THE COURT: But let me just, there's one other issue. Is Dr. Franklin here?
MR. FINKELSTEIN: Yes.
MR. CHEFFO: Yes. He's in the back with Ken Fromson.
THE COURT: Let me just tell you what he reported to Mr. Alba. Whatever that guy, whoever he was and whatever he said, I think Dr. Franklin is terrified, and, more importantly, I think his daughter is terrified, and we have a thousand more cases. I can't imagine Dr. Franklin is going to travel around the country testifying in all of them, but maybe he will in a few of the lead cases. I just don't know.
I think we need to have a stay-away order from him from any private eye. I don't know who the man was, but apparently he said -- what were the words? I can bring him up here and have him say it himself.
THE CLERK: You may want to because he was very upset.
THE COURT: Yes. Dr. Franklin, come on up here.
(Dr. Franklin at side bar.)
THE COURT: Hey, how are you? Actually, you look taller when you're sitting up there.
(Laughter.)
THE COURT: Anyway, let me just say this to you, sir: I'm really taken by what you told Mr. Alba this morning, so why don't you repeat it for the --
DR. FRANKLIN: I recognize that there are two sides to every story and that I need to be fair and balanced.
THE COURT: Don't worry about that. Just --
DR. FRANKLIN: But sending a thug to my home to wave at the window at my eight-year-old daughter was unreasonable, guys. It was unreasonable.
THE COURT: Well, let me ask you, what were the words? Mr. Alba said they said something about, "We know where your daughter lives"?
DR. FRANKLIN: On the telephone, he said, "We know all there is to know about you," and then cited the location of my daughter 200 miles away at college. How the hell am I supposed to remain unbiased when you do that? It feels like a threat. It feels like a threat. Look, I know that you guys didn't tell this person to do it, but you've got to -- I believe, your Honor, that it was horribly inappropriate, and there was very few other ways of interpreting it other than really scary.
THE COURT: Dr. Franklin, this is what I'm going to do. This case, I don't know if you've heard about the resolution of it. It's likely to be dismissed.
DR. FRANKLIN: Yes. Yes, I understand. I understand, and I don't want to in any way complicate it.
THE COURT: But there are hundreds, maybe a thousand more cases, and you may be called upon to testify again. What would you like me to do at this point? Would you like a --
DR. FRANKLIN: I don't know that there's anything you can do. I would like --
MR. CHEFFO: I can make a representation. I can apologize to the extent -- see, I don't know the facts, your Honor, but profusely, I mean, to the extent that that happened, and I take you at your word. We --
DR. FRANKLIN: This can't happen 1,200 more times.
MR. CHEFFO: It's not going to happen. I'll give you my word that that's not going to happen.
DR. FRANKLIN: And I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about what happened, and I recognize --
MR. FINKELSTEIN: May I suggest, because I think it's not just Dr. Franklin, it's the rest of his family, and I think it will give him comfort to be able to walk away with this --
THE COURT: I think this is what I'm going to do right now. Until -- I understand there are two sides to every story, and Pfizer probably needs --
DR. FRANKLIN: And you had the right to question --
THE COURT: Has the right to question, I understand that. But until further order of the Court, there should be a stay-away order from any private eye with respect to Dr. Franklin or his family. And you should -- I don't know that you want to give me the names and addresses of your family. Let me just make it that specific. He's been deposed a gazillion times. Isn't that "gazillion" your term?
MR. LANIER: Yes, your Honor. It's an appropriate word.
THE COURT: And people know what he has to say, and there will be a stay-away order from anybody from Pfizer having to do with Dr. Franklin.
And you may want to do your own investigation and put your own version on the record for future -- you know, like, it may come up in Texas or Tennessee, you know, whatever. I mean, this is not the -- but I'm not necessarily saying that there isn't another side to the story. I am saying I see a terrified witness. Something happened. So whether or not he's overreacting or not, I don't know, but he's terrified, and there was a reference to his child.
And so why don't we do this: There will be a stay-away order until further order of the Court, and we will inform you of any -- I'm sure you'll want to talk to -- has anyone here talk to the private eye?
MR. CHEFFO: Well, we had a conversation last night, and, I mean, there are two sides to the story, but I think we're kind of past that right now. And, as I said, I can't say it any more, I do apologize if there was anything inappropriate. That was never an intent. Certainly we didn't advise that. There will be no more private eyes. The only thing I would ask is, to the extent that he is going to be a witness, we would like a mechanism, if he has a lawyer, a place that we can serve so there is no disputes.
THE COURT: Yes, I think Mr. Greene has historically been his lawyer, right? Tom Greene has been here since 1995. I mean, I had this case before any of you existed, so -- I think it's been that long. Isn't it Greene still? I saw him sitting back there.
DR. FRANKLIN: Yes. And in this case, I don't understand why Mr. Greene wasn't asked to talk. I had already told him, I told everybody that I will talk to anybody --
THE COURT: Yes, from now on, all communications should be through Mr. Greene.
DR. FRANKLIN: I don't understand why a private detective showed up at my home.
THE COURT: All right, so there's a stay-away order from you or any member of your family. All communications should flow through counsel. And if Pfizer, because I haven't heard the other side of the story, and if Pfizer should for the record want to put anything in and oppose this and move to vacate it, they can do that. Okay? But right now, I want to respect what you've said to me under oath yesterday and your continuing concern. And I am going to dismiss this case, but there will be another one in January-ish, February.
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