Google Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc.

Filing 188

Google Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc.

Doc. 188 Att. 13

Case 5:03-cv-05340-JF

Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 1 of 11

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Dockets.Justia.com

Case 5:03-cv-05340-JF

Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 2 of 11

UNITED STÃTES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
GOOGLE, INC., a Delaware corporation,

vs.

Plaintiff,
Case No. C Ó3-5340-JF

AMCAN BLIND &. WALLPAPER'
FACTORY, INC., a Delaware c-Urporation. d/b/a decoratetoday. com, Inc., and
'. DOES. 1 --100, inclusive,

CERTIFIED

COpy

Defendants.
AMICAN BLIND & WALLPAPER

/

FACTORY, INC., a Delaware corporation . d/b/a decoratetoday.com, Inc.,
Counter- Plaintiff,

VS.

GOOLE, INC.,

Counter-Defendant.
The video .

/

deposition of GERD B. CURRA,

taken pursuant to the Rules of the State of California; before Lana Kia Haws, CRR, CM, RPR, CSR-099S, a Notary Pulic in the County of Oakland, Acting in the County

of Wayne, State of Michigan, at the Inn at Saint John l s,
44045 Five Mile Road, Plymouth Michigan, on August 3,
2006, commencing at or about the hour of 9:30 a.m. .

APPEACES: _

Keker. & Van Nest, LLP
BY: MR. MICHAL H. PAGE
710 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA 94111-1704 [phone] Appearing on behalf of the Plaintiff.

Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP

BY: MR. PAUL W. GAITY
101 Paik Avenue New York, New York 10178

[phone]
Appearing on behalf of the Defendants.

Cerfid Shortand Reporter

180 Montgomery Street, Suite 2180 San Francisco, CA 94104
888-575-3376 · Fax [phone]

wwuslegalsupport.com

Los Angeles" Orange. County. San Dieo" Inland Empire. Ventura. San Jose. San Francico ". Sacramento. . . and across the naon

Case 5:03-cv-05340-JF

Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 3 of 11

1 Q. That's about a year. If you could take a look 2 to your left, there is a pile of exhibits from
3 yes terday 1 s depo.
4 If you

could take a look at the first

5 one, Layne Exibit 1, the Atended Notice of 30(b) (6)
6 Deposition of Aterican' Blind and Wallpaper Factory.

7 Is it your understanding that you have
8. been designated by Aterican Blind to testify concerning.

9 a numer of the topics on this notice?
10

A. Yes.

11 Q. Okay. And which topics have you been

12 designated to testify concerning?
13 A. I might need some help with this as to which

14 numers I am actually working on.
15

Q. Actually, let me - - perhaps I can help.

16 My understanding is that you have been

17 designated to testify on topics'9, 10, 19, and 22; and
18 that of those topics, Mr. Alderman will also be

19 addressing topic 10.
20 Does that match your understanding?
21
22

A. Yes.
Q. What, if anything, have you done to prepare for

23 today's deposition?

24 A~ Spent probably one half hour with Paul just
25 discussing the approach and the logic of a deposition.
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Case 5:03-cv-05340-JF

Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 4 of 11

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Previously, spent time assembling
documents and requested materials that were sent to our attorneys, Kelley Drye, relative to the Google

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litigation.
Q. Okay. When you say previously spent time
assembling documents, when was that?

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A. Oh, I think I've really been working in one
way or another on the Google. case since my arrival at.
American Blinds.

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Q. I see. Can you estimate how much time total
you have spent, as you described it, working in one
way or another on the Google case since you joined the
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13 company? .
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A. It would certainly vary by week, but a numer

15 of hours' per week.
16

Q. I see, and what sorts of tasks have you been

17 performing in connection with the Google litigation?

A. Primarily record report reQUisition, assemly, 19 mailing.
18

20
21 informtion

Q. So, by that, do you mean assembling financial
and forwarding it?

22
23

A. Correct.
Q. Other than meeting with Mr. Garrity yesterday,

24 did you meet with anyone else in preparation for this
25 deposition?
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A. No.

Q. Have you met with, at any time, with attorneys

3 for American Blind, other than Mr. Garrity?
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5 6 7

A. Yes.
Q. Who else have you met with?
A. Our main contact at Kelley Drye is Ms. Susan

Greenspon. She is our normal day-to-day attorney.
Q. Okay. Anyone else?

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A. No.
Q. Have you, at any time, met with any experts or

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11 consultants in connection with the Google matter?
12 13

A. No.
MR. PAGE: Mark as -- I'm sorry. I
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14 didn't get exhibit tabs from you. I'm sorry. It will
15

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be one minute.
(Mark i d for identification

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16 17

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was Deposition Exibit No. i.)

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Q. (BY MR. PAGE) Mark as Curran Exhibit i a

19 two-page document produced to us in this litigation,
20 Bates numer ABWF007803 through 4.

21 Do you recognize this document?
22
23

A. No.
Q. Sorry '. I didn't hear your answer. Do you know

24 who created this document?
25

A. No.
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1 2
3

Q. Great. Put that aside. Topic 19 on the
depositio~ notice is the injuries and damges allegedly
suffered by American Blind as a result of Google IS
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actions. .
Have you done anything to attempt to
calculate the damages American Blind has suffered as a
result of Google' s actions?

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A. No.
Q. Have you done anything to prepare to testify
on topic 19?

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13

A. No.

Q. Okay. Are you aware of any calculations that
anyone at American Blind has done in attempt to quantify
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the damages American Blind contends it t s suffered at .
Google' shands?
A. No.
Q. Do you have an understanding of what harm

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16 17

18 American Blind claims it has suffered as. a result
19 of Google' s actions?
20

A. Yes.
Q. What is that understanding?
A. The understanding that I have is that, as a
l

21
22

23 result of Google selling the names that rightfully

24 belong to American Blinds to the highest bidder, it has

25 caused several actions to take place.
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Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 7 of 11

1 One, American Blinds is required to pay
2 Google higher fees, search engine fees, in order to get
3 4
5 6

placement on the Google sites.
Two, it directs sales or, I should say,
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interested parties in blinds, wallpaper, and related

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home interior type products to other sites besides
the American Blinds i site; and, as a result of that,

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8 9
;10

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American Blinds has suffered a very difficult loss of sales, loss of profits; and it would be a difficult
calculation to come up. with that numer; but, indeed,

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there is a direct correlation between the start of
Google i s sites, if you will, and the downturn in

1

13 revenue sales for American Blinds.
14
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Q. Let me unpack a few of those things.
You said there is a direct correlation

16 between the start of Google i s site and a downturn in

17 revenue for American Blind.

18 When precisely did American Blinds suffer
19 a downturn in revenue?
. 20
A. In 2002, the revenue for

American Blinds was

21 approximately l25 million dollars.

22 Since that time, the revenue has
23 decreased to 92 million dollars for the year ended 2005,
24

gradually decreasing each year.
Q. I see. And is it your belief that that gradual

.

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Page 8 of 11

1 decrease each year in revenue is attributable to the
2 3 4

existence of the Google website?

A. Some portion of it, certainly.
Q. What portion?
A. It would be hard to calculate.
Q. Have you. made any attemt to calculate?
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A. No.
Q. Do you have any belief as to what percentage of
that downturn in revenue is traceable to the existence
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i .

10 of Google?
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A. Couldn i t calculate that.

Q. Okay. How would anyone calculate that?
A. I believe that one would have to look at

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14 Google i s information as to the amount of inQUiries that
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were directed to sites other" than American Blinds using

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16 the American Blind keywords and attempt to do some
17

reasonable calculation of the conversion that took
b

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19

place from those inquiries on the site that were
directed

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to other sites.
Q. Would. you also have to look at what inqUiries

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20

21 were directed -- were directed from American BlindS'

22 competitors to American Blind via Google and back that
23 out?
24
25

A. Yes. Yes, sir.
Q. Okay. Do you have a reason to think that the
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1

net on that is a net loss rather than gain for American

2 Blind?
3 4
5

A. Yes.

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Q. Why?
A. Just because of the issue of placement on the
Google site, the

6 7 8 9

cost of that placement, and the fact

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that American Blinds has a complete adve~tising program

outside of the search engine cost, which is effectively
supporting our competitors when they go to the Google
site and get directed other than to American Blinds.

,

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12
13

Q. What mark -- how would you describe the market
in which American Blinds competes?

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MR. GARITY: Object to the question to

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the extent to which it i s outside the scope of the notice.
MR. PAGE: Okay.

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MR. GARITY: With that objection, you

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18 can answer.
.19

THE WITNESS: Repeat the question.

20

Q.

(BY MR. PAGE) Let me explain. I am just

21 trying to figure out what you would -- what market I

22 would talk about in comparing decline in American

23 Blinds' revenue to the decline of the overall market?

24 I am trying to get your sense of what
25 market you are in.
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Document 188-14

Filed 09/07/2006

Page 10 of 11

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CERTIFICATE OF NOTARY

5 ss.
4

STATE OF MICHIGAN

6 COUNTY OF OAKLAN
7

8 I, Lana Kia Haws, Certified
9 Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public in and for the

10 above county and state, do hereby certify that the
11 deposition of GERAD B. CURR was taken before me

12 at the time and place hereinbefore set forth; that
13

the witness was by me. first duly sworn to testify
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15

to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the

I
truth; that thereupon the foregoing questions were
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16 asked and foregoing answers made by the witness 17 which were duly recorded by me stenographically and
18 later reduced to computer transcription; and I certify
19 that this is a. true and correct transcript of my

20 stenographic notes so taken.
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22 23

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4 I further certify that I am not Of
5 Counsel to either party nor interested in the event of

6 this cause.
7 8 9

Lan

iO

Notary Public
State of

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Michigan

County of Oakland

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Acting'in the County of Wayne

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My Commission Expires:.
September 29, 20ll

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CHAPA & GIBLIN
[phone]

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