Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [103]
That’s all Claire had to see to realize the article wasn’t going to be flattering. She had clearly read Dee wrong when she had agreed to open up to her. Claire’s husband had warned her not to let a journalist get so close. When Claire flipped to the inside pages, it was painfully clear she should have heeded his warning. Dee’s story began with big, black letters: “OH, CLAIRE. You’re a scholar and visionary … if only you could quit leaving skin on the sidewalk.”
The two accompanying photos of Claire showcased her beauty. But the words of the story—including some insulting references to her as a “whore” and a “witch”—left her black and blue.
The most damaging revelation in Claire’s story came from her husband, David. His admission that Pfizer didn’t want to be surrounded by tenements supported the claim made by the Institute for Justice that the city had resorted to eminent domain in order to appease Pfizer’s desire to clear the neighborhood. Now a senior Pfizer employee had said as much. With Bullock scheduled to start deposing Pfizer and NLDC officials within weeks, the timing could not have been worse.
None of this surprised Claire’s husband. Expecting anything more from a newspaper journalist, he intimated, was pure folly. To him Claire had been had the moment she agreed to let the reporter into their home.
More than any other story, this one really hurt. Claire had spent days and many hours with Dee. She had opened up about marriage, pregnancy, child rearing, and coping with the pressures of motherhood and running a college and the NLDC in a politically charged atmosphere dominated by men. Claire had thought Dee seemed to get it. Claire struggled to understand where it had all gone wrong.
Jealousy, she determined. That had to be it. Dee must have resented the fact that Claire had it all: professional success, good looks, overachieving children, a marriage of thirty-two years, and an accomplished lifestyle. Yes, that was it … jealousy had prompted Dee to turn on her. Jealousy.
32
DISCOVERY
Almost immediately after filing their lawsuit, Bullock and Berliner issued a subpoena to Pfizer seeking all documents pertaining to the Fort Trumbull development. Pfizer didn’t readily comply. While working out the pretrial agreement, Judge Martin had invited the attorneys to call him if any further issues arose. He made it clear that legal motions and hearings were not necessary; he’d rather find ways to resolve any disputes quickly and amicably through conferences. Bullock got in touch with him about Pfizer’s delay in producing the documents.
In a meeting with Martin, Pfizer’s lawyer explained why the company didn’t believe it should have to turn over any of its corporate correspondence: the company was not involved in eminent domain; the company was not pursuing eminent-domain actions; none of the land taken via eminent domain was for Pfizer; and the company wasn’t involved in the dispute between the homeowners and the NLDC.
Bullock countered that it was obvious that Pfizer wasn’t exercising eminent domain—that power was reserved to the government. But it was equally obvious that Pfizer played a major role in the city’s redevelopment scheme. Therefore, those Pfizer documents were critical to Bullock. He knew that in any legal case, it was essential to establish a paper trail as it often would yield the most important evidence at trial.
Judge Martin agreed that Pfizer was a relevant party, and ruled that the company would have to comply with the subpoena. For its part, Pfizer insisted on a guarantee that the Institute for Justice wouldn’t divulge its documents to anyone. The company’s primary