Brains – and why not, she already had the ….s in the bag when she filed the Notice of Filing of Additional Evidence in Support of Application for Review of and Objection to, June 5, 2009 Order of United States Magistrate Judge in Bossier v State Farm.
…the Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, and files the deposition of Matthew Thiele taken on July 13, 2009, in further support of his Application for Review of, and Objection to, June 5, 2009, Order of United States Magistrate Judge. (deposition linked in Notice)
Selected portions of the deposition deposition follows – be certain to pull up the link and read it all. The “undersigned counsel,” Judy Guice, is asking the questions ( indicated by “Q”) and Matthew Thiele, an adjuster with Pilot Catastrophe following Hurricane Katrina, is responding (indicated by “A”):
I write about Ms. Guice with a great deal of admiration. She lost her own home to Katrina and, like many others, had to resort to litigation and force her insurer to provide the coverage provided by her policy. In doing so, she became one Governor Barbour recognized when he spoke of those who
… hitched up their britches and began helping themselves and helping their neighbors.
The extraordinary effort she put into her own case resulted in the availability of evidence that has helped countless others.
Judy Guice, Queen of the Slabbed.
Q. Okay. Who was your team leader or team manager?
A. I can’t recall…
Q. Was Tip Pupua one of them?
A. Yes Q. Was Steve Burke one of them?
A. Yes. He was the first one.
Q. Steve Burke was your first one?
A. Yes, ma’am. Q. So as of September 9th, 2005, when you made your log entry on Exhibit Number 2 relating to the Bossier property, that was fairly early in your Katrina work; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. So is it likely that Mr. Burke would have been your team manager at that time?
A. I would think so, yes.
Clyde Gunn, Counsel for Judy Guice in Guice v State Farm(indicated by “Q”), took the Deposition of State Farm employee/”cat” team leader Steve Burke in Guice v State Farm of State Farm employee/cat team leader Steve Burke (indicated by “A:). (see Exhibit to Motion to Strike Errat Sheet Making Substantive Changes to Sworn Deposition Testimony of Steve Burke)
On January 12, 2007, Counsel for Plaintiff conducted the video deposition of State Farm employee Steve Burke, in which Burke gave sworn testimony as to his knowledge, involvement and duties regarding the Plaintiff and similarly situated State Farm insureds’ claims arising from Hurricane Katrina. Said sworn deposition testimony involved his knowledge of State Farm’s implementation of post-Katrina claims polices and procedures, to intentionally wrongfully deny the total loss claims of the Plaintiff, and similarly situated State Farm insureds in coastal Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina.
Robert Galloway is representing State Farm.
Q. Well, what I’m asking you is, based on your review of the files in preparation for your testimony here today, did you see anything in the files to indicate to you that anybody ever made a determination of the difference between wind damage and flood damage on the Judy Guice claims? …
Q. Now, on September 24, 200S, there’s an entry by somebody named Bruce O’Neal. Who is Bruce O’Neal?
A. He is my trainer who supervised me under this file.
Q. And it says, “Reviewed tile. Okay to issue drafts. Payment amount above my authority. Steve will need authority on this one.” Is he referring to you?
A. Yes.
So you had another opportunity to take a look at the Judy Guice file, correct?
MR GALLOWAY: Object to the form of the question.
MR CLYDE GUNN: Q. Correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And look over at the next page, which is Page 45, coming forward. On October 6th, 2005, you made an entry, “Reviewed tile. Okay to close.” Correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And you made an entry there “okay to close the file” when you knew the engineering request form had not been forwarded and there was – and no determination had been made about the difference between the water damage versus the wind damage, correct?
MR.GALLOWAY: Object to the form of the question.
While State Farm objects to the form of the question, SLABBED objects to the need to ask and grieves with those who put their trust in their insurer and still await an answer as we approach the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.