“Watch your mouth, Mr. Hancock! What were you even doing in Ms. Zeller’s office?” the judge asked, turning his head sharply to cross-examine Chip.
“Did I say I was in her office? I meant that I was, um …” Chip stammered.
“I do recall that he was caught snooping in our offices a while back,” I offered. “I am sure my colleagues will be happy to corroborate this for you, your Honour.”
“Mr. Hancock, I am aghast at the level of incompetence you have displayed today, as well as your propensity for illicit behaviour,” the judge admonished, shaking his head. “However, I will address your misconduct later.”
“Your Honour, if I may explain, I did in fact disclose all of the letters I received but because our witness kept his identity a secret, I could not figure out who it was. It was only at the last minute that Ty Sumner Jr. stepped forward, making it known to me that he was the one sending the letters,” I explained. “We respectfully request that we be permitted to proceed with our examination-in-chief of Mr. Ty Sumner.”
“I’ll allow it,” the judge said with a deep nod.
“Your Honour, if that is the case, then I have to bring an urgent motion in advance of Mr. Sumner’s presentation,” Chip said, shuffling the papers on his bench.
“Mr. Hancock, you have had ample opportunity to bring your motion before the close of your case. Any motion will have to wait until the court has heard from Ms. Hirohito’s and Ms. Zeller’s witnesses and presentation of evidence,” the judge said, turning his attention back to Ty.
“But, your Honour, this is a joke. They had enough time to tell me that it was Ty,” Chip whined.
“I’ll allow it,” the judge ruled without looking at Chip. “I’m very interested to hear what Mr. Sumner Jr. has to say.”
“Mr. Sumner—” I started.
“Please call me Ty,” Ty interrupted.
“Ok, Ty, what is your relationship to Ms. Chalmers?” I asked, loosening up. I’m in my element, I thought with a hidden smile.
“I was her boyfriend,” he advised.
Ty’s sweet but weary eyes revealed heavy guilt. A charming, handsome young man who lived with his father after his parent’s divorce, Ty was easily manipulated by the threat of having the money tap turned off. Ty did his father’s bidding despite knowing that it was usually wrong. When he met Mandy, Ty believed that she was interested in him and not who his father was. Unfortunately, Ty’s family name preceded him and Mandy had done her research.
“You say ‘was.’ What do you mean by that?” Coco asked.
“Well, she dumped me before moving out here with my dad as his girlfriend,” Ty replied, a sharp edge in his tone.
“Who is your dad?” I asked.
“Tyrone Jarret Sumner Senior. He’s sitting right over there,” Ty replied, pointing at his father, a silver fox with a smug grin.
“Why would Ms. Chalmers leave you for your father?” Coco asked.
“Because she is a lying, scheming two-bit ho who is only interested in money,” he said. “Just like my dad.”
“Ty, could you please explain how you came to work for Ms. Iretzski?” Coco asked.
“My dad made me. He threatened to cut me off completely and stop paying for school if I didn’t work for Ivana,” he offered.
“Why did your father do that?” I asked.
“Because he thought that he could use me to sweet talk Ivana into selling him her land,” he said. “My dad is a real estate developer and Ivana’s land was worth a fortune. He thought that he could take advantage of her bad health and use me to manipulate her into selling it to him for nothing.”
“Objection, your Honour,” Chip demurred. “What proof does this witness have of Mr. Sumner’s statements? This is hearsay!”
“Your Honour, Mr. Sumner is readily available to rebut my witness’ testimony, which is not hearsay, contrary to what Mr. Hancock thinks that the rules of evidence dictate. Ty Sumner has direct knowledge of what happened as he was the party to whom Mr. Sumner made the out of court statement,” I rebutted.
“Overruled!” the judge bellowed.
“Why did you go along with his plan?” I asked.
“Because I was still in school and if he didn’t pay for it, I would have no money to finish. My family is too rich, so I couldn’t get a scholarship or financial aid, and at the time I was not prepared to go into debt or work three jobs to pay for school. It was a stupid decision — one that I truly regret now,” he explained with a small frown.
“Why was Mandy hired?” I asked.
“To be Ivana’s nurse,” he replied. “Dad told me that since I was useless at getting him what he wanted and since he knew that my girlfriend was a registered nurse, he figured that he could get what he wanted through Mandy.”
“How?” I asked.
“Well, Ivana was gay so if she had a pretty young girl taking care of her, Mandy could dope her up, and Dad figured that Ivana could be manipulated into giving everything to Mandy. Ivana’s only relative had basically disappeared, so he questioned why the land should end up in the hands of the charities under Ivana’s first will or worse in the hands of the government,” he said, tapping his knee nervously.
“How did your dad know what had been detailed in the first will?” I asked, looking back to Mr. Sumner Sr. in the crowd.
“His lawyers drew it up for Ivana,” he replied. “Ivana changed it years later and left everything to her niece, Esty.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Ivana told me. She even gave me a copy of it for safekeeping,” he said.
“Which you gave to whom?” I asked.
“My dad,” he said, pausing for less than a beat. “And I am really sorry about that.”
“Why are you here today?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Keeping Ty collected helped us both.
“To do the right thing by Ivana and Esty,” he said. “I always liked Esty when we were kids and I don’t want to see what’s rightfully hers go to someone else.”
“How do you know that this will, the second will, is a fraud?” I asked, brushing the will with my hand as I spoke.
“Because Ivana didn’t know what she was writing,” he said.
“Could you please explain what you mean by that?” I asked, looking at the judge just long enough to catch his gaze.
“Mandy would tell Ivana that she needed to practice her writing so that her fingers wouldn’t get stiff,” he explained, crinkling his fingers to imitate the movement. “Mandy would make Ivana write down different words and get her to practice with Mandy’s help until her handwriting was legible enough to put it in the will form.”
“Are you telling the court that Mandy actually told Ms. Iretzski what words to write and that she got her to write them on the will kit used to create the second will?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I was there the day that she did it.” He deflated as the words came out. “I helped prop Ivana up on pillows and sat behind her to help steady her hand.”
“Objection, your Honour,” Chip protested. “Ty’s statement is hearsay.”
“Mr. Hancock, before I allow Ms. Zeller to counter your objection, I must ask, have you read the rules of evidence for the United States or the state of California?” he asked condescendingly.
“Yes, your Honour,” he replied defensively.
“Then you should know that the witness’ statement is not hearsay because it is an admission against interest made by your client who is a party to this proceeding. Sit down, Mr. Hancock,” the judge ordered, each word sharp and quick.
“If it pleases the court, I would like to enter into evidence the deposition of Rita Samuels who we will be calling to give evidence that Ivana told her that Mandy undertook these handwriting exercises with Ivana,” I said, looking at the judge for approval.
“You may,” the judge allowed.
“To confirm then, your testimony is that the second wi
ll being propounded by Ms. Chalmers is both a product of her undue influence on Ms. Iretzski and a fraud?” I asked, looking again at Ty.
“Yes,” he replied swiftly.
“I have nothing further, your Honour,” I replied.
“You may cross-examine the witness, Mr. Hancock,” the judge advised.
“Isn’t the only reason you are here today is that you are a disgruntled lover who is trying to get back at his ex?” Chip asked.
“Nope,” Ty said confidently. “I don’t care who your client shares her venereal diseases with.”
“But aren’t you upset that she may be your new stepmother?” he asked.
“Like I said, nope,” Ty advised. “I don’t care for a dime of my dad’s money. Once I told my mom what was going on, she said not to worry, she would help me with school and support me in doing the right thing. I moved out of my dad’s place and never looked back except to send the letters to Miss Zeller.”
“Your Honour, I must renew my motion at this juncture to present evidence that will prove that Ty is lying and making up his testimony,” Chip requested.
“Please disallow the request. He has not even completed his cross,” I said, looking between the judge and Chip.
“Your Honour, if any fraud is being had in the court, it’s by Ms. Zeller and Ms. Hirohito, not me. They failed to put relevant evidence before the court that proves that Esty knew her aunt was not going to leave her anything,” Chip countered.
“This is somewhat unorthodox, but I will allow it,” the judge ruled, as Ty stepped down from the witness stand. “Be forewarned, Mr. Hancock, my patience is running short.”
“Thank you, your Honour. I call my associate Tanya Mansour to the stand,” Chip advised.
Tanya took her seat in the witness stand and responded affirmatively to the administration of the oath to tell the truth.
“Ms. Mansour, what knowledge do you have that Ms. Baxter knew that her aunt, Ms. Iretzski, did not intend to leave her even a dime?” Chip asked confidently.
“A new client who sought my assistance advised me at one of our meetings that her friend, Esty Baxter — the same Esty Baxter in court here today — had a letter from her aunt telling her that she was not leaving Esty anything in her new will,” Tanya advised, smirking at me.
“Have you seen a copy of this letter?” he asked.
“No, because Esty’s lawyers have failed to disclose it to us and the court,” Tanya replied haughtily.
“Your Honour, I must object,” Coco said. “No such evidence exists and my client has no such knowledge of her aunt having changed her mind to leave everything she owned to Ms. Chalmers.”
“Ms. Mansour, Mr. Hancock, who and where is your witness to support this assertion?” the judge asked wearily.
“Well, attorney-client privilege prevents me from disclosing her identity. And we haven’t been able to locate her since our initial meetings,” Tanya said, still grinning stupidly.
“Oh please explain this one to me,” the judge snarled.
“She came in to ask us to represent her in a guardianship application against her mother, but her retainer failed to materialize,” Tanya said, starting to catch on to the issue at hand.
“Then she’s not even your client,” the judge stated. “What is her name? How do I know you are not making this person up out of thin air?”
“Her name is Tracey Spyne, your Honour,” Chip advised.
“And why do neither Ms. Zeller or Ms. Hirohito have notice of this witness and her evidence?” the judge asked, looking at Chip and Tanya in turn.
“Well, similarly to how Ty was their last minute witness, Tracey was ours,” he replied.
“Your Honour, if it pleases the court, I may be able to address Mr. Hancock’s extremely fallacious and maligning accusations against my colleague and myself. May I call a rebuttal witness?” Coco asked, motioning to the rear doors.
“Why not!” the judge exclaimed, throwing his arms up in a huff. “We’re making things up as we go, so why not continue? Ms. Mansour, please return to counsel’s table.”
“I would like to call Tracey Strauss Fine to the stand,” Coco announced.
Tracey entered the courtroom accompanied by Ethan and Javier who took their seats in the gallery as Tracey sat down in the witness stand to take her oath.
“Please state your name for the record,” Coco requested.
“Tracey Strauss Fine,” Tracey replied.
“And how do you know Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour?” Coco asked.
“I met them when I posed as a client seeking representation in order to get my mother declared incompetent,” Tracey explained.
“Why did you do that?” Coco asked.
“Because my mother, Janice Strauss, who works for your firm, felt that Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour had been spying on you and she wanted to expose them and their efforts to sabotage this case,” Tracey explained.
“Your Honour, this is ludicrous!” Chip hollered. “This is completely unethical behaviour by opposing counsel.”
“I would like to hear what Ms. Fine has to say before I make my ruling,” the judge said tersely.
“When I posed as a client, I only met with Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour twice, once at my mother’s home and once in a boardroom at their offices. I strictly was there to find out what their methods were to win their cases,” Tracey continued.
“What did you find out?” Coco asked.
“That they are devious and underhanded liars,” Tracey said, glowering at Chip.
“I would like to enter into evidence Exhibit G, which is a tape recording that we have authenticated as being original and untouched,” Coco said, picking up a large manila envelope.
“I have not had an opportunity to hear this tape!” Chip cried.
“Well, you’ll have a chance to hear it now,” the judge advised.
Coco popped the tape into the tape recorder, which played the twenty-minute discussion between Chip, Tanya and Tracey in which Chip and Tanya divulged how they would get Tracey’s mother declared mentally incompetent. Near the end of the tape, the judge listened in horror as Tracey confided in Tanya her phony information, which was what Tanya and Chip were purporting to rely on to discredit Esty’s case.
The judge’s face burned with rage and fury that could no longer be contained.
“I have never in my twenty-year career on this bench come across such an unethical, deceitful and incompetent group of attorneys!” the judge exclaimed. “Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour, I am absolutely appalled to discover that you both used such Machiavellian techniques in this case!”
“But, your Honour, what about Coco and Joely? They set us up with this phony client and she taped us,” Chip protested. “They can’t even prove that this tape hasn’t been doctored.”
“Actually we can, your Honour. We were concerned that Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour had stolen confidential client information from our firm prior to Ms. Mansour’s firing, so we enlisted the assistance of the fraud division of the LAPD. This tape has been put in the possession of the police, who we are more than prepared to call to testify,” I explained.
“I’m so sorry, your Honour!” Tanya shrieked as she suddenly broke down to confess her role. “When I worked for Joely, she was not very nice to me and when her partner, Ethan Berg, dumped me, I wanted to get back at them. So I made copies of their files and gave them to Chip on the promise that he would make me a partner. But I never stole Ty’s letters. Like Chip said, he only learned about Ty’s letters when he snuck into their office to snoop around. I stupidly believed him and ended up sleeping with him only to have him treat me like a law clerk. I also told Chip about Joely’s dad being declared mentally incompetent so that he could represent her dad’s girlfriend. I even leaked information about Joely’s dad to the press to make her look bad.”
We stood there in complete astonishment at Tanya’s bombshell revelation. For five minutes the judge sat very still, trying to find the words to compose a coher
ent response to Tanya’s confession and everything that had transpired during this trial.
“While I am pleased to know that a criminal investigation is already well under way against Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour, I am sickened and aghast at both of their attempts to subvert the administration of justice and the utter contempt they have shown for this court and the rule of law. I cannot even comment at this time whether there are ethical issues involved in the investigation of Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour. However, since it exposed two corrupt lawyers who were defrauding this court and Ms. Baxter, I am grateful to them. Mr. Hancock and Ms. Mansour, take note that I will see to it that neither of you ever practice law in this state or in this country again. As for the matter before me, based on all of the evidence, I rule in favour of Ms. Baxter. The second will is nothing more than a product of fraud, undue influence and criminal behaviour. It is invalid. I have determined that Ms. Iretzski’s holographic codicil validly revoked her first will, and Ms. Iretzski’s estate, totalling $1,000,000,000 in land, cash and chattels, rightfully belongs to Ms. Baxter. Ms. Zeller, your application for probate of the codicil is approved and this claim against Ms. Baxter brought by Ms. Chalmers is hereby dismissed.”
Cheers erupted in the courtroom as the judge walked out, robes swirling behind him. Members of the LAPD, who had been waiting for the proceedings to finish, escorted Chip and Tanya from the courthouse to the local police station for booking. Esty called Rita, who was not allowed to be present in court during the presentation of evidence by other witnesses, to tell her that she had won everything. Esty, being the generous woman that she was, advised Rita that she was giving her all of the art and jewellery that Ivana had owned since it was a shared passion between the two women. We left the courthouse celebrating, knowing that not only had we found justice for Esty, but also that this victory meant that our firm had just won the most lucrative estate challenge on record in US history. Once the judge’s decision was reported, we all knew that our little-law-firm-that-could was about to become the boutique legal destination for disaffected heirs everywhere.
CHAPTER 20
On Bended Knee
Deathbed Dimes Page 25