I served on the Board of Directors of a high tech company in downtown DC for about three years. The company was doing something innovative with satellites and all of the big satellite companies filed lawsuits from the first day of the first FCC application.
The CEO was a PhD in physics and thought his IQ allowed him to be a lawyer, accountant, litigator, lobbyist, etc. This CEO learned early in the process about the value of contemporaneous notes during litigation. The key legal term was “estoppel”.
He soon began sending two-page letters to the Board after every meeting (formal or informal) that were quite different from the official Board minutes. They were the most fanciful pack of lies I have every read and they kept coming, one after another. They always made everyone out to be a crook and a slimeball and the CEO was a Saint. It was a real fairy tale, chapter by chapter.
My attorney advised me to answer each one as quickly as I could with a complete denial of the fact set and the conclusions. I was not required to state my opinion or my interpretation of the facts — just destroy his position with my contemporaneous rejection of his fairy tale. I also accused him in each note of writing a distorted view of the events with the explicit purpose of distorting the record in his favor.
Eventually, we had a lawsuit between two shareholders over their contribution and thus ownership to the project. It was a Federal case.
The CEO produced his notes and the discovery request compelled the company to include my rejections. The Judge tossed all of his notes and all of my notes, but put me on the stand, where I testified as to what happened.
There was a settlement, but the good guys won. The legal fees topped $1.4 million.
Comey could have been writing his “revenge book” and not taking accurate notes.
That needs to be brought up in questioning, especially after the monster book deals the Clinton’s and the Obama’s received.
Excellent point on the book deals