On Monday, January 18, 2021--I sat for a 6-hour deposition in the Matt Selover case.
I was subpoenaed to testify, I received a written opinion that although my truthful testimony would be damaging to the county's position that it was proper for me to sit for the deposition, and I was under oath and asked questions by multiple lawyers about this matter.
And I told the truth.
Here's what's important to know: None of what I said had any bearing on the outcome of the case, and every lawyer with a brain knows I would have NEVER been called to testify in this case had it even gone to trial. I had no relevance whatsoever; I was not a fact witness, I wasn't an expert witness, I simply had opinions based upon my knowledge of events received second hand. I never would have been called to testify in this case. Wouldn't have happened.
But I was subpoenaed, so I complied and testified.
And yes, my truthful view of the events surrounding the Matt Selover case and subsequent lawsuit differed greatly from the insurance company's lawyer, Katie Guiditis of the Lydecker-Diaz law firm.
And although I did not know it at the time, within 10 days of my deposition, attorney Katie Guiditis of the Lydecker-Diaz law firm (purportedly the attorney for the County Commission paid for by an insurance carrier that picked up this case) would produce a scathing account of my truthful testimony and share it with the county attorney's office. It was never shared with me or my counterparts for 8 months prior to the conclusion of the matter after the county settled with Matt Selover for nearly $200,000.00.
Even after the conclusion of the matter I was not aware of the existence of this memo, until a PNJ reporter called me, read portions of it to me, and asked me "what I thought of it."
I find it incredible, astonishing that Ms. Guiditis would withhold the fact that although my opinions differed from hers, my relevance (lack thereof) would preclude my testifying in any trial that might ensue. This was a huge fact to omit, leaving the casual reader of the document to believe I was the lynchpin that caused this case to settle--which is absolute rubbish and completely dishonest.
So I have now subsequently requested every document in the case referring to me by Katie Guiditis and her firm. I made this request of Charlie Peppler, deputy County Attorney.
I received a few email strings, this "memo" from the 27th of January-----and a follow-on memo from May 4th. Again--I was not aware of any of this, nor were my counterparts, until after the settlement of this lawsuit. I am disgusted with the way this was portrayed by this lawyer and her apparent desire to set me up as some sort of "boogey man" that created this problem. I am contemplating filing a bar complaint against her, that is how dissatisfied I am with the way that was handled. (Seeing the memo
