Barry Moore Files Suit Against Josh Pipkin - Could Get Interesting

Rickey Stokes

Viewed: 3300

Posted by: RStokes
Date: Sep 24 2015 8:50 AM

COFFEE COUNTY:    Alabama State Representative Barry Moore has filed a Florida civil action against his formal opponent Josh Pipkin.

The suit is filed in Walton County Florida charging Pipkin with illegal wiretap. Moore's allegations are that he was in the State of Florida when the conversation took place. Under Florida law conversations can not be recorded without consent from both parties.

Under Alabama law as long as one party is aware the conversation is recorded it is legal.

Moore was charged criminally in Lee County by Attorney General Luther Strange. And it is not Strange that Strange could not get a conviction.

Moore is close to Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard. He was caught up in the dealings of the Speaker.

MANY LEGAL AVENUES ARE NOW IN ACTION

The civil action might not be a wise move for Barry Moore. And the comments are not directed at Moore specifically, but directed at what happens when a civil action is filed.

What happens now is, discovery. If you remember O.J. Simpson, he was found not guilty criminally but was financially raped civil wise.

In civil discovery attorney's fish. They subpoena and fish. Then depositions. While the opposing side gets to object to later be answered by the Judge, the deposition continues. A deposition is a fishing expedition.

Present at a deposition is the attorney's, the person being deposed, and the parties to the case. The Judge is not present and later decides on the objection if it can be admitted under oath.

Moore will get to ask, through his attorney, Pipkin a lot of questions. But also Pipkin will get to ask Moore a lot of questions. All under oath, with a court reporter, under the penalties of perjury.

Then, the question comes up: If Pipkin was in Alabama and the recording took place in Alabama, which law does he specifically fall under. If all Moore said was he was at the beach, could Pipkin assume he was at Orange Beach? That is in Alabama.

So will specific knowledge be required that Moore was at a Florida beach?

Interesting questions. And in a civil action, Moore, an elected official, might have more to lose. Because all questions are asked under the penalties of perjury.

EXAMPLE

Years ago a Dothan attorney hired me on a case in regards to child support. I charged him  $ 500. I instructed the attorney to file interrogatories which are questions filed under the penalties of perjury. The questions have to do with your income and expenses.

What do you do when child support is involved? Play up expenses and play down income.

I told the attorney to call me when he got the answers. You see, I knew the man had recently bought a new truck.

What do you do when you borrow money? Just the opposite of child support, play down expenses and play up income.

I then got a subpoena on where he borrowed the money for his truck and got his financial statement.

His child support was doubled. Because his interrogatory answers conflicted with his financial statement with the bank.

So in civil actions, you can ask questions, and you then have subpoena power.

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