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         1    long to get the TV.

         2             MR. OLIVER:  Could we help?  I'd be glad to help.  I

         3    can't help it I'm hungry.

         4             THE COURT:  I understand.  Mr. Stilley.

         5             MR. STILLEY:  May it please the Court, counsel,

         6    ladies and gentlemen of the jury.  My name is Oscar Stilley.

         7    I represent the plaintiff, Jordan Blair, and I'm going to

         8    take just a few minutes here to explain to you what this case

         9    is about.

        10             It is a very simple case.  There's two claims,

        11    there's a claim of battery that is directed at only one

        12    individual, and that is Bo Gerhardt.  And the judge already

        13    told you what that is about.  That is about an incident in

        14    which Mr. Blair alleges that he was slammed into a counter

        15    immediately after he arrived at Mountain Park.

        16             And then we got the second claim, which is a Fair

        17    Labor Standards claim for minimum wages and overtime pay for

        18    the failure to pay for the work that was compelled of him

        19    while he was at Mountain Park.  It is a simple case and I

        20    don't want to make it more complicated than it is.

        21             Let me tell you first what this case is not.  This

        22    case is not a contest between religions.  As a matter of fact

        23    these folks are Baptist, I'm Baptist, I went to a Baptist

        24    church, my wife is Baptist.  My client is -- has grown up in

        25    the faith.  And he by no means is opposed to the faith, so

                                                                    I -  63

         1    don't get the idea there is any objection on the part of

         2    anybody to Christianity or religion, that is not the case.

         3    The case is about a young man.

         4             Let me just tell you just a little about the

         5    evidence that you're going to hear about his life.  He was a

         6    good student by all counts.  He in the earlier part of high

         7    school, he was in public school, made As and Bs, was on the

         8    football team, well liked, made the paper from time to time

         9    for his athletics.  After that he was taken out of the public

        10    school and put into a private school where he completed his

        11    high school education.

        12             And after this point in time is when he was sent to

        13    Mountain Park.  Right after that point in time that he was

        14    sent to Mountain Park.  And at Mountain Park he was forced to

        15    get up in the morning about 5:30 a.m.  And part of the day

        16    that would put him in certain kind of educational activities

        17    or least they claim they were educational activities, but the

        18    great part of the day they had him working doing things like

        19    building fences, building or repairing barns, digging ponds.

        20    They actually had him to work to dig a pond with a shovel.

        21             Mr. Wills has a yacht in Florida.  He was compelled

        22    to work on that yacht polishing things, taking care of that

        23    vessel and otherwise doing work for the defendants.  He

        24    worked on their houses.  He worked on the grounds around

        25    their houses.  And not just a small amount of work, but he

                                                                    I -  64

         1    was worked -- from time to time he was forced to work from

         2    this early hour and he got very little time to get around and

         3    rest and do other things that you would ordinarily do.

         4    Sometimes he was forced to work into the wee hours of the

         5    morning and forced to get back up again at 5:30 in the

         6    morning and go again and do the same thing.

         7             He didn't have an option about this.  He was told to

         8    do this.  And the defense has alluded to this is not the kind

         9    of school where you just come and go when you want to.  This

        10    is the kind of school where you can't leave and you cannot

        11    communicate with anybody except the people that the operators

        12    of this enterprise want you to communicate with.  So it's not

        13    a matter that he can just say, well, I'll find my way

        14    somewhere else.  He was forced to do this work under threat

        15    of serious damage to himself if he did not do this work.  So

        16    that's the situation we have here.

        17             Of course the defendants are all denying that they

        18    are employers.  So we're going to have to put on some

        19    evidence about who this enterprise actually belonged to.

        20    Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy is not a corporation.

        21    There is no formal zoning section.  That's the name that's

        22    used by certain individuals.  So I'm going to ask some

        23    information, asking questions of some of these individuals to

        24    see who is making profits off this so that you'll have a

        25    better opportunity to determine who was getting the financial

                                                                    I -  65

         1    benefit from this young man's labor, on the grounds that the

         2    people that are getting the benefit from that labor are the

         3    employers.  Whether they admit that or not, that is --

         4             MR. OLIVER:  That's an improper standard, Your

         5    Honor, I object.  That's not the standard.

         6             THE COURT:  Overruled.

         7             MR. STILLEY:  At any rate, I will certainly try to

         8    keep this as reasonably brief as I can just to show you what

         9    the facts were during this period of time, what kind of work

        10    that he did by testimony, and that he left.  Actually he was

        11    sent to Mountain Park in Missouri because he comes from

        12    Arkansas.  He was born and raised in Crawford County,

        13    Arkansas.  He was sent to Mountain Park October 24th, 2001.

        14    On the 9th or 10th of November of 2001 he was taken to

        15    Florida against his will to the Palm Lane Boarding Academy

        16    there.

        17             MR. OLIVER:  I do object now, Your Honor.  I mean,

        18    he's already treaded the line twice.  Objection.

        19             THE COURT:  We are not here about, you know, how

        20    he's in this school or anything of that nature.

        21             MR. STILLEY:  Certainly, Judge, I understand.  Let

        22    me see if I can -- let me see if I can --

        23             THE COURT:  He didn't have anything to do with the

        24    decision as to going to Palm Lane.

        25             MR. STILLEY:  Correct.  Thank you, Judge.  At any

                                                                    I -  66

         1    rate, I believe it was the 15th of March of 2002 that he

         2    escaped from Palm Lane, left and went back to Arkansas.  And

         3    at that point in time obviously he was no longer performing

         4    any work for Palm Lane Academy.

         5             So thank you very much for your time and attention.

         6    That's the evidence that we anticipate presenting in this

         7    case.  Thank you very much.

         8             MR. OLIVER:  Give me a second to get my composure,

         9    Your Honor.  May it please the Court.

        10             THE COURT:  Go ahead, Mr. Oliver.

        11             MR. OLIVER:  Mr. Blair, Mr. Stilley, ladies and

        12    gentlemen.  My honor to represent Bob and Betty Sue Wills and

        13    Sam Gerhardt, who make up the leadership of Mountain Park

        14    Baptist Church and its ministry, the Mountain Park Baptist

        15    Boarding Academy, and to represent Palm Lane Baptist Church,

        16    which is a Florida corporation which has as its primary

        17    ministry, the Palm Lane Baptist Boarding Academy.  And also

        18    with John to represent the staff.

        19             In 1987 the Wills, Pastor Wills and Betty Wills,

        20    opened with Sam Gerhardt the Mountain Park Baptist Church out

        21    in Patterson, Missouri.  And they began their ministry which

        22    is this Palm Lane Baptist Boarding Academy.  Students are

        23    enrolled here by their parents with -- this is from

        24    Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 9, with the full knowledge that

        25    Mountain Park was a boarding academy that has two missions,

                                                                    I -  67

         1    one mission is to provide college preparatory academic

         2    program, and the other is to provide an environment of faith

         3    through nurturing Christian values of biblical self image to

         4    try to help these troubled children to accomplish two things,

         5    one to walk with God and to develop their own faith while

         6    simultaneously and in an integrated program advancing

         7    academically.

         8             Jordan came in to this well-established program on

         9    October the 24th, 2002.  He came in to -- I'm sorry, October

        10    the 24th, 2001.  He came in to a well-established program, a

        11    program which begins at 5:30 in the morning and throughout

        12    the day till nine or 9:30 at night, provided rigid, a rigid

        13    environment and a rigid structure for these troubled

        14    children, boys on the one hand, girls on the other hand.

        15             The structure involves separation between boys and

        16    girls, very high standards of conduct and discipline.  At the

        17    same time they integrated this concept.  And the concept is

        18    very simple, if you live in a life where there is Christian

        19    example, and if you have the opportunity to read the bible,

        20    to learn the bible and to walk with others who walk with God,

        21    then you are going to be or have the opportunity to restore

        22    yourself, to gain a new respect for authority, to gain

        23    biblical self image, which is the image of the body as a

        24    temple, to have respect for yourself, respect for others, to

        25    develop a sense of personal responsibility and work ethic at

                                                                    I -  68

         1    the same time learning how to work with others.  Because

         2    these are after all troubled children that come to this

         3    school.

         4             Now, when they come here they are also introduced to

         5    an academic program.  And we don't need to go through the

         6    academic program other than you know it's an integrated part

         7    of this.  They use a Christian curriculum called the School

         8    of Tomorrow curriculum, which involves a system called PACE,

         9    which is just a way that you establish where you are.  A lot

        10    of this is computer based.  And it's integrated with the

        11    Landmark Freedom Baptist curriculum.  So this is an

        12    integrated academic program and an integrated religious

        13    program is taught together in a very rigid structured system.

        14             Who is involved in the system?  Well, in Missouri

        15    involved in the system when Jordan was there, the evidence

        16    will be Pastor Wills is on top, he makes the decisions.  This

        17    is an independent fundamental Baptist church.  He makes the

        18    decisions with input from Betty, his wife, whose job title is

        19    executive administrator.  And then with Sam Gerhardt who has

        20    had a variety of titles but essentially at the time Jordan

        21    was there, he was associate pastor.  As all practical though

        22    the evidence will be that he ran the day-to-day activities of

        23    the operation.

        24             Robert O'Brient, who is also a defendant, was the

        25    principal or the director as you were of the academic

                                                                    I -  69

         1    program.  He ran the academic program.  Bo Gerhardt helped

         2    with the male students, sort of dorm supervisor for want of a

         3    better way to describe it.  Julie was there, but she and

         4    Debbie, Mrs. Gerhardt, Sam's wife, are on the other side,

         5    they are on the girl's side.  And they don't have input into

         6    the essential decisions that relate to the boys.

         7             Day to day Sam Gerhardt, Brother Gerhardt, is what

         8    they usually refer to him or Brother Sam, runs it day to day.

         9    Brother O'Brient, or Brother O'Brient runs the school part.

        10    Bo helps in the dorm and at the time was involved in the

        11    learning center.

        12             In Florida at Palm Lane at the time that -- well,

        13    I'll just tell you, Palm Lane is a corporation, okay.  Palm

        14    Lane, its officers, the two that make the decisions are Bob

        15    Wills and Betty Sue Wills.  They have the same titles, pastor

        16    and executive administrative assistant.

        17             The people that hire, fire, set wages, set policy

        18    are Bob Wills, Betty -- Bob Wills, Betty, you all know the

        19    wife always participates in decisions.  And Sam has

        20    significant input at Mountain Park but not at Palm Lane.

        21             Now, the Blair involvement with Mountain Park

        22    started on October the 20th of the year 2000 when Ron Blair

        23    called Mountain Park and made some preliminary inquiries and

        24    was sent a packet of information.  The packet of information

        25    includes an application, which you will see, part of it has

                                                                    I -  70

         1    already been admitted as Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 2.  And part

         2    of this package is a parent handbook or a parent/student

         3    handbook which has already been admitted which is Exhibit

         4    No. 9.  This explains the philosophy of Mountain Park to the

         5    parents before they ever come there.

         6             Sam didn't hear from the Blairs for about a year.

         7    And on October the 2nd, 2001 he got another phone call from

         8    Mr. Ron Blair, the father, indicating a renewed interest

         9    because of activities at home, a renewed interest in sending

        10    Jordan to Mountain Park.  He asked for another information

        11    package and he got another information package.  And then

        12    Mr. Blair called back on October the 9th and explained in

        13    greater detail the problems at home.  And on October the 20th

        14    the Blairs arrived, Ron and Jannett Blair, and went through

        15    parent orientation.  You know, this is not your basic

        16    kindergarten, this is not your basic public school.  And

        17    parents are required to go through orientation so they

        18    understand the school before they make the commitment.

        19             And the Blairs came and went through the orientation

        20    process and saw how the school works in great detail and

        21    signed the enrollment forms.  They call on October the 24th,

        22    2001 and formally enrolled Jordan Blair in Mountain Park

        23    knowing that before he turned 17 he would be moved to Palm

        24    Lane.

        25             So the plan was to stay at Mountain Park until about

                                                                    I -  71

         1    Jordan's 17th birthday, and then move him to Palm Lane.

         2    Jordan arrived on the evening of October the 24th.  He was

         3    met by a young man named Drew Parrish, who as they do with

         4    every child is enrolled tries to, you know, engage in small

         5    talk, trying to make these kids relax, try to make them

         6    understand the environment that they are in.  And they come

         7    in to the boy's dorm and you go downstairs and there is a

         8    couch down there that is routinely used to discuss the

         9    situation with new students.  We're trying to put them at

        10    ease.  You know, most of them are not real pleased to be

        11    there.  They know they are going in to a strict religious

        12    rigid environment.  Well, some don't want to be there.

        13    Trying to put them at ease, and at the same time try to

        14    conform to our requirements.  You know, we have rules about

        15    what you can and cannot have, what you can and cannot bring.

        16             So every student is talked to, talked to on the

        17    couch about this.  About this time Bo comes.  Bo comes down,

        18    has the conversation with Jordan.  One of the things that

        19    they do is to inspect everything that's brought to make sure

        20    there's no contraband.  You know, no long knives that -- you

        21    know, that the clothing that they bring is appropriate.  You

        22    know, this is a white T-shirt, high necks, no V-necks for

        23    young ladies, no rock band T-shirts.  It's a change for these

        24    kids.

        25             So there's an inspection to make sure that

                                                                    I -  72

         1    everything that the child has brought, young person's brought

         2    fits.  While the inspection is going on, all children take a

         3    shower.  These young people are taken to the shower and they

         4    take a shower.  This is the first thing they want, clean

         5    children.  You now take care of your body and have respect

         6    for yourselves as the temple of the Lord because your body is

         7    a temple.  If you don't have that, you're not going to ever

         8    have respect for others.

         9             And then the child is integrated into the activities

        10    of the school that are ongoing at the time they arrive.  Now,

        11    what did not happen on November the 24th is that Bo Gerhardt

        12    did not take Jordan Blair and slammed him up against

        13    anything.  There is a no touch policy at Mountain Park.

        14    Students don't discipline students.  Staff does not use

        15    physical discipline on students except swats which are the

        16    last resort, and they are never administered to Jordan.

        17             This is an invention.  It did not happen.  Bo comes

        18    in, meets Jordan, engages in small talk, explains the basic

        19    rules, hands him this towel and bar of soap, sends him to the

        20    shower while they inspect his goods, make sure that there is

        21    nothing inappropriate there, no long knives, no inappropriate

        22    clothes, that kind of thing, no inappropriate rock music, no

        23    inappropriate books.  Do they have the correct bible, King

        24    James version, the correct one.  Because that's the

        25    environment that he's changed to.  You don't slam any child

                                                                    I -  73

         1    in the staff area into any bathroom.  It doesn't happen and

         2    it did not happen.

         3             Now, then Mr. Blair then was just integrated into

         4    the program.  Well, the program that was going on at that

         5    particular time would have been to sleep.  So after his

         6    shower he would have been shown to the dormitory.  They all

         7    sleep in a dorm.  The next day he would have been integrated

         8    into the regular Monday through Friday program.  This isn't

         9    an absolute, but this is pretty much what the schedule is.

        10    It differs on Wednesday night because on Wednesday night you

        11    have additional church service.  It differs on Friday night

        12    because on Friday night you have movies.  And it differs on

        13    Saturday and Sunday.

        14             But basically you get up in the morning, you start

        15    off with your personal hygiene.  Then there is a period of

        16    time for bible reading and personal devotions.  This is an

        17    essential part of the way the school functions.  We believe

        18    that if shown a chance to know the Lord, if they develop a

        19    personal relationship with the Lord and become saved, they

        20    will be restored to society.

        21             After that they eat and then they come to common

        22    area cleaning.  That's one of the -- considered by Mountain

        23    Park to be one of the basics.  Every student, every student,

        24    for every student the very basics of character development

        25    begin with responsibility to maintain their personal and

                                                                    I -  74

         1    common areas.  This is how they do it at Mountain Park.  They

         2    have teams.  Because teamwork is something that troubled

         3    people lack.  And they need to learn to work together to

         4    learn self-respect and how to deal with other people.

         5             So they are assigned teams and they start off the

         6    day then cleaning the common area.  Then at 8:15, from

         7    8:15 to noon and then afternoon till about 2:30 they go to

         8    school.  School is, as I showed you from the Plaintiff's

         9    Exhibit 9, school is the academic program which is the School

        10    of Tomorrow curriculum.  A self-based integrated learning

        11    program combined with the Freedom Baptist curriculum which is

        12    the religious portion.

        13             So from 8:15 in the morning to noon and then from

        14    one o'clock to 2:30 is the academic program.  After the

        15    academic program there is work and there is sports.  This is

        16    just Monday through Friday.  Sunday afternoon is -- unless

        17    you're on discipline, Sunday afternoon is free time.

        18    Saturday afternoon is a variety of different things.  But

        19    from 2:30 to roughly five o'clock you do one of two things,

        20    you either work or you play sports.  Some days they play

        21    sports; soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, swim.  That's

        22    activity some days.  And some days they work.

        23             Now, what do they do?  What do they do, in teams a

        24    whole lot of things.  What is the point of the work?  Well,

        25    I'll tell you what we don't do.  We don't make anything,

                                                                    I -  75

         1    except to provide an opportunity by Christian example in

         2    reference to the bible is the word of God.  The only thing we

         3    make is an opportunity for these children, troubled children

         4    to find God and by finding God be restored to society.  But

         5    we don't make any products.  We don't sell anything.  We

         6    don't buy and sell farm equipment.  We don't buy and sell

         7    machinery.  We don't repair, buy, and sell farm equipment or

         8    machinery.  We don't run cattle farms.  We don't run horse

         9    farms.  We have a singular mission ministry, save troubled

        10    youth and at the same time educate them.  And this is

        11    integrated into it.

        12             So children, young people in the afternoon learn

        13    work ethic, self-respect, team work, a self accomplishment,

        14    relearn a sense of pride by either as groups playing sports

        15    or doing things.  What do they do?  They stack firewood.  We

        16    have -- a hot water heater is wood fire.  They stack

        17    firewood.  Do they do it all the time?  No, the guy that

        18    sells the school the firewood stacks it some of the time, but

        19    that's an activity that they do.  We leave a part of the

        20    grounds unmowed.  Most the grounds are mowed with a bushhog,

        21    particularly down in Florida.  We leave a part unmowed so

        22    that we can reintroduce young people to manual labor, to hard

        23    work, where they go cut weeds or mow grass or pick up limbs.

        24    Or down in Florida where it rains and blows a lot, pick up

        25    what's blown in.  Or maybe paint fences.

                                                                    I -  76

         1             So that they accomplish something, something that

         2    they've not apparently in their life accomplished it with

         3    other people.  We don't sell this product.  We don't put it

         4    into the stream of commerce.  We use this opportunity to

         5    teach these young people how to work in society with each

         6    other.  A self-respect and work ethic just exactly like we

         7    tell the parents when they enroll their children that we are

         8    going to restore.

         9             These children by providing nurturing Christian

        10    values of respect for authority, learn how to take direction,

        11    a biblical self image and Christian services.  We nurture

        12    them at student growth, respectfulness, leadership, and

        13    creativity.  And in part, and, in fact, in whole this work or

        14    play environment is intended exactly to do that, to teach

        15    cooperation, like the sports, to teach cooperation, to teach

        16    children respect for authority so they don't end up like me

        17    yelling at every basketball official.  I don't think a SEMO

        18    official has ever made a good call, but somebody ought to

        19    teach them better than I learned.  It's respect for

        20    authority, something that most of these children when they

        21    come don't have.

        22             So, yeah, sure, they have to clean up in the

        23    morning.  And, yes, they have to work or play sports in the

        24    afternoon.  Because it's part of how we put their lives back

        25    together.  Teamwork, self-discipline, accomplishment,