Important or Memorable Cases Attorney in Scottsdale, Arizona
Have you ever won a case you shouldn’t have?
Have you ever won a case you shouldn’t have?
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I represented Mason McDuffie mortgage
Corporation the world’s largest mortgage
Banker
they had
a vice president branch manager
on a piece of company letterhead
write out a 21 million dollar loan
commitment
for a student Apartment project over
here in Tempe Arizona at the University
of Arizona
and
Mason McDuffie when it refused to honor
that loan commitment
because the branch manager wasn’t
authorized to make it Mason McDuffie had
not approved it
and I was working for their errors and
Emissions carrier in London Lloyds of
London
I told them I said wait a minute here
ah he’s a branch manager he’s a vice
president his company letterhead the two
hundred ten thousand dollar loan
commitment fee was
written out on a check to Mason McDuffie
he
forged Mason mcduffie’s signature on
that and departed in his own account
you got a bad guy
you can’t win this case
so we need to settle this case
well I I talked to Lloyd’s coverage
Council in Los Angeles who would talk to
somebody in New York who’d talk to a
solicitor in London who would go to the
coffee house and talk to the
underwriting group and it would come
back and I say no you guys don’t
understand
you know let me talk I’ll fly over to
London and tell uh the investors in this
loan in Mason McDuffie in the insurance
that you need to sell well they wouldn’t
settle they wouldn’t settle
this was an this is an eight or nine
week long jury trial
everything
went my way in that trial
the lawyer on the other side had it on a
contingent fee
he was a personal injury lawyer
he doesn’t understand the complexity of
the loan commitments
was so sure he was going to work he was
going to win this case
that he was condescending in the
courtroom
and the jury hated him I knew I was
going to lose it
so I was trying my best
to salvage what there was and then
things started to happen in the
courtroom that worked to my advantage I
tripped up their expert I tripped up
their broker their broker did something
incredibly stupid because the branch
manager
vice president was of the San Diego
office not the Phoenix office of Mason
McDuffie and so when I said to him well
why didn’t you call the Phoenix office
he said well their name wasn’t in the
phone book so I looked him up and knew
they were in San Diego I called that guy
so over the noon hour I subpoenaed the
librarian
from the city of Phoenix Library and had
her bring all the phone books
for that year and two years either side
white pages and Yellow Pages people
today won’t know what phone books are
rolled them into the courtroom and said
okay
let’s see if it’s in the phone book see
the guy said something
he lied
he shouldn’t have said that because
Mason mcduffie’s name was in the phone
book is in the Yellow Pages it was in
the white pages and he had he said well
I guess I made a mistake
I did not follow up on that because now
that you renew this guy was a liar
and that poisoned them against the other
side
I got a unanimous verdict in that case
in about five hours
the jury just hated the lawyer and his
Witnesses who weren’t prepared
and their sort of cavalier attitude
answering a simple question like why
didn’t you call the Mason McDuffie
office in Phoenix well they weren’t in
the phone book
give me a break
things like that will hurt you
that’s one of the things you have to do
with your Witnesses is prepare them for
landmines and you say don’t bury that
land mine ahead of yourself where you’re
about to step
so if you don’t know it don’t say it
don’t interpolate don’t extrapolate
because you’re burying the land of Minds
that you may step on yourself
Contact Daryl M. Williams
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Scottsdale, AZ commercial litigation attorney Daryl Williams tells the story of a case he shouldn’t have won. He explains that I represented Mason McDuffie Mortgage Corporation, the largest mortgage banker in the world. They had a vice president branch manager who, on company letterhead, issued a $21 million loan commitment for a student apartment project in Tempe, Arizona. However, Mason McDuffie refused to honor the commitment, claiming that the branch manager was not authorized to make such a decision. I was working for their errors and omissions carrier, Lloyds of London. I advised them that the branch manager had forged Mason McDuffie’s signature and deposited the loan commitment fee into his personal account. I emphasized that we had a clear case against the branch manager and suggested settling the matter.
Despite my recommendations, the discussions with Lloyds’ coverage council in Los Angeles, who consulted with colleagues in New York and London, did not lead to a settlement. They failed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Consequently, we proceeded to an eight or nine-week jury trial, where I represented Mason McDuffie.
Throughout the trial, everything seemed to go in my favor. The opposing lawyer, who was a personal injury attorney on a contingent fee, underestimated the complexity of loan commitments. He displayed condescension in the courtroom, which the jury disliked. While I initially anticipated losing the case, several incidents turned the tide in my favor. I managed to expose flaws in the opposing expert’s testimony and the broker’s actions, which worked to my advantage.
One critical mistake made by the opposing side was when their broker testified that he didn’t call the Phoenix office because their name wasn’t in the phone book. Sensing an opportunity, I subpoenaed the librarian from the City of Phoenix Library during the lunch break. I presented multiple phone books from the relevant time period, demonstrating that Mason McDuffie’s name was indeed listed. The broker’s credibility suffered a severe blow, as it became apparent he had lied. This revelation significantly influenced the jury against the opposing side.
Ultimately, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in my client’s favor within five hours. The jury’s distaste for the opposing lawyer and his ill-prepared witnesses, coupled with their cavalier attitude during questioning, contributed to our success. This case highlighted the importance of thoroughly preparing witnesses and cautioning them against inadvertently stepping on “landmines” in their testimony. It’s crucial to avoid speculation or extrapolation and stick to what is known to avoid undermining one’s own case.
