"Duplicity" And Smith-Moore

I am still trying to catch up on the goings-on in the Wray fray and Mitch meet-up (although it appears a whole lot of nothing came out of that).

Mitch apparently mistook Bubba for Joe Guarino at one point . . . and got pretty flustered . . . when Bubba asked him about the Simpkins PAC.

Dr. Joe latest post on "Duplicity" . . . citing the Rhino's last installment on the Wray fray . . . mentions that the law firm Smith-Moore is represents the city of Greensboro in its various legal entanglements:

The police department had been cooperating with the US Attorney's office and set up a sting operation for officers suspected of selling confidential police information to criminals. This operation was repeatedly cited as one of the major inappropriate activities in which GPD officers were engaged.

Nicole Pettiford-- the individual who is reported to have purchased information from police officers-- at one point was questioned by Special Intelligence, and later sued the city over her prolonged interrogation. The Smith Moore law firm represented the city against the suit.

It turns out that this firm, representing the city, used arguments that would tend to be exculpatory toward the Special Intelligence officers and those directing them. The filing cited the involvement of the US Attorney's office, and the approval of the operation by that office. Yet these Special Intelligence officers are still being criminally investigated, and may soon be charged over matters such as these.

Now, as it happens, I am familiar with the Greensboro mega-law firm Smith, Moore. In fact it used to be Smith, Helms, Mullis and Moore - until March 2002 when it split in two. Helms, Muliss, Wicker is the other by-product of the split.

You see, Robert L. Wilson, Jr. Randoph Hospital's attorney works for Smith-Moore. He's the attorney who thought it was a good idea to fire me but keep me on the pay-roll for six months (to shut me up and keep the business) . . . this after I defied "the team" of Morrison/Eblin/Bridges to save a newborn's life and report the problems I encountered with another doctor to peer review. He's also the attorney who advised the Executive Committee that zapping my hospital privileges without so much as a phone call (after I filed my lawsuit against the hospital's "controlled affiliate") presented no problem at all (that pesky thing called due process notwithstanding).

Wilson Jr. is also the attorney whose "considerable due diligence" could not ascertain as to whether or not an agreement ever existed between the National Health Services Corps and Randolph Hospital/RMA.

So I sent Wilson, Jr. a copy of the agreement. And I called Howard Coble. It took several rounds of correspondence and about nine months of wrangling with a brain-dead government bureaucracy obsessed with CYA (you wanna talk about "due diligence?), but Coble helped me get to the bottom of it and get my (malpractice) tail coverage paid.

And when we did, it all made Wilson, Jr. look like an idiot. I mean, was he asleep when he was advising his clients on this little employment matter or what?

Wilson, Jr. is also the attorney who, when confronted with evidence of perjury, contempt and fraud and the part of his clients several years back, told my attorney that being an "expert on non-profits", he would never have made such an error.

Translation: It was the trial attorneys' fault.

But what has Wilson, Jr. done to correct this "error" since it was brought to his attention?

Nothing.

What have his clients . . . the hospital and Board of Directors that condoned every nasty thing these two greedy liars did . . . who employ them to this day . . . done to rectify the situation?

Nothing.

I expect Wilson, Jr. would've liked me to sue somebody so he could rack up some more billable hours.

The Smith-Moore website boldly displays its corporate values of "history, teamwork, collegiality, excellence, and integrity". Dr. Mary Johnson's "history" with this law firm clearly demonstrates that all of that "collegiality" and "teamwork" is NOT geared towards rewarding "excellence" OR acting with "integrity".

Now, with regards to the actual criminal act of perjury, Wilson, Jr.'s hands are technically "clean". After I filed my lawsuit against RMA in 1999, the case was passed off to the insurance company and a new firm took over the litigation.

Robert Ford and Demetrius Worley (Berry), the lawyers who handled the litigation, were once employed by Tuggle, Duggins and Meschan in Greensboro.

Mr. Ford and Mrs. Worley (Berry) are the legal geniuses who thought filing a "libel" lawsuit against a physician reporting a hospital's malfeasance to the government (in confidence and in response to the government's request) was a good idea.

Ford & Worley (Berry) are no longer with Tuggle Duggins. Now they are bosses in their own firm, Brotherton, Ford, Yeoman, & Berry.

How nice for them that they could just step right over my dead body and get on with their lives.

Of course, they're still corporate defense attorneys . . . defending big business against pesky types like me . . . who won't just roll over and die when we're wronged.

Their firm's website says, "We're the answer to your defense."

In my case, their answer to Randolph Hospital's defense was obfuscation and outright lying about the confidentiality of the hospital's books and finances . . . in what ultimately proved to be a successful move to shield their clients from scrutiny. You see, by lying, they were able to low-ball the damages that the hospital paid at settlement.

You see these two attorneys are the ones who filed the false/sworn answers on behalf of Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin . . . in the discovery responses of their own despicable SLAPP-suit . . . the brilliant idea designed to humiliate and financially destroy the pesky public-service Pediatrician who would not "just go away" and leave their fine, upstanding (over-paid) clients alone.

These "experts" on "non-profit" litigation should have known better . . . it was their job to know what was really "strictly confidential" and what was not. As officers of the North Carolina court, was their job to see that their clients told the truth under Oath.

In other words, it was their job to see that their clients coughed up the financial records that I asked for . . . that a judge ordered them to provide . . . which included tax returns that happened to be posted as public record on the Guidestar website. If these two were Al Gore types, and did not want to give the appearance of killing trees (suggestion for Al: get Oscar a coat and turn down the thermostat at your house), all they had to do in their responses was point me in the direction of the website . . . and say, "The information you want about profits and losses and salaries is there."

But they did not do that. These two fine upstanding examples of North Carolina legal acumen, allowed their clients to lie under Oath . . . about financial matters relevant to my damages claim. It was "highly confidential", they said.

That lie perpetuated a fraud at settlement . . . and destroyed any hope I had of picking up the pieces in Asheboro and being able to move on.

That lie was a crime.

Of course, my own attorney's responsibilities to me in this matter are a whole nuther subject.

This is awful, you say. Report this all to the NC State Bar, you say. What a great idea!

Well, I did. And the Bar (now righteously chasing after Mike Nifong for lying to a judge in a court proceeding) quietly dismissed the complaints without so much as interviewing me.

Translation: It's okay to lie to a citizen. Just don't lie to a judge (or the IRS).

I believe the Bar calls it "aggressive representation".

Of course, my case is not getting any press attention (the N&R and Courier Tribune do not deem threatening/intimidating/firing/slandering/suing & humiliating/defrauding a local doctor "relevant" to our troubled times) that would drum up the public outrage that might get the State Bar to sing a different tune on the ethical contortions of these three brilliant North Carolina lawyers.

And, of course, all of this happened in the hey-day of Jim Black's "pay-to-play" power-mongering . . . blithely presided over by state leaders and chief law enforcement officers like Jim Hunt, Mike Easley and Roy Cooper.

This is the way the law and lawyers really work in North Carolina. And it is why I am not surprised by ANTHING that might be revealed in the GSO police fiasco . . . including indictments against police officers who may have been cooperating with federal authorities . . .

. . . and especially the maneverings of a law firm.