This week features the deposition of the wife. In this episode, the little lady gets her say.
Our comments are noted in red. Please leave yours in our comments section.
EXHIBIT B
VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF DJH,
JULY 23, 2008
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PUTNAM COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA DH and MARK HALBURN, Plaintiffs, vs. INDEX No.: 07-C-298
CITY OF HURRICANE, WEST VIRGINIA, a municipal corporation, BEN NEWHOUSE, individually and in his capacity as City Manager for the City of Hurricane, Cleveland Construction, Inc., dba Cleveland Construction, Inc. Of Nevada, and Kanawha Stone Company, Inc., Defendants.
Videotaped Deposition of DJH , held on July 23, 2008, at the Law Offices of Huddleston Bolen, LLP, 707 Virginia Street, East, Suite 1300, Charleston, West Virginia, commencing at 5:50 p.m., before Kathryn S. Little, Court Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of West Virginia.
VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF DJH,
JULY 23, 2008
APPEARANCES:
On behalf of the Plaintiffs: LAW OFFICES OF MICHAEL T. CLIFFORD
By: Alexandria Solomon, Esquire Suite 300 The Union Building 723 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, WV 25301 304-720-7660
On behalf of Kanawha Stone Company, Inc.: HUDDLESTON BOLEN, LLP
By: Patrick White, Esquire 707 Virginia Street, East Suite 1300 P.O. Box 3786 Charleston, WV 25337-3786 304-344-9869
On behalf of City of Hurricane West Virginia, and Ben Newhouse: PULLIN, FOWLER & FLANAGAN, PLLC
By: James A. Muldoon, Esquire 901 Quarrier Street Charleston, WV 25301 304-344-0100
On behalf of Cleveland Construction, Inc.: STEPTOE & JOHNSON, PLLC By: Paul A. Konstanty, Esquire Chase Tower, Eighth Floor P.O. Box 1588 Charleston, WV 25326-1588 304-353-8170
ALSO PRESENT:
Mark Vance Halbum
Todd Bergstrom, summer clerk
Donald K. Garrett, Jr., videographer
VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF DELORES JEAN HALBURN JULY 23, 2008
VIDEOGRAPHER: The videotape recording has commenced and we are now on the record. Today is July 23rd, 2008, and the time is 5:50 p.m. My name is Garrett Reporting Service, and I am a certified legal video specialist for Accurate Reporting, Court Reporting. The address is 24650 Sawmill [sic] Boulevard, Suite 401, in Punta Gorda, Florida. The deponent is DH in the matter of Halburn versus Kanawha Stone Company, Incorporated. Case Number 07-C-298. Pending in the Circuit Court of Putnam County, West Virginia. The deposition is being taken at Huddleston Bolen at 707 Virginia Street East, Suite 1300, in Charleston. The court reporter is Kathy Little. Will counsel please identify yourselves for the record stating your name, address and whom you represent.
MR. WHITE: Patrick White for Kanawha Stone, 707 Virginia Street, East, Charleston, West Virginia.
MR. MULDOON: Jim Muldoon on behalf of the City of Hurricane and Ben Newhouse. It's 901 Quarrier Street, Charleston, 25301.
MS. SOLOMON: Alexandria Solomon, counsel for the plaintiff. I honestly don't have the address handy with me.
(You're well prepared)
VIDEOGRAPHER: The Notary public and court reporter will stenographically record the testimony today. And at this time will the court reporter please swear in the witness.
THEREUPON, DJH, Being first duly sworn testifies as follows:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Thank you. Counsel, you may proceed.
MR. WHITE: For the record, also in attendance is Paul Konstanty on behalf of Cleveland Construction who is out of the room at the moment, and we're going to proceed with his permission.
EXAMINATION
BY-MR.WHITE:
Q. Ms. Halburn, we met briefly a minute ago, but my name is Patrick White, and I represent Kanawha Stone. I'm going to try to make this as quick as possible. I just want to briefly go through your background first. Did you graduate high school?
A. Yes.
Q. From where?
A. Dupont.
Q. What year was that?
A. 1983.
Q. And did you -- do you have any college?
A. Yes.
Q. Where and when?
A. West Virginia State University, 2006.
Q. What -
A. Well, actually I have two. One in 2002, one in 2006.
Q. Same school?
A. Yes. I have an associate's and a bachelor's.
Q. What are those in?
A. First one is banking finance, second is teaching business education K5 through adult.
Q. So it's a bachelor's, or an associate's in finance and a bachelor's in teaching?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Since -- just kind of want to run through your employment history. What's the first job you had after high and what was the approximate employment dates?
A. Super America, I worked there for, through the summer after high school. And then I went to work for Murphy Mart, I opened the store in Kanawha City. I worked for about a year, and from there went to McDonough Caperton, worked nine months And then worked temporary services and got a job at Charleston National Bank, and I was there for 10 years.
Q. Okay. And it was Charleston National Bank, Charleston National Bank's employment that you left in roughly July or August of '07?
A. No.
Q. No?
A. No. I was 10 years -- no, no, no. After that I went to TSI, which is in Culloden, West Virginia, I worked there for about nine months. I got married, moved to San Diego, and I worked for -- there was a couple of places I worked for. I don't even remember the names, I just know that I ended up at San Diego Opera. I worked there for about nine months, come back here, and worked for Thomas Memorial Hospital. Then went to CASCI, I was there for almost five years. Left there, went to the Department of Education, and then did student teaching, did some substitute teaching and temporary work. Ended up at BB&T for a while, and now I'm -- then went to Goodwill, I was a teacher there. And now I'm a teacher for Job Corps, Charleston Job Corps and Allied Business.
Q. During -- from November '06 through the birth of your son, whose employment were you with?
A. Let me think. I left -- I think it was -- there was some at CASCI and some at the Department of Education.
Q. From whom did you take maternity leave?
A. BB&T. That was during construction also, so it's all kind of runs in there.
Q. That's where you got me confused.
A. Well, that's what I said, it's been going on now for a long time, so, I don't know, I'm a little confused, too. I don't think it quite started at CASCI, it more started at the Department of Education. I think that's where I was when we kind of got the word that everything was a go and going to start. And then I did my student teaching, there and I remember the construction was really bad through that whole stint of student teaching. And then when I -- I got out of student teaching I guess in, let's see, started August, September, October, November, December, because I graduated the 17th of December of 2006. I started doing some substitute teaching, I worked temporary service and got the job at BB&T.
Q. Maybe I'll show you this, that will help clarify this. I notice you haven't been asked to sign a verification. Did you, did you assist counsel with the preparation of your interrogatories?
A. Yeah. Well, we wrote them and he gave them to him and they tweaked them, and, I don't know. Am I missing something?Q. I'm going to show you -
A. It's very possible.
Q. I'm going to show you, I'm going to show you interrogatory number 2, Kanawha Stone's discovery.
A. Well, of course that's wrong, because I've left there since then, so we know that's wrong. That's temporary service.
Q. Well, is this start date right for BB&T, 4/24/07? Does that -
A. That probably is right.
Q. Okay.
A. Yeah. That's probably right.
Q. And then-
A. I don't know exact dates, I just know where I was.
Q. Okay. And this says United Talent, Kanawha County Board of Education, and out here there's 12-6-4-24-07?
A. Okay. That's 12/6 to 4/24/07.
Q. 12 -
A. So that was off and on. United Talent to Kanawha County Board of Education until I started at BB&T on April 24th.
Q. 12/6 -
MS. SOLOMON: Of '06?
Q. -- '06.
A. Okay.
Q. Is that what that means?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay.
A. Yes. Well, actually, that should be, that should be like a 17 or probably there or something.
MS. SOLOMON: December of 2006?
(Was he talking to you?)
A. December of 2006, yeah. Because I didn't graduate until the 17th of December. But I guess I was working before graduation, because there was a stint between student teaching and graduation, so -- and before there that was the Department of Ed.
Q. And that means -
A. And I had an approved board leave of absence from them to do my student teaching, but when I was finished to go back? They didn't have a job for me.
Q. And this is, what, can you interpret that date?
A. 11/5 of '06. Of '06, yeah, because I quit CASCI in November of that year, so it would be 11, 11 of '05 to August of '06.
Q. Okay.
A. Yeah. And then from August '06 until December I was student teaching. So that's the difference between those right there.
Q. But the student teaching isn't on here?
A. I didn't give it to them like that. Somebody has typed that like that. I had actually gave them a resume.
Q. Can you see my problem trying to figure that out?
A. Yeah. I gave them a resume with dates, so I don't know what they've done.
Q. All right. So I understand this, 11/06 you were at United Talent, or actually you would still have been student teaching at that time?
A. I would have been student teaching 11/06.
Q. What were your hours student teaching?
A. I went in like around 7:45 to 3:15, I think is what it was.
Q. 3: 15. Where were you student teaching?
A. St. Albans High School.
Q. How long did it take you to get home? I mean, let me ask you this first. School let out at 3:15?
A. Yeah. And sometimes I didn't get out until 3:30, 4:00. You know, I don't know. It was different.
O. Okay.
A. Depended on what I had to plan for the next day.
Q. And then how long did it take you to get home?
A. From St. Albans to Hurricane is, what, 25 minutes maybe, 20 minutes depending on traffic and how you take the, what road you take, that kind of thing.
Q. So a normal day at that point in time you got home around 4:30?
A. Yeah. I was usually home by 4, 4:15 I think, yeah, unless I stopped somewhere.
Q. Okay. Then in December that's when you took the job with United Talent?
A. And that was sort of 8 to 5 kind of thing.
Q. That was an 8 to 5 job?
A. Yeah.
Q. Where was that job?
A. Well, it was different jobs. It's a temporary service. But the longest stint I had was with, it was a coal company, United Coal Company in Teays Valley, which is like 10 minutes from my house. I worked until 5:00, so ...
Q. That's me. I apologize. During that period of time while you were with United Talent, your shifts were 8 to 5. What time did you normally leave the house?
A. I left the house about 7:30, 7:45, something like that.
Q. 7:30, 7:45?
A. Um-hmm.
Q. And then you typically returned?
A. About 5:15. You always hit that traffic there in front of Hurricane High School, so it fluctuated.
Q. All right. If I understand what you told me, you were there until April 24th, 2007, or thereabouts?
A. Yeah.
Q. At which point then you went to work at BB&T?
A. And that was different shifts. That was all over the place.
Q. Which -
A. I was a teller, a float, and I worked at this -- whatever shift they needed me to work, wherever they needed me to work. I would work Cross Lanes, Kanawha City, both branches, main bank, they had me in Point Pleasant for two weeks. I mean, I was all over the place.
Q. Was it steady work, were you working every day?
A. Oh, yeah. It's full-time benefits, yeah. I only worked one Saturday. I was off most Saturdays, off Saturdays. I only worked one, so -- I worked two, I'm sorry, I worked two Saturdays.
Q. What -- you agree with me a lot of banks close their lobbies at 5?
A. No. We closed ours -
Q. I'm trying to get -
A. We closed ours -- I worked drive-in most of the time. It was open until 6:30 or 7.
Q. Right.
A. Depending on what branch I was at I'm trying, what I'm trying to figure out, and maybe you can just help me more here-
A. Okay.
Q. -- is even though you had different shifts, banks don't operate a huge window of hours, so what was, what were the different shifts that you would work?
A. I would either work the 7, like 7:30 to 4, I think it was either 4 or 4:30. I can't remember when the lobbies closed. But then on Thursday they were open until 6, so a lot of times I'd work til 6 in the lobby. If I worked the drive-thru, I would come in, either work 10 to 7 or work 9:45 to 6:45, or I could work a day even or I come in at 7:45 leave at 4 or leave at 5:30, 8:30 to 5:30. I mean, they were all over the place. It was just staggered.
Q. You'd agree with me that while, during this period of time you may have left your house different periods of time and you might have returned home at a different period of time?
A. Um-hmm.
Q. You really were never home during 12 to 5?
A. Not until July.
Q. Not until July?
A. Um-hmm. Unless I had a day off. Like if I worked a Saturday, which I only worked two of them, I would have a day off through the week. Or if I took a day off because I had sick leave and vacation or something like that -
Q. Do you recall -
A. -- I could do that. Huh?
Q. Do you recall taking off during that period of time?
A. The first -- oh, sick leave, yeah, because I was pregnant. There was a couple of times I had to stay home.
Q. During those. days off, do you have a specific recollection of blasting activity occurring?
A. Most definitely. I have a remembrance of when I wasn't off and when I come home they were 7, 8:00 at night. There was one time it went off, and it's in the blog, that I was afraid to look out the window because I swear I thought the hillside was gone, that's how bad it was. It shook my entire house. My dogs freaked. It was terrible. I do recall all the blasting that I heard, I mean, when I was home. And Art King called me and said, Ms. Halburn, we're going to try to do this before 4:00 every day because you're usually gone, your husband has told us your schedule. And every day after that it was after 6:00 every day. I heard it every day after that. Did I tell Mark every time? No, I didn't, because he always reacted to it, and I didn't want to do that. (Smart. You knew what that would bring.) Not that I thought he was in the wrong either. (You'd better not) I'm just not a confrontational kind of person. (But he is, and you knew it) I, you know -- and you'll see that I'm not the one that's making the phone calls and stuff, because he takes care of it. (In the Halburn house, the man is in charge of the harassment. Foreign and domestic) I get too upset, I can't do it. My nerves can't take this even. But yes the blasting did occur while I was home in the evenings. Now, if it happened between before 4:00 a lot of times, no, I probably didn't hear it because I wasn't there, unless I was on vacation or sick or there was a holiday or whatever. I don't even know if -- you know, I'm just saying most of my experience with the blasting was done in the evening, and it was bad. One time I just, I went to look out the window and I pulled the curtain back and it went off just at that moment, and I swear, I thought I was going to hit the floor it scared me so bad. And it was like it rolled like this for about 200 feet. I've never seen anything like it in my life, and that's the truth.
Q. You weren't hurt by it, were you?
A. Not physically. Emotionally, that's yet to be decided, but physically, no.
Q. Are you taking any drugs for your emotions?
A. In August after I had the baby, in September I had an emotional breakdown one morning because of the noise. I got up and I just couldn't take it. It woke the baby up; the baby hadn't been sleeping. Of course if the baby doesn't sleep, I don't sleep. And I got up and the noise was so bad that I lost it. I just had an emotional breakdown. The home health nurse is my witness. She came in, my blood pressure was through the roof. I called my doctor that day. I went in to see him, it's Dr. John Neville at Dunbar Associates in Teays Valley, and I told him what we were going through, and he put me on antidepressants and blood pressure pills. And I told him that I would try them. I did not like to take pills, I don't. And to think that I have to control my emotions with pills is not something that I'm fond of. I tried them for two weeks and I -they made me so dizzy I'd stand up and almost pass out on the floor. And I said, you know, this is ridiculous, so I stopped taking them. I didn't even finish the prescription.
Q. How many days after the birth of your son was this?
A. I had him on August the 29th, I'm not sure the date that I went to the doctor. It's in the notes that I gave in my interrogatory.
MS. SOLOMON: Is it weeks?
HE DEPONENT: Huh?
MS. SOLOMON: Is it weeks after he was born, days, or months?
(Would you STFU?)
A. Well, it had to be weeks because I had already been in the hospital the second time and came out, because I went back into the hospital for another, what, four days, I think, and came back out, and the home health people were coming into me, so -- and they did that for about a month, so, you know.
Q. Did your doctor tell you that your stress or emotional problem was related to the construction?A. He said that I was under a lot of, you know, my hormones, he said it was due to hormones and stress, is what he said.
Q. Did he tell you stress from what?
A. Well, I explained to him what I was going through.
Q. A newborn baby is very stressful, isn't it?
A. It is very stressful, yes, it is. But this stuff that was going on across the street surely added to it. It surely was a contributing factor all the way. I'm not on the pills now or the blood pressure pills, and my blood pressure's been fine, and there's no construction going on, so I don't know.
Q. You were able to stop taking pills cold turkey, weren't you?
A. I did, yes, I did. I didn't like the way any of them made me feel. I have a baby to take care of.
Q. What -- in regard to Kanawha Stone, solely Kanawha Stone, what are your complaints that you've alleged in your complaint?
A. Well, of course it's the same as Mark's, but my major complaint with everybody is that not one person on, in Kanawha Stone, Cleveland Construction, City of Hurricane, has ever tried to help us in any way, not one time. If one time somebody would have tried to assist us in some way, we probably wouldn't be sitting here today. I'm sitting here today because two people from the City of Hurricane told me to get a lawyer, that that was the only way I would take care of the situation, and that is why we're sitting here today.
Q. Why did you sue Kanawha Stone then?
A. Because Kanawha Stone is part of the picture. They provided the blasting and the dirt at my house inside and out. So not only am I taking care of a baby, but I'm cleaning up dust all the time. The dust inside my house was just awful, and that was because of all the dust that was being raised by all the blasting and the machines and stuff that was going on across the street. The outside of my house, my lawn furniture is destroyed, it's filthy. There is no cleaning it. I've tried. There's no cleaning it. Everything is destroyed on the outside. In fact, I cleaned the back porch like three times, it still looks bad. But I cleaned the back porch I don't know how many times. And it's just -- there's plants and bushes in my yard that have died. And, you know, somebody needs to be held accountable for it, I didn't do it.
Q. How did you try to clean it?
A. How did I try to clean? What, the lawn furniture?
Q. Yeah, the deck.
A. With detergent, the spray 409. Is that what you clean lawn furniture with? I don't know. I mean, that's what I use, that's what I have.
Q. Did you use a rag, brush?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Did you try hosing it down?
A. No. A hose doesn't work.
Q. Hose doesn't work to clean it or your hose at the house doesn't work?
A. No, our hose doesn't work. It's not -- right we don't have it hooked up right. It's not right In fact, what happened is we left it out and it froze and busted I haven't replaced it I mean, I figure why, why bother.
Q. I bet Wal-Mart sells those.
A. I'm sure they do, but I -- you can put this on record, I've never stopped foot in that store and never will, so don't worry about that.
Q. So dust is your main complaint?
A. Dust, noise, and the fact that they scared me to death. My dogs are nervous. My little one pees in the floor all the time. They're nervous all -- if they hear the least little thing; they're going off. And they didn't used to be that way.
MS. SOLOMON: Stress
(Whose deposition is this, Ms Solomon?)
A. It's just stress. It's stress of being in a situation that I can't control, and that's what stress is all about, and we can't control this. Had he blasted before 4:00, maybe you wouldn't be sitting here, like he said he would. I don't know. But the fact is he told me that he would blast before 4 and he never did, it was after 6:00 every day after that.
Q. He never blasted before, that's your testimony?
A. I don't know, I wasn't home. But the days that I was home after 6:00 he blast, there was blasts, and there weren't supposed to be.
Q. Do you have any evidence that blasts occurred after 6:00?
A. Probably on their records. I'm sure they have a record of when they blasted and the times they blasted.
Q. Do you have any?
A. Do I have a record? No, I did not document the blasting.
MS. SOLOMON: Your memory?
THE DEPONENT: Huh?
MS. SOLOMON: Your memory is evidence.
(Did someone yank your chain again?)
A. My memory is all I need and Mark's blog. I mean, I told him a couple of times, but like I said I didn't.MR. KONSTANTY: Let me just, and interpose an objection to counsel's continued assistance with answering questions.
MR. WHITE: I agree, I second that.
Q. But moving on. So blasting after dust, and that's it, and the fact that nobody came out to help you?
A. I guess. I mean, if you want to belittle it that much, that's fine, but -
Q. Do you agree -
A. -- you have to live it to understand what we went through. You're making it sound very small but it was very big. But if that's how you need to put it, then, okay.
Q. But you agree with me that Art King.
A. I did not, I did not have physical --
Q. -- did come out and speak with you?
A. -- damages. My body was not hurt. Okay? Mentally and emotionally, yes. My outside my house is ruined. I have no desire to fix the outside of my house. I mean, I have no joy in my home anymore, and I had a lot of joy in my home. You know, I mean, that's the kind of stuff that Kanawha Stone helped to take away from us. You didn't do it alone, but you sure contributed to it. And that's where we're at here today.
Q. What about the outside of your house do you allege was destroyed?
A. It's just, it just doesn't look like the same place. It's dirty-looking.
Q. Have you tried to clean the outside of your house?
A. Why should I? I didn't do it. Why should I clean? No, I have not. No, I have not. I cut my grass, that's what I do.
Q. Were you present for the conversation your husband had with Mr. King?
A. No. I think it was by phone. I wasn't present, no. I was just -- when he called me, he said, I spoke with your husband, and he expressed that you're home, you're pregnant and you're home in the evening, so we're going to try to get the blasting done before 4:00. And he was very nice. And I said, I truly appreciate that, I said, I really do; but it never once happened, that I know of. I mean, it always happened after 4, so I don't know. When I heard it, it was after 4:00. So-
Q. But of every one, Mr. King did make an attempt to try to help you?
A. Well, he said he was going to help me, he didn't do it. He didn't make an attempt, he just tried to keep me quiet for a while just to get Mark off his back probably.
Q. But you don't know the number of blasts that occurred while you were gone, do you?
A. Not where you could ask am I going to say 5, 10, 15, no, I can't. I do not know, no. Like I said, I didn't write things down. I wish I would have, but I didn't.
Q. Well, you couldn't have, you weren't there, could you?
A. Not before 4.
Q. Right. So you -- there's no way you have any knowledge of what Kanawha Stone did for you prior to 4:00?
A. Unless I was home -
Q. You would have no idea?
A. -- for any reason. Um-hmm.
Q. You bought this house with your mother?
A. Yes.
Q. What year?
A. 1992.
Q. And you paid $40,000 for the house?
A. Yes. It was three apartments. I turned it into one house. I've remodeled almost the entire thing.
Q. You lived there alone?
A. No. My mother lived with me. It was when I was single.
Q. When did your mother move out?
A. Well, my mom hasn't necessarily moved out. She has two homes. She lives with -she has her own room and everything at my house. But she left. Her and her -because they go to church and stuff in Charleston, and her sister got a house in Charleston, so Mom stays there or she comes to my house. She's actually my baby-sitter now, she goes back and forth. But, I don't know, we came back in 2000, and I think they might have been there maybe six months. I have no idea when she went to Charleston. But she still gets her mail at my house and everything, I mean, she still lives there.
Q. Right. Your husband testified that at this point your mortgage is, what, $115,000?
A. Yeah, about, yeah, 115. We refinished 116, and the appraisal was 145, I think, or 149. It wasn't 175, he was mistaken there.
(Oh boy, There's going to be trouble when you get home. How many times has Mark told you that he is never mistaken?)
Q. Okay. When was -- strike that. I think your husband said that there had been two refi's?
A. Yes, we did, we did two.
Q. When was-
A. I don't remember the dates.
Q. There-
A. It seemed like there was one in 2000 and -
MS. SOLOMON: Let him finish his question.
THE DEPONENT: Oh, okay. I'm sorry.
Q. Ballpark when was the first one?
A. Let's see. We came back in 2000, we refinanced maybe 2003 or 2002, and then we did it again in 2005. I don't know. I honestly don't know the dates. I'd have to really research that. I honestly don't know. All I know is that they were both done before the Wal-Mart announcement, but I don't know when they fell. And I don't even remember the first one, how much it was or why we did it, I can't even remember. But I'm sure it was -- we might have done the upstairs with the first refinance. I can't remember.
Q. Is your husband on either of those -
A. No.
Q.- second mortgages?
A. No. He's not on the deed.
(We've heard)
Q. What -
A. He did sign a right to rescind because he lives there, but that's all.
Q. What percent of the mortgage payment does your mother make?
A. My mother doesn't make, pay the mortgage. Now, when I lived in San Diego she did and before then, but we don't make her pay. I mean, she doesn't pay.
Q. You've been bothered by the noise from your neighbor's crane company as well, -. haven't you?
A. Yeah. In the morning is when it's bad, when they really get -- and that's been since I bought the house. That was before Mark even. Just, like I said, I'm not a confrontational person.
Q. That's almost a -
A. I don't even know the man.
Q. That's -
A. I don't, I don't, I don't want anything to do with him.
Q. That's almost on a daily basis him running his shop, isn't it?
A. No, no, not necessarily. When they are over there, they might be over there for like a week at a time. And I don't know if they do maintenance over there or what, but they'll just run the crane and just run it for like hours, and it's just the most annoying noise you've ever heard in your life. And it's right there on the side of our bedroom. You know, there's just a small room between our bedroom and where they're at, so it's very very loud. And I used to, in Mark's office, (Wait a minute. He said his office was out of the city limits) which is beside our bedroom, used to be a room that I used to sleep in, so I really caught it a lot, you know, in previous years. But, yeah, when he runs it, it's annoying, it's very annoying.
Q. And he has trucks in addition to the crane and other pieces of heavy equipment?
A. I have no idea what he has over there. I know that he drives a big truck, but I don't know if that's what I hear. All I hear is -- it's the crane is what I'm hearing. Like I said, I think they do maintenance on them over there, because it's just a holding yard.
Q. Do you know that or is that just you speculating?
A. Well, I don't see them building anything over there, so I'm assuming he just puts the machinery there.
Q. He has a garage, doesn't he?
A. He's got a huge garage.
Q. Have you been inside the garage?
A. But that crane's not going in the garage, it's too big.
Q. Have you been inside the garage?
A. No. Never been on his property.
Q. So you don't know whether he attempts to repair vehicles inside that garage?
A. No. Actually, I've never seen those doors open, if you want to know the truth, now that you said that. I cannot tell you what time I've ever seen it open. Not to say it isn't, I'm just saying I've never seen his garage doors open. He's always worked on it outside.
Q. He starts early, too, doesn't he, 6:00?
A. Yeah, there's been -- he sometimes gets pretty early.
Q. During the -
A. His will be on weird days, too, like a Saturday morning or a -- you know what I'm saying? It's not like it's -- I guess they take -- they're working where else during the week, and then on Saturday they come back and do their thing. Because I'm usually up early, so, you know, it's Mark that was working late at night and having to try to sleep with everything going on around him.
Q. What work did you do to the exterior of your house?
A. I put siding on it, new windows, doors, roof, downspouts, soffit, you name it.
Q. Were you there while they reshingled your roof?
A. Yeah.
Q. Did any neighbors complain when you reshingled your roof?
A. He had a comment about the people - that were on my roof because he's racist.
Q. Your husband?
(Besides him. We already know HE's a racist.)
A. No. My husband wasn't anywhere near us when -- I didn't know him when I roofed the house. I bought it in '92.
Q. I don't know who "he" is, that's why I was asking.
A. My neighbor, you said my neighbor, asked if he complained any, I said only about the people on my roof.
Q. Did any neighbors complain, not just the guy next to you?
A. Okay. No, nobody, not that I know of. They weren't loud. They drove a nail with one smack, it wasn't like -- I don't know if you've ever seen real roofers, but they know what they're doing. They weren't loud.
Q. I think you sort of answered this earlier, but did ever make any complaints?
A. On who?
Q. On Kanawha Stone.
A. I've never, no, physically I have never made the complaints.
Q. Is that with respect to Kanawha Stone or is that with respect to everyone?
A. Every -- well, no, I can't say everyone, because I did attend a city council meeting and I wrote the PCDA, so, I don't- and I've called this Councilman Call, Councilwoman Call. Lana Call, I think her name -- I'm not sure what her name, first name is. But I've called Ben Newhouse on a couple of times and I called Mayor Peak, he never returned my call, neither did Newhouse either, but that's beside the point. I mean, to my, to what I can remember that's all I've done. I didn't call Kanawha Stone or anything.
Q. Do you remember a little mound of dirt on the construction site that was left closest to your home?
A. Oh, my gosh. Do you mean -
Q. By a little mound of dirt, I mean little in respect to a mountain.
A. A little mound of dirt? There's been all kinds of little mounds of dirt but other than that that's all. left. I don't know-
Q. Do you agree -
A. -- which one you're talking about.
Q. Let me ask, ask you this. Would you agree with me that the last part of the mountain that was removed was a section of the mountain that was closest to your house?
A. There was a piece of dirt across the street, is that what you're talking about? There was some dirt, a mound of dirt, yeah, there was.
Q. And for a good while you couldn't see the construction as a result of this mound?
A. Oh, see, we're not talking about the same mound. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't, I don't understand what you're asking.
MR. WHITE: Well, I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thank you for your attention.
MR KONSTANTY: Can I sit here?
VIDEOGRAPHER: Yeah.
MR. KONSTANTY: Can we keep going? I, Let's forge ahead.
THE DEPONENT: Thank you.
EXAMINATION
BY - MR.KONSTANTY:
Q. My name's Paul Konstanty. I represent Cleveland Construction. You've been here for your husband's deposition. I assume you know how this works. If you don't understand a question that I've asked, just let me know, I'll rephrase it. And I have just a very few questions for you, ma'am. I heard you testify, Mr. White asked you some questions about your medical condition and your health, and you talked about your nerves a little bit. The comment that I heard you make, and I wrote it down, it was it's yet to be decided. What is yet to be decided?
A. I just -- I don't know. My nerves, are shot over all this, through this process, what's happened, going through all this. You know I don't know. I get really nervous. I know for two weeks after the arrest I had panic attacks. I didn't go have them checked because I just, I found out I was pregnant, there's nothing they could do anyway. I would never take anything while I was pregnant anyway. But this has been very emotional for me. Being here today is very emotional for me.
Q. Do you, do you have an appointment with anyone?
A. No, I don't. There's no future plans to go and see a psychiatrist. (You might want to look into that)
Q. So I'm still not clear what's -
A. It's just, you know, it's just everything.
Q. I'm sorry. What's yet to be decided, then? Just I don't understand what you mean by that.
A. Well, it's just that with everything we've been through,and with the couple of things that we have taken to trial that hasn't worked and we can't sell our house and now we're going through all of this, and depending on the outcome of all of this, I don't know what the future holds for me. I mean, I'm at my emotional break. You know what I mean? I'm at my limit with everything. So I just want closure, and I want this -- I want to raise my son in a nice place and get past all this, get on with our lives. We haven't been -- we were working steadily fixing up the house. I need furniture, I won't buy -- I haven't done anything. You know, my life has been put on hold for two years, and I'm ready to stop all this and get on with life.
Q. And for you closure, for you and your husband, would be to sell the house and move somewhere else?A. Exactly.
Q. Do you remember the name of the bank that you did the last refinance with?
A. Wells Fargo is who I have it with now, I think that's who I write the check to, Wells Fargo. Yeah.
Q. Well and I should have asked you this question. I mean, is that who you refinanced with or did they then subsequently buy the mortgage and that's who now you pay?
A. You know, I did it on line, and I don't -- I think Wells Fargo is who I refinanced with. I honestly don't remember.
Q. Do you have any of the paperwork still?
A. Probably somewhere. I don't know.Q. Specifically the appraisal?
A. Yeah, I have a copy of -- I think Mike may have a copy of the appraisal. I'm not sure if I gave that to him or not. I have it in a file if I didn't give it to him.
Q. Mr. Clifford?
A. Um-hmm. It's Frank Dorsey from Associate Appraisers is the one who did it.
Q. Okay. Let me just ask you, if you don't have an objection, that if Mr. Clifford doesn't yet have that appraisal and you have it at home, if you would provide it to him, and in turn, ma'am, if you could -
A. Sure.
Q. -- make copies of all that for us, I would appreciate it.
A. Sure. I'll be glad to. I know since then I've tried to get the house appraised and I can't.
Q. Why not?
A. They tell me it's not worth anything residential, they'd have to do it as a commercial appraisal.
Q. Who's -
A. That's what they told me.
Q. Who told you that?
A. Tom Michaels and Franky.
Q. Tom Michaels?
A. Um-hmm.
Q. And who was the second one?
A. Frank Dorsey.
Q. Okay.
A. That now its use, that that's not what it should be used for. It's now in a commercial zone and it should be commercially appraised because it actually should be commercial property. There would be no way that they could find comps anywhere across the street from a major super center within a certain mile radius like they have to have for an appraisal. You know, it would be almost impossible for them to do that.
Q. Have you ever been offered any money for your house?
A. I have never been offered anything, no.
Q. Do you know whether anyone's offered your husband money for the house?
A. Mark said that one time that he was having a discussion with Scott Edwards and he offered 100, or he asked for pre-Wal-Mart plus 10 percent. But that was never brought to me in writing, verbally, nothing, and I'm the homeowner.
Q. Sure. And that would have been in your estimation, what, 100 -
A. What, 149 plus 10 percent is, what, 160?Q. Right, somewhere -
A. 155, something like that.
Q. Did you have any specific interaction with anyone from Cleveland Construction?
A. No.
Q. Telephone or otherwise?
A. Not that I recall. I didn't call anybody, unless they called the house looking for Mark or something. Other than that I wouldn't have, no. No.
Q. And the letter that you referenced earlier to the PCDA, did you, you wrote that?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. The physical damage to the exterior of the home that you described, Mr. White was asking you questions, was a result of dust and debris?
A. Dust and dirt, yeah. It was just, the car would be covered, the inside of the house was constantly -- and I -- and we've lived like hermits, I'm not kidding, for two years. Every window, every door, every curtain has been shut in my house. My child doesn't even know what sunlight is at my house, because we keep it all shut. We don't ...
Q. And has that 'has that stopped now that the construction is over?
A. Uh-uh. Now I'm on display. No. We stay in my house.
Q. I'm sorry, I should have made the question clearer. The dirt and debris, that, that has ended?
A. Yeah. They've paved it, yeah.
Q. Have you made any inquiry or investigation into someone that cleans houses that -- you have vinyl siding?
A. Yes.
Q. How much that would cost to have your -
A. No, I have not.
Q. -- your house cleaned?
A. Uh-uh. I don't want to spend another dime on the house, if you want to know the truth.
Q. You're aware that there are people out there that do that sort of thing?
A. I'm sure there are, with a good penny to do it, and I don't have it. So -
Q. You don't really know how much it costs, I think that's fair?
A. More than 50 bucks is too much for me right now, so ... It's not only that, if, if do get a buyer, my house is worth absolutely not a penny more now than it will be if fixed it. It doesn't matter. My house would be tom down if it's going to be sold as commercial, so why would I spend a dime on it. That's where we've been, we've been in a holding pattern for two years now. And Tom also told me that, or it might have been David Bledsoe, one of the -either the Realtor or Tom Michaels, I can't remember at the moment, told me that my house was probably worth half what it was before the Wal-Mart now as residential property. I don't necessarily know if I agree with it, but I'm just telling you what they told me.
Q. Sure. Do you have specific complaints other than what maybe your husband shared with us? I mean, do you have -
A. I do.
Q. -- anything to add -
MS. SOLOMON: Let him finish.
(You sure you don't want to tell her the answer before he asks the question?)
A. There was something that Mark really missed.
(I'll bet there was trouble at home after she said this. Everybody knows that Mark never misses anything. Just ask him.)
MS. SOLOMON: I was just going to say let him finish his question.
(Again? Why don't you just answer it for her?)
THE DEPONENT: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Sorry.
A. Were you finished?
Q. -- as it relates to my client?
A. Yes. The major issue, before the actual access was put into the Wal-Mart, we had people wanting our property, but they were on standby because nobody would communicate, not Cleveland Construction, not the City of Hurricane, neither one would communicate with anybody on the plans of how they were going to put the access into that Wal-Mart. So we had Krispy Kreme was looking at us. I don't know, there were several different places. And they all said we have to see what the Wal-Mart is going to do. Well, we were under the assumption the entire time that they were going to build just like Nitro, you have Lowe's on one side, you have the road in the middle, you have the Wal-Mart on the other. No, what did they do? They proved, they come in and dig down 12 feet probably below my property value and eliminated my ability to sell my house. I now have to work with the two people on each side of me to sell my house. And let me tell you, that's not an easy thing. And now I have to wait and a deal has to be made for the entire hillside before I can sell my house. So I'm stuck. And it's all because -- and Cleveland Construction had a big part in that. They're designer, they're the ones that put it in. City of Hurricane approved it. So that's my biggest gripe with Cleveland Construction is that they put the road in like they did and they have eliminated my possibility of selling my home and getting out of there, which is what we wanted to do before the first piece of dirt was moved. We hired Mike Hall and John Deitz right off the bat because we wanted out of there.
Q. Who was that?
A. Mike Hall and John Deitz, and the name of their company leaves me at the moment. It's in Teays Valley, though. And he's a -
MR. HALBURN: Wood Buying.
A. Yeah, Wood Buying Properties. And Mike Hall is actually in politics. I don't really know what he does. And I was told I have the best piece of property up there, that I was eye level with the Wal-Mart, that's what I was told. And that you hold onto your property, it will be worth a lot of money, blah, blah, blah. We put it on the market, and nobody could do anything because they had to wait. First they wanted to make sure that the deal was going to go through. Then after it went through then it's, well, we have to see how they're going to put the access in. Well, then when they started digging down I told Mark immediately, I said, This is not good. I said, Our right of way isn't wide enough. And it's exactly what David Bledsoe told me when he had it listed. You have to have a certain footage right of way, and I think ours is only like 18 feet or you have to have 18 feet and we only had 11. I don't know what it was. But anyway, I don't know what the zoning policy is on that.
MR. KONSTANTY: Those are all the questions I have for you. Thanks for your time today.
THE DEPONENT: Thank you.
MR. KONSTANTY: I'll switch seats here.
EXAMINATION
BY-MR.MULDOON:
Q. Hello, Mrs. Halburn.
A. Hi.
Q. My name is Jim Muldoon. And I have a few more questions to ask.
A. Okay.
Q. I know I, we use the term "few," so a we could be here for a while. No. In your response to a question that Mr. White talked to you about, you said that some folks from the City of Hurricane, I think you said two people from the City of Hurricane told you to get a lawyer.
A. Um-hmm.
Q. Who are they?
A. Lana Hall or Call.
Q. Who's that again? I'm sorry.
A. Scott Edwards and Councilman Call or Hall. It's the lady. I don't know their names. I'm not good with the names.
Q. When did they, when did they give you that-
A. That was on -- Lana or Lana or Lanna or whatever, that was on July 3rd. That was the morning that I called her when they were across the street on July 4th. I'm sorry, it was July 4th. And then Scott Edwards was during a city council meeting.
Q. So that was 2007?
A. Yes. Yes. And I told them both, I said, I don't have the money to hire a lawyer.
Q. I believe it's your testimony you purchased your home in, is it 1992 with your mother?
A. September of '92.
Q. When you purchased your home, did you realize that it was commercial property?
A. It wasn't on my, on the paperwork that I had. It showed, well, for tax purposes it showed that it was rental, and then, of course, it went over to residential. But as far as zoning, no, it did not. No one ever told me that it was zoned commercial.
Q. You were adjacent to a crane company, though, weren't you, at that time?
A. Yeah, but it was -- honestly, nobody told me. I didn't think -- and I even, you know, worked in the department where the loan, the loan papers were created, because I first got my loan through Charleston National where I worked.
Q. When you-
A. But it wasn't..
Q. When you purchased your home back in '92, did you ever get assurances from anyone from the City of Hurricane that there wouldn't be development by your property?
A. No.
Q. At any time have you ever received assurances from the City of Hurricane that there wouldn't be development by your property?
A. No.
Q. I believe you testified that you did attend a city council meeting?
A. Yes, in July 2007.
Q. Was it just one meeting?
A. Just one.
Q. What happened at that meeting?
A. I was pregnant at the time. I was so upset I couldn't go back.
Q. Why were you upset?
A. Just the whole process. Listening to Scott Edwards just upset me, and Ben Newhouse.
Q. What did they say?
A. Just, you know, I went up there and I gave my whole spiel, and I could just tell that he could care less about me. And he just -- I said -- he said, We'll see what we can do about it, and, you know, We'll enforce, see about enforcing the noise ordinance. And they didn't do anything. So I guess I fall in the category with John Clay, why bother. He said that he would take it up with the committee. To my knowledge, it was never taken up with the committee in a city council meeting.
Q. So you have no knowledge whether it was or was not taken up?
A. No. If it was, we would have been told about it, because we always have somebody that attends the meetings that reports back to Mark, but to our knowledge, no.
(A toady, a lacky, a lickspittle, a tattletale, a snitch)
Q. And you're unaware if it was taken up at an executive session?
A. Right, I'm unaware.
Q. We heard, well, you sat through your, your husband's testimony about his concerns and gripes with the City of Hurricane and Ben Newhouse. I want to get your, your opinions or your concerns.
A. Well, like I told him, they're all the same. I've called Ben Newhouse, I called him twice, I only called him twice, and he never returned my calls. Same way with Rick, Mayor Peak. I mean, my, my gripe is the same thing. I mean, they did harass me. They showed up at my house, gave me 48 hours to clean off a hillside. And I asked him, I said, Is this just the weeds on top of the hill or do I have to go clear to the bottom. He said, You have to clean the whole entire, the whole hill. I said, You're kidding me. He said, No. The side, the guy with the crane yard, his weeds are still there. He never cut them the whole time. Since that, he's never cut them. They're still there.
Q. And you complied with this, with this --
A. Yes, I complied. $800 later, but I complied. Yes. I had to pay my nephew to do that, I had to buy a weed eater with a blade, I had to, you know, get, rent a U-Haul. And I was out there with them, seven to eight months pregnant, pulling out limbs and just all of that. My mother fell on the pavement and busted her face all up. She's 82 years old at the time. I mean, we were all out there working, because I didn't want them to bother me. And they would have bothered me. I knew, they did intimidate me, and they knew that's what they were doing. Mark wasn't there, and they knew they could get away with it.
Q. How did they bother you, just by issuing this citation?
A. Yeah. They centered me out, that's why they bothered me. They didn't bother anybody else.
Q. So you feel you were singled out by-
A. Oh, most definitely was singled out.Q. What was the resolution of the citation?
A. I fixed the hill, I cut the hill.
Q. Did you have to pay any fines?
A. No, because I cut the hill within 48 hours. It was done within 48 hours.
Q. Did you ask for additional time?
A. No, I didn't ask for additional time.
Q. Do you have any other complaints about the City of Hurricane that we haven't talked about?
A. Well, the access road, that's, to me that's huge.
Q. What was that complaint?
A. To the Wal-Mart, how they dropped it below my property level and I can't sell my house.
Q. So you think that they -
A. The city approved it.
Q. The city-
A. Your city manager approved it.
MR. KONSTANTY: Let me again object to counsel assisting in answering questions.
Q. Okay. The city approved this --
A. I would, I would think they have a building or a planning person that has to, the city manager, I would think he oversaw
the whole project.
Q. Do you know if any of the approve --
A. Why didn't they put the access on the other side of the hill?Q. Do you know if the access road violates any code?
A. No.
Q. I'll just check my notes one time. Do you share your husband's opinion that the City of Hurricane is corrupt?
A. I don't have personal knowledge of any of that. It's only hearsay from, you know, him. So I can't answer that question. If I had to look at my situation and judge.
(He just tells you what you believe and you keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you)
Q. Before you married your husband, did you have any problems with or complaints to the city?
A . No.
(Hmmmmm)
MR. MULDOON: I don't have anymore questions. Thank you.
THE DEPONENT: Thank you.
MR. WHITE: I have no follow-up.
MR. KONSTANTY: Read or waive?
MS. SOLOMON: Read.
MR. KONSTANTY: Okay. She'll read.
MR. MULDOON: Thank you for coming in.
VIDEOGRAPHER: The deposition is now concluded, and the time is 6:45 p.m. (Whereupon, read and sign.) (Whereupon, the Videotaped Deposition of DJH concluded at 6:45 p.m.)
EXHIBIT C
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PUTNAM COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA DH and MARK HALBURN,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
CITY OF HURRICANE, WEST VIRGINIA, a municipal corporation, BEN NEWHOUSE, individually and in his capacity as City Manager for the City of Hurricane, CLEVELAND CONSTRUCTION, INC. dba Cleveland Construction, Inc. Of Nevada and KANAWHA STONE COMPANY, INC., Defendants.
Civil Action No.: 07-C-298
PLAINTIFFS' RESPONSE TO FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES AND REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND THINGS OF DEFENDANT CLEVELAND CONSTRUCTION, INC.,
INTERROGATORY NO.1: Please state, for each plaintiff, complete name, social security number, date of birth, current address, the time period during which each plaintiff has resided at that address and if for a period of less than ten years, state all other addresses at which each plaintiff has resided for the last ten years, and each plaintiff's employment history for the last 10 years preceding the commencement of this action.
ANSWER: DJH, xxx-xx-xxxx, 11/10/64, Rt. 4 Box 455, Hurricane, WV 25526 1992-present. Lived approximately 18 months in San Diego 1998-2000. Employment: BB&T 4/24/07-Present, United Talent/Kanawha Co. Board of Education 12/06-4/24/07, WV Dept. Of Education- 11/05-8/06, CASCI 6/01-11/05, Thomas Memorial Hospital 1/99-6/01, San Diego Opera- 1998-1999, T-Shirt International 1997-1998, Charleston National Bank 1987-1997
(Publisher's Note: Though we have no legal obligation to do so, PutnamLIES.com has redacted portions of the record containing the Halburns' social security numbers)
Mark Vance Halburn; xxx-xx-6201, 11/17/1961; Rt. 4 Box 455 Hurricane, WV 25526, 2000 - present; California prior 5841 Amaya Drive. Apt. Lakeside, CA 92040 1998-1999; 345 Estes El Cajon, CA 92020 1996 - 1998. Employment: See Attached
(Oddly enough, "Attached" is nowhere to be found in the file at the courthouse. Who would have an interest in nobody seeing his employment history?)
(Interrogatories 2 & 3 are also missing)
INTERROGATORY NO.4: Please identify all persons, including their full name(s) and addressees), known to the plaintiffs or to the plaintiffs' attorneys who were or claim to have been a witness to the facts or contentions of fact identified in your response to Interrogatory No. 2 above.
ANSWER: Mark Halburn 194 Grace Drive, Hurricane, WV 25526 DH 194 Grace Drive, Hurricane, WV 25526 Carole Shortt Suddenlink, 1036 Quarrier St. Charleston, WV Lawrence J. Smith 2nd St. Hurricane, WV 25526 (550-5829) David Bledsoe Family First Realty Chase Park Teays Valley Rd Hurricane, WV 25526 (562-2893)
INTERROGATORY NO.5: Please identify each and every rule, regulation, statute, or other authority applicable to the matters made the subject of the Complaint filed herein which the plaintiffs or the plaintiffs' attorneys contend was violated or not followed by defendant Cleveland Construction, Inc., which forms the basis of the allegations against defendant Cleveland Construction, Inc., if any.
ANSWER: Other than the now declared unconstitutional ordinance and numerous citations of case law cited hereinafter, none.
INTERROGATORY NO. 6: Please identify all persons whom you intend to call to give expert testimony at the trial of this action including, as to each: the full name and address of such expert; the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify; the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert is expected to testify; a summary of the grounds for each
(The answer to Interrogatory 6 is missing as well)
Civil Action No. 07-C-298
You can download the entire deposition here: Halburn Deposition .
That's all folks!
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