Saturday, June 10, 2006

Now you're just acting like a kid

A federal judge, miffed at the inability of opposing lawyers to agree on even the slightest details of a lawsuit, ordered them to settle their latest dispute with a game of rock, paper, scissors.

The argument was over a location to take the sworn statement of a witness in an insurance lawsuit.

In an order signed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell scolded both sides and ordered them to meet at a neutral location at 4 p.m. June 30 to play a round of the hand-gesture game often used to settle childhood disputes. If they can't agree on the neutral location, he said, they'll play on the steps of the federal courthouse.

The winner gets to choose the location for the witness statement.

"We're going to have to do it," said David Pettinato, lead lawyer for the plaintiff, Avista Management. "I guess I'd better bone up on rock, paper, scissors rules."

Last year, officials of the auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's engaged in the game to decide who would get to sell a $17.8-million collection of art offered by a Japanese electronics company. Christie's won.

3 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

i had the judge in my speeding ticket hearing here in west tell the cop and me to flip a coin...heads i pay the ticket ...tails i dont...we flipped and i had tails...cop was so pissed...but i had pleaded before hand if i got fined for speeding i would have less money to spend on beer at the local bar..(owned by the Chief Of Police) and Chief was saving to buy a new pair of cowboy boots..(chief was there) and he said..ya, if you fine her..it will add on another week before i will have the money for the boots...chief got new boots the next day..after i spent all night in the bar celebrating my win...this is a true story..wonder why i dont drink any more?

dom said...

Is that where the term fill your boots came from ?
Sounds like a wild west story there JS :)

yellowdoggranny said...

i never heard of that expression..fill your boots...die with your boots on ...and fill your hand you son of a bitch(john wayne...rooster cogburn)...yes..but not fill your boots...and it is a wild West,Texas story..