Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al

Filing 636

DECLARATION signed by Alexander H. Southwell re 635 Reply/Response filed by Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, Facebook, Inc. filed by Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, Facebook, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D)(Snyder, Orin)

EXHIBIT A

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

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PAUL D. CEGLIA,

)
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Plaintiff,

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vs.

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No. 1:10-cv-00569

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Individually, and
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MARK ELLIOT ZUCKERBERG,

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FACEBOOK, INC.,

(RJA)

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)

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Defendants.
-------------------------

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July 25, 2012

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10:14 a.m.

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Deposition of JAMES A. BLANCO, held at

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the offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP,

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200 Park Avenue, New York, New York, pursuant

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to court order, before Laurie A. Collins, a

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Registered Professional Reporter and Notary

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Public of the State of New York.

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A P P E A R A N C E S:

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BOLAND LEGAL, LLC

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Attorneys for Plaintiff

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1475 Warren Road

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Unit 770724

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Lakewood, Ohio 44107

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BY:

DEAN BOLAND, ESQ.

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GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP

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Attorneys for Defendants

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200 Park Avenue

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New York, New York 10166-0193

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BY:

ALEXANDER H. SOUTHWELL, ESQ.

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SRIPRIYA NARASIMHAN, ESQ.

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MATTHEW BENJAMIN, ESQ.

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AMANDA AYCOCK, ESQ.

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ALSO PRESENT:

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CODY DETWEILER

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JERRY LaPORTE

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GUS LESNEVICH

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PETER TYTELL

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DMITRY ZVONKOV, Videographer

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Blanco
Q.

My question was, as you have

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acknowledged, which you just did a few moments

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ago, when the "work for hire" document was

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provided for inspection on July 14th, the ink

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could have been faded; right?

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acknowledged that a few minutes prior.

You just

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I'm not talking about your declaration;

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I'm talking about what we were just talking about,

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because you weren't in fact there.

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A.

All right.

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Q.

Am I correct that on that morning of

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the 14th the ink could very well have been faded?
A.

When it appeared and was unveiled,

you're asking me.

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Q.

Right, yes.

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A.

Yes, some fading, some damage, some

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typical -- actually probably a little beyond

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typical damage just in as much as there were

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pretty extreme environmental storage conditions.

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Q.

Right.

And that could have led --

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well, for whatever reasons, there could have been

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faded ink on the morning of July 14th, as

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Mr. Tytell put in his declaration; correct?

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A.

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Well, I'd say yes.
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Blanco

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Q.

Do you think that Mr. Tytell is lying?

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A.

No, no.

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he's looking at.
Q.
lying.

So he -- when he --

But my question is do you think he's
You answered that.

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But it's a judgment call what

MR. BOLAND:

Objection.

You're

interrupting his question -- response.

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MR. SOUTHWELL:

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MR. BOLAND:

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A.

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my answer --

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Q.

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or not.

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A.

You have done that several

times now, Alex.

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No, his response.

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question.
Q.

I don't think he's lying, but to finish

My question is do you think he's lying

I think you rolled out of another
Can we read it back, go back a couple?
I'll read it to you.

I'll ask the

court reporter to read it to you at line 121.

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(Discussion off the record.)

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(Record read as follows:

Right.

And

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that could have led -- well, for whatever

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reasons, there could have been faded ink on

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the morning of July 14th, as Mr. Tytell put in

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his declaration; correct?)

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Blanco
A.

That's what I want to answer, and so,

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no, I'm not saying he's lying.

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to believe he's lying.

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I have no reason

But when a person is looking at

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something and then they report that I see fading

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or deterioration, well, what level was that?

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That's the question I'm -- I'm confronted with is

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did he see a little and he reported that or did

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it -- was there a lot.

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he says there's a lot, what does that really mean

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to him.

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And so that -- and even if

So that's where there's a bit of

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confusion on my part in trying to assess that.

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Again, I'm trying to assess that without getting

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native format production of your experts'

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documents and imagery.

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just mean imagery.

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Q.

When I say "documents," I

If Mr. Tytell testified that the

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appearance of the ink did not change between July

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14th and July 15th, would he be lying then?

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A.

No, it doesn't mean he's lying.

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could be wrong.

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be wrong doesn't mean you're lying.

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Q.

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It doesn't mean he's lying.

He
To

And if he were to testify to that, you
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Blanco
Thirty-four, you said?

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Q.

Thirty-three.

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A.

Okay.

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Q.

Thirty-three.

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A.

Oh, I was looking at page 33.

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Q.

In that paragraph you write, The

Okay, which paragraph?

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settlement agreement vacating the AAFS's expulsion

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order expressly stated the vacation of the

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expulsion was without any -- without a finding of

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wrongdoing or fault on my part.

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Is that what you wrote there?

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A.

Yes, yes.

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Q.

And, Mr. Blanco, isn't it accurate that

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a condition of your settlement agreement -- as a

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condition of your settlement agreement AAFS also

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required that you resign from the organization;

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correct?

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A.

I agreed to resign, yes.

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Q.

And that you were forbidden from ever

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applying for membership in the AAFS again;

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correct?

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A.

Yes, or that I wouldn't.

I believe it

says -- it's the same idea.
Q.

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Right.

And the settlement agreement

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Blanco
correct?

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A.

That was their allegation.

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Q.

And you recited some language out of

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the settlement agreement, including the

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integration clause, and cited us to Black's Law

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Dictionary for the integration of that clause.

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A.

Yes.

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Q.

You're aware, however, the academy has

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made it clear that no money was paid to anyone in

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the settlement and that the ethics committee's

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findings were not overturned or vacated; right?

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A.

That's the part where I said no earlier

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when you asked me about that.

That is not -- that

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is -- that's what they claim, but it's not

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correct, because I think you asked me is it

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correct.

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Q.

Right.

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A.

No, that's not correct.

They're wrong.

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In fact, you have the same Joe Bono there who

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signed the investment agreement repudiating the

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contract he signed.

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ridiculous.

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Q.

He has a JD degree.

It's

So you understand that his position is

that the ethics committee findings were not

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Blanco
overturned or vacated?

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A.

I understand he claimed that in the

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settlement agreement, because there was a lot of

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push back for what happened for their decision, as

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I heard through the pipeline.

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that he's also repudiating -- by saying that he's

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repudiating the very agreement he put his

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signature on.

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Q.

But I understand

You think he's repudiating that and

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he's forbidden from saying that due to the

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integration clause?

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A.

I would say technically he shouldn't

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have said that, because that's what an -- you're

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an attorney.

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is.

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entire agreement.

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goes on to try to attempt to modify it in the eyes

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of the membership to save face.

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That's what an integration clause

It's the entire agreement.

Q.

It says it's the

It should not be modified.

He

How is he modifying the agreement in

the eyes of the membership?
A.

With the very claim you just quoted

that he said in the newsletter.
Q.

Which is that the ethics committee's

decision that you had submitted an erroneous and

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