SUITS & VERDICTS, Verdict Number 1

The fourth of seven chapters that will run all week.

Prudence was dressed in a very conservative navy blue pantsuit that Franklin Danbury Jr.’s Jury Specialist had selected for her. It was ironic, in that everybody in the courtroom would have seen her completely naked in the pictures that had been posted online. “When they see you in person, they need to see the Prudence they would see in Sunday School at Almost United Methodist, not the one draped across the hood of the BMW X5,” Danbury had told them in pretrial meetings in his office. Prudence shifted in her chair across from the desk in his office an hour before the trial was to begin. Chad looked sheepish.

While both she and Chad had dreaded the entire ordeal and wanted it to be over as soon as possible, Prudence had kind of gotten used to the attention. When men stared over the Salad Wagon at K-Bob’s to get a closer look and then nudged the guy next to them, it put a little bit of a spring in her step, though she would never admit such a thing to Chad.

Chad was not immune, himself. He had taken more pride in his wife, knowing how attractive she was to so many of the young (and old) men in and around Fort Stockton. For his part, the attention he got at the Piggly Wiggly was gratifying, as well. Back at the meat counter, the butcher joked that more female customers were coming in to see Chad’s meat than they were his, and his was on full display in the big glass case year round.

Despite the attention, Chad and Prudence felt they were fighting a noble fight, nonetheless. Their privacy had been stolen and the most intimate of situations laid bare for all to see, through no real fault of their own. Sure, Chad had left the explicit Polaroids in the center console of the BMW, but that was a place that the kid from the Tiny Bubbles Car Wash should have never been looking in, anyway. There was no way he ever should have shared them.

Danbury had spent days prepping them on how to behave in court. He told them to be on time and respectful always, and to never snicker or look as though they were enjoying the proceedings or the attention. “Always treat the judge as though he is a much respected relative. Don’t take anything for granted,” he admonished. He had prepared them for an offer to settle out of court, should one be offered.

“What do you think they’ll offer?” Chad had asked.

“No telling. They might not offer anything, thinking they’ve got a strong enough defense to take their chances with the jury,” Danbury said. “Then again, litigation is not cheap. Be prepared for anything. Have a number in mind you think would be acceptable, but plan on seeing it all the way through trial.”

The case had been assigned to Judge Levi’s court. “He’s young. Tough to read. I don’t know that much about him, but what I’ve heard is good.” Danbury seemed optimistic. “It’s in our favor that Tiny Bubbles is owned by a corporation that’s based out of town. Folks in Fort Stockton don’t care for outsiders. I’m sure they’ll send in a corporate lawyer to handle the case. They want it over with more than you do, if you can believe it. Word is that business at the car wash is down due to the publicity in the Stockton Telegram-Dispatch, and the news stories on TV.”

“Funny, it’s up at the Piggly Wiggly for the very same reasons,” Chad chuckled.

“That’s the kind of response you have to be sure doesn’t come up in court!” Danbury admonished.

Weeks went by and Danbury finally got word that a hearing date had been set. He didn’t hear anything from the attorney for the defense, so he assumed they would be proceeding on schedule. He let Chad and Prudence know accordingly.

The day before the trial was to begin, just before Danbury closed the office for the day, he got word there was a call for him from a Ted Ravenhill, a name neither he nor his secretary recognized. He took the call in his office.

“Danbury? Ravenhill here. Attorney for Tiny Bubbles. Well, the corporation that owns Tiny Bubbles, anyway. Tomorrow’s the big day. Nine o’clock I do believe. What say we meet in your office at 7:30? See where we all stand?”

Danbury noted that it was definitely not Ravenhill’s first rodeo. Scheduling the meeting this late in the process made him think there would be a settlement offer on the table, but not much time to think about it. He agreed to the meeting, hung up, and called Chad at the Piggly Wiggly to relay the news.”

“You think they’re going to make an offer?” Chad asked.

“If I were a betting man, I’d take the bet,” Danbury said. “The question is, will you take the offer? You and Prudence need to be giving it some real thought. I’ll see you at 7:15 tomorrow morning.” And with that, he hung up the phone and turned out the lights.

The next morning Chad and Prudence were sitting at the conference table, Danbury was at the window of the second floor office watching for his adversary to pull up. At 7:28, a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pulled up to the building. The car had been specified in AMG Alubeam Silver, a $12,750 exterior color selection, and it was optioned with a 1000-watt Bang & Olufsen sound system as well as $4,500 in carbon-fiber trim. The car was powered by a 6.2-liter V8 linked with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle and a limited-slip differential. It features 19″ and 20″ five-spoke alloy wheels, gullwing doors, an airfoil, bi-xenon headlights, Parktronic parking sensors, Black Designo Exclusive leather upholstery, heated power-adjustable seats, Keyless Go, COMAND infotainment, and dual-zone automatic climate control. “Well, there’s nothing subtle about this guy,” Danbury noted.

Staggered-width 19″ and 20″ five-spoke alloy wheels were mounted with Continental ContiSportContact tires. The car was equipped with speed-sensitive power steering. Stopping power was provided by AMG-branded brake calipers over cross-drilled and slotted rotors at all four corners. Ravenhill was nearly as over the top as the automobile he drove.

He wore a Brunello Cucinelli Men’s Wool Three-Button Two-Piece Suit in Navy that may as well have still had the Neiman Marcus tags hanging from the cuff. The Sagan Classic Precious Leather Loafers in Dark Brown Crocodile cost more than Prudence’s Honda Accord had when she bought it. Danbury spotted the vintage 1957 Hamilton Pacer in an asymmetric 14K solid gold case with a Ventura dial on his wrist and was actually impressed with his competition, something that didn’t happen often.

Ravenhill wasted no time in grabbing the Stefano Ricci Briefcase, a perfect complement to the loafers, and heading up to Danbury’s office on the second floor. He burst through the door to the conference room like an actor taking the stage on a Broadway melodrama. He switched the briefcase to his left hand so he could shake the hand of each person seated at the table.

Formalities complete, he sat down across from the plaintiffs, looking at Prudence in a way that let everyone know he was sizing her up against the photos he’d already studied extensively. Prudence felt dirty. Chad felt inadequate. Danbury felt ready for a showdown. “Shall we begin? We don’t have long before the trial starts,” he said.

“Right. Of course. My client has sent me to make an offer to make this entire thing disappear and save all of us the indignity of pressing ahead with public litigation. The corporate entity that owns Tiny Bubbles Car Wash, its parent company and its foreign subsidiaries does not want to subject your client to the possible indignities involved in testifying. Nor do they wish to further tarnish the name of a business named three times to the America’s Best Franchise List. We are prepared to make an out of court settlement to avoid moving forward in court.”

Danbury, Chad, and Prudence all glanced at one another. “Go ahead,” Danbury said.

“I am authorized to offer a settlement of $500,000 in order to avoid a jury trial.” Ravenhill seemed smug as he said the words.

“I will need to speak to my clients,” Danbury said. “Alone.”

“Of course.” Ravenhill stood and exited the conference room, stepping into the waiting area outside and engaging with the secretary at her desk.

“What do you think?” The attorney asked his clients seated before him.

“It’s good money. We can avoid a trial. Get it over with.” Chad seemed sold on accepting.

“It’s only the first offer, though. Surely they’re starting off low.” Prudence didn’t seem to be as sure as Chad about taking the offer. “Can we counter the offer?”

“We can do whatever you’d like, but we don’t have much time for back and forth. They waited till the last minute for a reason,” Danbury said. “But understand this: if we go to trial, it could be years before you see a dime, even if we win. With appeals and motions and continuations, it could literally drag out for a decade before being resolved. And, that’s if we win!”

“Make a counteroffer for $750,000 and see what happens.” Prudence seemed to have taken over the negotiations for the pair of them.

Ravenhill was called back in and the counteroffer presented. He crossed his fingers in front of him as he listened.

“I see,” he said. “ I will make one counteroffer, and it will be the last. If it is not accepted, we will walk across the street to the courthouse and take our chances with 12 of your peers. We can go to $550,000. Today. A check placed in your hand right now. You will also receive free car washes for life. Your call.”

Danbury looked down at his legal pad. Chad and Prudence looked at each other. The room fell silent for a moment. Danbury was just about to recommend that Danbury step outside again so he could tell Chad and Prudence they were being low-balled. He wanted them to hold out for more, sensing that Ravenhill was more reluctant to head across the street than he was acting.

“We’ll take it,” Prudence said.

Ravenhill opened the alligator briefcase and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Of course you’ll need to sign a release from any further liability, legal action, and agree to keep the terms of the settlement confidential.” He slid the paperwork and the check across the table. “And of course, Tiny Bubbles will deny any admission of guilt concerning the business or any of its employees.”

Prudence was still for a moment and then reached for the check, pushing the paperwork towards Chad to look over. Danbury noticed there were two other checks in the briefcase before Ravenhill closed it, one for $750,000 and one for $1,000,000. He knew both of those would be torn up and tossed in the ashtray of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG before it ever left the parking lot. He would keep that information to himself. No point in letting his clients know how much they’d left on the table.

Chad and Prudence walked away with a little less than $350,000 after paying Danbury his fee and court costs. They were in a position few people their age rarely get. They could have paid off their mortgage. They could have invested it for retirement. They could have set enough aside to pay for college for each of their boys. They could have at least paid off their credit cards and been debt free but for the house.

But they took the BMW X5 to Odessa and traded it in on a new BMW X3, paying cash. Neighbors were surprised to see construction begin on a new pool and hot tub combination in Chad and Prudence’s backyard a few weeks later. And folks at church couldn’t help but notice that Prudence’s sweaters seemed to be fitting much tighter across the bust area than they ever had before. Chad mentioned something at the Grounds for Divorce that they had made an investment in upgrading Prudence’s body image. New Guy indiscreetly pulled out his phone and scrolled through his photos the next time he saw Prudence in person, confirming “enhancements” had taken place.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the entire episode was the fact that, while the meeting in Danbury’s office was taking place, corporate management from the Piggly Wiggly HQ had come into town. After checking into the Cattle Baron Hotel, they’d made their way over to the Piggly Wiggly to meet with Chad regarding the status of his position as the “interim” General Manager of the fort Stockton location.

They were quite taken aback when Mrs. Drury had to tell them Chad wasn’t in at the moment. “No, he’s not on vacation,” she said. When asked if he was out sick, she replied, “No, I can’t say he is.” In fact, she wasn’t sure exactly where he was; he forgotten to let her know in all the haste to get to Danbury’s office. Mrs. Drury certainly didn’t want to say, “You might check next door at the Grounds for Divorce, he spends a lot of time there.”

As far as anyone knows, Chad and Prudence did not celebrate any of their new purchases with a photo shoot.