Court Records
Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 1 of 14 1 IN THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO. 50 2008CA020614XXXXMB AF JANE DOE II, Plaintiff, vs. JEFFREY EPSTEIN and Defendants. COPY COURT REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS HAD BEFORE THE HONORABLE DIANA DATE: March 3, 2009 PLACE: Palm Beach County Courthouse 205 N. Dixie Highway West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] ../1 II EXHIBIT C. EFTA02739721 ' ase 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 2 of 14 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. 22 23 24 25 APPEARANCES: LAW FIRM, P.A. 224 Datura Avenue Suite 900 West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 Counsel for Plaintiff BY: ISIDRO M. , ESQUIRE BURMAN, CRITTON, LUTTIER & COLEMAN 515 N. Flagler Drive Suite 400 West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 Counsel for Defendant BY: ROBERT D. CRITTON, JR., ESQUIRE U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739722 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 3 of 14 11 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 that but I'd just like to do that. THE COURT: Right. And if you want to contact the other individuals saying, you know, I'm the one that's questioning whether or not these need to be before one judge. You may have a different perspective than your colleagues who are prosecuting some of the cases. I understand the damages. I'm not saying consolidate. I'm saying transfer. It's not a consolidation issue. Everybody gets that confused for some reason. The words are very different out of my mouth, your mouth and how they're written. So let me go ahead and take a gander at this. I did read it last night. I'm not sure that we need to get -- we need names? MR. CRITTON: Right. Well, here's what some of the issues are is that, as an example -- if I could approach the bench. THE COURT: Sure. MR. CRITTON: This is some of the information that we've obtained through discovery from some of the -- from at least in this instance, it would be this particular Jane Doe. THE COURT: You know who Jane Doe is I take U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739723 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 4 of 14 12 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 it? MR. CRITTON: Right. THE COURT: You know who the Jane Doe is? MR. CRITTON: Yes, correct. And so this particular lady has kept in part a diary and she -- which appears to have started some time this is not in any way significant -- but some time after she learned that she could file a lawsuit. I think she's also been to Oakwood Center some time after she learned she could file a lawsuit and seek damages from Mr. Epstein. There's no history of this lady beforehand other than in some of the Oakwood records where she was Baker Acted, she started drinking beer at 16, she started Xanax at 16, started marijuana at 15, that she's sexually active. So how she has interacted -- she has a claim for emotional damages, mental pain and anguish, psychiatric -type damages. How she's interacted with friends, with family, the events in her life, school, work, her interpersonal relationships both with men and let's -- we'll use an example men here, but other individuals. She's saying that this event with Mr. Epstein, U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739724 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 5 of 14 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 this sexual assault and whatever occurred during these events is that -- has caused her damage. And therefore damages in the case such as the emotional, mental, psychiatric -type damages are completely subjective, I mean separate and apart from any medical bills that may be -- which are clearly intangible. So these are intangible damages. And the jury is instructed, you know, you advise the greater weight of the evidence, what's fair and reasonable under the circumstances. So what we would have is basically this young lady's testimony as to what she claims her damages are and what the circumstances are with her situation with Mr. Epstein. She claims on page 13, you know, I love this guy, I'm dating this guy Chris. On page 15 -- THE COURT: Is this part of a diary for treatment? MR. CRITTON: I have no idea what it is. It was just produced in response to discovery. And she apparently started in, I think this is December of '08. You know I took Jay Lyntenis' girl to the zoo, had an amazing day, I love her, i.e., the girl. We have so much fun. I want a U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739725 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 6 of 14 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 baby especially with him. Okay. So I know who this person is. We are all so open together, I love him and Jay and , what do I do with Chris, who is another guy in her life. All right. This is circumstances where this young lady is saying, look, Jeffrey Epstein has ruined my life from a damage standpoint, okay. Let me depose other individuals with whom you've had a relationship. And what if it turns out -- as with some of these girls did -- is they had relationships or had escapades or circumstances with individuals, older men similar to Mr. Epstein well before Mr. Epstein. And this girl, I don't know one way or the other, but let's assume she had a situation where she was assaulted or molested or raped, ' that all is going to affect her emotional and her mental pain and anguish and it will all factor into evaluating damages. You know, it's not something that I'm going to spread around. I'm happy to keep it, you know, within the confines of the discovery of this case. But if she says every other relationship in my life has been perfect but Jeff Epstein has done this to me and it has affected U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739726 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 7 of 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 my ability to trust men and my sexual relationships with other men, which is part of her interpersonal relationships, okay, let's talk to THE COURT: When does your client allege that she had her first encounter with Mr. Epstein? MR. : At what age? THE COURT: Well, what year? MR. CRITTON: June of '03. MR. : June of '03, Judge. MR. CRITTON: She claims from June of '03 through November of '04. MR. : She was I believe 16 at the beginning and ended at 17. She was a minor during all this time. THE COURT: June of '03 to now is six years. Let me hear from Mr. MR. : Judge, in the criminal case that was filed against Mr. Epstein, he would not have had a right to do this type of discovery and I -- if I could hand up -- THE COURT: They wouldn't care about the women. MR. : Right. Well, I mean -- U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739727 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 8 of 14 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE COURT: This is damages. There's no -- they weren't seeking damages at the time. MR. =Mt: Right. And we have not alleged in the complaint or in the answers to interrogatories that her ability to have a relationship with a man has been affected by Mr. Epstein's conduct. We have alleged that she has been hospitalized for depression, anxiety but we have not alleged any damages concerning -- the only reason this would be relevant is if we were making a claim at her ability to have either sexual relations or to have emotional relations with men was effected by her experience with Mr. Epstein. So this damages' claim is just a smoke screen to attempt to get evidence to show the jury that this woman has had other consensual relationships with young men that are approximately her age what I would characterize as a slut defense. She had it coming to her because she engaged in other voluntarily consensual -- THE COURT: Mr. Critton wouldn't try the slut defense in my courtroom, I'm sure. U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739728 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 9 of 14 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MR. : Maybe not, but certainly that's the way this discovery is going. And, Judge, what -- THE COURT: What are the damages you think your client is seeking? MR. : She is seeking emotional distress damages for depression and anxiety and she has been hospitalized at the Oakwood Center. Her friend -- she was on the phone to a friend who called the sheriff's office because she thought she was suicidal. The sheriffs responded. They Baker Acted her that day and they took her eventually to the Oakwood Center. THE COURT: How do we know it's not intertwined with her rejection by three other men since Mr. Epstein? MR. : Well, even if it was related to her rejection by three other men -- you mean other men's rejection of her? THE COURT: Yeah. Well, how do you not know that? I mean you can't do it until you do discovery. Has anybody attempted to review the records from Oakwood to find out what's going on? MR. CRITTON: It's like a one-time visit when she was Baker Acted and then there's some U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739729 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 10 of 14 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 other -- THE COURT: She didn't receive treatment? MR. CRITTON: She received treatment for that day and she's been back a couple of times. She's on medication. Again, I don't know what or the extent but she's got -- her medical bills are de minimis. Again as an example, Judge, did the Court have an opportunity to look at the case that I also attached to the motion? Because there's a case that's almost on all fours with this which I attached to our motion which is called Balles versus Russo. THE COURT: Right. MR. CRITTON: It was a case where the plaintiff was sued -- the plaintiff sued the former owners of a house of prostitution. So that part is different, but within it there were a number of claims including a sexual assault claim and they sought emotional pain, humiliation and emotional distress. Within the complaint that was filed in this particular case, she is seeking severe emotional distress, mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, past and future, compensatory U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739730 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 11 of 14 19 1. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 humiliation, loss of reputation, mental anguish, pain and suffering, the same type of damages. And what the Court said -- THE COURT: How old is she now? MR. : She's 21 now. MR. CRITTON: She's 21 now. What the Court said is, you know, if you'd only brought this claim under 796 evidence of past issues, it's not an issue. You can't use this defense for anything, but because you brought these other claims which include, you know, sexual assault and you're seeking damages for other causes of action since the information sought by discovery may be relevant or may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in one or more of the other causes of action or determination of damages, we cannot conclude the trial court parted from essential requirements of law in granting -- THE COURT: So in other words, she's not only seeking -- she's seeking current emotional damage as a result of this relationship and you're trying to find out if she had prior relationships that perhaps could be intertwined with it so that it's not just Mr. Epstein's -- MR. CRITTON: Right. A perfect example is U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739731 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 12 of 14 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 one of the cases that I have is there's a young lady who claims that she was molested in the past and raped, pretty significant issues, well in advance of her even meeting with Mr. Epstein. And they seem to play a large role in her psychiatric and psychological evaluation. We're going to come to the Court in this case as we have others and ask for a psychological evaluation of this lady, and if she was raped or if she was molested or just she had a bad experience or some -- whether it was a young or old man assaulted her in some fashion, that may play a role in her damages and what -- THE COURT: What I'm going to allow for discovery purposes only not necessarily getting it in at the time trial are two years before her first encounter with Mr. Epstein and anything subsequent. MR. IIIIII: Judge, I just wanted to say on the record because I forgot to mention it, there's also -- I did state an objection to the identity of people that are unrepresented in this courtroom. They have rights too. So what I -- THE COURT: Well, my suggestion is that you send those people a letter and tell them that U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739732 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 13 of 14 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 you're going to disclose them and if they have a problem with it that they come to see me before you disclose it. So I'm going to give you 20 days to respond to this rather than the usual five and that will give you time to put these people on notice and if they want to come visit with me and have a John Doe, I'll have a John Doe hearing but, you know, this is her case. She's doing it. She's the one seeking damages, and he is entitled to be able to confront other individuals to find out information that may be relevant to the damages she's seeking or she can drop the damages. That's her choice. If you seek damages, you've got to do it -- if you could put that in an order so that we have a time for him to do this. Just fill out an order, hand it back up to me and I'll deal with it. (The proceedings were concluded.) U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739733 Case 9:08-cv-80232-KAM Document 60-3 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/02/2009 Page 14 of 14 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE STATE COUNTY OF REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE OF FLORIDA, PALM BEACH. I, Teresa Bell, Court Reporter, certify that I was authorized to and did stenographically report the foregoing proceedings and that the transcript is a true and complete record of my stenographic notes. I further certify that the proceedings were taken at the time and place shown herein and that all counsel and persons as hereinabove shown were present. I further certify that I am not a relative, employee, attorney or counsel of any of the parties, nor am I a relative or employee of any of the parties' attorney or counsel connected with the action, nor am I financially interested in the action. Dated this 11th day TERESi BELL, Court Reporter U.S. Legal Support ([Phone Redacted] EFTA02739734