
24
The insurance company, on behalf of the Town, would
25
like to file what's called a Counter Proposal for
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Settlement in the amount of $75,000.
2
Our thought is, is that if we're successful
3
and we win the suit or the judgment is in favor of
4
Dr. Sugarman 25 percent less than $75,000; in other
5
words, if he were to obtain a judgment of $50,000,
6
we would get our attorney's fees and costs. That's
7
sort of the -- the schtick that each side has to
8
the other.
9
The insurance company asked me to come before
10
the commission and request your consent as a
11
commission for settlement of authority, which is --
12
of course is, as we discussed in our last meeting,
13
the insurance company's money, but your consent up
14
to a $100,000.
15
We'd file a Proposal for Settlement for
16
seventy-five. We think that their demand of
17
two -fifty is far too high, but if you give your
18
consent to the insurance company going up to a
19
$100,000 to settle, there would be some room to
20
negotiate between seventy-five and -- and a
21
hundred, and that's where we presently are.
22
The insurance company is not intending to
23
accept the -- the Plaintiff's Proposal for
24
Settlement of $250,000. They think that's just way
25
too high, so that's where we are.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Well, I can say that I
2
would go along with the insurance company, and one
3
of the commissioners and the mayor; however, we
4
have other commissioners here.
5
I'd like to ask Commissioner Sheridan, how do
6
you stand on that?
7
COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: Is it fair for me to
8
ask you what your personal feelings would be
9
regarding settlement of seventy-five? It's a long
10
way from two and a quarter or two and -a -half, I
11
know that.
12
I'd go with along with the mayor. If you
13
feel as though seventy-five with a buffer up to a
14
hundred is going to be within the ballpark, I guess
15
we've got to bite the bullet.
16
MR. REYNOLDS: And -- and it's not unfair,
17
because you're my client as a representative of the
18
Town.
19
Yes, I think it's fair. I'm a litigator, so
20
I have a tendency to want to put the blinders on
21
and just get me in front of a jury and I want to
22
win, obviously, every case that I can.
23
I tried ten jury trials last year. That's a
24
lot of jury trials, I can tell you. And in all of
25
them, I can promise you that I did everything for
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my clients that I could to get as close to what the
2
Plaintiff wanted to settle the case or cases, and
3
that's what I'm -- I'm advocating on behalf of the
4
Town here.
5
If the insurance company, as we went through
6
in our -- in our last shade meeting, is willing to
7
pay a $100,000 or a 125,000 or a $150,000 because
8
they see a danger value -- because no one can
9
predict, I certainly cannot, what a jury is going
10
to do.
11
Just like we talked about, other people's
12
money. We want it to be -- I want it to be on your
13
behalf, on behalf of the Town, the insurance
14
company's money.
15
As the mayor pointed out in our last meeting,
16
from a business standpoint, that's why you have
17
insurance. Because if you don't consent and tie
18
the insurance company's hands, they can then say
19
"all right, if you feel that strongly about it, you
20
defend it, you pay the judgment if it goes south."
21
Without going any -- into any of the details
22
from -- from mediation, I can tell you that when
23
mediation started, I felt like I was Alice looking
24
through the looking glass because I was going "you
25
think this case is worth what?"
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So to put it mildly, the Motions to Dismiss
2
and everything that I brought to you -all and showed
3
you -all in our -- our in our last shade meeting, I
4
think have had -- have an affect in sort of in
5
terms of a wake-up call from Dr. Sugarman's
6
standpoint and from his attorney's standpoint.
7
They think they're being very reasonable at
8
two -fifty. I can assure you compared to what they
9
were demanding at mediation, and in that process,
10
yes, they come a long way, but I always call that
11
make-believe money. The real money is what the
12
insurance company or a Defendant is willing to
13
write someone an actual check for.
14
And I talked again with the insurance company
15
this morning before I -- before I came because we
16
had spoken with -- when we were setting up the --
17
this follow-up shade meeting in terms of where she
18
was thinking, and that's -- that's where she's
19
comfortable is at a hundred thousand.
20
And that's why I made the suggestion to her
21
that well, if the -- if the commission authorizes a
22
hundred thousand, we can do this Proposal for
23
Settlement for seventy-five, which puts the schtick
24
back on -- on them. Because if they don't beat it,
25
if they're not successful and either give -- we get
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a defense verdict or we get a verdict at $50,000 or
2
less, they pay our attorney's fees and costs,
3
they're out of pocket.
4
And so she -- she reconfirmed that, and
5
Plaintiff's counsel additionally -- that's --
6
that's one additional point, contacted me at the
7
end of last week to say, "Well, we're not married
8
to this $250,000. Let's, you know, talk some
9
more."
10
And I said, "Okay. Let me talk to the
11
insurance company and do the due diligence that we
12
have to do here today, and I'll get back with you."
13
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Yes?
14
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: Question: When you
15
say "the woman," who you made mention of, that is
16
the attorney for Dr. Sugarman, correct?
17
MR. REYNOLDS: Yes. Yes, Maria Abate.
18
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: Okay. Now, let's
19
say we go a hundred thousand dollars -- to a
20
$100,000. Originally the claim is two -fifty.
21
What's going to stop them from saying "well, that's
22
not the two -fifty we want."
23
We're going to have to go up. They're going
24
to have to come down. They're not going to
25
accept -- I mean, how realistic is it that they
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will accept the $100,000?
2
MR. REYNOLDS: I think it is a relative long
3
shot. Not a super long shot, but a relative one.
4
And that's why I suggested to her, because she --
5
this is the insurance company representative,
6
Ms. Eggert. She had originally requested that I
7
come before you for authority for a Proposal for
8
Settlement of a $100,000.
9
And the reason I -- I spoke with her again
10
this morning was, I said: From my perspective,
11
from my experience doing this for a whole lot of
12
years, if you give a Proposal for Settlement of a
13
$100,000, the Plaintiff is going to think "well, we
14
want to settle somewhere between a hundred and
15
two -fifty," and so that's -- that's your new middle
16
ground.
17
And I said to her, I said, "Are you wanting
18
to do that? Because I want to be able to tell that
19
to the commission if that's what you're -- you're
20
thinking."
21
And she said, "No, No." She really would
22
want to try and settle it at or around a hundred
23
thousand.
24
So that's when I said to her, I go, "Well
25
then if -- if that's what you want to -- to settle
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for, then we need to do a Proposal for Settlement
2
of seventy-five."
3
Because the highest we went at mediation was
4
seventy, and -- and they were still off in this
5
stratosphere.
6
And I said, "So -- so do a Proposal for
7
Settlement for 75,000, then you give yourself this
8
$25,000 window to negotiate, make sure" -- you
9
know, and I'll tell them right off the bat we're
10
not splitting the difference. That's not what
11
we're interested in. "But if you can get close to
12
our number, then maybe we can get it done."
13
And that's -- that's the -- that's the
14
strategy that -- that I employ like you would at
15
any good, you know, business negotiation. You have
16
to look at it purely objectively.
17
Will they take the hundred thousand? I think
18
they should, but that doesn't mean that they will.
19
Because again, not taking away from anyone's
20
perception with regard to Dr. Sugarman, but I have
21
the definite feeling that Dr. Sugarman wants,
22
quote, unquote, his day in court and he wants to
23
swing for the fences to see if he can get that
24
great big, you know, giant award.
25
And I think his attorney is trying to get him
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to look at it more realistically as a business
2
decision as what's your probabilities, and that --
3
that's the impression that -- that I definitely had
4
from my conversations with her.
5
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: But that --
6
MR. REYNOLDS: Now maybe if she can talk him
7
down, as you pointed out, to that -- that realistic
8
figure, I don't know.
9
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: That's my concern.
10
My concern was him going overboard. I know Dale
11
believes to this day that he is right, and he's
12
going to go with it and we're going to -- I don't
13
want us to get into a situation where we're going
14
to come up to a hundred thousand and they're going
15
to say two twenty-five, and it's going to get
16
higher and higher and higher, and I'm -- that
17
bothers me very, very, very much.
18
MR. REYNOLDS: And I just want to make it
19
clear now, because you don't -- you don't know me,
20
but I've been doing this a long, long time, and I
21
know exactly what you're thinking and what your
22
concern is.
23
And I can promise you from mediation, because
24
we were there for several hours, that that's when
25
we finally declared an impasse because we said
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"we're not going to fall into that trap of we're at
2
seventy-five, you're at two twenty-five, we're a
3
hundred, and now you're at two hundred."
4
That's -- that's not what I anticipate, but
5
that's why I talked to the insurance company this
6
morning. Because I wanted to know the exact same
7
answer, which is: Is the real number a hundred and
8
fifty? Because I'd be talking to you -all about a
9
hundred fifty if that's -- but that's not what the
10
insurance company has told me.
11
Will the insurance company maybe potentially
12
consider the risk value, cost of defense and -- and
13
those other factors to go up to a hundred and
14
fifty? Again, I'd have to come back before you
15
again before that can even happen because all --
16
what I'm here for purposes of the today is the
17
consent for the insurance company up to the
18
$100,000.
19
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: How long will this take
20
you to make a deal on this settlement?
21
MR. REYNOLDS: Well -- and there may not be a
22 deal.
23 MAYOR FEATHERMAN: No, I understand that.
24 MR. REYNOLDS: Right. Right. Right.
25 MAYOR FEATHERMAN: I understand that. I'm
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just asking for a time period.
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MR. REYNOLDS: Well, if I had the
3
commission's consent or permission today, I can do
4
a $75,000 Proposal for Settlement today. Then they
5
have 30 days to accept or reject that.
6
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: I see.
7
MR. REYNOLDS: And I can assure you that as
8
soon as they get that, I'll get a call from
9
Plaintiff's counsel, Ms. Abate.
10
And she's going to say, "Okay, you're
11
there" -- and just as the commissioner pointed out,
12
"You're there. If we come to two twenty-five, are
13
you going -- are we going to land in the middle?"
14
And that's when I'm going to have to give her
15
the bad news and say, "No. You're going to have to
16
get real, real, real close to our number in order
17
for the insurance company to want to -- to settle
18
this case."
19
Because at this point in time, the insurance
20
company does not have it evaluated above a hundred,
21
and so if we don't offer it, it's not there.
22
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Right.
23
MR. REYNOLDS: Here's what the offer is.
24
It's -- at seventy-five, it's not quite
25
take -it -or -leave -it, but if we ever inch our way up
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to the hundred, then it would at this point in time
2
be a take -it -or -leave -it number.
3
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Another thing we have a
4
question on is: What is our portion of the
5
deductible on that?
6
MR. REYNOLDS: I think you -all are, like five
7
thousand.
8
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Five thousand?
9
MR. REYNOLDS: And I'm quite sure that we've
10
gone through that by now.
11
TOWN MANAGER WEISER: Yeah.
12
MR. REYNOLDS: We're either at or near going
13
through it from my motions and what have you.
14
TOWN MANAGER WEISER: It's low. It's five
15
thousand.
16
MR. REYNOLDS: It is. It's a low deductible,
17
and -- and that is -- goes with cost of defense
18
and -- and what not, and I'm a hundred percent
19
positive that there's no further funds.
20
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Is there any questions?
21
You have one vice -mayor?
22
VICE -MAYOR ZWICK: (Shakes head from side to
23
side.)
24
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Commissioner Trinley?
25
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Yeah. If he doesn't
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accept, do you really think he'd go to trial?
2
MR. REYNOLDS: I always go on the assumption
3
that the other side is willing to go to trial
4
because I proceed that way. Because if you
5
don't -- if you don't anticipate that you're going
6
to go to trial, you're going to be caught
7
unawares --
8
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Okay.
9
MR. REYNOLDS: -- unprepared, and so -- so
10
that will not be the case. I promise you that his
11
attorney does not want to go to trial. I mean,
12
I -- if you're asking me how I read this case, I
13
read his -- you know, his attorney, and you know
14
enough about the case and -- and the background
15
from the e-mails and the -- the stuff about we're
16
going to quote, unquote, embarrass the Town.
17
And you know, I don't need to belabor that
18
aspect of the case, but you know, we made it very
19
clear that no, this is -- this is not a -- a
20
situation which -- which the Town is simply going
21
to capitulate because it may be quote, unquote,
22
embarrassed.
23
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: And it has been
24
brought out that he did not follow the personal
25
rules or regs, right, to get --
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MR. REYNOLDS: That's my Motion to Dismiss.
2
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Okay.
3
MR. REYNOLDS: Absolutely, and that's when I
4
go straight down. Of course he takes the position,
5
and I think I made that clear in our last meeting,
6
that -- that he's the end-all/say-all on personnel
7
issues.
8
That's -- that's their complaint, and that
9
our position is: No. Whether you recognize it or
10
not, the Town manager works for the Town, and the
11
Town is run by the commission.
12
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Well, he has been
13
known to say that the commission works for him,
14
so...
15
MR. REYNOLDS: Oh, yeah. I -- yes, I -- I
16
have no doubt whatsoever.
17
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: And I'm the only one
18
sitting here who's been involved with that. So
19
I -- I know him quite well, and I wouldn't be
20
surprised if he wanted to go to trial.
21
MR. REYNOLDS: Oh, I wouldn't either. I
22
wouldn't either. And -- and -- and candidly, and I
23
can tell you, because this has happened in cases
24
that I've had over the years, which is: If his
25
attorney doesn't want to go to trial and doesn't
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want to fight this and is trying to talk him into a
2
reasonable settlement in this range that I'm
3
talking about, seventy-five to a $100,000, he
4
doesn't like it, I wouldn't be at all surprised if
5
he fires her and hires another attorney. I mean,
6
I've had -- I've had plaintiffs do that.
7
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Had it happen, right.
8
MR. REYNOLDS: As I've often explained to my
9
clients, my clients are like, "Why are we going to
10
trial? I made a reasonable offer."
11
I say, "I can't take that money, shove it in
12
their pocket and tell them to go away." That's not
13
how it works.
14
That's just -- that's -- that's -- and -- and
15
then so you're -- you're absolutely right. He --
16
he may just say "absolutely, unequivocally not, I'm
17
not budging. And if you're not going to represent
18
me and you're not going to go in that courtroom
19
against Lyman Reynolds, I'll get somebody who
20
will." You -- you are a hundred percent correct.
21
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: And I agree with you
22
guys a 110 percent. You're absolutely right.
23
MR. REYNOLDS: Right. And all we're trying
24
do is step back from the emotion of it and say from
25
a business standpoint if we could get a reasonable
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resolution in this range, my recommendation to you
2
and -- and Commissioner Sheridan, you -- you had
3
asked what my personal feelings are.
4
My personal feelings are on behalf of my
5
clients, take it. Get this behind us, get it
6
resolved and get it done; but again, those ten jury
7
trials that I had last year were all because I had
8
the same discussion with my clients. My clients
9
made very reasonable attempts at resolving the
10
case, and the other side, for whatever reason --
11
some people think, you know, maybe I'm going to hit
12
a home run. Some people say it's the principle of
13
the thing.
14
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Can you share with us
15
your win and loss record?
16
MR. REYNOLDS: Nine and one.
17
COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: You won nine and lost
18
one?
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MR. REYNOLDS: I won nine and lost one.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: That's terrific.
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That's terrific.
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MR. REYNOLDS: And I shouldn't have lost the
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one.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: I'll go to trial with
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you.
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MR. REYNOLDS: And of course, the one is the
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one that still eats me alive. I don't even think
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about the nine wins.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Yeah.
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MR. REYNOLDS: It's the one that you're going
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"okay, I just never should have lost that case."
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: You have something to say,
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Town Manager?
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TOWN MANAGER WEISER: I just have a -- a
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procedure question.
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Is that a normal course of action when you go
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in, mediate at a table and walk away and then start
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negotiating via paper?
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MR. REYNOLDS: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
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anybody can negotiate anytime. I mean, I've
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actually settled cases that -- that I've won on
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appeal.
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Mr. Roberts, who many of you know, my -- my
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partner and I were up in Atlanta before the llth
20
Circuit Court of Appeals on a horrible brain damage
21
case that I won on a summary judgment, and you're
22
still rolling the dice. Is the Appellate Court
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going to -- to uphold the summary judgment?
24
And Plaintiff's counsel approached and -- and
25
said, "Can we get that last reasonable offer that
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you made?"
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And we said, "Well, considering the position
3
we're in, you can't get that, but you can get half
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of that." And they took it.
5
And so yes, that -- that -- the -- the -- we
6
did an early, early mediation in this case because
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normally you don't do mediation until you notice
8
the case for trial. But we did this one early
9
trying to save the attorney's fees, the costs, as
10
you -all know, and -- and we know this, and I'm sure
11
you -all would anticipate this, that if it doesn't
12
get resolved, it's like any of the other cases that
13
I presently have. You're going to see people going
14
to the press and into the newspapers.
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And so we were saying -- thinking, "Hey, if
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we can do it sooner rather than later, let's get it
17
done." But yeah, that's -- that's the usual
18
procedure.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Excuse me.
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MR. REYNOLDS: Yes, ma'am?
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Would the hundred
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thousand include your attorney fees?
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MR. REYNOLDS: No. No. No. The -- the --
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well, the insurance company pays my attorney's
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fees.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: They pay him.
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MR. REYNOLDS: That doesn't cost you -all
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anything. That is $100,000 to him.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: To him, okay.
5
MR. REYNOLDS: And then he has to pay his
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attorney and his costs out of that, and oftentimes
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these are taken on either a --
8
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Percentage.
9
MR. REYNOLDS: -- contingency fee basis or a
10
semi -contingency fee basis. And well -- and for a
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governmental entity case, my position is that they
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should be contingency, and it's a 25 percent. It's
13
not the usual 40 percent.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Forty.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Well, I think we can
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sit here and talk for another 20 minutes or so, but
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from what you've told me, I -- I, for one, would
18
say go for the hundred thousand and I wish you the
19
best.
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COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: One other question.
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Would not the decision of this mediator that was
22
beneficial to the Town have some reflection on the
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case regarding our benefit?
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MR. REYNOLDS: No.
25
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: No.
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2 COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: No, I don't mean
3 decide, but his decision that was made.
4 MR. REYNOLDS: No, he doesn't make one.
5 That's an arbitrator.
6 COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: I'm sorrv. I'm
7
sorry.
8
MR. REYNOLDS: Yeah, a mediator is --
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COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: Yeah, I'm sorry.
10
MR. REYNOLDS: -- is just a settlor. He's
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just -- he's just the broker in-between.
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And candidly, I think he did help us.
13
Because as I said, they were off in the
14
stratosphere when we broke off the negotiations.
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Still two -fifty is way, way too high, but
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it's -- it's so significantly less because he had
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the talk with them. I went over the Motion to
18
Dismiss with him, and so that's a second set of
19
eyes to help them try to look at it a little more
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objectively.
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COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: Right.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: I think we could just take
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a vote on that then and give him permission and
24
authorization to do that.
25
I'll just say this off the cuff: I remember
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a woman falling off our curb at a plant that I
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owned, a 200,000-foot plant, and she was claiming a
3
couple of million dollars. And then we were told
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that she would settle for sixty-two hundred, and we
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said "we're not stepping into the insurance
6
company's shoes, because if they're running it,
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they know what to do."
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And they settled, even though I was very
9
angry because no one was there at three in the
10
morning to see her slip. Those things can happen,
11
but I agree that we all vote to give him
12
authorization. I'll take a vote on this.
13
COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: Yes.
14
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Commissioner?
15
MR. TORCIVIA: You don't need an actual vote,
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just a consensus of the body.
17
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Then that's fine, you have
18
our consensus to go ahead and do that.
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MR. REYNOLDS: Okay.
20
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Yes.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: And I wish you all the
22
luck in the world.
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MR. REYNOLDS: I -- I do too as well. Thank
24
ya'll very much.
25
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Thank you for being here
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2 COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Yeah, thank you.
3 MR. REYNOLDS: I appreciate the
4
accommodation.
5
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: We are -- the time -- the
6
time is --
7
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: Can we have a time
8
frame of when you'll get back to us?
9
MR. REYNOLDS: Oh, I will keep --
10
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Notify us?
11
MR. REYNOLDS: -- the manager --
12
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Right.
13
MR. REYNOLDS: -- who sits as your risk
14
manager and the City attorney apprised --
15
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: A guesstimate?
16
MR. REYNOLDS: -- of those. I would say
17
within no more than 30 days he'll know where we
18
stand.
19
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: That's fine.
20
MR. REYNOLDS: We'll -- we'll -- as I said,
21
I'm going to get out this $7500 (sic) Proposal for
22
Settlement tomorrow.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Right.
24
MR. REYNOLDS: And they have 30 days, but
25
I'll get a call, I'm sure.
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COMMISSIONER TRINLEY: Make sure you say
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75,000, not 7500 as you just did.
3
MR. REYNOLDS: You're exactly right, I did.
4
You're right.
5
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Don't put that in there.
6
MR. REYNOLDS: I'll put the $75,000 -- you
7
know what? That's a Freudian slip, because I was
8
thinking I'd really prefer to put 7500 on it, but
9
that's just -- that stays right in this room.
10
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: All righty. You're
11
excused on that. The time now is --
12
MR. REYNOLDS: Thank you.
13
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: The time now is 3:19, and
14
there being no further business, I call for a
15
Motion to Adjourn.
16
TOWN MANAGER WEISER: Hold on. You have to
17
wait until Beverly comes back.
18
THE TOWN CLERK: I'm here. Go ahead.
19
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: The meeting is closed in
20
reference to our legal situation and opened again.
21
There's no public comments from anybody here, and
22
so I look for a Motion to Adjourn.
23
COMMISSIONER SHERIDAN: I make a Motion to
24
Adjourn.
25
COMMISSIONER PAGLIAROI: I second it.
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MAYOR FEATHERMAN: All in favor saying aye.
(Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.)
MAYOR FEATHERMAN: Any nos? Hearing none, I
call this Motion for Adjournment of the meeting at
one -- at 3:20 p.m.
(Proceedings were adjourned.)
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CERTIFICATE
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, )
COUNTY OF PALM BEACH )
I, WANDA D. GOOD, a Professional Court
Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of
Florida at Large:
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above -entitled and
numbered cause was heard as hereinabove set out; that I
was authorized to and did report in shorthand the
proceedings, and that the foregoing pages, numbered 1
through 29 inclusive, comprise a true and correct
transcript of my stenographic notes taken during said
proceeding.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed
my signature this 8th day of July, 2012.
WANDA D. GOOD,
Notary Public,
Certified Court Reporter
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