[2013] Consequential Damages

by Joseph Hayes

  Judge Gray looked at the parties and announced, “Gentlemen, the jury has reached their decision. Mr. Foreman, may I have the verdict please?”

  A short, bald gentleman in the first row of the jury box rose and handed a piece of paper to the bailiff, who in turn delivered it to the judge. The judge read it silently to himself, then took a deep breath and read aloud, “We the jury find in favor of the plaintiff, Larry Doyle, on all counts, and order defendant, Michael J. Quinn, to pay plaintiff the sum of 2.3 Million Dollars.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Jake and Amanda walked hand-in-hand along the lakefront, beneath the luxurious high-rises on Lake Shore Drive. It was Saturday morning, the day after the jury had rendered its verdict in the Quinn case. Jake had stayed with Mickey until late the previous evening, trying to console him and help him sort through his limited options. He had phoned Amanda to tell her the dismal news and that he would be home late, but they hadn’t yet discussed the outcome of the case in any detail.

  They walked in silence for a long time, under an overcast sky. After some time, they stopped and Jake wrapped his arms around his wife in a tight embrace. He held her like that for a long moment, then stepped back and looked into her eyes. He smiled at her, but it was a sad smile. “I'm so lucky to have you and Anna. I think about how good life is for us today, and how good it will be tomorrow, and on into the future. Then I think about Mickey. He’s been through a living hell for the past two years. He woke up this morning to a world that must seem really bleak and depressing. It's so wrong! It tears me up to think about it. He's such a good man. He doesn't deserve this!”

  Amanda leaned back and looked at her husband, her arms still around his neck. “You're a good soul, Jake McShane. I love the fact that you care so deeply for your friends. You’ve been so loyal and supportive to Mickey.” She kissed him on the cheek and they resumed walking. “He can appeal, can’t he?”

  “He can, and probably will, but he has no realistic chance of prevailing. He’d have to be able to show that there was some fundamental procedural flaw that affected the outcome of the trial, and I don't know what that could possibly be. This judge knows what he's doing, and I don’t see any basis for arguing that the process was flawed. The jury just reached the wrong conclusion. They were fooled. An appellate court won't second-guess a jury on the facts. At best, filing an appeal may buy Mickey some time and give him at least a little negotiating leverage. Larry won't want to wait two more years to get his money, so he’d probably agree to settle for something less than the full amount of the verdict, to speed up his payday.”

  “So what’ll Mickey do? Does he have that kind of money?”

  “No, the store brought in a lot of revenue, but he barely eked out a profit because of his bloated payroll. As a result, he’s got very little money. All he really has is the business. He’ll have to sell it, and even then he may not have enough to satisfy the judgment.”

  “So financially, he's ruined?”

  “Financially and just about every other way. His good name and reputation are shot. The press has seen to that. Everyone will assume that he must really be the perverted scumbag that Larry described. But he's not the only one who’ll be hurt by this. Think about the people who worked at the store. He employed six butchers—even the large chain stores usually employ only one or two. He employed seven or eight people to support the delivery business. Anyone who buys the store will almost certainly eliminate all of those jobs. Most of those people are in their fifties and sixties. It’ll be tough for them to find other employment. And what about all those shut-ins? How will they get their groceries? And the neighborhood will lose an institution. We already have. People came to Quinn’s because of Mickey and the way he treated them. There was a certain magic touch there. Because of that, it was the place to shop in Beverly—a place to meet your neighbors and catch up on neighborhood events. That’s been disappearing already. The business is dwindling. Even if a new owner makes a go of it, something special has been lost forever.”

  “How can this happen, Jake?”

  “Back in law school, Rick used to say that our jury system is a complete joke. He said that juries are just like sheep, waiting to be led, and that a good lawyer can almost always lead them exactly where he wants them to go. I think he just proved his point.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  Jake gazed out over the lake and sighed deeply. “Much as I hate to admit it, a part of me believes that he’s absolutely right. Think about it. Some jurors just aren’t very bright. Others may be lazy—they just want to get the matter over with and go home. But even the ones who are smart and conscientious usually don’t have what it takes to competently perform that job. They’re expected to evaluate complicated and contradictory evidence and figure out what really happened. That’s a difficult task, and they just don’t have the skills or the experience or the training to do that. And yet this completely unqualified group of people is given the power to drastically alter someone’s life, or many lives for that matter. A person who is a good actor or a skillful liar can put on a persuasive performance and lead a jury to the wrong result—with disastrous consequences.”

  They stopped walking and sat on a concrete bench overlooking the lake. Amanda looked troubled. “Obviously, there will always be some people who want to game the system, but don’t the lawyers have an ethical obligation to avoid filing frivolous lawsuits? Aren’t they supposed to prevent their clients from committing perjury?”

  “Absolutely, and if the system is to work, the lawyers have to act as gatekeepers and keep out those frivolous lawsuits. But, if the lawyers themselves aren’t burdened by a conscience, it all breaks down.”

  “Are there really that many lawyers willing to ignore their ethical obligations? Can’t they get into trouble with the State Bar if they do?”

  “Our system provides a strong incentive for both attorneys and clients to play fast and loose with the truth. Greed is a powerful motivator. A lawyer who is skillful and aggressive can make a lot of money pursuing baseless cases, and our system makes it easy for lawyers to handle those cases without any risk to themselves. It’s almost impossible to prove that they knew their clients were lying, and they can always argue that they were simply fulfilling their professional obligation to zealously represent their client’s interests. Even if they have serious doubts about the merits of their client’s case, many lawyers find it convenient to set aside any ethical considerations. They make the excuse that they’re simply playing a necessary role in the system by being a good advocate and leaving it to the jury to make the ultimate determination of the case’s merits. It’s an easy cop-out.”

  “And a client who pursues a false or fraudulent claim, is there no risk to him?”

  “Practically speaking, none at all. The plaintiff generally pays nothing if he loses because he can find a lawyer who will take the case on a contingent fee basis. So there’s no downside and a huge upside – he could convince a jury to pay him millions of dollars. The potential reward is so great that many people succumb to the temptation and set aside their moral compass. Pursuing a bogus claim is really just another form of robbery or extortion – someone uses force to take something from an innocent victim. Yet people don’t look at it that way. I guess they can sleep at night because they do it through the courts, so they can rationalize their action as something legitimized by our legal system.”

  “You’re depressing me, Jake. Is our system really that broken? Surely, what happened to Mickey must be an aberration?”

  “I wish it were, but I’m confident that court dockets across the country are clogged with countless lawsuits that have no merit whatsoever. And I’m afraid that juries make mistakes all the time. We were able to visit with these jurors when the trial concluded, and it just confirmed my reservations about their competency. One juror said that Mickey just looked guilty, and several others agreed. What kind of basis is that for making a decision that could ruin a man’s life? Another said t
hat he was persuaded because Larry produced more witnesses supporting his story than Mickey did. How can Mickey produce witnesses to prove that nothing happened? You can’t prove a negative! Another juror said she wasn’t sure what really happened, but she believes that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. She was willing to destroy a man’s life over that. One woman said she just liked Rick better than Vern, and thought Rick was more credible. Well, it’s not about the lawyers! And juries like that make tremendously important decisions every day. They often arrive at the wrong result and don’t even think about the far-reaching effects of their decisions, or how many lives could be affected.”

  Jake was getting both angrier and more dejected as he spoke. “I wish I knew how to make it better. I wish I had some hope that it actually could get better.” He spoke softly, a despondent look on his face. “There are so many problems – where do we even start?”

  Amanda thought quietly for a few moments. “Seems to me that the starting point is to bring attention to the problem. If the system is really in peril, people need to hear about it. Leaders of the profession should write about it, speak about it, get the media involved, get the legislatures involved. That’s how change happens. The good guys need to do their part by speaking out.”

  “Perhaps some improvements could be made through legislation, but that’s not enough,” Jake mused. “The best legal system in the world can only be as good as the people in it. Somehow we need individual lawyers to take their ethical responsibilities seriously. But how do we accomplish that? Look at someone like Rick Black. He’s as smart as they come. He has the skills to be the most effective trial lawyer I’ve ever met. He went to one of the best law schools in the country, where they truly did emphasize the importance of ethics, yet he feels absolutely no compunction to live by any value system other than his own, and that doesn’t include a commitment to ethics. As long as people like that are able to flourish within our system, we will have problems.”

  “You’re absolutely right. That’s why people like that must not be allowed to flourish. When they skirt the rules, they should be reported and held accountable. That’s what happened recently with unscrupulous corporate leaders and it can happen with attorneys. The profession needs to deal with ethical infractions publicly and forcefully. And each lawyer must do his part. When an attorney faces an ethical dilemma or witnesses inappropriate conduct on the part of a fellow attorney, he needs to have the courage to stand up and do the right thing. The bad guys won’t be stopped unless the good guys make it their personal responsibility to stop them.”

  They stood and continued their stroll in silence for several minutes. Jake put his arm around Amanda’s shoulder and said, “Thanks. I’ll try not to lose hope.”

  She smiled at him. “There’s always hope, as long as there are people like you in the profession.”

  They arrived at Navy Pier, which was crowded with tourists. They walked silently through the crowd toward the end of the pier, holding hands again. As they gazed out over the steely gray waters, Amanda asked the question that had been nagging Jake all week. “Is there any way the jury could’ve been right? Is it possible that Mickey actually did those things?”

  Jake shook his head slowly. “I’ve asked myself that question a hundred times. I’ve looked Mickey in the eye as we’ve talked about the allegations. I don’t believe Larry for a minute. His motives are obvious. And the other witnesses who showed up at the last minute – they were like vultures circling a wounded animal. Helen Wright has an obvious motive. She was cut out of her aunt’s will and, lucky for her, this trial happened along and gave her the opportunity to publicly challenge the new will. After what he’s been through, Mickey won’t fight it, so she’ll probably be able to get that will thrown out and the previous will reinstated without a challenge. But Kenny Oliver? I just can’t figure him out. What motive would he have to say what he did? He worked for Mickey for a long time. He had nothing to gain by supporting Larry. That’s the one part of this entire case that I just don’t get.”

  “Could they have bought his testimony?”

  “Bribed him? I’ve wondered about that, but I can’t imagine even Rick would be that brazen. He wanted to win this case badly, but I can’t believe that he would risk his law license over it. But something’s not right about it. I just can’t figure it out.”

  PART THREE

  CHAPTER 29

  Mickey filed his appeal, but within six months he had sold his business and put an end to the litigation. Vern had advised him that the value of the business was dropping precipitously as volume continued to decline, and that by selling at that juncture, Mickey might be able to satisfy the judgment and still have at least something of a financial cushion. If he stayed the course, he would likely lose the appeal, and the value of the business a year or two down the road might not be enough to satisfy the judgment. Bankruptcy loomed as a very real possibility, and the stigma and personal shame that held for him, on the heels of what he had already endured, was more than Mickey could bear.

  Aside from the damage to his pride and reputation, not to mention his finances, Mickey's health was declining. He had lost weight. He'd been experiencing anxiety attacks and chronic headaches. His physical and mental well-being demanded a change of scenery, so he decided to take up residence in Naples, Florida, where he had purchased a small condominium several years earlier. He would try to leave this nightmare behind and clear his mind and heart of the bitterness that was consuming him. He was convinced that a fresh start in a new environment was his only chance of living out his remaining years in anything resembling peace.

  Mickey was gone even before the sale of Quinn's Fine Foods was consummated. He wasn't there to witness the termination of the butchers or the entire staff that supported the delivery business. He wasn't there to receive the angry phone calls from the elderly shut-ins, complaining that they now had no means of obtaining the basic necessities of life. And he wasn't there fourteen months later, when Quinn's was closed for good, then bulldozed and replaced by new townhomes.

  For Jake McShane, these events were also a source of bitterness and resentment—against the jury, for being gullible; against the Review, for being vicious and irresponsible; and against the system that made this tragedy possible. Mostly however, his resentment was directed toward the individuals who were directly responsible, primarily Larry Doyle, who was shamelessly flaunting his newfound wealth, and Rick Black, whose misguided talents had made this implausible and unconscionable outcome a reality.

  Unlike Mickey, Jake had an effective antidote for the anger and hard feelings over the lawsuit—a happy home life with his wife and daughter, as well as a promising career. The joys, challenges and accomplishments of his own life soon enabled him to relegate the entire Quinn affair into a tightly sealed compartment deep within the recesses of his memory.

  After six years with Samuelson & Reid, Jake was considered one of the firm's rising stars. His work ethic, self-discipline and penchant for exhaustive preparation served him well in the legal profession. More than those attributes, however, it was his people skills that impressed the firm's senior partners. He came across as confident, without being brash. He was personable, in a low-key way, and unfailingly polite and professional, even in situations that were rife with conflict and tension. To the outside world, he was calm and even-tempered at all times, the inner intensity well hidden. He related well to everyone—bosses, peers, judges, juries, and most importantly from the firm's perspective, clients. His time was in high demand, and he was considered a lock for partnership in three or four years.

  Amanda’s professional life was equally promising, and even more demanding in terms of working hours. Following completion of her fellowship at Northwestern, she had joined a fledgling medical practice on Chicago's Near North Side. She had also accepted a position as a part-time professor at the medical school, which enabled her to keep one foot in the academic world while still spending the bulk of her time building her practice a
nd seeing patients.

  Amanda approached her medical practice like she had everything else in her life—with drive, passion, organization and efficiency. Not only was she a highly skilled physician with a wonderful bedside manner, she had a knack for building strong relationships with the right people in the medical community. Her positive and energetic personality, coupled with the confidence, intellect and talent that she naturally and effortlessly projected, quickly impressed the medical practitioners, administrators and academics whose influence mattered when one was trying to establish a reputation and a practice. As a result, her practice flourished and soon came to be regarded as the premier geriatric practice in the city. Within a few short years, she had been named in the local newspaper as one of forty women under forty who were making a difference in their respective fields in the Chicago area.

  Despite their demanding schedules, both Jake and Amanda made family time a priority. Although late meetings and conference calls were sometimes unavoidable, Jake continued his efforts to keep evening hours sacred. The highlight of his day was walking into his home after work and watching his five-year-old daughter streak across the living room exuberantly yelling “Daddy!” and throwing herself into his arms. Unfortunately for Amanda, medical emergencies did not limit themselves to standard working hours, and she often found herself pulled away from her family when duty called at inconvenient hours. She felt conflicted and guilty on those occasions, but she knew it was unavoidable in her profession. Jake was understanding and supportive, and Anna adored him, so they were fine together whenever she was called away.