BOBBY N. HARMON
Louisville, Kentucky 40229
Respondent, pro se
THE ARBITRATION TRIBUNALS OF THE
AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION
In the matter of the Arbitration between MARY LOU WOO, Trustee, Claimant, and BOBBY N. HARMON, Respondent.
Case No. 74 166 00491 03 JUSC
RESPONDENT’S OBJECTION TO CLAIMANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT RESPONDENT’S USE OF www.the-catbird-seat.net AS AN EXHIBIT.
Pretrial Conference
June 9, 2004
Arbitration Date
June 4 and 15, 2004
Arbitrator
Judith Neustadter
________________________________
RESPONDENT’S OBJECTION TO CLAIMANT’S MOTION
IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT RESPONDENT’S USE OF
AS AN EXHIBIT.
Respondent BOBBY N. HARMON hereby submits this OBJECTION TO CLAIMANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT RESPONDENT’S USE OF
AS AN EXHIBIT.
Claimant MARY LOU WOO (“Claimant”), by and through her attorneys, Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, on May 7, 2004, moved, in limine, for an order prohibiting Respondent BOBBY N. HARMON (“Respondent”) from using any material from the website identified as www.the-catbird-seat.net in these proceedings.
Claimant states, “In his Exhibits submitted herein on December 10, 2003, Respondent states that he reserves the right to use any material contained at the subject website. The website, however, contains a massive quantity of data regarding an extremely wide spectrum of subjects, virtually none of which are relevant to this proceeding. See Declaration of Jason Hattori.
“Furthermore, the information contained at the website is hearsay and derivative and, as such, does not meet the best evidence rule or the tests of reliability and trustworthiness. The information which has been collected and maintained at the website cannot be characterized as information kept ‘within the normal course of business’. The information cannot be considered a ‘record’ as that term is used within the context of the rules of evidence. The information has no presumption of accuracy and is self-serving.”
In the DECLARATION OF JASON HATTORI, he states:
“Declarant JASON HATTORI (“Declarant”) declares under penalty of perjury that the statements made hereunder are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.
1. Declarant is a full time employee of Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga and is the person responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of the firm’s computer hardware and software. He is well versed in matters relating to research topics on the internet and accessing various websites.
2. Declarant reviewed the website identified as www.the-catbird-seat.net. The site contains a massive quantity of information concerning a wide variety of topics. Its home page provides access to three additional links with also contain massive volumes of eclectic data. In addition, within each link are a tremendous number of supplemental links. The information and topics discussed or otherwise addressed at this website range from A to Z. The data is not organized in a conventional manner and, therefore, does not offer ready accessibility to most users.
3. Due to the immense volume of data contained at or linked to this site and the lack of conventional organization, maneuvering through the site within a reasonable amount of time would be nearly impossible.”
Respondent contends that these are not reasonable and valid arguments because:
1. Claimant, herself, in her CLAIMANT’S EXHIBIT LIST signed on November 12, 2003, by STEVEN GUTTMAN, Attorney for Claimant, stated:
“Claimant reserves the right to use any exhibits listed by Respondent in his Exhibit List submitted in connection with this proceeding.
“Claimant further reserves the right to use any material contained at the website identified as www.the-catbird-seat.net .”
Respondent, having to act pro se in this matter due to the fact that P&C Insurance Company, Inc., has failed to honor the indemnity and hold harmless provisions in the written agreement with their officers and directors; has failed to maintain proper insurance for their officers and directors to cover said indemnity and hold harmless agreement; has knowingly and maliciously given false and misleading testimony in the legal proceedings that eventually resulted in the Settlement Agreement which is the subject of this arbitration; and has knowingly and wrongfully withheld critical evidence in this case, such as, but not limited to: failing to provide a copy of said indemnity agreement with Respondent; a copy of their insurance policy which insures this indemnity agreement; and a copy of their “side letter” with Federal Insurance Company mentioned in Claimant’s Exhibit Claimant’s Exhibit 23 (a letter dated June 2, 2000, from Steven Guttman to Arnold Phillips), Respondent, who is not an attorney, simply COPIED the wording from Claimant’s List of Exhibits for Respondent’s own filing. Respondent contends that if Claimant had any objections to Respondent reserving the right to use any material from this website, she should not have originally requested the same right. Nor, should she have waited until this late date to submit her Motion in Limine to Prohibit Respondent’s Use of www.the-catbird-seat.net as an Exhibit.
2. Although Complainant alleges, “The website, however, contains a massive quantity of data regarding an extremely wide spectrum of subjects, virtually none of which are relevant to this proceeding,” Respondent maintains that many of the documents at this website may be relevant to this proceeding, and that he should not be precluded from entering these documents as Exhibits. The relevancy of such Exhibits cannot be prejudged by the Complainant based on the mere fact that the source was a particular website.
3. Complainant alleges, “Furthermore, the information contained at the website is hearsay and derivative and, as such, does not meet the best evidence rule or the tests of reliability and trustworthiness. The information which has been collected and maintained at the website cannot be characterized as information kept ‘within the normal course of business’. The information cannot be considered a ’record’ as that term is used within the context of the rules of evidence. The information has no presumption of accuracy and is self-serving.” Respondent maintains that the majority of the content at this website consists of quotations from various published books, news articles and court cases. Respondent contends that until specific articles or other documents are presented to the Arbitrator in the form of an Exhibit, they cannot be prejudged as having “no presumption of accuracy,” or as being “self-serving” .
4. One of Declarant JASON HATTORI’s arguments against the use of this website is that the site “contains a massive quantity of information concerning a wide variety of topics,” and that “the data is not organized in a conventional manner and, therefore, does not offer ready accessibility to most users.” Respondent maintains that it was never his intent to use the entire site as an Exhibit. This site is merely a source of information, similar to the local newspapers or the Library of Congress. Any specific document that Respondent may wish to use from this site would be identified as a new Exhibit and a hard copy of the document provided to all parties. Therefore, there would be no need for anyone to be concerned about the “massive quantity of information” at this site, or about the Claimant’s assertion that the site “does not offer ready accessibility to most users.”
For the above stated reasons, Respondent hereby respectfully requests that CLAIMANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT RESPONDENT’S USE OF www.the-catbird-seat.net AS AN EXHIBIT, be denied.
DATED: Louisville, Kentucky, May 15, 2004.
_____________________________
BOBBY N. HARMON, pro se
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