Bobby N. Harmon, CPCU, ARM
September 15, 2003
VIA fax only @ (559) 490-1919
Ms. Julie A. Schermerhorn, Supervisor, and
Mr. Justin W. Schuck, Case Manager
American Arbitration Association
6795 North Palm Avenue, 2nd Floor
Fresno, California 93704
RE: Mary Lou Woo, Trustee v. Bobby N. Harmon
Case No. 74 166 00491 03 JUSC
Dear Ms. Schermerhorn and Mr. Schuck:
This responds to Steven Guttman’s letter dated September 15, 2003, in which he postulates:
“Our reading of Mr. Harmon’s Letters is that he is attempting to explain why he disagrees with our commentary regarding his prior correspondence; he is not raising any new discussion points. His Letters discuss, or are directly related to, the following points:
1. Complaint filed with the Insurance Division of the State of Hawaii.
2. Stay request due to the Complaint.
3. Objection to Ms. Neustadter serving as the arbitrator of this case, and
4. Alleged conflict issues arising from Ms. Neustadter serving as the arbitrator.
“We note that Mr. Harmon is requesting that Ms. Neustadter comment on points 3 and 4 and he specifically states he is not looking for further comment from us.
“If it is the opinion of the AAA that Mr. Harmon has raised any other issues in his Letters, please so advise us. As to the four points listed above, we reiterate the comments set forth in our prior correspondence. Our position remains the same. As to the specific questions Mr. Harmon has asked in regards to the fourth point, I suggest that later this month, after Mr. Harmon has complied with the deadlines set by the arbitrator, we will learn whether further commentary is only an academic discussion.”
Once again, Mr. Guttman has artfully dodged answering the specific, material questions in my previous letters simply by stating, “... we reiterate the comments set forth in our prior correspondence,” and, “... in regards to the fourth point, I suggest that later this month, after Mr. Harmon has complied with the deadlines set by the arbitrator, we will learn whether further commentary is only an academic discussion.”
If you will reread my previous letters, I believe you will find that my comments regarding the four points outlined above by Mr. Guttman are factual and not issues for “academic discussion.” The conflict issues that I discussed arising from Ms. Neustadter serving as the arbitrator are actual – not “alleged” as Mr. Guttman would have you believe.
I have already cited some specific personal and professional relationships with parties connected to this case in my previous letters. I have also indicated that these cases were not the only ones, but that I thought these should be sufficient to disqualify Ms. Neustadter. As these previously described relationships do not appear to satisfy Mr. Guttman’s criteria, however, I will give one additional example which illustrates my arguments to all four of his points:
1. My complaint regarding P&C Insurance Company was made to Hawaii Insurance Commissioner, J.P. Schmidt. Prior to Mr. Schmidt’s appointment as Insurance Commissioner on February 1, 2003, he was a partner with the Maui law firm of Crockett, Nakamura & Schmidt and supervised the risk management functions for Maui County. This means that Mr. Schmidt and Ms. Neustadter had a common employer, Maui County, during the period involved in this dispute.
2. Commissioner Schmidt has not yet replied to my Complaint filed on August 14th. The factual question of whether or not Clyde Mark and Matt Tsukazaki are licensed Claims Adjusters is a key issue in determining if P&C Insurance Company wrongly denied my tender of defense for this arbitration.
3. My objection to Ms. Neustadter serving as the arbitrator of this case, and,
4. “Alleged” conflict issues arising from Ms. Neustadter serving as the arbitrator, would appear to be much the same point. In any event, the conflicts that I have cited in previous letters, as well as the ones stated here are undeniably factual - not “alleged.”
Because of her position on the Maui Planning Commission, I can cite dozens of cases where Ms. Neustadter and Maui County were engaged in activities that involved individuals or companies that were connected to our case. I enclose just one page from the July 18, 2003, Meeting Agenda of the Maui County Council to illustrate my point. You will note that item No. 03-61 involves a resolution authorizing additional compensation of $60,000 for special counsel Marr Hipp Jones & Pepper, for a total compensation of $120,000. Item No. 03-62 recommends adoption of resolution authorizing the employment of special counsel McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP in a matter before the Maui Planning Commission. Item No. 03-63 recommends the adoption of a resolution approving amendments to the Lanai City Redevelopment Project (Castle and Cooke Resorts, LLC).
I quote, again, from the AAA’s Arbitration Disclosure Form: “It is most important that the parties have complete confidence in the arbitrator’s impartiality. Therefore, please disclose any past or present relationship with the parties or their counsel, direct or indirect, whether financial, professional, social or of any other kind. If any relationships arise during the course of the arbitration or if there is any change at any time in the biographical information that you have provided to the AAA, it must also be disclosed. Any doubt should be resolved in the favor of disclosure.”
In her disclosure form, signed and dated August 4, 2003, Ms. Neustadter stated, “I have nothing to disclose.” In view of the examples stated above and in previous letters, I would ask you to conclude that this is a false statement. I would, therefore, ask that Ms. Neustadter be disqualified, or recuse herself, from these proceedings and that Mr. Daniel Bent be considered as a non-conflicted replacement.
Sincerely,
Bobby N. Harmon
enclosure
cc’s: Mary Lou Woo, Trustee, c/o Steven Guttman (via fax @ 808-529-7177)
J.P. Schmidt, Hawaii Insurance Commissioner (via fax @ 808-586-2806)
Terry Mullen, CEO/President, John Mullen & Co. (via fax @ 808-531-0053)
Casimer Fidele, Island Insurance Co. (via fax @ 808-539-9738)
Attorney General Mark Bennett (via fax @ 808-586-1239)
Dr. Randy Roth, Office of the Governor (via fax @ 808-586-0006)
Janet S. Hughes, Mgr., IRS (via fax @ 303-844-3596)
Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., et al., U.S. Dept. of Justice (via fax @ 202-514-1116)
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