St George and St George \9\ IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO 05-2005-DR-022015-XXXX-XX IN RE The Marriage of NANCY ST GEORGE, Petitioner/Wife, and JAMES ST GEORGE, Respondent /Husband / TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS VOLUME I (Pages 1 - 191) Date Taken November 28, 2006 Place 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Viera, Florida Before Honorable Morgan Laur Reinman This cause came on to be heard at the time and place aforesaid, when and where the following proceedings were reported by JULIANA M CARY, FPR Court Reporter Notary Public, State of Florida at Large KING REPORTING & VIDEO CONFERENCE CENTER, INC 14 Suntree Place, Suite 101 Melbourne Viera, Florida 32940 Case #f 05-2005-OR-022015-XXX0-XX i 010634523 King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 ; H www kingreporting com12 13 14 16 a 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 St George and St George APPEARANCES APPEARANCES FOR THE PETITIONER/WIFE DIANA FIGUEROA, ESQUIRE 2111 Daary Road Melbourne, Florida 32940 APPEARANCES FOR THE RESPONDENT/HUSBAND DOUGLAS D MARKS, ESQUIRE BOYD & MARKS, LL C 709 § Harbor City Boulevard, Suite 230 Melbourne, Florida 32901 King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George INDEX OF PROCEEDINGS JUDGE'S RULING (Renewed Motion For Protective Order: JUDGE'S RULING (Petitioner/w#ife's Fourth Amended Motion For Continuance) JUDGE'S RULING {Ore Tenus Motion To Request Discovery Be Extended) JUDGE'S RULING (Motion To Strike Dr Williamson's Report JUDGE'S RULING (Request To Extend Trial Time JUDGE'S RULING (Emergency Motion To Extend Discovery Deadline, Add Deborah Day As Petitioner's Expert, Deborah Day To Testify December 4th)30 OPENING STATEMENT BY MS FIGUEROA 31 OPENING STATEMENT BY MR MARKS 41 PETITIONER/WIFE'S WITNESSES ROBERT C DUNWOODY, JR Direct Examination by Ms Figueroa Cross Examination by Mr Marks Redirect by Ms Figueroa Recross by Mr Marks Further Redirect by Ms Figueroa JAMES ST GEORGE Direct Examination by Ms Figueroa 104, 14 Voir Dire Examination 151 PHIL SALGADO Direct Examination by Ms Fagueroa King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com13 4 15 16 17 18 1g 20 21 22 23 24 No No St George and St George INDEX OF PETITIONER/WIFE'S EXHIBITS DESCRIPTION MARKED DvD 165 INDEX OF RESPONDENT/HUSBAND'S EXHIBITS DESCRIPTION MARKED Jobeonene NONE HHRRE King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com RECEIVED 165 RECEIVED10 ql 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 St George and St George WHEREUPON THE COURT We're here this morning with regard to the St George versus St George matter It's case number 05-2005-DR-022015 And, Ms Figueroa, state your name for the record and who you represent MS FIGUEROA Diana Figueroa I represent the petitioner, Nancy St George THE COURT Mr Marks, 1f you would, state your name for the record and who you represent MR MARKS Douglas Marks The husband, James St George THE COURT For purposes of today, I wanted to gave you the pro edure for the times today We're going to start promptly at 9 00 We're gong to take a break at 10 30 to 10 45 We're going to take a break at noon to 100 pm We're going to take a break at 2 45 to 300 pm Today we need to conclude at 4 30 I'm gaving you that information so that you can proceed accordingly wath your order of witnesses The first matter that I want to address this morning 1s Mr Feinberg's renewed motion for protective order He noticed that to be heard this morning at 900 am It's my understanding that he King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 2s on the telephone Mr Feinberg? MR FINEBERG Yes Good morning, Your Honor THE COURT This 1s Judge Reinman, and I'm in the courtroom with regard to the St George versus St George order It's my understanding we're here on your renewed motion for protective order MR FINEBERG Yes, that's correct THE COURT You may proceed MR FINEBERG Your Honor, I think that Mr Marks' subpoena goes to my receptionist, who 1s my wife Donna Lee Feinberg, and my secretary/paralegal, Kellie Holt, to testify at the trial Both were subpoenaed for an indefinite time during a rather lengthy trial period Both these people have already testified in open court concerning the facts and circumstances of Mrs St George's contact with our office, retaining of the office, the alleged act of domestic violence that occurred at the very beginning of this case They both testified at length They were subject to examination and cross-examination I believe that their testimony before the Court in open court was approximately a year ago King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George Their memories were certainly clearer about these incidents then than they are now They have had no further involvement with Mrs St George Our office obviously was terminated from representation an this case And at would be really duplicitous for them to be called back to testify concerning those same occurrences that they've already testified to in open court The Court presumably would have copious notes of their testimony And it would really be a waste of the Court's time, a waste of my office's time to have both of these people out at the same t. And one additional thing that applies to my wife as opposed to Ms Holt, she 1s unavailable to testify Friday She will be out of town with both of our children on an extended weekend vacation THE COURT Mr Marks, do you wish to respond MR MARKS I don't disagree with anything Mr Feinberg said m happy to use the transcript of their testimony, which I have But barring that, and depending what 1s presented by the petitioner, I need their testimony, I'm happy to use their prior testimony in the form of the transcript THE COURT I'm going to hear from Ms King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 11 12 13 14 15 St George and St George Figueroa in a moment Do you have any objection to them testifying by telephone? MR MARKS No THE COURT Ms Figueroa MS FIGUEROA There's no objection THE COURT No objection to using the transcript? MS FIGUEROA No objection to using the transcript No objection to them testifying by phone 1f need be THE COURT Mr Marks, you say you have the transcript of thear testimony, both their testimony? I also have notes I could go back and get my notes MR MARKS I believe that I have the transcript of the entire injunction hearing We can make copies of their testimony and present it to the Court THE COURT Is it my understanding that neither Mr Marks nor Ms Figueroa object to the Court reading the transcript from the testimony of Kellie Holt and Donna Feinberg for purposes of the trial proceeding, the current trial proceeding? Mr Marks MR MARKS Correct King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreportang comSt George and St George COURT Ms Figueroa MS FIGUEROA That's correct, Your Honor THE COURT Okay Wathout objection then, Mr Feinberg, I'm going to grant your motion, and that an lieu of live testimony, the Court will consider the prior transcript MR FINEBERG Thank you very much, Your Honor THE COURT If you could just do me a brief order so the file 1s clear MR FINEBERG I will do that Thank you, Judge Have a nice day THE COURT You, too MR MARKS Judge, I do have the transcript Rather than give you the whole transcript, I'll just make copies of the -- THE COURT Appropriate testimony MR MARKS Correct THE COURT That would be acceptable Gave me @ moment The next thing I show that needs to be addressed by the Court 1s Ms Figueroa, on behalf of the petitioner/wife, has filed an amended notice of hearing with regard to some motions I'm referring to the one dated November 24th, 2006 King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 10 scheduling these motions to be heard at the non-jury trial The first motion 1s the motion to prohibit respondent from allowing the minor child to shoot guns It 1s my understanding that we had previously discussed this motion and that I will hear that motion as part of the trial testimony and rule on that accordingly MS FIGUEROA Correct COURT The second motion -- MARKS Judge, may I make one point about. COURT Yes, you may MR MARKS The beebee gun in question 1s not something that you can just walk into the courthouse with So whenever you want to hear that, I think at would probably be advisable -- you know, we can have a deputy accompany us to get it This 1s not something we can just walk into the courthouse wat! THE COURT So what you would like to do with regard to that motion 1s bring in the beebee gun in question for the Court to view 1t? MR MARKS Well, at some poant, we would probably want the Court to see it, and Kung Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comt George and St George Dr St George can demonstrate what happened But. at's not something that we can just walk in with THE COURT Well, af they go forward on that an their case, when it's your case, if you choose to do that, when we take a break, we can make arrangements with my deputy for that to happen MR MARKS Thank you THE COURT With regard to the next motion that the Court will address 1s the petitioner/wife's fourth amended motion for continuance Ms Figueroa, do you wish to go forward on that? MS FIGUEROA Yes, Your Honor THE COURT You may at this time MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, my fourth amended motion for continuance indicates this Court ordered mson This that a psychological by Dr will evaluation was ordered on August 2005 and was provided to petitioner and her counsel on November 13th and November 14th, just day days before the scheduled trial, which then was November 22nd This Court hen gave us a few days to start on this date, on the 28th Now, since that time, I've reviewed that King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FI (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 12 report And the report prepared by Dr W1lliamson us not only confusing, it's lengthy, and it's massing significant information The Court allowed petationer's, the petitioner to retain the services of Dr Deborah Day to reevaluate Dr W21liamson's procedures, his testang, and conclusions This Court signed an order on November 17th at 450 pm to allow our office to obtain Dr Williamson's raw data and complete file Wathout such an order, Dr Williamson indicated that he refused to provide his data The next business day, which would have been Monday, was November 20th He made his report available in the morning This was only eight days, or three business days prior to the current scheduled trial due to the Thanksgiving holiday On November 20th, I received a large sealed box This box had to be driven by a courier service to Dr Deborah Day's office in Winter Park, Orlando, and that was, in fact, delivered to her by 400 pm onthe 20th This Court allowed counsel to take the deposition of Dr Williamson on November 22nd from 900 am to 100 The deposition was, in fact, taken and could not be completed in the allotted time, and it had to be King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 ql 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 St George and St George ae concluded due to the fact that time ran out Dr Walliamson had appointments immediately following, and the deposition had to be concluded Also, Dr Williamson, mistakenly when we delivered his box to my office, he gave all of his original documents, which 1s something that 1s normally not done All the original documents by the time of his deposition had been sent to Dr Day Dr Walliamson did not have a file in order to answer certain questions and had to go from memory His office had failed to make copies so that he would have copies of his file for his deposition Now, after taking this partial deposition of Dr Williamson, it has become apparent that my client, 1n all fairness, will require a separate psychological evaluation It has come to my attention that the MMPI-2 may not have been scored correctly Now, this Court has made a representation previously that 1t was going to make a decision that one parent would have the exclusive right to make all medical decisions regarding the minor child, as a respondent in this case 1s a medical doctor The petitioner believes that substantial King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 4 deference will be given to the respondent over and above her interest Now, wath regard to my motion for continuance the last time you heard a motion for continuance Mr Marks made representations how there was some danger or a safety threat to the child for this case to proceed on a continuance basis No expe: an this case has represented that the minor child as in any current danger as proposed by Mr Marks The mother has been and shall continue to be severely and substantially prejudiced should the trial proceed as scheduled without having provided her adequate time to have her own expert, Dr Deborah Day, properly review this report and have an independent psychological evaluation What I propose, Your Honor, since we've had many witnesses lined up, we have spent a considerable amount of money to get some of these experts here, and they have traveled, I would ask that the Court -- also, one of my motions is a notace of estimated trial time After reviewing Dr Williamson's report, I believe his testimony alone may take a day The estamated trial for our side alone 1s going to be five days I believe we will not even get to Nancy St George until the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 1s very end of the fourth, 1f possible She has had inadequate time to confer with the Dr Deborah Day Actually no time Due to the holiday there was absolutely no tame We have done everything that this Court has required of us We have worked to the last minute We have worked on the Thanksgiving Day, the next day, the entire weekend Dr Day has not been able to furnish us a report yet The time has been just too crunched Just for record, I want this Court to know this 1s severely prejudicing our case and our ability to properly question Dr Wallaiamson without havang Dr Day's report Also, the fact that he didn't even have a file during his deposition and the time was inadequate to complete his deposition at's highly unfair to proceed with at least those two witnesses So I would like the case to go ahead and begin, but I would like to have additional time -- 1f the case isn't concluded with those witnesses that we have additional time, and the court extend the discovery for those purposes so that she can actually have a fair trial in this case Thank you THE COURT Mr Marks, your response King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George a“ MR MARKS Well, judge, first of all, I think we should, in any event, points big and small, T thank we should strive for accuracy The order appointing Dr Walliamson was signed by this Court on October 17th of 2005 I have that in front of me Not August August 30th thas Court entered an order for a full custody evaluation, and then directed the parties to see 1f they could agree on someone to conduct that evaluation That turned out to be Dr Williamson And the order appointing him 1s not in August but 1n October So I think we should try to be accurate about these matters In terms of Dr Day, Dr Day has been discussed with this Court going back until September when we were here for a continuance when we were going to try this case to begin with The assue of Dr Wallaamson's file, my understanding of what happened by virtue of what Dr Walliamson said, 1s he got the order late on Friday I think the order wasn't even entered untz1 about 10 05 on Friday He did not have the capacity, it's a voluminous file, to make copies for myself, Ms Figueroa, Deborah Day So what he did was he forwarded his box of King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreportang com10 qi 12 13 14 a7 18 19 20 21 22 23 St George and St George W original documents to Ms Figueroa, who, my understanding, even though she was supposed to get a copy, took the only box, the only file, the only copy without opening it or checking to see whether there was one copy, two copies, three copies, sent the whole box to Deborah Day 0 I don't have a copy Dr Walliamson doesn't have his copy Ms Figueroa doesn't have a copy And from what I understand, since this came to our attention on Wednesday morning at Dr Day's deposition, I haven't heard about any effort to get this file back from Deborah Day I called Deborah Day's office in an attempt to discuss getting the file back I got a call from nist asking 1f I was an attorney and her recept.) who was I an attorney for I informed them I was an attorney for Dr St George, and I never got a call So, you know, certainly it's not the respondent's fault that this file was not in Dr Walliamson's possession And we would ask that since this 1s a witness under the control of the petitioner that all speed be used to get this file back so that Dr Williamson can have a copy of 1t when he testifies King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George ae In terms of his deposition, his deposition was scheduled for four hours because Ms Figueroa at the hearing on November 15th said that's what she needed I have a transcript of that hearing On page 28 of that transcript, the Court was on the phone with Dr Williamson's office and talking to someone named Harriett 1n his office And Ms Figueroa said, tell her about the length of time We would need until 1 00 And then the Court said, you would be needed from 9 00 until 100 And that's what he scheduled, and he was deposed for four hours And you can can't filibuster your way into a continuance There has to be some reasonable lamutation on the questions you ask, how many times you ask them in the same manner And his report was fully explored and fully delved into in a four-hour period of time What we're being told is well, you know, I don't have a report from Dr Day I don't know what Dr Day 18 going to say, but I know that her testimony 1s going to take a day I just don't see how you can know that In terms of the length of trial, we were here an September when this case was ready to be tried King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 ul 13 14 15 16 1 18 19 20 22 23 24 St George and St George 19 The Court, after continuing the trial, had a detailed discussion with counsel as to how long they thought the trial was going to take We had very specific discussion as to who was going to get which trial days, and everybody was on the same page that this case was going to take five days, and we got 40 percent of the trial days Three days were allocated to the petitioner, and two days were allocated to us Now we're being told that that estimate was wildly wrong That all of a sudden now for some reason now five days 1s required to take the petitioner's case Under the evidence code 96 12, which deals wath the mode and order of interrogation and presentation, indicates that the judge shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of the anterrogataon of witnesses and presentation of evidence so as to facilitate the discovery of the truth, but, B, avoid needless consumption of me The Court 1s entitled under this rule and under the general law that the Court 1s in control of ats own courtroom to exercise reasonable limitations on the length of a proceeding, and so that 1t bears some reasonable relationship to the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 ql 12 14 15 16 A 18 St George and St George eo assues that are presented And I don't think that 1t's reasonable to say at this juncture that five days 1s needed for one side's case when this case has been noticed for trial, set for trial, continued from trial without anybody ever raising the specter that this was a case where the petitioner required five days Now, Dr Day, I can't prejudge what she is going to say But one expert 1s, under the law is not entitled to simply critique another without expressing an opinion of their own If she wants to say, hey, I reviewed the raw data, and I fand that 1t was interpr ted wrong, I guess so be it But beyond that, she cannot critique a report without an opinion of her own, which there has been no motion for independent psychological evaluation from the history of this case, from beginning to end Having had an evaluation, having had the child and the parents submit to that evaluation under the family law rules, that subsequent evaluation would require good cause, which has not been demonstrated So under the rules pertaining to the te! mony of expert witnesses and what they're allowed to say about other experts and what they're not allowed to King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreportang com10 ql 12 16 17 18 19 20 21 St George and St George oe say, I can only respectfully say that I can't conceive that this witness's testimony would take a day I would submit to the Court that this case ready to go to trial This case needs to go to trial I reiterate the points that I made at the prior hearing concerning the prejudice to the respondent, and the prejudice to this child to after almost two years get this highly acrimonious case resolved one way or another so that this child can go on with has life free of the burden of this proceeding MS FIGUEROA Brief response? THE COURT No For the record, this Court wants to point out that this case has had -- I would be the fourth judge Judge Barlow, Judge Rainwater, Judge maxwell That 1n the event this case was continued, I am changing divisions and would not be able to retain this case, so it would have a fifth judge Also, this case was originally set on a three-day non-jury docket commencing July 26, 2006 It was originally notaced, I believe, for two days Not a hundred percent sure of that At the pretrial conference for that docket, King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com11 12 13 14 15 16 19 20 21 St George and St George ae there was a Ore Tenus motion for continuance made on beh: of petitioner/wife The Court, in essence, granted that continuance, and took it off that traal docket, and set it for time certain August 25th, 2006, September 13th, 2006, and September 14th, 2006 for three days time certain Then there was a motion for continuance That motion filed on behalf of the petitioner wife The Court granted that motion for continuance, and the case was set for -- and it was moved to, at the request of the petitioner, it was extended for a five-day trial period That five-day trial period was September 22nd, September 28th -- MS FIGUEROA November THE COURT I'm sorry November 22nd November 28th, November 29th, November 30th, and I believe December Ist There was again a request for a continuance The Court granted that continuance partially And anstead of starting the trial on November 22nd, the Court moved the trial date to start November 28th, and extended one more day to December 4th, 2006 For those reasons and the reasons stated in denying the third amended motion for continuance the petataoner/wafe's fourth amended motion for King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 St George and St George ca) continuance 1s denied The Ore Tenus motion to request discovery be extended 1s denied Wath regard to the second motion set for today, motion to strike Dr Williamson's report this Court would point out that Mr Marks is correct 1n that there was a request for an andependent custodial evaluation That included psychological evaluations This Court granted that request That the parties themselves stipulated that Dr Willzamson would be the evaluator with regard to that custodial evaluation So the request to strike Dr W1lliamson's report 1s denied MS FIGUEROA I didn't even argue that yet THE COURT I think you did in your motion With regard to the request to extend the trial time, that 1s also denied I would point out that this case was originally set for two days The Court extended 1t at the request for the petitioner to three days, then the Court extended it at the request of the petitioner for five days The respondent -- petitioner's seventh amended pretrial statement which was filed November 14th, 2006 requests three days to try their portion of King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com12 13 14 16 a7 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 24 the case I have given them three days to try their portion of the case Obviously, I think all parties are aware it 1s difficult to carve out a five-day trial tame and give you a tame certain for five days It would be extremely difficult, especially with this Court leaving the family law bench, to carve out an additional two days Based on my experience with this case, which 1s extensive at this point, I believe that the petitioner can try their side of the case in the three days that they have been given So the request to extend the trial time 1s also denied I would ask Mr Marks to prepare the orders regarding these motions The next matter that needs to be addressed by this Court 1s Ms Figueroa sent in a proposed order dated November 24th regarding emergency motion to extend discovery deadline, and to add Deborah Day as petitioner's expert, and for Deborah Day to testify on December 4th Mr Marks, have you had an opportunity to review this order? MR MARKS The order, yes The only issue I have 1s the order provides that I only have an hour to speak with her 1 think we discussed that I King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 2s would speak with her before she testified about an hour But she's testifying on Monday If I can speak with her on the telephone over the weekend that could greatly expedite things I don't think I should be lamated to that And I would ask that she should be anstructed to talk to me MS FIGUEROA Your Honor -- THE COURT Just a minute I want to review my order, my notes My notes reflect that I granted the motion and that I said that you could speak with her for one hour before she testifies So I'm not going to put -- I can't order -- I don't have jurisdiction over Deborah Day I can't order her to cooperate But I could tell you that 1f she doesn't give you an opportunity to speak wath her for an hour, I'm going to recess the trial for an hour and that day, December 4th, as Ms Figueroa, that's one of her days, so that would carve into her time by an hour So it would be in everyone's best interest that -- IT suggest that Dr Deborah Day make herself available outside of my trial time to speak with Mr Marks So I think the order does accurately reflect the Court's ruling, and I'm going to sign the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 qt 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 26 order Give me just one moment There's also a second order Ms Figueroa your of! ce didn't provide copies But anyway there's a second order regarding Donna Solomon's deposition 1n lieu of trial testimony It simply says that that is denied I believe that accurately reflects the Court's ruling, so I'm going to sign that order as well Probably won' be able to get you copies until after the break, but we will do that as soon as we're able MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, just for the record, and the record 1s very important to us, that I want the record to reflect that Dr Williamson's report was provided after your discovery cutoff date, which 1s November 10th THE COURT That's in your motion, and you have relayed that previously an your other motions for contanuances MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, also ~~ THE COURT I'm going to run a tight ship here today I don't want people to speak unless I ask you to speak MS FIGUEROA Well, I have another pretrial matter THE COURT My next question was do we have King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com12 13 14 15 16 a7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 27 George and St George any other preliminary matters that need to be addressed MS FIGUEROA Yes, Your Honor THE COURT Okay Are t nere any preliminary matter that need to be addressed, Ms Figueroa? MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, Mr Marks! office began faxing documents to our office after 5 00 last night Apparently I have been told it was about a hundred pages, because I was going to have at faxed to the law brary thas morning I've been here since 7 30 THE COURT What 1s it? MS FIGUEROA I don't even know The only thing I do have is they added exhibits as of yesterday that they contend -~ THE COURT If Mr Marks intends to introduce those exhibits, you can bring up an objection at that time MS FIGUEROA Okay THE COURT Any other preliminary matters that need to be addressed before we begin? MR MARKS Yes, Your Honor I would like to address the issue of getting this file back from Dr Day I don't know what the status of that is THE COURT When do you intend for King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 qt 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 St George and St George 28 Dr Walliamson to testify? MR MARKS Thursday morning at 9 00 THE COURT Can we have the file back by Thursday morning at 9 00 am ? MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, I can't answer for Dr Day Everything has been last minute She needs adequate time to prepare I do not know that And it was Dr Williamson's failure to make copies over the weekend When he delivered something 1n a sealed box, I wanted to make sure there was no allegation that I tampered with the raw data It was delivered as I received it THE COURT Well, I'm certainly not going to punish Dr Wallaamson for making an effort to allow your expert to get the file as soon as possible So if the file 1s not here at 9 00 am and that affects -- I would hate for you to use it against Dr Wallaamson that he doesn't have his file to review because your expert has the file So we need to get that file back I'm not going to take any action about that at this tame, but I think it would be 1n everyone's best interest that Dr Wallaamson have that file by the time he testifies at 9 00 am on Thursday MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, at their expense, King Reporting & Vadeo Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 ql 12 13 15 16 A 18 1g 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 29 they could go down to Winter Park, make copies of the file Copies should have been made They can go do that THE COURT I'm not going to take any action on that at this tame I'm just suggesting to both parties that it's in everyone's best interest And I would hope that the two attorneys could cooperate between your offices I don't see much cooperation based on the history of this case And that's concerning to the Court regarding the lack of cooperation between the attorneys I would point out that that has made this case more difficult We have had a lot of such problems as this that should have been avoided But it is my suggestion that the file get back If the file us not here at that time, then the Court will address 1t and deal with 1t appropriately But it 1s my suggestion that the file be with Dr Walliamson when he testifies at 9 00 am on Thursday morning Any other preliminary matters that need to be addressed before we begin? Ms GUEROA I would just request that Mr Marks make an effort to get the file I can contact Dr Day's office, but he would have to have King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 30 copies THE COURT I'm not sure 1f Dr Day even knows what the problem 1s MS FIGUEROA Yes, she does THE COURT She's your witness, and Mr Marks has represented that she hasn't returned his call Perhaps you could also make a phone call and say that we need to make an effort to get that file back MS FIGUEROA So you want her to turn over the orginal documents to Mr Marks? TRE COURT She needs to get back the originals Yes MS FIGUEROA And who 1s going to make the copies? THE COURT Normally -- Mr Marks, your response with regard to that MR MARKS We'll make the copies THE COURT Any other preliminary matters that need to be addressed before we began? Ms Figueroa, opening statement on behalf of the wife/petitioner MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, for the record, I represent the petitioner, Nancy St George The parties have been married for seven years, and the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 aa 12 13 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 St George and st George 31 date of their marriage 1s June 27th, 1999 The parties separated on February 11th, 2005, after the arrest of Mr St George Nancy St George 1s 46 years of age, and her date of birth 1s August 17th, 1960 Her current residence as Somerville Drive in Melbourne where she lives with her separate daughters, Holly Rauch, who just turned 18, who also attends college at Florida State University Nancy also has an adult daughter, Serena Rauch, who 1s 22 years of age and lives in Syracuse, New York The minor child of the parties 1s Jamie St George, who 1s six years old, and his date of birth 1s April 5, 2000 The issue for this Court to decide are custody, as Mrs St George has been the primary and sole care provider for this child and is going to be requesting permanent custody, reasonable visitation for Mr St George She is also requesting the first right of refusal, child support, an income-deduction order, life insurance to insure the child's support, equitable distribution, alimony, and attorney's fees, as well as cost The evidence 1s going to show that over the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George =. course of this marriage, Mr St George has had several job changes He has had difficulty with previous coworkers, employers He has had negatave evaluations Due to his employment changes, the parties have lived in different cities and different states Mrs St George has always been the primary care provider, and for a period of approximately one year or so, the sole care provider for Jamie This was due to the fact that Mr St George lived ana different state than the mother and the child The evidence will show that while Mr St George 1s requesting custody in this case he has at best had limited involvement and participation in the minor child's life during the marriage and even during the separation Nancy St George has been primary care provider for Jamie on a 24/7 basis And because of her significant anvolvement, she has noticed that her son early on was not progressing like other children, and she sought out help for her son Since the separation, Mr St George has failed to participate in taking his son to any appointments at Brevard Learning Clinic, any appointments with Ann Wolfram, the child's King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 11 12 13 a7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 St George and St George ot counselor, and Dr Mosher The evidence will show, among other things, that Mr St George has resisted the diagnosis of his son and medication prescribed by Dr Mosher This child at about 18 months was diagnosed with ADHD Dr Mosher 1n 2006 diagnosed him with ADHD, and Mr St George anterfered with that diagnosis and argued with 1t He has never to date attended an IEP meeting or any school meeting for Jamie The evidence will show that 1t has always been Mi s St George seeking out and taking the child to educators, mental health providers, doctors, as well as IEP meetings to address the needs of her son Her primary interest has always been her son, and she has done this for the most part without the assistance of Mr St George The evidence we believe will be overwhelming to support her request for permanent primary custody The evidence 1s also going to show that when Mr St George has had visitation with his separate daughter, Katie, that 1t was Mrs St George again who was primary care provider for Katie and not Mr St George The evidence 1s going to show that if you have King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George cs the big picture here, Your Honor, the first five years the father had absolutely no problems with the mother addressing the child's needs But now he, the evidence 1s going to show he's looking to erase the first five years and focus on a short term after this custody litigation began The evidence 1s going to show that many professionals here are going to tell you that the child has special issues The evidence 1s going to show that this case 1s about the father's ego He doesn't want his son to have problems It embarrasses him The evidence 1s also going to show that Mr St George has refused visitation on occasion has neglected to contact his son or return his calls when the child 1s with his mother The Court wall hear a multitude of evidence in that regard Mr St George has refused to confer with the mother when he has requested a change of clinician at the Brevard Learning Clinic The evidence 1s going to show that he requested that Nancy stop E-mailing him and requested no contact with her Further, Mr St George did not allow Nancy St George to obtain records at the Brevard Learning Clinic until he finally signed a release King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 35 in September of 2006 The evidence 1s going to show that Mr st George has set out on a course to take custody away from Nancy The facts in this case will show that Mr St George has never been involved with either of his two children and has never had primary care of either of his children The case 1s going to show that he was very angry when he was arrested, and it wasn't untal February 11th that he became interested in seeking custody That's February 11th, 2005 Mr St George has researched parental alienation He has retained a Dr Bone in an effort to attempt to set up this case to look like parental alienation However, the evidence will show, as well as Dr Wallaamson wall agree, this case does not support a parental alienation syndrome He has gone through several attorneys in this quest He retained the services of a Mr Todd, who also referred him to a Dr Plaud These individuals the evidence 1s going to show help men assisting them in strategic means to get custody He has paid substantial monies for these individuals Interestangly, Mr St George has had a King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 36 psychosexual evaluation done in Massachusetts with a Dr Plaud And even Dr Williamson has commented that 1t has no relevance in this case The evidence will show that Mr St George lakes to use the fact that he's a radiologist and makes a substantial amount of money and has attempted to influence the experts in this case The evidence 1s going to show he can afford to litigate this case at any expense The evidence will show that he state to Nancy St George that no one would believe her, that everyone would believe him because he's a doctor The evidence 1s going to show that according to Dr Walliamson that Mr St George is antamidating, controlling, manipulative The evidence 15 going to show he's deceitful Mr St George has caused incidents of domestic violence since 1999 The evidence 15 going to show that his immaturity in causing a car accident while playing chicken with his wife in the car The evidence will show he has inappropriately used corporal punishment with Jame, that he's been abusive to the family pet in what he believes to be a humorous incident King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 4. 12 13 14 20 21 22 23 24 St George and St George Unfortunately, the evidence is going to show Mr St George lack of insight to his son's disabilities and emotional issues He has wrongfully claimed that the mother purposely made the child sick so she could stay home and collect money As part of his lack of insite, the evidence 1s gong to show that he had his y beebee gun to blow up bottles Dr Mosher and Dr Wallaamson wll both testify his action was most unappropriate with regard to this child The evidence will also show that he has shown his son to play adult violent video games on the computer against Mrs George's request and against the advice of both Dr Mosher and Dr Wallaamson The evidence will also show Mr St George has King Reporting & Video erence Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com2 J 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 1 serious parenting issues, has made inappropriate parenting 38 decisions 1n this case He has called the mother a an F’ing C-U-N-T, a bitch and other foul names in front of the child You wall hear evidence as to how the child repeats these words The evidence 1s going to show he has called the child a liar to his face The evidence 1s also going to show that he introduced his young son to a current girlfriend without any regard as to how it would affect his son Now, the evidence 1s also going to show that due to Mr St George's work hours, his new -- his new girlfriend 1s the one who has taken Jamie to some of the scheduled appointments with the Brevard Learning Clinic My client 15 going to be requesting the farst right of refusal any time that Mr St George 1s not available with the child Your Honor, significantly the Court 1s going to hear testimony that Mr St George has self-medicated and written prescriptions for Nancy for medications that he takes himself but did not want anyone to know ‘The evidence 1s also going to be show in this case he unlawfully obtained Nancy King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 qt 12 13 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George _ St George's medical records that he provided to Dr Wallaamson We also believe the evidence 1s going to show that Mr St George has had an unstable life He has had an extramarital affair while married to the mother of his daughter That girlfriend became pregnant That baby was aborted The pattern of deceit has continued in his marriage with Nancy, and he has had an extramarital affair during this marriage He has used marital monies to support these affairs The evidence 1s also going to show that consistent with his manipulation he has caused a change of clinicians at the Brevard Learning Clinic wathout knowledge to the mother It was later discovered that the new clinician was a friend of his girlfriend and the girlfriend's daughter works with Mr St George The Court will learn that this change of clinicians will add to the detriment of Jame There are some issues of equitable distribution that need to be addressed by this Court Among other things, Mr St George 2s believed to have sold marital property and has taken a ring worth $20,000 that needs to be King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreportang comSt George and St George 40 resolved by the Court Mr St George has failed to file taxes since 2001 Mrs St George will be seeking one half of the tax refunds for the tax years 2002 through 2005 There will be other items as far as bank accounts and assets that the Court wall need to equitably divide The evidence is also going to show that Mrs St George has a serious and significant anjury to her back and health issues that restr! her ability to work There has been a medical evaluation done by Dr Robinson, who will be testifying to verify her medical disability There has been a vocational assessment done by Ellen Fernandez that will be introduced in this trial to substantial her need for permanent or debilitative alimony As to child support, we have prepared a child support worksheet, and wall be requesting the guidelines to the Court and to consideration to an upward departure due to Jamie's special needs Mrs St George 1s requesting an ancome-deduction order as Mr St George has allowed his girlfriend to write child support. checks and put inappropriate notes and remarks on the checks We'll also be asking for life King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 41 ansurance to insure Mr St George's support obligations And for the final issue, as to attorney fees. there 1s absolutely no question in this case there 1s a substantial disparate of income And Mr St George should be ordered to pay all her attorney fees and costs in this case A complete accounting will be provided to the Court Actually, an accounting as to the cost funds for which the Court gave us $15,000, that accounting has been filed with the Court Thank you THE COURT Mr Marks, opening statement on behalf of the husband/respondent MR MARKS Thank you, Judge Judge, as the Court knows, pursuant to statute, the father gets the same consideration in a custody case as the mother What we have to have here, according to the statute, according to the case law, which I'll address in final argument, is we have to have an ampartial evaluation of the statutory factors which are listed in Section 61 13 I think when we go through those factors, in light of the evidence in this case, the conclusion 1s going to be inescapable in that those factors King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 qi 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 42 favor the father clearly, and it's in the best anterest of this child that he get custody first In terms of who 1s more likely to allow frequent continuing contact, we need only look to how this case began Following the injunction for domestic violence which was entered ex parte in this case the day after Mrs St George retained Mr Feinberg, the day after she cleaned out their bank account, and immediately subsequent to the time that he said that he just wasn't going to leave the house, he didn't see his son for three months at all, no contact Because Mrs St George for no just reason checked the box on that anjunction that there should be no visitation Three months no contact whatsoever On the farst time that he was to get contact wath his son after that, the very first visitation, the evidence 1s going to show that they appointed tame and place at the police station she didn't show up claiming that the child was, quote, sick On the very first weekend that he had visitation when the child returned home, the child was 1n interrogated, photographed, interviewed by DCF over claimed issues of abuse that had taken place on his first visitation Dr St George had King Reporting & Video Conference Center ourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 1. 12 13 14 15 a7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George oo problems repeatedly with phone contact with his son He had to go to court to get summer visitation The evidence 15 going to show that Mrs St George simply has a significant problem with allowing frequent and continuing contact She has a tremendous problem the evidence 1s going to show you with shared parental decision-making And the evidence 1s clear that throughout the course of this case she has engaged in unilateral decision-making concerning this child Thas child, as the evidence 1s going to show, does have learning disabilities And Dr St George has never denied that In fact, the evidence 1s going to show you he has championed to getting this child to various caregivers who can help in that regard But nonetheless, the child began an evaluation wath Dr Deffenbach, who will testify trying to get an evaluation and his difficulty when Mrs St George learned that Dr Deffenbach had talked to Dr St George And, again, this was during a period of time during the injunction That she had talked to Dr St George, Mrs St George on her own, unilaterally, terminated the evaluation And King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 qi 12 13 4 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George Dr St George, the one who the petitioner contends as in denial as to his child's condition, went to court to get an order to continue with that evaluation When the child first began to be seen by Dr Mosher, and Dr Mosher initiated or recommended called Mrs St George and said that he had some concern about the medication The evidence 1s going to show you that parents who go through this process of having a child who needs psychiatric evaluation and a recommendation, that that's a wrenching thing for them And he said to Mrs St George not that he didn't want to give the medication, but he wanted to talk about it He wanted to discuss it with her That he felt it was a serious medication Mrs St George's response was to initiate the medication before talking to him Medication that ultimately Dr Mosher took Jamie off because it did not agree with ham and put him on medication that he's been on now for about a year The Court has already had hearings, and we will again present the evidence as to how Mrs St George, against the will of Dr St George or King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 45 re 1 without his knowledge, took the child to a Dr 2 VanLue 1n Orlando involving some sensory 3 antegration therapy How the parents discussed it 4 and Dr St George said that he wanted to 5 investigate 1t and look into it before he agreed to 6 at 7 Then his child came for visitation carrying a 8 request for blood work, and that Dr St George 9 made very clear that he had decided that he didn't 10 wash this blood work to proceed Despite that, the blood work did proceed And Dr St George will 12 testify that his son showed up for visitation with 13 a bag full of medications that he had never agreed 14 to, that had not been prescribed by his treating 15 psychiatrist, hadn't been prescribed by his 16 pediatrician 17 We have the whole situation with Dr Jacoby 18 where an evaluation of Jamie by Dr Jacoby took 19 place without his knowledge, without his consent 20 and with the active participation of 21 Mrs St George 22 We have situations existing today where there 23 are concerns as to whether Jamie 1s being given the 24 medication that he 1s prescribed by Dr Mosher 25 And I would submit to the Court that one of the King Reporting & Vadeo Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 46 issues in this case is that these are the behaviors that Mrs St George exhibits while under the external pressure of a custody case A critical factor in this case, and it's a statutory factor, 1s the mental health of the parents And the evidence 1n this case, and the clear diagnosis of Dr Walliamson, as the Court will hear, 1s that the wife has serious psychopathology That she has longstanding chronic psychological problems That she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of childhood experiences exacerbated by her first marriage to a Mr Rauch That she 1s suffering from major depression That she has borderline histrionic personality traits And that he made this diagnosis based on the history that she provided, based upon the records that he reviewed based upon his testing, based upon his observation of her, and multiple interviews with her And the evidence 1s going to show that there us serious concern regarding her psychological stability, and that the recommendation of Dr Wallaamson is that she receive intensive psychotherapy The evidence 1s also going to show that her King Ri orting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George ou psychological conditions, conditions that she has suffered from for a long time, impact and spil over on her parenting and seriously affect the way that she relates to this child In comparison, what the evidence 1s going to show from the testimony of Dr Williamson 1s that the father certainly 1s not perfect, and no one is but he's essentially normal Which 1s remarkable an and of itself given the demonization of the father that just continued until a few minutes ago where he has been accused of being excessively dascaplining the child, threatening and antamadating the child, being addicted to of things, whach the evidence 1s going to show are supported by no one other than the allegations of Mrs St George, none of which were found by Dr Walliamson in his evaluation of Dr St George Critical factor in this case, and, again, a statutory factor, 15 the home, community, and school record of this child And I think what the evidence 1n this case 1s going to show, Your Honor as it 1s the interaction between parent and child that 1s at the heart of this case The evidence 1s going to show you that this King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George ae 1 child has learning disabilities He has had speech 2 delay and language delay for a long time Both 3 parties recognize that this child was evaluated at 4 an early age when the parties lived in New York, 5 when the parties lived in New Jersey, and upon them 6 moving to Florida No one has ever been in denial 1 about that 8 Thas whole issue of the Brevard Learning 9 Clinic, which 1s a clinic that supplements the 10 school system by providing help for children with Bey learning disabilities, 15 something that was 12 anitiated by Dr St George upon the recommendation 13 of Dr Walliamson 14 The evidence will show you know one has ever 15 been in denial about the fact that this child has 16 learning disabilities Dr Mosher will tell you u that this chid nad 18 Now, what the evidence will show you 1s that 19 when he was younger and he had language problems 20 and speech problems, he did become extremely 21 frustrated by the fact that it was a lack of 22 communication between him and his world And he 23 would become extremely frustrated, he would bang 24 his head, bang his hands, become aggressive But 25 then over time as his speech and language King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 49 difficulties improved to a degree those behaviors amproved with at He does evidence at times the behaviors associated with ADKD, including some progressive behaviors But the fact of the matter in this case us that the mother, who reports these behaviors to a degree and to a frequency that nobody else does The mother reports tremendous problems with yelling and screaming and violence and banging his head and threats of suicide Yet these are not seen in Dr Mosher's clinic Dr Mosher who has been treating this child for a year has not observed these behaviors an his clinic, and, in fact, will testify that this child is responding well to the medication that he's under And that when he has seen the child, the child presents with a bright affect, that he's a happy child, and that he's aumproving The mother has reported to Dr Mosher that the child has responded well to the medication These behaviors are not seen at school where clearly the child has learning difficulties He was retained an kindergarten, and he does have an educational maturation level below his peers But socially the chald 1s well adapted at school, and all of has King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreportang com10 4. 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 50 teachers report he's not a behavioral problem at school, and that has behavior 1s fine at school and that he has gone from a special education class to a regular kindergarten class So the behaviors that the mother reports aren't see at school These behaviors the evidence is going to show you are not seen in Dr St George's home, in his home, as reported by ham and the people who lave with him an his home That the child responds to an his environment with Dr St George limit setting, discipline And Dr Walliamson I submit to the Court the evidence will show will provide you the thread on which to connect these seemingly disparate things And that 1s the parental intera\ on between parent and child And what the evidence 2s going to show you 1s that because of her psychological profile, because of the psychological problems that she has suffered for a long time, that Mrs St George 1s just incapable of controlling this child And in the words of Dr Williamson, the child controls the mother That this 1s a child would 1s in need of lamit setting, and Mrs George 1s not capable of providing that limit setting on a regular basis That this as a child who gets that lamt setting King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 ql 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George a from his father In fact, the evadence 1s going to show you that the mother's interaction with the child actually reinforces the behaviors about which she complains the most, and that she 1s unable to separate her emotional needs from those of the child And thus while the bond between them is strong, there 1s question about the quality of that bond The evidence 1s going to show you that Mrs St George has poor insight into these issues, and feels that this whole custody case 1s just a desire by Dr St George to hurt her, of refusing to acknowledge that he has justifiable concerns about the well-being of has child, as Dr Walliamson will testify The evidence 1s also going to show you that when Mrs St George encounters limit setting, discipline, things that this child needs, she perceives them as abuse because of her background, because of the things that Dr St George has diagnosed, Dr Williamson has diagnosed So we submit that the father, under that statutory criteria, 1s far better able to provide what this particular child needs, which is a stable, King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 1 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 St George and St George 52 structured environment where limits are set for him Now, this whole issue about Dr Williamson -- excuse me, Dr St George being 1n denial as to the situations that his child suffers from, as I mentioned, in terms of his learning disabilities, Dr St George has always been proactive in trying to get this child to get help for these learning Gasabilities He participated in and was a mover an getting the early evaluations done He was a proponent, actually came to court to get Dr Dueffenbach's evaluation done He was a proponent -- and I think it's Dr D1effenbach's evaluation that led to Dr Mosher's involvement He was a proponent of going to the Brevard Learning Clinic, who dismissed this child from their program because he was not ready for the program that they teach They teach a program called Lips, which is described as an aggressive program This child was not ready for it They said he's not ready for And it had nothing to do with any of the behaviors that he experienced at the Brevard Learning Clinic In terms of t ese other issues, as Mrs St George has gone here and there to have the child King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 un 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 22 23 St George and St George 53 evaluated here and there, what Dr St George has consistently said, let's get the input of the people who are involved in treating this child He has not been in denial of anything He has taken, the evidence will show, a reasonable, rationale approach So I think that when all the statutory factors are taken together, the Court should award the custody of this child to Dr St George In terms of equitable distribution assues, what the Court 1s going to find, while there was good cash flow in this relationship, there weren't a lot of assets And yet the Court is also going to find that the assets that did exist, first, they had a marital home which by stipulation was sold and the proceeds of that home have, the proceeds of that sale have already been divided The evidence 1s undisputed that just a day or two before initiating the divorce Mrs St George cleaned out the marital bank accounts of approximately $37,000 There were five or so paychecks of Dr St George that had been accumulating 1n the house and had not been cashed They were all cashed at the same time, and she went and cleaned out those funds King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 54 There were also $74,000 an an account in New Jersey, a PNC account, which she has had control of and has essentially spent that money In fact, there 1s a question as to where all this money has gone to Because when we look at the $37,000 that she took, the $74,000 1n the bank account, the $53,000 that remained from the proceeds of the sale of the house after she bought a new house, and some $28,450 that she received in child support arrearage, some $194,000 in cash that she has had at her disposal since this case began and which 1s essentially gone, one wonders where that money went given the fact that for the first many months of this case, Dr St George was essentially paying all of the expenses of the marital home, the mortgage, the utilities, the cars, and all that, and has been paying in alimony and child support $2,800 plus a car payment since the temporary order was entered in this case In terms of alimony, this 1s at the time of the parties file for divorce, the short-term marriage, I believe 1t was five-and-a-half years at that point, the Court 1s well aware the presumption against permanent alimony in such a situation with a short-term marriage The evidence will show that King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 a. 12 13 14 15 16 a7 18 20 21 22 24 25 St George and St George $5 the wife 1s capable of working And while Ms Fernandez has come in and says the path that she takes might be to become a teacher and that she's able to do that, the evidence 1s going to show you that in the almost two years, February of 2005 this case started, she has done virtually nothing to take any progress along those lines She's taken a couple courses at BCC, but really hasn't done anything in that regard She has a history of owning her own business as a cosmetology business And the alimony issue in this case should be denied Thank you THE COURT Hold on just one minute Ms Figueroa, who would be your farst witness? MS FIGUEROA Dr Van Lou MR MARKS Your Honor, I object An order has already been entered precluding this witness from testifying MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, the order 1s as to his diagnosis and so forth But they have raised an issue that the child came home with a whole last of medications and so fo: that were a danger to the child They also raised an issue of notice, and on those two issues And he's also allowed to King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George oe testify generally speaking on the child behavioral problems So I think that would be inappropriate And the same also for Dr Deborah Jacoby, because she would be the second witness THE COURT You're saying that they are going to testify in not an expert capacity but as a lay witness? MS FIGUEROA Well, not as an expert as to this child, Jamie They are experts in what they do They can talk an general terms, and they can talk as to the notice that the father has been alleging that he did not receive, and the basis of that They're blaming that on the mother MR MARKS All I can tell the Court is the Court entered an order on November 9th precluding both of those indivaduals from testifying, at least as to expert testamony, I believe THE COURT I need to find that order Hold on just a minute 370 ‘Thank you MS FIGUEROA I believe, for the record, as to expert testimony, they were not allowed to testify THE COURT I don't want a lot of going back and forth You talk, he talks, then I decide who talks after that I need to review the order King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George oe Clearly the order dated November 9th, 2006 states that I granted the motion to preclude testimony of VanLue and Jacoby MS FIGUEROA As to their entire testimony, Your Honor? Because we have a notice issue that only they can answer That would again prejudice the mother I can understand 1f the Court felt that the father did not have notice to have expert diagnosis and any observation of the child THE COURT I asked you a few minutes ago it was as a layperson, and you said no MS FIGUEROA 11 have him testify as a layperson as to the very short issues THE COURT Mr Marks, what 1s your response that Dr VanLue can testify as a layperson only wath regard to the notice issues? MS FIGUEROA Notice and -- THE COURT I asked Mr Marks with regard to the notice Notice and what, Ms Figueroa? MS FIGUEROA As a layperson I'll ask questions MR MARKS Well, Your Honor, the Court, I believe, and I have a transcript of the hearing found that there was no notice The Court heard testimony at that hearing from both of the parties King Reporting & Vadeo Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 58 THE COURT Well, I heard proffer MR MARKS No They both testified I have a transcript THE COURT Who testfied? MR MARKS If I have the right hearing, I believe the mother and father both testified Was ut October 19th, the date of the hearing? THE COURT It 1s October 19th MR MARKS There 1s a transcript, and I believe that transcript will reveal that both the mother and father testified I have the transcript MS FIGUEROA I believe he's correct, Your Honor If I remember correctly, I think the parents, the parties did testify But Dr Deborah Jacoby didn't testafy, Dr Vanlue But I believe the parents did testify as to what they did as far as notice THE COURT I did make a finding that the Court finds that respondent did not receive appropriate notice of the examination, testing and/or treatment of the minor child by Dr VanLue and by Dr Jacoby, and the respondent did not consent thereto What I'm concerned about 1s that with the King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George ea Court denying the request for Dr VanLue to testify and Dr Jacoby to testify, that Mr Marks would be on notice that neither one of them 1s going to testify, and thus he's prejudiced by them testifying in any capacity, because this order doesn't clarify whether it's with regard to a layperson or whether it's in regard to an expert Ms Figueroa, your response to that MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, you didn't clarify as to what your ruling was In fact, it was my understanding was they couldn't testify as to any diagnosis that they did with regard to this child an this case As to what they do, you know, as a living and how they were retained 1s important to know THE COURT Why 1s that important to know in a custody, for the issues that are at hand in this case? MS FIGUEROA Well, frst of all, with regard to notice, they have -- he just said in his opening statement that she made these unilateral decisions to go out and hire people without notice and without his consent It's important to know from these experts that they did -- especially Dr VanLue did speak with the father That was King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreportang com11 12) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 60 never presented at that hearing We just had short testimony by the parties that he did speak with the father, who he 1s, why she sought him out They're trying to make her sound like she's crazy in some form seeking out these strange types of doctors who prescribe these strange medications that are a danger to the child And I just want to, in general terms, who he 1s, what he does THE COURT It seems like you're trying to rebut something that Mr Marks hasn't presented yet MS FIGUEROA Well, my case starts first And what I want to present 1s the, who he 1s and how people find out about Dr Vanlue Just very general things about how they find out about him THE COURT How does that help me decade which parent should be designated the primary residential responsibility? MS FIGUEROA Well, because they have made a claim in thear motions and in the opening that she as -- they're claiming her relationship with this child 1s patholo: al That she's seeking out anybody and everybody who may agree with her and that at's been at the detriment to Jamie And I want you to understand -- you dad not King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting comSt George and St George 61 know what the term DAN was, you didn't understand why she went there So I'm presenting her testamony to say who they are, what they do so that you hear from them Very limited It's not to be on an expert on this case or any -~ THE COURT If he gets the defanation of DAN, that's testifying as an expert MS FIGUEROA Well, she can tell you what the definition of DAN 1s But I think it's important that the Court knows how he even became involved in this case, that the mother didn't seek him out THE COURT Are you offering Dr Jacoby for the same purpose? MS FIGUEROA Same purpose THE COURT Mr Marks, your response MR MARKS Well, Judge, I think what is relevant here 1s not who the practitioner is who a party goes to without notice to the other party or whether they're good, bad, and indifferent The relevant fact is that the child was taken without notice And that precludes the testimony The fact that the treatment might have been reasonable or not reasonable 1s really not the issue before the Court Now, 1n addition to that, the order was King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 18 19 20 2. 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 62 without prejudice, so they certainly could have put us on notice that they antended to call these people for some other reason other than, you know th treatment of this child, and they didn't do that And I think given the way that this case has progressed, I certainly would have taken his deposition on that issue had I been aware of that The Court has already found that he wasn't given notice But based upon the testimony that was heard and said, these people are not going to testify without prejudice Well, they never raised at again MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, as to Dr Deborah Jacoby's deposition, I believe her deposition was scheduled for an hour and it was taken for four-and-a-half to five hours So there 1s absolutely no prejudice to him Dr VanLue -- Mr Marks has been on this case a lot longer than I have been His deposition could have been taker Dr St George has spoken to Dr VanLue extensively There's absolutely no prejudice It's also amportant that the Brevard Learning Clinic asked for a rule out i. nobody has provided that rule out properly And the only other thing I was going to have Dr Deborah Jacoby King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 ay 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 St George and St George 2 testify to 1s how a rule out such as that 1s done generally Not as to this case And I don't see why -- because the only thing we have 1s Dr Williamson, which I just learned from his report that he did something called CARS, a CARS test And that's only a checklist It's not really a testing That's my -- that was the other thing wath Dr Jacoby 1s going to testify as to that Also, Dr Jacoby and Dr Vanlue both have children with behavioral problems, and what they do as lay people on limit settings and the unique assues in this case THE COURT What they do as limit setting as a layperson 1s not relevant in these proceedings I entered a prior order November 9th, 2006 denying thear testimony That was without prejudice At this tame, I don't find that their testimony 1s relevant, and I'm going to deny the request for them to testify But I am going to make that without prejudice for you to call them an rebuttal in the event they can testify not as an expert, but as a layperson with regard to rebutting something that 1s presented before the Court MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, the only problem King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kingreporting com11 12 13 14 15 16 1 18 19 20 22 23 25 St George and St George a with that 1s that 1s going to double the fees If I can just talk to them about the notice, they are here this morning THE COURT Ms Figueroa, that's not my problem That's not my problem at this time I'm not going to allow them to testify and waste the Court's time for something at this point I don't find to be relevant Now, if it's brought up in the testimony and you can proffer their testimony to rebut something that 1s brought up, then I'll reconsider whether they can testify with regard to rebuttal But at this tame, there 1s a prior order I think that that should have been something that was brought before the Court whether they could testify before the expense was incurred That was not brought before the Court ‘There was enough pretrial motions filed af I thought that was relevant, I would have gotten that -- I made an effort to get all the motions heard pretrial I want to point out for the record that I scheduled on my own time prior to any motions being filed two two-hour discovery hearings to insure that this case would proceed properly as scheduled I don't normally do that I do that in extenuating King Reportang & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting comSt George and St George 65 carcumstances I did that in this case I had approximately three hearings last week with regard to motions that were filed that were not on my schedule I made time to squeeze those an If there had been a motion filed to ask that they testify, 1n what capacity, and I felt it was relevant, I would have made an attempt to get that an pretrial as well so that the expense would not have been incurred But at this time, the Court has ruled with regard to the testimony of Dr VanLue and Dr Jacoby Okay Ms Figueroa, who would be your next watness? MS FIGUEROA I'll need a five-minute break Your Honor My client needs to use the restroom THE COURT I said I was going to take a break at 10 30 I made everybody advised I set the break times Who would be your next witness? MS FIGUEROA Your Honor, my client needs to use the rest room She has to go to the bathroom THE COURT Ms Figueroa, I'm trying everything in my power to move this trial along and to get it heard appropriately I'm concerned that King Reporting & Video Conference Center Melbourne, FL (321) 242-8080 www kangreporting com