Dead Man's Rule by Rick Acker Page B

reporter was still sitting in the conference room, waiting for the deposition to begin. Ben hurried back and told her what had happened. Then he walked into Noelle’s office and sat down in one of her chairs. She was on the phone and had a spreadsheet in front of her, but as soon as she saw Ben’s face, she said, “Something just came up. Could I call you back later this morning? Great, thanks.”
    As soon as she hung up, Ben said, “Nikolai Zinoviev died last night.”
    Noelle’s eyes went round. “What happened?”
    “Drug overdose; his landlord found him this morning.” He realized the muscles in his shoulders were tense, and he stretched. “I feel bad, but I’m not sure what to do. Nothing like this has ever happened in one of my cases.”
    “Have you told Dr. Ivanovsky?”
    Ben shook his head. “Not yet. I wanted to think about it a little first and decide what I’m going to tell him. My initial thought is to recommend that we offer to put off the trial and extend the discovery and motion deadlines until an executor has been appointed for Zinoviev’s estate. It’s the right thing to do, and the judge will probably give them the extra time whether we agree or not.”
    “That sounds like a good idea.” Noelle sat back in her chair, still absorbing the news. “Wow. So what does this mean for the case—I mean, other than that everything will get delayed?”
    Ben thought for a moment. For starters, Zinoviev’s estate would need to be substituted as a defendant. More substantively, his testimony had been critical to his case. Ben mentally catalogued the evidence on both sides of each issue. On Dr. Ivanovsky’s side, there was his testimony, which was circumstantially supported by a handful of documents like the pawnshop and ATM receipts. On the defense side, there was . . . well, nothing. Without Zinoviev’s testimony, there was simply no way for the defense to rebut Dr. Ivanovsky’s case. Ben had been confident before, but now he didn’t see how he could lose. “I think it means we win.”

    When Ben called Dr. Ivanovsky to relay the news, the scientist appeared unfazed by the turn of events but eager to press his advantage.
    “Why should we give more time?” he demanded.
    “Well, because it’s the right thing to do and—”
    “But more time makes them more able to fight us, yes?” his client interrupted.
    “Yes,” admitted Ben. “But even with more time, I don’t see how they can win.”
    “We must win as quickly as possible,” Dr. Ivanovsky insisted.
    “I never said we would necessarily win,” Ben cautioned. “I only said that I didn’t see how they could win without Zinoviev’s testimony. Anything can happen in the courtroom.”
    “If the possibility of our winning is higher without giving more time, then you must not give more time. I am sad Nicki Zinoviev is dead, but we must not give up any advantage. We must win. It is very, very important.”
    Ben decided to try one more time. “Dr. Ivanovsky, I strongly recommend against refusing to extend the preliminary injunction schedule. The judge will probably give it to them anyway.”
    “Maybe the judge will give time to them. We will not.”
    Ben sighed. “All right.”
    Ben frowned as he hung up the phone. He resented Dr. Ivanovsky for compelling him to be rude and inconsiderate to a senior member of the bar. He winced inwardly at the thought of having to oppose a motion for continuance. He also disliked his client’s abrasive and peremptory manner in instructing him what he “must” do to win this “very, very important” case. If there was anything important about the case, Dr. Ivanovsky certainly wasn’t sharing it with Ben—which was another thing he didn’t like. The TRO had been fun, but overall he regretted having taken the case. Oh well, he told himself, at least it’s pretty much over.
    He turned his attention to more pleasant matters. The effective completion of the Ivanovsky case would free up valuable time