EFTA00596770.pdf

1 IN THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA 2 CIVIL DIVISION 3 CASE NO: CACE 15-000072 4 BRADLEY J. EDWARDS and 5 PAUL G. CASSELL, 6 Plaintiff/ 7 Counterclaim Defendants, 8 VS. 9 ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ, 10 Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff. 11 12 13 14 15 HEARING BEFORE THE HONORABLE THOMAS M. LYNCH, IV 16 17 18 19 Thursday, October 22, 2015 20 9:05 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. 21 201 Southeast 6th Street 22 Courtroom 950 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 23 24 Theresa Tomaselli, RMR 25 ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596770  2 1 APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL 2 On behalf of the Plaintiffs: 3 SEARCY. DENNEY, SCAROLA. 4 BARNHART & SHIPLEY. P.A. BY: JOHN (JACK) SCAROLA, ESQUIRE 5 2139 Palm each Lakes Boulevard West Palm Beach Florida 33409 6 Tel : 561 .686.6300 Fax: 7 E-mail : 8 9 On behalf of Jeffrey Epstein: 10 TONJA HADDAD, P.A. BY: TONJA HADDAD COLEMAN, ESQUIRE 11 315 Southeast 7th Street Suite 301 12 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 Tel : 954.467.1223 13 Fax: E-mail : 14 15 Also Present: 16 THOMAS E. SCOTT, ESQUIRE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596771  3 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 Thereupon, the following proceedings 3 were had: 4 MS. COLEMAN: Good morning, Your Honor. How 5 are you? 6 THE COURT: Hi there. How are you? 7 MS. COLEMAN: Doing well. How are you? 8 THE COURT: All right. We have got a busy 9 day on this case, huh? 10 MS. COLEMAN: Yes, Judge, and I'm a nonparty 11 to this case. This is hopefully the only time 12 you will be hearing from me today. Tonja Haddad 13 Coleman on behalf of nonparty Jeffrey Epstein. 14 MR. SCAROLA: And Jack Scarola, Your Honor, 15 on behalf of the Plaintiffs in this action. 16 THE COURT: Yes. 17 MR. SCAROLA: Good morning, sir. 18 THE COURT: Let me just sign this order and 19 I'll be right with you. 20 Okay. Go right ahead. 21 MS. COLEMAN: Thank you, Judge. My client is 22 a nonparty to this action, Jeffrey Epstein. 23 Jeffrey Epstein is a Defendant in the civil 24 litigation case that is currently pending before 25 the Fourth DCA in which Mr. Edwards is a ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596772  1 Plaintiff. The Court ordered us to mediation. 2 THE COURT: Oh, that one. Okay. Okay. 3 MS. COLEMAN: The Court ordered -- 4 THE COURT: There's a lot of action in this 5 case. That's the one that's up in the Fourth, 6 okay. 7 MS. COLEMAN: Yes, sir. The Court ordered us 8 to attend a mediation regarding the attorney's 9 fees while the appeal was pending, simply because 10 we, being Mr. Epstein, had successfully moved for 11 entitlement to attorney's fees, and the Judge 12 indicated that he wanted us to attend a mediation 13 while the case was up on appeal . 14 Both parties agreed it wasn't really 15 necessary, but the Court wanted us to do it. 16 And, thereafter, Mr. -- 17 THE COURT: While it was up on appeal? 18 MS. COLEMAN: I'm sorry? 19 THE COURT: While it was up on appeal -- 20 MS. COLEMAN: Yes 21 THE COURT: -- the Trial Court ordered 22 mediation? 23 MS. COLEMAN: Yes, sir. 24 MR. SCAROLA: There was pending before the 25 Trial Court, Your Honor, an issue with regard to ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596773  5 1 attorney's fees -- 2 THE COURT: Oh, okay. 3 MR. SCAROLA: -- pursuant to a proposal for 4 settlement, so the Court had jurisdiction -- 5 THE COURT: Gotcha. 6 MR. SCAROLA: -- over that issue, although 7 what was ordered was -- 8 THE COURT: That's really none of my business 9 anyway. I was just interested. 10 MR. SCAROLA: Well , that just helps Your 11 Honor to understand that this wasn't an entirely 12 over vires act. 13 MS. COLEMAN: The issue of attorney's fees 14 was the original subject of the mediation, 15 attorney's fees to which the Court had determined 16 my client, Mr. Epstein, was entitled. 17 What the Court -- Mr. Edwards petitioned the 18 Court to compel Mr. Epstein to personally appear 19 at the mediation. The Court granted that motion, 20 and a copy of the order is attached to our 21 complaint -- our motion here to quash. 22 In compliance with that order, Mr. Epstein 23 personally attended the mediation in West Palm 24 Beach. While present at the mediation in the 25 mediation room with his attorneys, Mr. Epstein ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596774  6 1 was sitting, prepared to go forward with the 2 mediation, and Mr. Edwards and his counsel and 3 the process server entered the mediation room and 4 attempted to serve Mr. Epstein with a subpoena 5 duces tecum requiring Epstein to appear for the 6 taking of his deposition in West Palm Beach, 7 Florida. 8 The concern with this, first and foremost, of 9 course, is that we are moving to quash because a 10 party -- a person attending court ordered 11 Alternative Dispute Resolution outside of their 12 territorial jurisdiction of their residence is 13 immune, not only while attending that, but for a 14 reasonable time traveling to and traveling from 15 such hearing. 16 There is a case in which this was extended to 17 Alternative Dispute Resolution which is cited in 18 our motion. 19 The second issue regarding this motion to 20 quash, Judge, is that Mr. Epstein is, as 21 Mr. Edwards is well -aware, a legal resident of 22 the United States Virgin Islands. 23 All of the case law is delineated in our 24 motion, but we would submit that we are well 25 within the proper portion of the law from the ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596775  7 1 Florida Supreme Court, Stokes v. Bell, 2 441 So. 2d 146, stating that this will proceed on 3 the ground that the due administration of justice 4 requires that a court shall not permit 5 inference -- interference with the progress of a 6 cause pending before it by the service of process 7 in other suits. 8 And, again, Judge, it's very clear 9 Mr. Epstein is not a party to this suit. And we 10 submit that it's, you know, proper because in 11 Stokes, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the 12 lower court s decision to abate service for lack 13 of personal jurisdiction when the party to whom 14 service was processed was defending himself in an 15 unrelated civil matter in the Florida courthouse. 16 And that Defendant was a resident of the Bahamas. 17 And the Supreme Court held that nonresidents 18 are exempt from service of civil process while 19 they are attending or traveling to or from court 20 proceedings outside the county of their residence 21 as witnesses or suitors. And there's a Fourth 22 DCA case, 1981, to which that court refers which 23 is Cordoba versus Cordoba, 393 So. 2d 589. 24 And just so Your Honor is clear, in Lee 25 versus Stevens of Florida, 578 So. 2d 867, ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596776  8 1 Florida Second DCA 1991 , the Court extended the 2 immunity to Alternate Dispute Resolution for the 3 same chilling effect that it may have on parties 4 attending Alternate Dispute Resolution. 5 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. 6 MR. SCAROLA: Your Honor, there is no dispute 7 with regard to what the law is. There is a 8 dispute with regard to the application of that 9 law to these facts, because the problem with the 10 position taken by Mr. Epstein is that he has 11 confused the concepts of domicile and residence. 12 Mr. Epstein is legally domiciled in the U.S. 13 Virgin Islands on his private island. He has 14 residences in New Mexico, Palm Beach, New York, 15 and Paris, and has given sworn testimony, one of 16 the few substantive questions that he has 17 answered, on January 25, 2012, identifying one of 18 his residences as 350 -- excuse me -- 358 19 El Brillo Way in the town of Palm Beach. 20 Jeffrey Epstein was present in Palm Beach 21 County, in the State of Florida, in a county and 22 state in which he regularly resides, and so he 23 has not been served outside of the area of his 24 residence. 25 He has been served in a county and state ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596777  9 1 where he resides and he should be obliged, as a 2 consequence, to respond to the subpoena that was 3 lawfully issued upon him. 4 THE COURT: Anything else? 5 MS. COLEMAN: Yes, Judge. Section 48.194 of 6 the Florida Statutes provides that service of 7 process of nonresidents of Florida outside the 8 state has to be done properly at the place of 9 their regular residence. 10 Just because Mr. Epstein owns a home here 11 does not make him a resident of the State of 12 Florida. 13 THE COURT: But counsel indicates that 14 there's a distinction between domicile and 15 residence in that, at least it's his position 16 that Epstein is domiciled -- might be domiciled 17 in the Virgin Islands, but is a resident of Palm 18 Beach County. 19 MS. COLEMAN: Well , Judge, he's not a 20 resident. Just because he owns a residence there 21 doesn't make him a resident of that state or 22 city. As the Court is well -aware, there's a very 23 specific process that must be determined to 24 determine -- for the Court or anyone to determine 25 whether someone resides in a particular location. ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596778  10 1 And under the statutes, Mr. Epstein does not live 2 here. He was here pursuant to a court order to 3 attend a mediation and was served. 4 Mr. Scarola has offered no case law that 5 distinguishes between a domicile and a residence. 6 The statute does not distinguish between a 7 domicile and a residence. It specifically 8 states, "nonresidents of Florida." We have 9 submitted that Mr. Epstein is a legal resident of 10 the United States Virgin Islands. Just because 11 he owns a home here does not make him a resident. 12 I believe there's several statutes in the 13 State of Florida which are applicable to 14 determining whether or not it is someone's 15 residence, much less primary place of residence, 16 as opposed to their domicile. 17 THE COURT: Well, the case you cited in the 18 Bahamian situation, where that individual, I 19 believe, was a permanent resident of the Bahamas, 20 and is it your position that your client, 21 Mr. Epstein, is a permanent resident of the U.S. 22 Virgin Islands? 23 MS. COLEMAN: Yes, Judge, I am. All of his 24 legal documentation shows that as his legal 25 residence. Every pleading, every response to a ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596779  11 1 complaint, any legal issue where it's ever been 2 addressed, it has consistently and unequivocally 3 been held that Mr. Epstein is a legal resident of 4 the United States Virgin Islands. 5 And quoting something from 2012, with all due 6 respect, when we are in 2015, offers no more 7 proof of his residence than anything else. 8 MR. SCAROLA: Your Honor, the burden in 9 quashing this subpoena is upon Mr. Epstein to 10 prove that he is a nonresident of Palm Beach 11 County, Florida. He has asserted that he resides 12 in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is apparent that 13 his domicile is the U.S. Virgin Islands, but he 14 has not offered any proof that he is a 15 nonresident of Florida. 16 And it is on that basis that this motion to 17 quash should be denied. They have failed to 18 carry their burden of proof, particularly when he 19 has sworn previously that one of his residences 20 is Palm Beach, Florida. 21 THE COURT: I'm going to reserve ruling. I 22 want to take a look at this. Let me just check 23 one thing out here before you go. 24 MR. SCAROLA: May I provide the Court with 25 the partial transcript of the deposition? ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596780  12 1 THE COURT: Sure. 2 MR. SCAROLA: Thank you. There you are, sir. 3 THE COURT: Thank you. How about you give me 4 until either tomorrow or Monday; I'll try to get 5 to it tomorrow depending on how things go. 6 MR. SCAROLA: There's no urgency, Your Honor. 7 That's fine. 8 MS. COLEMAN: And, Your Honor, if the Court 9 wishes, I can provide an affidavit that my client 10 recently signed saying that he's a legal resident 11 of the U.S. Virgin Islands, if the Court is so 12 inclined to review it. 13 THE COURT: I don't know. Let me take a look 14 and I'll let you know. 15 MR. SCAROLA: Thank you, sir. 16 MS. COLEMAN: Thank you. 17 THE COURT: Thanks. 18 (Thereupon, at 9:15 III. the hearing was 19 concluded.) 20 21 22 23 24 25 ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596781  13 1 CERTIFICATE 2 3 STATE OF FLORIDA ) 4 COUNTY OF BROWARD ) 5 6 7 I, THERESA TOMASELLI, Registered Merit 8 Reporter certify that I was authorized to and did 9 stenographically report the foregoing proceedings and 10 that the transcript is a true record. 11 12 Dated this 21st day of November, 2015. 13 14 15 16 17 THERESA TOMASELLI, RPR, RMR 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS (954) 331-4400 EFTA00596782