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October2024
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A Fall From a Horse ‘Knocks Things Straight’? I COULD NOT MAKE THIS UP
this well-educated young woman claimed that her grades improved after she hit her head. I pressed on. “Well, I don’t see the connection,” I said. “Are you saying that when you hit your head, you suddenly remembered something? Usually, it works the other way: People forget things when they hit their head.” “Yeah, that’s what it was,” she insisted, doubling down on her story. “I do remember now! I went to Kentucky, and I was riding a horse, and I fell off.” This was a gut punch to the defense. Not only was this defendant contradicting herself, but she was defying established medical knowledge. I looked at the defense counsel quizzically: Are you serious? He looked back with puppy dog eyes, begging for mercy. “I don’t know what to tell you,” that expression said. Needless to say, we were able to move to settlement talks very quickly. The defense counsel clearly had dropped all plans to dispute who was at fault, and we won a very favorable outcome for my client. While no one could have foreseen how it would happen, justice was served! -Adrianos Facchetti
speed of my vehicle. I do not know the speed of the other vehicle.” I reminded her of that. “Which statement is true?” I asked. “Is the statement here in Exhibit 1 true, or the testimony that you gave here today?” “The testimony I gave here today,” she replied. “Uh, I actually got kicked off a horse within the past three weeks, um, and so I now feel like I have a better recollection of the accident than I did when I signed that document.” This was another surprise. Struggling for an explanation, I asked, “So — when you fell off the horse, did you hit your head?” “Um, well, yeah, the horse, his head smacked into my nose and eyes, so yeah. And then I proceeded to fall onto the ground,” she said. “And that jogged your memory with regard to this accident?” “Yeah, ever since then, I will say, like, my grades have improved. I’m able to think a lot more clearly. So, it almost, I swear, like, knocked some things straight.” Everything I know about concussions tells me that they cause confusion and forgetfulness, not a sudden recovery of lost memories. That made it even funnier when
As readers of this newsletter know, some incredible scenes play out in court depositions. Cases are won and lost, and the best and worst of human behavior are exposed in a battle of words and will. From the annals of strange deposition stories, here is my latest memorable tale. I was deposing a defendant in a car accident case. My client had been driving down a street in the right lane past a shopping center, minding her own business, when another car turned right from the center lane toward the shopping center entrance and crashed into her vehicle. The other driver claimed my client was speeding. My client insisted she was driving at a legal speed when the defendant T-boned her car. The defendant was a stylish young college student who looked like the savvy sorority member she was. Those details are relevant to what I am about to tell you. The issue was who was at fault, and the defense was trying to lay the blame on my client. I started questioning the defendant about specifics. How fast were you going at the time of the accident? I asked. She gave a ridiculously precise answer: 34 mph. I was immediately skeptical. She had previously signed a written statement, Exhibit 1, asserting, “I do not recall the
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Battle for Survival TIKTOK IS CHALLENGING THE BAN
The clock is ticking for TikTok, the world’s most popular social media app, as it faces a federal ultimatum: Either the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells its stake in the company, or TikTok will be removed from U.S. app stores by Jan. 19, 2025. It is difficult to fathom that an app downloaded tens of millions of times and receiving over $100 million in revenue every month may leave the American market at the start of next year. But this is just the U.S. government’s latest step since TikTok first arrived on the scene. The TikTok Saga Douyin, the predecessor to TikTok, started in China in 2016. In 2017, it merged with Musical.ly, an app for posting lip-syncing videos; at one point, it topped the charts on the Apple App Store and soon rose to global stardom. Then, the app got a new name, TikTok, and a revolutionary algorithm. The algorithm influenced users to binge-watch content and presented videos from various genres and topics to keep them hooked. While gaining popularity stateside, it drew no small amount of scrutiny from government watchdogs and federal agencies. In September 2019, the Washington Post reported that images of democratic protests in Hong Kong were being suppressed, while posts with the #trump2020 tag received millions of views. TikTok denied political favoritism and alleged their app was a neutral platform. Despite TikTok’s reassurance, the Pentagon recommended all U.S. military personnel delete the app from their phones, regardless of whether it was for personal or government work. In January 2020, the Pentagon banned the app entirely on all military phones.
“On its website, TikTok describes the moves it has made to improve data security and privacy. Still, none of these measures have persuaded the federal government of their benign intentions.”
In May 2020, privacy groups began to raise concerns that TikTok posed a threat to children. Just two months later, India banned TikTok following a military clash at their disputed border with China. Despite these hiccups, TikTok claimed to have over a billion monthly users by September 2021. Further problems with the app materialized in 2022 when viral hoaxes and harmful content promoting eating disorders caused outrage nationwide. In December 2022, the FBI warned that the Chinese government could use the app to influence American citizens. In 2024, Congress drafted legislation to ban the app and force ByteDance to sell TikTok officially. The Future of TikTok President Biden signed H.R. 815 into law on April 24, 2024, which contains a provision that “prohibits distributing, maintaining, updating, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application (e.g., TikTok).” That is strong language and indicates the government is not likely to back down from its demands. Despite this, TikTok has challenged the law, arguing the ban is unconstitutional. More than a dozen social and racial justice groups recently supported TikTok’s cause. On its website, TikTok describes the moves it has made to improve data security and privacy. Still, none of these measures have persuaded the federal government of their benign intentions. In June 2024, in response to the ban being signed into law, TikTok released a letter alleging that the Biden administration had negotiated with the company using “political demagoguery,” or, in other words, in favor of appealing to voters rather than finding an equitable solution. Their case is headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals later this year.
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BRAIN GAMES
The Strange Gas Law Why the 9/10 of a Cent?
AUTUMN BOO CANDY COFFEE FOLIAGE
Gas prices are often a topic of conversation, but usually for less-than-pleasant reasons. Whenever the subject appears in the news, it is most often because prices have become outrageously high . However, this article will take a different approach. Have you ever wondered why gas price tickers include a 9/10 of a cent at the end? It started nearly a century ago but remains to this day for surprising reasons. Great Depression Decisions The 1930s were a time of great economic uncertainty. The stock market crashed in 1929, and the federal government took extensive measures to balance the budget. Among these was the Revenue Act of 1932. This law introduced several tax hikes, including a more than 20% increase in estate and personal income taxes. However, it also introduced a one-cent tariff on gasoline and fuel oil. While this may not seem like a lot in today’s currency — the average cost of a gallon of gas now is around $3.53 — back then, it was a significant burden on motorists. After all, the average price of a gallon of gas in 1932 was just $0.18, so a one-cent tariff represented a more than 5% increase in price. In today’s money, it would be equivalent to a $0.22 tax per gallon of gas. In 1933, the gas tariff accounted for 8% of the federal government’s tax revenue. Fractional Prices Gas station owners paid the new tariff when purchasing their fuel from suppliers, but they had the option of paying the tax themselves, in full or in part, to take the hit in place of their customers. This is where fractional prices first came into play: Gas station owners would advertise that they were paying, say, half of the one-cent tariff on gasoline, which means their prices would only increase by 5/10 of a cent. Over time, the tariff became less relevant, but fractional prices remained. This has largely contributed to the psychological aspect of paying 9/10 of a cent rather than a full cent — the same thinking behind charging $1.99 rather than $2 for a product.
GHOST GOURD MOON SPOOKY SOUP TAILGATE TOUCHDOWN
PUMPKIN PIE FRENCH TOAST Inspired by AllRecipes.com
Ingredients
• 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts • 8 slices day-old bread • Maple syrup, to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, or as needed • 1/2 cup half-and-half • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée • 3 large eggs • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions 1. Lightly oil a skillet and heat over medium heat.
2. Whisk half-and-half, pumpkin purée, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice together in a bowl. Stir in walnuts until evenly distributed. 3. Place 1 slice of bread in the bowl and let it soak briefly to coat both sides. Lift bread to let excess liquid drip back into the bowl, then transfer to the hot skillet. 4. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and cook the other side until done. 5. Stir batter to redistribute walnuts and repeat with other slices of bread, cooking in several batches if necessary. 6. Serve warm with maple syrup.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
People Will Say Anything in a Deposition
TikTok’s Appeal Against the Ban
2
Pumpkin Pie French Toast
3
The Law About Gas Pricing
The NFL’s Massive Antitrust Fine
4
NFL’S RECENT ANTITRUST RULING What Led to the Historic Fine Over Sunday Ticket
offering the ability to purchase only the games they were interested in. For instance, if you are a Philadelphia Eagles fan but live in Florida, your local on-air broadcasts are unlikely to show Eagles games. In that case, if you wanted to watch all the Eagles’ games, you’d have to shell out a good chunk of change to access those games. As of 2024, a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket costs $449 per year. After five hours of deliberation, the jury agreed with the plaintiffs and awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential subscribers and $96 million to the business subscribers. Due to federal antitrust laws, those damages can be tripled. That means the NFL may be liable for up to $14.39 billion in damages. The NFL has appealed the decision, but if upheld, each NFL team could be forced to pay nearly $450 million in damages.
with Google’s YouTube TV. However, the NFL’s exclusive deals for Sunday Ticket have come at a cost. After a trial in June that lasted just three weeks, a jury in Los Angeles awarded over $4.7 billion in damages to the plaintiffs in an antitrust class-action lawsuit against the NFL. The Trial The Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco initially filed the suit in 2015; an appeals court dismissed then reinstated the case in 2017 before it became a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit now covers about 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 business subscribers. The plaintiffs alleged that the NFL’s agreement with DirecTV, and now YouTube TV, violated antitrust laws. Not only did the NFL allegedly overcharge both residential and commercial subscribers, but it also removed competition. It forced fans to purchase access to all games rather than
NFL Sunday Ticket, also known as Sunday Ticket, is a sports package allowing purchasers to view regular season NFL games not carried by local broadcasts in their area. Sunday Ticket has been around since 1994, with DirecTV offering it exclusively until 2022 when the NFL signed a seven-year, $14 billion deal
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