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I - 97
1 hearing on
discovery. You ruled that he was not entitled to
2 inquire about
employee's salaries. Second, Your Honor, he's
3 basing his
supposition on the last he heard through the
4 grapevine how much
people are making. Third, he has -- if
5 he's going to
inquire, I think he has to cover the entire
6 territory as far as
room and board, any other expenses that
7 are covered under the
plan. And in addition to that, whether
8 these people would
waive any exemption rights under the Fair
9 Labor Standards Act.
10 It is our
position to come back on that. If he's
11 making an affirmative
position on that, I think he has to
12 present evidence on
it. And he hasn't offered anything in
13 this lawsuit so far.
I don't know where he's going to get it
14 here. I think it's
improper for him to inquire about
15 confidential
information. He hasn't demonstrated how that
16 junior -- what junior
staff members would do would constitute
17 the employer/employee
relationship.
18 THE
COURT: Well, he's saying he's going toward
19 whether or not they are
subject to the Fair Labor Standards
20 Act. Every employer
is subject to that. I mean, but you're
21 really getting to whether
or not your client, Mr. Blair, is
22 an employee. So I
think you're going a little bit too far
23 afield. And we're
going way too far afield with how much
24 people are making and
whether or not they are subject in
25 terms of those
employees. We're not talking about those
I
- 98
1 employees. I
thought you were making -- I thought you were
2 making an inquiry to
see who the employers, if there is such
3 a thing, who they
are.
4 MR.
STILLEY: I can get back to the --
5 THE COURT:
Let's stay there.
6 MR.
BRIGGS: Your Honor, actually while we're here
7 then I still, I want
to make this preemptorily. Then I still
8 would object to his
inquiry into example how much Mr. and
9 Mrs. Wills make or
how much Pastor and Mrs. Gerhardt make. I
10 think that is
inappropriate inquiry to determine whether or
11 not they would constitute
employers in this case.
12 THE
COURT: I don't know what's going to constitute
13 who. But it seems to
me that unless there is some other
14 information there, this
isn't part of the information there
15 in terms of these
people. The defendant is claiming that all
16 of them are the
employer. So I'm going to allow that.
17 There's a simple solution,
you all don't want to go there, so
18 forget it. Here it
is.
19 MR.
BRIGGS: Thank you, Judge
20 (The following
proceedings continued within the
21 hearing of the jury:)
22 BY MR. STILLEY:
23 Q. How
much compensation did you receive from Mountain
24 Park and/or Palm Lane in
2001?
25 A. How
much pay did I receive?
I - 99
1 Q.
Correct.
2 A.
I'm not sure because I don't receive a salary every
3 month.
4 Q.
Okay. Where can we get that information?
5 A.
I'd have to look on my income tax.
6 Q.
Who is the bookkeeper?
7 A.
Mrs. Gerhardt.
8 Q.
Okay. Would she have that information?
9 A.
She would have it at Mountain Park, yes.
10 Q. Is
that Debbie Gerhardt?
11 A. Yes,
it is.
12 Q. You
said something about having that information at
13 Mountain Park. Are
you saying that -- what do you mean by
14 that?
15 A. On
the computer at Mountain Park where she keeps our
16 bookkeeping.
17 Q.
Okay. You don't think she would know that, have
18 personal knowledge of that
information?
19 A. I
don't think she would know that, sir.
20 Q.
Okay. Are you telling us you don't know how much
21 compensation you got in
2001?
22 A. No,
sir. Like I said, I don't receive a salary every
23 month.
24 Q. Is
there any year you could tell us how much
25 compensation you received
from these two entities?
I
- 100
1 A.
I think this last year I received 54,000.
2 Q.
I beg your pardon?
3 A.
54,000 this past year.
4 Q.
Okay. Would that be 2003?
5 A.
Yes.
6 Q.
Okay. Would that be commensurate with other years or
7 do you know if that
would be roughly similar to other years?
8 A.
I may have received a bit more other years.
9 Q.
All right. Do you have personal knowledge about how
10 much compensation your
husband received from Mountain Park
11 and Palm Lane?
12 A. I
think this past year he got 40 something.
13 Q. Do
you know about any other years?
14 A. No,
sir, not right off I don't.
15 Q.
Okay. Now, is that just cash compensation?
16 A. A
check.
17 Q.
Okay. But does that include -- do you get any housing
18 or other things of value
through these two organizations?
19 A. I'm
buying my own home in Florida.
20 Q.
Okay. And does that come out of the compensation that
21 you receive from --
22 A. Yes,
it does.
23 Q. And
that comes out of the compensation that you receive
24 from those two
organizations, correct?
25 A. I
don't receive anything from Palm Lane, I just get
I - 101
1 money from Mountain
Park.
2 Q.
Okay. Do you have personal knowledge about the
3 compensation received
by any of the other individuals that
4 are parties to this
lawsuit?
5 A.
I know about how much salary they get, yes, sir.
6 Q.
Okay. How about Mr. Gerhardt, Mr. Sam Gerhardt, do you
7 know how much he
gets?
8 A.
Let's see, 24,000.
9 Q.
That's cash?
10 A.
Paycheck, yes, sir.
11 Q. Does
he also get a house to live in?
12 A. Yes,
sir, he has a home to live in.
13 Q. Do
you know if he gets any labor to keep up that house?
14 A. Does
he get any labor to keep up the house?
15 Q.
Right. Is there any labor included in his
16 compensation?
17 A. No,
sir. The men that work come in from outside that
18 work for us. Our
carpenters do all the labor work on the
19 houses.
20 Q.
Okay. Do the students at Mountain Park ever do work?
21 A. Yes,
sir.
22 Q. They
do work on Sam Gerhardt's house?
23 A. No,
sir.
24 Q.
Never?
25 A. Work
on his house?
I - 102
1 Q.
House or grounds.
2 A.
They may sweep around the house. They may pick up
3 limbs. But work
on the house, no, sir.
4 Q.
Okay. So is it fair to say then they keep the grounds
5 clean?
6 A.
Yes, sir.
7 Q.
Is it fair to say they keep the inside of the house
8 cleaned?
9 A.
Oh, no, sir. The boys?
10 Q.
Right.
11 A. You
talking about the boys?
12 Q. No,
the girls.
13 A.
Sometimes the girls may go up there and wash some
14 windows and do things like
that, yes, sir.
15 Q. Is
that work that they are required to do or is that
16 just voluntary?
17 A. No,
sir, that's volunteer.
18 Q. Is
there any penalty for not volunteering?
19 A. No,
sir.
20 Q. How
about -- now, who is Debbie Gerhardt?
21 A. My
daughter.
22 Q. Do
you know how much her salary is?
23 A. A
thousand a month.
24 Q. From
both organizations?
25 A. From
Mountain Park only.
I - 103
1 Q.
Okay. How much does she get from Palm Lane?
2 A.
She doesn't get anything from Palm Lane.
3 Q.
Do you know of any nonemployee compensation, noncash
4 compensation that she
gets?
5 A.
No, sir.
6 Q.
Do you know how much compensation Bo Gerhardt gets from
7 these two
organizations?
8 A.
Mountain Park pays him 1,300 a month.
9 Q.
And Julie Gerhardt?
10 A. Their
salary is together.
11 Q. Oh,
do they only draw one salary between them?
12 A.
Together.
13 Q. And
can you tell, what is your relationship to Bo and
14 Julie Gerhardt?
15 A. Bo is
my grandson.
16 Q. And
who is Julie?
17 A. Julie
is his wife.
18 Q. Do
you know what compensation Drew Parrish received in
19 2001, if any, from these
two organizations?
20 A. He
got some from Palm Lane and some from Mountain Park.
21 I couldn't tell you
exactly what his was.
22 Q.
Okay. Do you know how much -- well, let me go through
23 these names and you just
tell me. I'm asking you about what
24 compensation they received
from either or both of these
25 organizations to see if
you have any knowledge about that.
I - 104
1 Do you have any
knowledge concerning Bill Cavitt -- wait,
2 strike that -- Robert
O'Brient?
3 A.
Yes, sir, he received money from Palm Lane. He
4 receives 1,500 a
month.
5 Q.
And how about Robert Kennedy?
6 A.
Brother Kennedy gets his salary from Palm Lane, and his
7 is 1,300 a month.
8 Q.
Is there any profit derived from these -- either of
9 these two
organizations, any cash profit at the end of the
10 year?
11 A.
Derived?
12 Q.
Right. Do these businesses turn a profit?
13
MR. OLIVER: Object to the characterization.
14 THE
COURT: Overruled.
15 A. No,
sir. You talking about a profit from some
16 business?
17 Q. Well,
I'm just asking if there is a profit. After all
18 the expenses have been
paid, is there none left over?
19 A. There
may be a little bit.
20 Q.
Okay. Let's take 2001, do you know about how much was
21 left over for that year?
22 A. No,
sir, I do not.
23 Q. Do
you know who would know?
24 A. Mrs.
Gerhardt.
25 Q. Do
you have any personal knowledge about why Jordan
I - 105
1 Blair was sent from
Mountain Park to Palm Lane shortly after
2 he arrived at
Mountain Park?
3 A.
Yes, sir, I do.
4 Q.
Okay. What's your understanding of those reasons?
5 A.
In the State of Missouri at 17 a child is considered
6 legal age. In
Florida they have to be 18. And Jordan Blair
7 would've been with us
only a few months when he turned 17, so
8 that's why we took
him to Florida. We told his parents he
9 would have to go to
Florida if we took the child.
10 Q. What
would have been wrong with leaving him at Mountain
11 Park? Would he been
able to leave the facility within just a
12 few months?
13 MR.
OLIVER: Objection, this is outside the scope.
14 THE
COURT: Where we going? Sustained.
15 BY MR. STILLEY:
16 Q. Do
you have any personal knowledge as to whether there
17 were any signed documents
from Jordan Blair's parents
18 authorizing that he be
transferred to Palm Lane?
19 THE
COURT: Sustained. We're going to focus on the
20 two claims; battery,
employer/employee, okay.
21 MR.
STILLEY: Certainly, Judge. Certainly.
22 THE
COURT: Fine.
23 Q. Do
you have any personal knowledge as to whether there
24 are any time records kept
on students who perform work at
25 either of these
facilities?
I - 106
1 A.
No, sir, these are just chores that the students
2 perform, there is no
time record.
3 Q.
What about you talked about junior staff?
4 A.
Yes, sir.
5 Q.
Are time records kept on junior staff?
6 A.
No, sir.
7 Q.
Is there a particular reason for that?
8 A.
We just don't have a time record on none of the
9 employees except the
outside that come in.
10 Q. Can
you define or explain to the jury what the -- what
11 the principle function of
Mountain Park Boarding Academy is?
12 A. The
principle function?
13 Q.
Correct.
14 A. Is to
take a child that is having problems and tell
15 them about Jesus and get
him an education and try to get his
16 life turned around so he
can walk into society and live and
17 work among others without
trouble.
18 Q. Isn't
it true that Mountain Park in its own literature
19 says -- Mountain Park
Baptist Boarding Academy says that it
20 is nothing more than the
name implies?
21 A. A
boarding academy?
22 Q.
Correct.
23 A. It's
a boarding academy, yes, sir.
24 Q. Is
the academy then providing education for students?
25 A. Yes,
sir.
I - 107
1 Q.
Is this academic education?
2 A.
Yes, sir.
3 Q.
And for what grade levels?
4 A.
All grade levels. We take them from -- we start 12, 13
5 years old and take
them up to 17 in Missouri and then 18 in
6 Florida.
7 Q.
Where do the majority of your students come from as to
8 what state?
9 A.
All over.
10 Q. About
what percentage of your students come from the
11 state in which the academy
is located?
12 A. Not
very many.
13 Q.
Okay. How does the personnel of Mountain Park and Palm
14 Lane communicate with the
parents that are outside their
15 state?
16 MR.
OLIVER: Your Honor, does this have something to
17 do with this case?
Objection, irrelevant.
18 MR.
STILLEY: Your Honor, interstate commerce. Can
19 we approach on this?
20 THE
COURT: I'm sustaining that objection.
21 MR.
STILLEY: Your Honor, may I approach anyway? I
22 want to make sure. I
have some other things I want to
23 approach on.
24 (The following
proceedings were held at the bench
25 and outside the hearing of
the jury:)
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