Bull (2016) s04e09 Episode Script
The Flying Carpet
1 I really can't believe you spent money on that.
I had those when I was, like, six.
Hey, they're vintage, dude.
Have you two been here before? Mm, Amir's? Never been here.
Is it good? Oh, man.
Oh, and they do this thing, it's like a contest.
You take a selfie with the slice of pizza in the shot, and if the owner likes it, you get a free slice of pizza.
Okay.
Wh-What are you doing? Banking myself a piece of pizza.
What do you think? That isn't going to get you a glass of water.
They've got hundreds of pictures in there all over the wall that look just like that one.
Stay right here.
Hey.
Ah-ha-ha.
I'm impressed.
Nice, James.
Come on down, James.
Somebody's gonna come by and hear us.
Give me a second.
Oh, my God.
I can't look.
James! Oh, my God.
James! James? My client was a healthy, vibrant 14-year-old boy.
He loved to play baseball, go rock climbing, swimming in the summer, sledding in the winter.
Now he has to spend the rest of his life - in a wheelchair.
- And my client, Immunity Insurance, shares your sense of despair about that.
But nonetheless, this is clearly a tragedy of your client's own making.
No one asked him to climb up on that roof.
No one compelled him to sit on a piece of signage that was clearly not meant to support his weight.
So why are we here? Why invite us to a settlement conference if you have no intention of settling? Ask the court.
As the insurers for Amir's Flying Carpet Pizza Parlor, my company has decided to take the position that we bear no liability for James Donovan's injuries, regardless of how tragic they are.
Seriously? Seriously.
We're prepared to go to trial.
I should have assumed as much when you invited us to a meeting at a trial science company.
We sympathize with James and his family, but we also believe that any rational jury will find that the owners of the establishment, the Elmasry family, have done nothing wrong.
The fact is, your client was trespassing.
No.
No, I'm sorry.
Your client was negligent.
They installed a giant, illuminated slice of pizza on top of a two-story building.
It practically screamed to children, "Climb me.
" I gather you're planning to invoke the attractive nuisance doctrine? If the shoe fits.
- It doesn't.
- If I may interject.
The fact that we are having the meeting here does not automatically negate the possibility of a settlement, or I would not have agreed to host it.
Secondly, the attractive nuisance doctrine to which you are referring is intended to protect toddlers from being lured into hazardous situations, like an unfenced pool or a broken trampoline.
Your client is not a toddler, and this is not one of those situations.
James Donovan had enough physical strength and mental acuity to ignore large, illuminated signage, scale a chain-link fence, climb a two-story building and hoist himself upon a roof.
You can't blame that on the Elmasrys.
The Elmasrys lured him in with their "selfie gets you a free slice" promotion.
They created a social media campaign that encouraged children to compete to see who could take the most attention-getting selfie.
Nowhere in their entreaties did it say: "Do not climb on our building.
" Okay.
The court mandated a pretrial settlement conference.
We have conferred.
Now give us your demands so we can be done with it.
We know that the Elmasrys' policy with Immunity Insurance is capped at $2 million.
We also know how lengthy and expensive litigation will be.
With that in mind, the Donovans are prepared to settle for the full $2 million.
Well, thank you for coming by.
Don't you at least want to run it up the flagpole before rejecting it? I am the flagpole.
Of course, I will run it by the Elmasrys, but I already know what the answer will be.
See you in court.
$2 million would have been a pretty good resolution.
You didn't even counter.
We probably could have gotten them down to about a million and a half.
That's why I hired the two of you.
We're gonna get them down to nothing.
Ms.
Kress, uh, I'm gonna be honest with you.
We're thrilled to have your business, thrilled to do all we can to help you and your company achieve legal success in this case, but Mr.
Colón is right.
I'd seriously ask you to reconsider their proposal and avoid trial.
This is a trial science company.
I thought you were all about going to trial.
I don't understand.
Well, Ms.
Kress, put yourself in the jury's shoes.
Every morning they walk into that court, and they see a boy in a wheelchair.
Then they look to the other side of the courtroom, and they see you, me and Dr.
Bull doing everything we can to avoid giving that boy money your company can easily afford.
Money your customers, the very nice family who own the pizza parlor, have every right to expect you to pay on their behalf.
This is a premises liability suit.
How many hundreds of these do you deal with a week? Many hundreds.
Then explain the math to me, 'cause I can't quite figure it out.
You'd rather give my company a million dollars and spend all the other costs associated with taking this thing to court than give a crippled child $2 million? Oh, it isn't that that we take issue with.
It's the selfie of it all.
You would be shocked how many people are injured or killed doing something that requires all of their attention while pointing a phone at themselves.
Oh, I know.
People fall into the Grand Canyon.
They get mauled by zoo animals.
Selfie culture is a complex mixture of identity, expression, self-esteem.
But I am reasonably certain you can't litigate it out of existence.
Well, my company is determined to try.
The question is, will we do it with the two of you at our side? The trial hasn't started yet.
You can still bow out.
Happy to give some other firm that million.
And yes I know you two boys are supposed to be the best but if second best is all that's available to us I promise you we'll make do.
Like I said before we're happy to take your money, Ms.
Kress.
Yes.
Well it turns out almost everyone is.
See you at trial, gentlemen.
We just have to defend them.
We don't have to like them.
Meet the plaintiff James Donovan.
Wow.
What a sweet-looking kid.
And we're on which side of this particular dispute? Don't be a wise guy.
And this is the last photo James took before he fell two stories to the sidewalk.
Scary.
And this is James today.
What a nightmare.
Will this kid ever walk again? Based on the severity of his injuries and the current state of medical technology, I'd say that's highly unlikely.
But frankly, that's really a question for his family's health insurance provider.
Our focus needs to be on making a case that the willful trespassing that went on here exempts this as a claim against the property owner's commercial liability insurance.
This is Avery Kress.
- Ah.
- Senior vice president of claims at Immunity Insurance.
Our client.
Nice to meet you all.
I just had breakfast with Dr.
Bull, and he suggested that I stop by and sit in on your strategy session.
Look, the burden of proof is on the plaintiffs to prove negligence.
Our job is to demonstrate that the owners did everything right.
Fences.
Locks.
We have to prove they made it as hard as they could for anyone to get up on that roof.
I don't know.
I don't want to just roll over and buy into the plaintiff's theory that just because the victim is a minor, that he's covered by the attractive nuisance doctrine.
The boy is 14.
He is not an infant.
He should have known better.
Eh.
It's never a great thing to blame the victim, especially if the victim's in a wheelchair.
Forgive me for being blunt, but I don't think the face of this case should be the big bad insurance company.
I think it should be the owner of the pizza restaurant.
The people who stand to lose everything when they've done nothing wrong.
Now that's something the jury could hang their hat on, and that's something the jury could relate to.
I don't agree.
I'm telling you, it'll come across as callous.
Not if you finesse it.
Well, uh, what does Dr.
Bull think? Well, I guess we'll see.
We have voir dire in three hours.
Maybe the secret lies somewhere in the middle.
How do you mean? Yeah, how do you mean? Well, maybe we let our narrative embrace both ideas.
Present them as if they complement each other, which they do.
I don't follow.
We make sure the jury sees your clients as responsible business owners who took every possible precaution.
Then we make sure they see James as a mature young man who has to be held responsible for his reckless choices.
He doesn't get a free pass just because he got badly hurt.
Mr.
Elmasry, Mrs.
Elmasry.
My name's Dr.
Jason Bull.
I'll be spearheading your defense here in court.
Allow me to introduce your attorney of record, Mr.
Benjamin Colón.
Pleasure to meet you both.
So I'm guessing Mr.
Elmasry will sit up here with you and me, and Mr.
Colón and, uh, Mrs.
Elmasry, you'll sit in the gallery - directly behind us.
- Actually, here's what I'd like to do.
I'd like to have the two of you sit up here at the defense table with Mr.
Colón, and you and I will be in the gallery.
I think it's important when the jury looks over at the defense table, they are reminded that the only people with anything to lose at this trial are a hard-working family, not a gaggle of well-dressed, well-paid executives and lawyers.
Plus, it'll give you a chance to see what it is I do that your company is paying so much for.
Any chance I could steal you for five minutes before we get this thing started? She's a real piece of work, our Ms.
Kress.
You can say that again.
She's a real piece of work.
Now that we've got that out of the way, how do you suggest we curate a jury that will look past a kid in a wheelchair? Well, in this case, it's not so much about selecting as it is about de-selecting.
Anyone with a pulse is gonna take one look at the plaintiff and want to help him, want to do something for him.
Got it.
So we eliminate anyone with a pulse.
Or, failing that, we minimize the presence of sentimentalists.
'Cause we want jurors who lead with their heads.
Who prioritize logic and reason over emotion.
People who will be able to see clearly that our client isn't responsible for what happened to James.
James is.
Good afternoon, everyone.
So let's imagine there's a hurricane barreling down on your town.
Wind, rain, emergency crews, the whole nine yards.
You've just received an order to evacuate.
You have five minutes to leave your town.
- What do you take? - Well, I guess I'd take my phone, my keys, my wallet.
Oh, and our passports and our marriage license.
- Important documents.
- Mm.
You sound very practical.
I suppose I am.
Your Honor, juror number eight is acceptable to the defense.
And what about you, sir? What would you take if you only had minutes to evacuate? Well, first, I'd make sure my family is safe.
- Of course.
- Then, I guess I'd grab the photo albums my father's urn and the blanket we brought our daughter home in from the hospital.
Important memories.
They are for me.
Your Honor, we'd like to thank and excuse juror number 12.
Okay, can I have a show of hands? How many of you have kids? Okay.
Ah, I see you didn't raise your hand.
May I ask, do you have any nieces or nephews? I have a niece.
She's six.
You know, Christmas is coming up.
You ever think about maybe giving her a puppy? Sounds sweet, but my brother would never forgive me.
Mm.
Your Honor, this juror is acceptable to the defense.
Nice work.
I see what you're doing here.
Stacking the deck with pragmatists.
Ah, do you see what they're doing? No James, no wheelchair.
She's saving her client so he can make a big theatrical entrance.
And for what it's worth, I would do the same thing.
So everyone is happy? That went well? Well, under the circumstances, I don't think there's any one of us that thought this was gonna be easy.
Plaintiff is especially sympathetic.
I mean, a young man at the threshold of his life, losing the use of his lower body.
It's tragic.
Given that, I think we seated a jury where there's a real chance two or more members are gonna see things your way, and that is all we need.
But, uh Can I ask a question? Of course, Mr.
Elmasry.
This is your trial, you can ask whatever you'd like.
What are we doing here? Our entire family feels terribly about what happened to that boy.
We don't need a trial.
We don't want a trial.
I paid my insurance.
Someone had an accident on my property, then why doesn't the insurance company just pay them? Isn't that what the insurance is for? No.
That's not what the insurance is for; not in this case.
In this case, your insurance is here to be the bad guy.
And trust me, you need a bad guy.
In cases like this, society needs a bad guy.
I don't understand.
Mr.
Elmasry, you and your wife did not pay premiums so anyone could come along and say you owe them money and have it paid by us.
This young man did not have an accident.
An accident is when you go along in your life, and something unexpected happens.
This young man made an active choice.
He trespassed.
Went somewhere he was not supposed to go.
Sat on something that was never built to support him.
And he fell to the ground as a result.
And now he wants you, or us, society to pay for what happened to him? Do you think that's fair? Do you have $2 million? $2 million to just hand over to a stranger who did nothing but violate your rights and treat your property as his own just so he could take a picture? No, I do not, but what about mercy? What about forgiveness? Forgiveness is for churches.
Mercy is for charities.
We are a business.
And, like you, we don't have $2 million.
Not to give away to any reckless fool who thinks the world is just waiting to see a picture of them put their life at risk.
It's okay.
I know it's hard.
It's not on you.
Like I said, let us be the bad guy, hmm? Nice work today, you two.
I will see everyone in the morning.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
So if she's the bad guy, then what does that make us? The plaintiff would like to call for its first witness, James Donovan.
We have any green left at all? Nope.
It's like a forest fire in here.
And would you share, for the jury, how it was that you came to have the idea to take a selfie on the roof of the Flying Carpet Pizza Parlor? I was with my friends and we were walking by the restaurant, and one of them was saying how much she loved that pizza.
So I thought, "I'm gonna get an amazing selfie and get her a free slice of pizza.
" Hmm.
But where did you get the idea to go up on the roof? Actually, I I got it from him.
Let the record show that the plaintiff is pointing - at Amir Elmasry.
- He never shared that with me.
And how did Mr.
Elmasry come to give you this idea? To risk your life and limb by climbing up on the roof of his establishment? Earlier that day, I was in there and I saw that they had this contest going where if you take a selfie and you post it on social media, with you standing in front of the store and the sign that has the pizza that looks like a flying carpet in the background, you can qualify to win a free slice.
Any idea where this is going? - I was hungry, didn't - No.
None.
- So I went outside, - And I have no recollection - took my phone and shot a selfie.
- of ever seeing this kid in my life.
And did you show your photo to the defendant, to Mr.
Elmasry? Yes, I did.
And what happened? He said he had hundreds of pictures that looked exactly like mine.
In order for the selfie to win, it had to be different.
Is that why you decided to do something bigger? Yeah.
That was the beginning of it.
That night, when my friend was telling me how much she loved that pizza, I thought, "This is my chance.
" So I climbed on the roof, and went out to the pizza to get a really special shot.
Just like he told me.
Thank you, James.
I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
Very well.
Let's take a 20 minute break and then continue with cross-examination.
So you have no recollection of meeting this boy? None.
I have never seen that boy before.
Not that I can recall, anyway.
Wait a second.
What does that mean? After school, we get 40, 50 kids in the store at a time.
We can't tell one from the other.
They all start to look the same.
Well, they're not all the same.
This one is suing for $2 million.
And he's implying that you gave him the idea to go up on the roof.
Insinuating that you gave him permission.
Okay, Ms.
Kress, forgive me, but that is a stretch.
And frankly, I don't think it really matters.
Mr.
Colón will cross-examine and undo whatever damage he can, but I assure you, no rational juror is gonna believe Mr.
Elmasry gave anyone permission, let alone encouraged them, to get up on his roof.
Not unless they see proof.
Well, I hope you're right.
It's like she keeps forgetting - who pays who and who works for who.
- Mm.
Look, I have no idea whether that boy is telling the truth or not, but like I told Ms.
Kress, at the end of the day, I don't think it's gonna matter.
Hello, James.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, sir.
I think that everyone here agrees that what happened to you is tragic.
And I'm fairly certain there isn't a person in this room that doesn't feel for you.
Thank you.
All right.
Now, you testified under oath that Mr.
Elmasry told you to come up with a different type of selfie.
That's right.
He did.
Ah.
Well, I have to be honest with you.
He has no recollection of ever having met you.
And even if he did, he's certain he didn't actually tell you to go up on a roof.
I mean, is it your testimony here today that he actually told you to go up on his roof? Well, no.
In fact, if the evidence is to be believed, Mr.
Elmasry took great pains to keep people off his roof.
Objection, Your Honor.
Calls for speculation.
How is my client supposed to know what kinds of pains Mr.
Elmasry may or may not have taken to keep people off his roof? I beg to differ, Your Honor.
In fact, I'll wager that young James here has a better understanding as to how tough the Elmasrys made it to get up on that roof than anyone else alive.
Objection overruled.
You may proceed, Mr.
Colón.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Now, James, you remember this fence? Uh, uh I-I don't know.
I-I guess so.
Let me refresh your memory.
It's a ten-foot fence.
No way you could have gotten onto that roof without climbing this first.
Do you remember this lock and chain around the fence? I-I think I think I saw it there, yeah.
How about this sign? You remember this sign? I mean, it was lit with a big floodlight.
Kind of hard to miss.
- Yeah, I think it was there.
- You think so? Huh? Well, so, there are signs, there are lights, there are locks, and there's a ten-foot fence.
What part of "we don't want you here" did you not understand? I'm sorry.
I-I didn't hear an answer, Your Honor.
Nonetheless, I will withdraw the question and move on to something else.
That look familiar, James? Yes.
So, what'd you do there? You move that dumpster up against the wall, and hoist yourself up on it, pulled yourself up on the ladder? Let me remind you that you are under oath.
I'd also like to inform you that when police and paramedics reported to the scene that night after your fall, they noted that the dumpster was in the exact same place you left it up against the wall, beneath the ladder.
He is very good.
Did I mention when I found him, he was buck naked in the woods, nothing but a law book in his hands? So I'm gonna ask you for the second time.
Did you push that dumpster up against the wall, hoist yourself up on it, pull yourself up on the ladder so that you could have access to the sign depicting the Flying Carpet Pizza slice? Yes.
Yes, I did.
Yes, you did.
Doesn't sound like it was all that easy to get up there to me, was it? No, it wasn't.
Okay.
No further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
You're excused, young man.
Thanks, James.
Can you tell us about your son's physical condition, Mrs.
Donovan? Um James is a T9 paraplegic.
He suffers from paralysis in his lower torso and legs.
And what's the prognosis? Are the doctors offering any hope that he might some day be able to walk again? No.
No, they're not.
How old is James? Uh, he's 14.
A child.
Objection.
That's up to the jury to decide.
Sustained.
So, what's changed about your son's life since his fall? God.
Uh everything.
He-He's had to relearn things.
How to use the bathroom.
How to get in and out of a car.
How to navigate getting in and out of his own bed.
And is there someone to assist him with these things? Just me.
I had to quit my job.
He, uh, he can't really be left alone.
And I'm guessing you're staring at a lot of new expenses.
Installing ramps to make your home wheelchair accessible? Buying an appropriate van so you can transport him places? Yeah, took out a homeowner loan.
They wouldn't give us enough to do everything we needed, but it's a start.
Double-check me.
Juror number one looks like she's about to start a GoFundMe page for James.
What can I tell you? This is very effective testimony.
If we polled the jury right now, there is not a chance in hell of our side winning.
And I don't think this jury is inclined to leave the award at just $2 million.
I have nothing further.
Concede that this is a tragedy, but remind them that it's not the Elmasrys' fault.
Mrs.
Donovan, before your son suffered these life-changing injuries, how did he get to and from school every day? He took the bus.
- New York City bus? - Yes.
And he traveled on public transit alone? Sometimes.
Would he take the subway alone, too? - Sure.
Sometimes.
- Ah.
Did you allow him to hang out with his best friends after school? Of course.
Without adult supervision? Depending on where they were going and what they were doing, yes.
Ah.
Now, James has a two-year-old sister, doesn't he? Janie.
Um, she just turned three.
Ah.
My mistake.
And would James ever babysit her? Uh, from time to time.
So, you trusted him with a toddler? With his sister.
- Absolutely.
- Yes, but you felt comfortable doing this, because James was a responsible young man.
You knew he would take his responsibility seriously, and you trusted his sense of judgement.
True? Objection.
Compound question.
Sustained.
Rephrase the question.
Now what you're telling us is, you treated your son like a young adult.
Objection.
That's not a question.
Because isn't that, in fact, what he is? Not a toddler that could be lured into an uncovered swimming pool by the shiny blue water, but a young man who knows right from wrong.
Who understands when he sees a sign that says "No Trespassing," that means "stay away for your own good.
" Isn't that right, Mrs.
Donovan? Objection.
He's badgering the witness.
Oh, that's all right.
You don't have to answer that, Mrs.
Donovan.
I know you've been through a lot.
No further questions, Your Honor.
For what it's worth, now might be an excellent time to let Ms.
Kress know she's getting her money's worth.
I am suddenly staring at three greens and three reds.
What are you so happy about? Oh, I'm just looking at the jury.
You own half of them now.
Well, what are you bragging about? That just means your work is only half done.
The plaintiff would like to call Paul Martin to the stand.
Mr.
Martin, could you please describe your relationship to the Elmasrys? Well, I live in the neighborhood.
I eat their pizza.
It's damn delicious.
Well, any idea who this is? 'Cause the jury is on the edge of their seats.
They handed us an updated witness list when we walked in, but Amir said he didn't recognize the name.
You recognize him now? And would you please tell the jury why you called my office? Why you reached out to us? I don't know.
I read about the boy, how he ended up in the wheelchair, and I felt badly.
Why did you feel badly? Well about a year ago, I'm walking down the sidewalk, right in front of Amir's place, and bang.
Something falls out of the sky.
I get hit on the head.
Felt like a rock.
Couple of pounds, maybe.
And I'm bleeding.
And it feels like it's gonna be a hell of a bump.
And I look to see what it was.
I pick it up off the sidewalk.
And it's a piece of concrete pepperoni.
Came off Mr.
Elmasry's sign.
And did you call Mr.
Elmasry? Tell him what happened? I didn't have to.
He came running out of the shop.
Took complete responsibility for everything.
Said I should go to the hospital, get some X-rays, MRI.
Whatever I needed, he'd pay for everything.
And he did.
He just didn't want me to call the cops.
And he really didn't want me to call my insurance company.
So, it's your testimony that the Elmasrys were fully aware that their sign the structure was unsound.
That it was a hazard.
Objection.
Calls for speculation.
Sustained.
I'll withdraw the question.
So, you did what you were told.
You didn't notify the authorities.
You didn't call your insurance company.
I did not.
And I can't help but wonder if I had if the city might not have gone over and inspected, made them reinforce that sign, then maybe that boy might be walking today.
Thank you, Mr.
Martin.
I have no further questions for this witness.
What's the damage? I am afraid we are hanging on by a single green thread.
What are you what are you doing? What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving.
Where you going? Can it at least wait until we break for the day? Nice to meet you, Mr.
Martin.
Thank you for coming in today.
I still can't believe she did it.
And she didn't say anything to you? Didn't explain herself to you? Just got up and left? The minute a bad fact came out, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
Well, do you want to call her, or should I? I've been calling every ten minutes.
Something we said? Immunity Insurance is no longer your partner in this case.
Excuse me? You brought this case to us.
We were misled.
We were given inaccurate information.
What kind of inaccurate information? Mr.
and Mrs.
Elmasry reapplied for their insurance eight months ago.
And at that time, they were specifically asked if there had been any accidents on the premises, and they said no.
You can't be serious.
As far as we're concerned, the Elmasrys committed fraud.
They're lucky we don't press criminal charges.
Criminal charges? Their lack of honesty voids the policy, which means the insurer has no obligation to pay a dime, which means that we are withdrawing from the lawsuit.
And that's it? You find a loophole, a way of avoiding paying out on the policy, and you just dump your client? Do you at least refund them their premium? If you get me your bill with the charges to date, I'll see that it's paid promptly.
Just curious.
Shall I say goodbye to the Elmasrys for you? I take that as a no.
It's about as good a closing argument as I've ever read.
Thank you.
I don't think it's gonna make a damn bit of difference.
The other side has a boy in a wheelchair, and that's gonna be tough to beat.
The Elmasrys are gonna lose their shirts, aren't they? Jury's gonna hand down some crazy judgment, and because they have no insurance, the family's gonna be forced to sell everything.
Including the business.
Looks that way.
Everybody's ready.
I know you guys are trying to figure out whether to rest your case or not.
I'm just not sure I'm gonna really be of any help.
Um, I interviewed the other two kids that were with James that night, effectively the only two witnesses, and neither of them have anything to say that's gonna matter.
Yeah, well, we assumed as much.
Although, there was this one thing that's kind of weird, actually.
Um, according to the girl that was with them, Makayla Newton, James had never been to that pizza parlor before.
So when he testified that he had shown Amir that selfie and Amir said wasn't good enough, he essentially lied.
So he perjured himself.
Why? - What did he have to gain? - Who knows? Maybe he was embarrassed that his stunt ended up causing so much pain to so many people.
Maybe he didn't have the courage to tell his mother he thought it up all by himself.
- Yeah.
- Whatever.
I'm not gonna alienate the jury by charging him with perjury, 'cause we can't prove it, anyway.
Like I said, nothing that matters.
Anything from this side of the table? All I can tell you is the jury is itching to give that boy a huge award.
I think it's gonna make the original $2 million settlement offer look like the deal of the century.
I second that.
Taylor.
Tell me you hacked into Immunity Insurance e-mail and found a smoking gun that will change everything.
I hacked into Immunity Insurance's e-mail and found a smoking gun, something that just might - change everything.
- Really? No.
But what I did find is very disappointing on a human level.
Everyone at that insurance company agreed with you guys.
There must be dozens of e-mails in there saying that the $2 million number is a fair and reasonable one and that Avery should move on it.
And? And Avery argued back that while it would be a good offer for the plaintiff and would obviously have taken the Elmasrys off the hook, it was bad for Immunity Insurance.
Would set a horrible legal precedent and would only reinforce the idea that people, especially young people who indulge in risky behavior, can expect big cash payouts if they have an accident.
That they needed to draw a line in the sand.
That this was the case to do it with.
Well, I suppose it's their right.
Actually, I'm not sure it is.
Benny, call down to the courthouse, see if you can't postpone today.
I want to call another settlement meeting.
Really? With who? With James and his mother and the Elmasrys - and Avery.
- Avery? But she and her company withdrew from the case.
I know.
Tell her I need her here.
Uh, tell her it's about the bill.
I don't care.
Just get her over here.
What time were you thinking? I was thinking the others should be here at 2:00.
Have Avery be here at 1:00.
- Ms.
Kress.
- Yes? Dr.
Bull and Mr.
Colón are waiting for you.
Dr.
Bull.
Mr.
Colón.
Am I on trial? Ms.
Kress.
Of course not.
Well, what's so pressing? This can't really be about your bill.
Looks like you have every toy that a lawyer or a trial scientist could fit in here.
No, we just wanted to invite you to a little settlement conference we're putting together.
Yeah.
Your old clients the Elmasrys will be there.
So will the attorney for James Donovan.
We didn't want you to feel left out.
Huh.
I-I'm confused.
You know I withdrew from this case.
You know Immunity no longer insures the Elmasrys.
We know.
We just thought you might want to reconsider.
Really? Why? Oh, a little legal thing called bad faith.
Are you two accusing me of something? We're offering you a second chance.
And those don't come around very often, so let's review your options.
Option one.
We continue with the trial, and the jury finds in favor of James to the tune of maybe $8 million? And the Elmasrys don't have $8 million.
So then, with our help, they sue you.
For? The aforementioned bad faith.
Oh, did we forget to mention that we've got a dozen e-mails here that say your company was fully aware of the $2 million offer that you originally gave and found it completely reasonable.
Better than reasonable, considering it is an insurance company going up against a teenager in a wheelchair.
But you turned it down.
Not because you were trying to do what's best for the Elmasrys but because your company was trying to prove a point.
A point you apparently were willing to make at your client's expense, which is not the way it's supposed to be done.
Isn't it? You know as well as I do insurance companies aren't in the business of paying out just so everyone can feel good.
That boy was old enough to understand his actions.
We were perfectly within our rights to litigate.
But you did not litigate.
You walked out halfway through.
The Elmasrys lied.
The Elmasrys tried to save you and themselves some money because they knew if they filed a claim, you would raise their rates.
And we would have.
And you know damn well if you voided every policy you sold because the insured failed to file a claim, you'd have virtually no customers.
You got into this trial and quickly realized what I told you is true.
It is almost impossible to win against a minor in a wheelchair, no matter how he got there.
And so you started looking for a loophole, any loophole, that would let you walk away.
You acted in bad faith.
You weren't looking out for the people you agreed to insure.
You were looking out for yourself and your company.
And New York state law is very clear.
If Immunity Insurance acted in bad faith, they are on the hook for whatever number the jury comes up with.
And I got to tell you, they're gonna come up with a whopper.
Which brings us to your other option.
Why don't you come upstairs with us before the jury comes back with a verdict? Give that boy $4 million, $2 million more than the original offer, and let the Elmasrys keep their business, and we can just make this whole thing go away.
You know, Bull, if we sue Immunity on behalf of the Elmasrys, I'm betting discovery would come up with a whole lot more interesting e-mails.
Hmm.
Benny.
You just might be onto something.
If you're right about the jury, if you're really convinced that they're going to ask for $8 million, why would the plaintiff settle for $4 million? Well, it turns out he wasn't completely truthful on the stand, and once I tell his attorney we're gonna go and talk to the judge about it, I think she's gonna settle right away.
Shall we head up? Let's.
Hey! Anybody else hungry? Anybody else feel like pizza? Maybe we can get the Elmasrys to bring a pie over with them.
Is it really that good? Oh, I hear it's great.
Call them.
You're kind of pushy, you know that? Hey.
You don't have to like her.
You just have to defend her.
I had those when I was, like, six.
Hey, they're vintage, dude.
Have you two been here before? Mm, Amir's? Never been here.
Is it good? Oh, man.
Oh, and they do this thing, it's like a contest.
You take a selfie with the slice of pizza in the shot, and if the owner likes it, you get a free slice of pizza.
Okay.
Wh-What are you doing? Banking myself a piece of pizza.
What do you think? That isn't going to get you a glass of water.
They've got hundreds of pictures in there all over the wall that look just like that one.
Stay right here.
Hey.
Ah-ha-ha.
I'm impressed.
Nice, James.
Come on down, James.
Somebody's gonna come by and hear us.
Give me a second.
Oh, my God.
I can't look.
James! Oh, my God.
James! James? My client was a healthy, vibrant 14-year-old boy.
He loved to play baseball, go rock climbing, swimming in the summer, sledding in the winter.
Now he has to spend the rest of his life - in a wheelchair.
- And my client, Immunity Insurance, shares your sense of despair about that.
But nonetheless, this is clearly a tragedy of your client's own making.
No one asked him to climb up on that roof.
No one compelled him to sit on a piece of signage that was clearly not meant to support his weight.
So why are we here? Why invite us to a settlement conference if you have no intention of settling? Ask the court.
As the insurers for Amir's Flying Carpet Pizza Parlor, my company has decided to take the position that we bear no liability for James Donovan's injuries, regardless of how tragic they are.
Seriously? Seriously.
We're prepared to go to trial.
I should have assumed as much when you invited us to a meeting at a trial science company.
We sympathize with James and his family, but we also believe that any rational jury will find that the owners of the establishment, the Elmasry family, have done nothing wrong.
The fact is, your client was trespassing.
No.
No, I'm sorry.
Your client was negligent.
They installed a giant, illuminated slice of pizza on top of a two-story building.
It practically screamed to children, "Climb me.
" I gather you're planning to invoke the attractive nuisance doctrine? If the shoe fits.
- It doesn't.
- If I may interject.
The fact that we are having the meeting here does not automatically negate the possibility of a settlement, or I would not have agreed to host it.
Secondly, the attractive nuisance doctrine to which you are referring is intended to protect toddlers from being lured into hazardous situations, like an unfenced pool or a broken trampoline.
Your client is not a toddler, and this is not one of those situations.
James Donovan had enough physical strength and mental acuity to ignore large, illuminated signage, scale a chain-link fence, climb a two-story building and hoist himself upon a roof.
You can't blame that on the Elmasrys.
The Elmasrys lured him in with their "selfie gets you a free slice" promotion.
They created a social media campaign that encouraged children to compete to see who could take the most attention-getting selfie.
Nowhere in their entreaties did it say: "Do not climb on our building.
" Okay.
The court mandated a pretrial settlement conference.
We have conferred.
Now give us your demands so we can be done with it.
We know that the Elmasrys' policy with Immunity Insurance is capped at $2 million.
We also know how lengthy and expensive litigation will be.
With that in mind, the Donovans are prepared to settle for the full $2 million.
Well, thank you for coming by.
Don't you at least want to run it up the flagpole before rejecting it? I am the flagpole.
Of course, I will run it by the Elmasrys, but I already know what the answer will be.
See you in court.
$2 million would have been a pretty good resolution.
You didn't even counter.
We probably could have gotten them down to about a million and a half.
That's why I hired the two of you.
We're gonna get them down to nothing.
Ms.
Kress, uh, I'm gonna be honest with you.
We're thrilled to have your business, thrilled to do all we can to help you and your company achieve legal success in this case, but Mr.
Colón is right.
I'd seriously ask you to reconsider their proposal and avoid trial.
This is a trial science company.
I thought you were all about going to trial.
I don't understand.
Well, Ms.
Kress, put yourself in the jury's shoes.
Every morning they walk into that court, and they see a boy in a wheelchair.
Then they look to the other side of the courtroom, and they see you, me and Dr.
Bull doing everything we can to avoid giving that boy money your company can easily afford.
Money your customers, the very nice family who own the pizza parlor, have every right to expect you to pay on their behalf.
This is a premises liability suit.
How many hundreds of these do you deal with a week? Many hundreds.
Then explain the math to me, 'cause I can't quite figure it out.
You'd rather give my company a million dollars and spend all the other costs associated with taking this thing to court than give a crippled child $2 million? Oh, it isn't that that we take issue with.
It's the selfie of it all.
You would be shocked how many people are injured or killed doing something that requires all of their attention while pointing a phone at themselves.
Oh, I know.
People fall into the Grand Canyon.
They get mauled by zoo animals.
Selfie culture is a complex mixture of identity, expression, self-esteem.
But I am reasonably certain you can't litigate it out of existence.
Well, my company is determined to try.
The question is, will we do it with the two of you at our side? The trial hasn't started yet.
You can still bow out.
Happy to give some other firm that million.
And yes I know you two boys are supposed to be the best but if second best is all that's available to us I promise you we'll make do.
Like I said before we're happy to take your money, Ms.
Kress.
Yes.
Well it turns out almost everyone is.
See you at trial, gentlemen.
We just have to defend them.
We don't have to like them.
Meet the plaintiff James Donovan.
Wow.
What a sweet-looking kid.
And we're on which side of this particular dispute? Don't be a wise guy.
And this is the last photo James took before he fell two stories to the sidewalk.
Scary.
And this is James today.
What a nightmare.
Will this kid ever walk again? Based on the severity of his injuries and the current state of medical technology, I'd say that's highly unlikely.
But frankly, that's really a question for his family's health insurance provider.
Our focus needs to be on making a case that the willful trespassing that went on here exempts this as a claim against the property owner's commercial liability insurance.
This is Avery Kress.
- Ah.
- Senior vice president of claims at Immunity Insurance.
Our client.
Nice to meet you all.
I just had breakfast with Dr.
Bull, and he suggested that I stop by and sit in on your strategy session.
Look, the burden of proof is on the plaintiffs to prove negligence.
Our job is to demonstrate that the owners did everything right.
Fences.
Locks.
We have to prove they made it as hard as they could for anyone to get up on that roof.
I don't know.
I don't want to just roll over and buy into the plaintiff's theory that just because the victim is a minor, that he's covered by the attractive nuisance doctrine.
The boy is 14.
He is not an infant.
He should have known better.
Eh.
It's never a great thing to blame the victim, especially if the victim's in a wheelchair.
Forgive me for being blunt, but I don't think the face of this case should be the big bad insurance company.
I think it should be the owner of the pizza restaurant.
The people who stand to lose everything when they've done nothing wrong.
Now that's something the jury could hang their hat on, and that's something the jury could relate to.
I don't agree.
I'm telling you, it'll come across as callous.
Not if you finesse it.
Well, uh, what does Dr.
Bull think? Well, I guess we'll see.
We have voir dire in three hours.
Maybe the secret lies somewhere in the middle.
How do you mean? Yeah, how do you mean? Well, maybe we let our narrative embrace both ideas.
Present them as if they complement each other, which they do.
I don't follow.
We make sure the jury sees your clients as responsible business owners who took every possible precaution.
Then we make sure they see James as a mature young man who has to be held responsible for his reckless choices.
He doesn't get a free pass just because he got badly hurt.
Mr.
Elmasry, Mrs.
Elmasry.
My name's Dr.
Jason Bull.
I'll be spearheading your defense here in court.
Allow me to introduce your attorney of record, Mr.
Benjamin Colón.
Pleasure to meet you both.
So I'm guessing Mr.
Elmasry will sit up here with you and me, and Mr.
Colón and, uh, Mrs.
Elmasry, you'll sit in the gallery - directly behind us.
- Actually, here's what I'd like to do.
I'd like to have the two of you sit up here at the defense table with Mr.
Colón, and you and I will be in the gallery.
I think it's important when the jury looks over at the defense table, they are reminded that the only people with anything to lose at this trial are a hard-working family, not a gaggle of well-dressed, well-paid executives and lawyers.
Plus, it'll give you a chance to see what it is I do that your company is paying so much for.
Any chance I could steal you for five minutes before we get this thing started? She's a real piece of work, our Ms.
Kress.
You can say that again.
She's a real piece of work.
Now that we've got that out of the way, how do you suggest we curate a jury that will look past a kid in a wheelchair? Well, in this case, it's not so much about selecting as it is about de-selecting.
Anyone with a pulse is gonna take one look at the plaintiff and want to help him, want to do something for him.
Got it.
So we eliminate anyone with a pulse.
Or, failing that, we minimize the presence of sentimentalists.
'Cause we want jurors who lead with their heads.
Who prioritize logic and reason over emotion.
People who will be able to see clearly that our client isn't responsible for what happened to James.
James is.
Good afternoon, everyone.
So let's imagine there's a hurricane barreling down on your town.
Wind, rain, emergency crews, the whole nine yards.
You've just received an order to evacuate.
You have five minutes to leave your town.
- What do you take? - Well, I guess I'd take my phone, my keys, my wallet.
Oh, and our passports and our marriage license.
- Important documents.
- Mm.
You sound very practical.
I suppose I am.
Your Honor, juror number eight is acceptable to the defense.
And what about you, sir? What would you take if you only had minutes to evacuate? Well, first, I'd make sure my family is safe.
- Of course.
- Then, I guess I'd grab the photo albums my father's urn and the blanket we brought our daughter home in from the hospital.
Important memories.
They are for me.
Your Honor, we'd like to thank and excuse juror number 12.
Okay, can I have a show of hands? How many of you have kids? Okay.
Ah, I see you didn't raise your hand.
May I ask, do you have any nieces or nephews? I have a niece.
She's six.
You know, Christmas is coming up.
You ever think about maybe giving her a puppy? Sounds sweet, but my brother would never forgive me.
Mm.
Your Honor, this juror is acceptable to the defense.
Nice work.
I see what you're doing here.
Stacking the deck with pragmatists.
Ah, do you see what they're doing? No James, no wheelchair.
She's saving her client so he can make a big theatrical entrance.
And for what it's worth, I would do the same thing.
So everyone is happy? That went well? Well, under the circumstances, I don't think there's any one of us that thought this was gonna be easy.
Plaintiff is especially sympathetic.
I mean, a young man at the threshold of his life, losing the use of his lower body.
It's tragic.
Given that, I think we seated a jury where there's a real chance two or more members are gonna see things your way, and that is all we need.
But, uh Can I ask a question? Of course, Mr.
Elmasry.
This is your trial, you can ask whatever you'd like.
What are we doing here? Our entire family feels terribly about what happened to that boy.
We don't need a trial.
We don't want a trial.
I paid my insurance.
Someone had an accident on my property, then why doesn't the insurance company just pay them? Isn't that what the insurance is for? No.
That's not what the insurance is for; not in this case.
In this case, your insurance is here to be the bad guy.
And trust me, you need a bad guy.
In cases like this, society needs a bad guy.
I don't understand.
Mr.
Elmasry, you and your wife did not pay premiums so anyone could come along and say you owe them money and have it paid by us.
This young man did not have an accident.
An accident is when you go along in your life, and something unexpected happens.
This young man made an active choice.
He trespassed.
Went somewhere he was not supposed to go.
Sat on something that was never built to support him.
And he fell to the ground as a result.
And now he wants you, or us, society to pay for what happened to him? Do you think that's fair? Do you have $2 million? $2 million to just hand over to a stranger who did nothing but violate your rights and treat your property as his own just so he could take a picture? No, I do not, but what about mercy? What about forgiveness? Forgiveness is for churches.
Mercy is for charities.
We are a business.
And, like you, we don't have $2 million.
Not to give away to any reckless fool who thinks the world is just waiting to see a picture of them put their life at risk.
It's okay.
I know it's hard.
It's not on you.
Like I said, let us be the bad guy, hmm? Nice work today, you two.
I will see everyone in the morning.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
So if she's the bad guy, then what does that make us? The plaintiff would like to call for its first witness, James Donovan.
We have any green left at all? Nope.
It's like a forest fire in here.
And would you share, for the jury, how it was that you came to have the idea to take a selfie on the roof of the Flying Carpet Pizza Parlor? I was with my friends and we were walking by the restaurant, and one of them was saying how much she loved that pizza.
So I thought, "I'm gonna get an amazing selfie and get her a free slice of pizza.
" Hmm.
But where did you get the idea to go up on the roof? Actually, I I got it from him.
Let the record show that the plaintiff is pointing - at Amir Elmasry.
- He never shared that with me.
And how did Mr.
Elmasry come to give you this idea? To risk your life and limb by climbing up on the roof of his establishment? Earlier that day, I was in there and I saw that they had this contest going where if you take a selfie and you post it on social media, with you standing in front of the store and the sign that has the pizza that looks like a flying carpet in the background, you can qualify to win a free slice.
Any idea where this is going? - I was hungry, didn't - No.
None.
- So I went outside, - And I have no recollection - took my phone and shot a selfie.
- of ever seeing this kid in my life.
And did you show your photo to the defendant, to Mr.
Elmasry? Yes, I did.
And what happened? He said he had hundreds of pictures that looked exactly like mine.
In order for the selfie to win, it had to be different.
Is that why you decided to do something bigger? Yeah.
That was the beginning of it.
That night, when my friend was telling me how much she loved that pizza, I thought, "This is my chance.
" So I climbed on the roof, and went out to the pizza to get a really special shot.
Just like he told me.
Thank you, James.
I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
Very well.
Let's take a 20 minute break and then continue with cross-examination.
So you have no recollection of meeting this boy? None.
I have never seen that boy before.
Not that I can recall, anyway.
Wait a second.
What does that mean? After school, we get 40, 50 kids in the store at a time.
We can't tell one from the other.
They all start to look the same.
Well, they're not all the same.
This one is suing for $2 million.
And he's implying that you gave him the idea to go up on the roof.
Insinuating that you gave him permission.
Okay, Ms.
Kress, forgive me, but that is a stretch.
And frankly, I don't think it really matters.
Mr.
Colón will cross-examine and undo whatever damage he can, but I assure you, no rational juror is gonna believe Mr.
Elmasry gave anyone permission, let alone encouraged them, to get up on his roof.
Not unless they see proof.
Well, I hope you're right.
It's like she keeps forgetting - who pays who and who works for who.
- Mm.
Look, I have no idea whether that boy is telling the truth or not, but like I told Ms.
Kress, at the end of the day, I don't think it's gonna matter.
Hello, James.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, sir.
I think that everyone here agrees that what happened to you is tragic.
And I'm fairly certain there isn't a person in this room that doesn't feel for you.
Thank you.
All right.
Now, you testified under oath that Mr.
Elmasry told you to come up with a different type of selfie.
That's right.
He did.
Ah.
Well, I have to be honest with you.
He has no recollection of ever having met you.
And even if he did, he's certain he didn't actually tell you to go up on a roof.
I mean, is it your testimony here today that he actually told you to go up on his roof? Well, no.
In fact, if the evidence is to be believed, Mr.
Elmasry took great pains to keep people off his roof.
Objection, Your Honor.
Calls for speculation.
How is my client supposed to know what kinds of pains Mr.
Elmasry may or may not have taken to keep people off his roof? I beg to differ, Your Honor.
In fact, I'll wager that young James here has a better understanding as to how tough the Elmasrys made it to get up on that roof than anyone else alive.
Objection overruled.
You may proceed, Mr.
Colón.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Now, James, you remember this fence? Uh, uh I-I don't know.
I-I guess so.
Let me refresh your memory.
It's a ten-foot fence.
No way you could have gotten onto that roof without climbing this first.
Do you remember this lock and chain around the fence? I-I think I think I saw it there, yeah.
How about this sign? You remember this sign? I mean, it was lit with a big floodlight.
Kind of hard to miss.
- Yeah, I think it was there.
- You think so? Huh? Well, so, there are signs, there are lights, there are locks, and there's a ten-foot fence.
What part of "we don't want you here" did you not understand? I'm sorry.
I-I didn't hear an answer, Your Honor.
Nonetheless, I will withdraw the question and move on to something else.
That look familiar, James? Yes.
So, what'd you do there? You move that dumpster up against the wall, and hoist yourself up on it, pulled yourself up on the ladder? Let me remind you that you are under oath.
I'd also like to inform you that when police and paramedics reported to the scene that night after your fall, they noted that the dumpster was in the exact same place you left it up against the wall, beneath the ladder.
He is very good.
Did I mention when I found him, he was buck naked in the woods, nothing but a law book in his hands? So I'm gonna ask you for the second time.
Did you push that dumpster up against the wall, hoist yourself up on it, pull yourself up on the ladder so that you could have access to the sign depicting the Flying Carpet Pizza slice? Yes.
Yes, I did.
Yes, you did.
Doesn't sound like it was all that easy to get up there to me, was it? No, it wasn't.
Okay.
No further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
You're excused, young man.
Thanks, James.
Can you tell us about your son's physical condition, Mrs.
Donovan? Um James is a T9 paraplegic.
He suffers from paralysis in his lower torso and legs.
And what's the prognosis? Are the doctors offering any hope that he might some day be able to walk again? No.
No, they're not.
How old is James? Uh, he's 14.
A child.
Objection.
That's up to the jury to decide.
Sustained.
So, what's changed about your son's life since his fall? God.
Uh everything.
He-He's had to relearn things.
How to use the bathroom.
How to get in and out of a car.
How to navigate getting in and out of his own bed.
And is there someone to assist him with these things? Just me.
I had to quit my job.
He, uh, he can't really be left alone.
And I'm guessing you're staring at a lot of new expenses.
Installing ramps to make your home wheelchair accessible? Buying an appropriate van so you can transport him places? Yeah, took out a homeowner loan.
They wouldn't give us enough to do everything we needed, but it's a start.
Double-check me.
Juror number one looks like she's about to start a GoFundMe page for James.
What can I tell you? This is very effective testimony.
If we polled the jury right now, there is not a chance in hell of our side winning.
And I don't think this jury is inclined to leave the award at just $2 million.
I have nothing further.
Concede that this is a tragedy, but remind them that it's not the Elmasrys' fault.
Mrs.
Donovan, before your son suffered these life-changing injuries, how did he get to and from school every day? He took the bus.
- New York City bus? - Yes.
And he traveled on public transit alone? Sometimes.
Would he take the subway alone, too? - Sure.
Sometimes.
- Ah.
Did you allow him to hang out with his best friends after school? Of course.
Without adult supervision? Depending on where they were going and what they were doing, yes.
Ah.
Now, James has a two-year-old sister, doesn't he? Janie.
Um, she just turned three.
Ah.
My mistake.
And would James ever babysit her? Uh, from time to time.
So, you trusted him with a toddler? With his sister.
- Absolutely.
- Yes, but you felt comfortable doing this, because James was a responsible young man.
You knew he would take his responsibility seriously, and you trusted his sense of judgement.
True? Objection.
Compound question.
Sustained.
Rephrase the question.
Now what you're telling us is, you treated your son like a young adult.
Objection.
That's not a question.
Because isn't that, in fact, what he is? Not a toddler that could be lured into an uncovered swimming pool by the shiny blue water, but a young man who knows right from wrong.
Who understands when he sees a sign that says "No Trespassing," that means "stay away for your own good.
" Isn't that right, Mrs.
Donovan? Objection.
He's badgering the witness.
Oh, that's all right.
You don't have to answer that, Mrs.
Donovan.
I know you've been through a lot.
No further questions, Your Honor.
For what it's worth, now might be an excellent time to let Ms.
Kress know she's getting her money's worth.
I am suddenly staring at three greens and three reds.
What are you so happy about? Oh, I'm just looking at the jury.
You own half of them now.
Well, what are you bragging about? That just means your work is only half done.
The plaintiff would like to call Paul Martin to the stand.
Mr.
Martin, could you please describe your relationship to the Elmasrys? Well, I live in the neighborhood.
I eat their pizza.
It's damn delicious.
Well, any idea who this is? 'Cause the jury is on the edge of their seats.
They handed us an updated witness list when we walked in, but Amir said he didn't recognize the name.
You recognize him now? And would you please tell the jury why you called my office? Why you reached out to us? I don't know.
I read about the boy, how he ended up in the wheelchair, and I felt badly.
Why did you feel badly? Well about a year ago, I'm walking down the sidewalk, right in front of Amir's place, and bang.
Something falls out of the sky.
I get hit on the head.
Felt like a rock.
Couple of pounds, maybe.
And I'm bleeding.
And it feels like it's gonna be a hell of a bump.
And I look to see what it was.
I pick it up off the sidewalk.
And it's a piece of concrete pepperoni.
Came off Mr.
Elmasry's sign.
And did you call Mr.
Elmasry? Tell him what happened? I didn't have to.
He came running out of the shop.
Took complete responsibility for everything.
Said I should go to the hospital, get some X-rays, MRI.
Whatever I needed, he'd pay for everything.
And he did.
He just didn't want me to call the cops.
And he really didn't want me to call my insurance company.
So, it's your testimony that the Elmasrys were fully aware that their sign the structure was unsound.
That it was a hazard.
Objection.
Calls for speculation.
Sustained.
I'll withdraw the question.
So, you did what you were told.
You didn't notify the authorities.
You didn't call your insurance company.
I did not.
And I can't help but wonder if I had if the city might not have gone over and inspected, made them reinforce that sign, then maybe that boy might be walking today.
Thank you, Mr.
Martin.
I have no further questions for this witness.
What's the damage? I am afraid we are hanging on by a single green thread.
What are you what are you doing? What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving.
Where you going? Can it at least wait until we break for the day? Nice to meet you, Mr.
Martin.
Thank you for coming in today.
I still can't believe she did it.
And she didn't say anything to you? Didn't explain herself to you? Just got up and left? The minute a bad fact came out, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
Well, do you want to call her, or should I? I've been calling every ten minutes.
Something we said? Immunity Insurance is no longer your partner in this case.
Excuse me? You brought this case to us.
We were misled.
We were given inaccurate information.
What kind of inaccurate information? Mr.
and Mrs.
Elmasry reapplied for their insurance eight months ago.
And at that time, they were specifically asked if there had been any accidents on the premises, and they said no.
You can't be serious.
As far as we're concerned, the Elmasrys committed fraud.
They're lucky we don't press criminal charges.
Criminal charges? Their lack of honesty voids the policy, which means the insurer has no obligation to pay a dime, which means that we are withdrawing from the lawsuit.
And that's it? You find a loophole, a way of avoiding paying out on the policy, and you just dump your client? Do you at least refund them their premium? If you get me your bill with the charges to date, I'll see that it's paid promptly.
Just curious.
Shall I say goodbye to the Elmasrys for you? I take that as a no.
It's about as good a closing argument as I've ever read.
Thank you.
I don't think it's gonna make a damn bit of difference.
The other side has a boy in a wheelchair, and that's gonna be tough to beat.
The Elmasrys are gonna lose their shirts, aren't they? Jury's gonna hand down some crazy judgment, and because they have no insurance, the family's gonna be forced to sell everything.
Including the business.
Looks that way.
Everybody's ready.
I know you guys are trying to figure out whether to rest your case or not.
I'm just not sure I'm gonna really be of any help.
Um, I interviewed the other two kids that were with James that night, effectively the only two witnesses, and neither of them have anything to say that's gonna matter.
Yeah, well, we assumed as much.
Although, there was this one thing that's kind of weird, actually.
Um, according to the girl that was with them, Makayla Newton, James had never been to that pizza parlor before.
So when he testified that he had shown Amir that selfie and Amir said wasn't good enough, he essentially lied.
So he perjured himself.
Why? - What did he have to gain? - Who knows? Maybe he was embarrassed that his stunt ended up causing so much pain to so many people.
Maybe he didn't have the courage to tell his mother he thought it up all by himself.
- Yeah.
- Whatever.
I'm not gonna alienate the jury by charging him with perjury, 'cause we can't prove it, anyway.
Like I said, nothing that matters.
Anything from this side of the table? All I can tell you is the jury is itching to give that boy a huge award.
I think it's gonna make the original $2 million settlement offer look like the deal of the century.
I second that.
Taylor.
Tell me you hacked into Immunity Insurance e-mail and found a smoking gun that will change everything.
I hacked into Immunity Insurance's e-mail and found a smoking gun, something that just might - change everything.
- Really? No.
But what I did find is very disappointing on a human level.
Everyone at that insurance company agreed with you guys.
There must be dozens of e-mails in there saying that the $2 million number is a fair and reasonable one and that Avery should move on it.
And? And Avery argued back that while it would be a good offer for the plaintiff and would obviously have taken the Elmasrys off the hook, it was bad for Immunity Insurance.
Would set a horrible legal precedent and would only reinforce the idea that people, especially young people who indulge in risky behavior, can expect big cash payouts if they have an accident.
That they needed to draw a line in the sand.
That this was the case to do it with.
Well, I suppose it's their right.
Actually, I'm not sure it is.
Benny, call down to the courthouse, see if you can't postpone today.
I want to call another settlement meeting.
Really? With who? With James and his mother and the Elmasrys - and Avery.
- Avery? But she and her company withdrew from the case.
I know.
Tell her I need her here.
Uh, tell her it's about the bill.
I don't care.
Just get her over here.
What time were you thinking? I was thinking the others should be here at 2:00.
Have Avery be here at 1:00.
- Ms.
Kress.
- Yes? Dr.
Bull and Mr.
Colón are waiting for you.
Dr.
Bull.
Mr.
Colón.
Am I on trial? Ms.
Kress.
Of course not.
Well, what's so pressing? This can't really be about your bill.
Looks like you have every toy that a lawyer or a trial scientist could fit in here.
No, we just wanted to invite you to a little settlement conference we're putting together.
Yeah.
Your old clients the Elmasrys will be there.
So will the attorney for James Donovan.
We didn't want you to feel left out.
Huh.
I-I'm confused.
You know I withdrew from this case.
You know Immunity no longer insures the Elmasrys.
We know.
We just thought you might want to reconsider.
Really? Why? Oh, a little legal thing called bad faith.
Are you two accusing me of something? We're offering you a second chance.
And those don't come around very often, so let's review your options.
Option one.
We continue with the trial, and the jury finds in favor of James to the tune of maybe $8 million? And the Elmasrys don't have $8 million.
So then, with our help, they sue you.
For? The aforementioned bad faith.
Oh, did we forget to mention that we've got a dozen e-mails here that say your company was fully aware of the $2 million offer that you originally gave and found it completely reasonable.
Better than reasonable, considering it is an insurance company going up against a teenager in a wheelchair.
But you turned it down.
Not because you were trying to do what's best for the Elmasrys but because your company was trying to prove a point.
A point you apparently were willing to make at your client's expense, which is not the way it's supposed to be done.
Isn't it? You know as well as I do insurance companies aren't in the business of paying out just so everyone can feel good.
That boy was old enough to understand his actions.
We were perfectly within our rights to litigate.
But you did not litigate.
You walked out halfway through.
The Elmasrys lied.
The Elmasrys tried to save you and themselves some money because they knew if they filed a claim, you would raise their rates.
And we would have.
And you know damn well if you voided every policy you sold because the insured failed to file a claim, you'd have virtually no customers.
You got into this trial and quickly realized what I told you is true.
It is almost impossible to win against a minor in a wheelchair, no matter how he got there.
And so you started looking for a loophole, any loophole, that would let you walk away.
You acted in bad faith.
You weren't looking out for the people you agreed to insure.
You were looking out for yourself and your company.
And New York state law is very clear.
If Immunity Insurance acted in bad faith, they are on the hook for whatever number the jury comes up with.
And I got to tell you, they're gonna come up with a whopper.
Which brings us to your other option.
Why don't you come upstairs with us before the jury comes back with a verdict? Give that boy $4 million, $2 million more than the original offer, and let the Elmasrys keep their business, and we can just make this whole thing go away.
You know, Bull, if we sue Immunity on behalf of the Elmasrys, I'm betting discovery would come up with a whole lot more interesting e-mails.
Hmm.
Benny.
You just might be onto something.
If you're right about the jury, if you're really convinced that they're going to ask for $8 million, why would the plaintiff settle for $4 million? Well, it turns out he wasn't completely truthful on the stand, and once I tell his attorney we're gonna go and talk to the judge about it, I think she's gonna settle right away.
Shall we head up? Let's.
Hey! Anybody else hungry? Anybody else feel like pizza? Maybe we can get the Elmasrys to bring a pie over with them.
Is it really that good? Oh, I hear it's great.
Call them.
You're kind of pushy, you know that? Hey.
You don't have to like her.
You just have to defend her.