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IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
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OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
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IN AND FOR CHEROKEE COUNTY
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( HOMER A. FICTION, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
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-vsNo. 712321
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( MOUNTAIN CEMENT, et al.,
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Defendants.
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DEPOSITION
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OF
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HOMER A. FICTION
VOLUME I
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Friday, Jul 19 2002
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APPEARANCES:
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Mr. Baker Morrison, ESQUIRE
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1234 West Ensign Street,
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Joe, Montana 12345-6789
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ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT
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REPORTED BY:
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Ralph B. Quist, C.S.R.
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CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER & NOTARY PUBLIC
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BE IT REMEMBERED that on Friday, July 19, 2002, commencing at the
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hour of 11:00 a.m., at the Law Offices of Nelson, Falmore, Moran
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& Morrison, 1234 West Ensign Street, Joe, Montana, before me,
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Ralph B. Quist, a duly licensed Certified Shorthand Reporter in
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the State of Montana, appeared HOMER A. FICTION, a witness called
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by the Defendants in the before entitled action, who, having been
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duly sworn by the Certified Shorthand Reporter to tell the truth,
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the whole truth and nothing but the truth, testified as follows:
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EXAMINATION BY MR. MORRISON
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Q.
Have you taken any pills or medication of any kind in
the last 24 hours?
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A.
No.
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Q.
Have you had any alcohol in the last 24 hours?
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A.
Sure, but not very much this morning.
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Q.
Is there anything that you're aware of that would
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impair your ability to testify today?
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A.
No. Do you have a bathroom?
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Q.
Have you talked with either Officer Jones or Officer
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Smith since the accident?
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A.
Yes.
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Q.
Okay.
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A.
Officer Perry Jones.
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Q.
When did you talk to him?
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A.
Two weeks ago.
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Q.
Did you call him?
Which one did you talk with?
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A.
No.
He called me. Officer Smith has been trying to
call me, too.
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Q.
What did you and Perry talk about?
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A.
He wanted to know if I got my truck fixed yet. I told
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him it would be a long time until I have it back from the shop.
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Q.
How many chickens got lost after the accident?
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A.
150 chickens ran away, and about 50 stayed in the
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truck. Some of them came back the next day, I don't know how many
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-- all the smart ones did.
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Q.
When did you first notice the cement truck that hit
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A.
When it was on top of the hood of my pickup.
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Q.
You didn't see it or notice it until after the
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you?
accident?
A.
That's right, it came out of nowhere and just smashed
my pickup. It smashed it real bad.
Q.
Did you know that the cement truck was parked, with
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the engine off, and nobody was driving it when the accident
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occurred?
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A.
No. Who says that?
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Q.
You are asking over $1,000,000 in damages for the
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accident, is that correct?
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Yes, but I wouldn't get all of the money myself, my
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attorney would get about
-- um, I think he would get about
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$660,000 of the money and I would get all of the rest of it. He
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came right over to the scene of the accident real fast after he
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heard the siren on the ambulance.
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Q.
Your attorney is Dewey Cheatem, right?
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A.
Yes.
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Q.
Did he give you any instructions about what to say
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during this deposition?
A.
Sure, we talked about that more than all of the other
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stuff. He made real sure that I should say I still hurt real bad,
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but my girlfriend says I seem just fine to her. She doesn't like
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me driving around in her car, though. That makes her madder than
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me wrecking old blue.
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Q.
Why did your attorney drop you off and rush off after
coming here with you this morning?
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We heard about this other wreck on the radio driving
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up to the building, and he said that he would be here as soon as
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he could.
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Q.
Ok, I want to ask you a few more things about the
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$1,000,000 you are asking for. You are claiming $100,000 for a
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"Bruce". What is a "Bruce"?
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A.
The Chicken.
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Q.
The Chicken?
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A.
Bruce. My chicken.
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Q.
$100,000 for a chicken?
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A.
Yeah. What's wrong with that? Do you think it should
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be more?
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Q.
How could a chicken be worth that much money?
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A.
You don't know Bruce. Here, I have a picture of him
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in my wallet.
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PLAINTIFF PULLS A PICTURE FROM HIS WALLET
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This is Bruce. The one standing near the front.
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Q.
Ok, so? It's just a chicken.
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A.
Ever seen a chicken play tic-tac-toe?
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Q.
You're kidding.
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A.
Bruce played tic-tac-toe. He'd beat ya every time.
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Ever taken a 'lickin from a chicken?
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Q.
What happened to Bruce?
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A.
After the wreck, after the cement truck blammed into
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me -- I was knocked silly for a little bit. It took a little
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while for me to get my wits about me, then I noticed that the
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chicken cage in the back of the truck was smashed some, and the
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door was open. A hundred and fifty got away. I bet Bruce was a
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leadin' the pack when they made their run for it. Anyways -- most
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of the chickens went right back home, because they're all real
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smart, and that, but Bruce never came back. He went out to make
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it on his own in the world I suppose. Old man Ike said he saw
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Bruce the next day over at the Office, and that's it.
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Q.
The "Office"?
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A.
The Office. That's the bar over by the bowling alley.
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Q.
What was Bruce doing at the Office?
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A.
Well, yeah -- 'ya silly. He was prob'ly trying to
make some pin money.
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Q.
How would Bruce make "pin" money at the Office?
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A.
Playing tic-tac-toe with the hicks.
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Q.
And he wins?
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A.
Every time. No one has ever beat him.
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Q.
How much does he win?
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A.
In July he won $50.
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Q.
What does Bruce do with the money he wins?
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A.
I don't know.
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CERTIFICATE
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I, Ralph B. Quist, Certified Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public
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in and for the County of Cherokee, State of Montana, hereby
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certify that the foregoing pages, and including this page,
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contain a true and correct transcript of the testimony of the
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witness, as taken by me at the time and place heretofore
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stated, and later reduced to typewritten form by computer-aided
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transcription under my supervision to the best of my skill and
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ability.
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I further certify that I placed the witness under oath to
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truthfully answer all questions in this matter under the
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authority vested in me by the State of Montana.
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I further certify that I am not in the employ of, or related to,
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any counsel or party in this matter, and have no interest,
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monetary or otherwise, in the final outcome of the proceedings.
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Witness my signature and seal this the 10th day of October, 1994.
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Ralph B. Quist, CSR
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My Commission expires Dec. 31, 2010
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