Bubs;4160588 said:
08/23/2016 at 08:30 am in department M at 1725 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Motion for Protective Order(RE DEPOSITION OF WADE ROBSON)
and I thought he wants speak out, loud and clear?
I would love to read it.
I will say that protective orders for depositions are common. For example it was present in KJ- AEG case as well and depositions didn't get public until trial.
moonstruck87;4160604 said:
This sounds like good news, but I do not know what mental evaluation really includes. I just guess it examines the "clients" mental health in a very detailed way and tries to evluate the accountability. I believe that such an evaluation is really very unpleasant and embarrassing for the client - that might be another reason for the motion of protective order.
It hopefully will show that Robson is a cheater and helps ending that terrible court case!! Regardless of him testifying under protected circumstances or not.
respect77;4160611 said:
These are two different issues. A deposition is an interview carried out by lawyers. Lawyers from both sides are there. It happens in most cases. It happened also in the probate court case in this same matter. Others can be deposed as well by any side. Such as MJ's employees, Robson's mother etc.
The mental examination will be something carried out by mental health professionals and apparently Robson's lawyers cannot be present there.
Respect77 is right. Deposition and a mental examination is two different things. Deposition happens with lawyers from both sides present. The other side's lawyer will grill you while your lawyer would be there to protect you with objecting. Depositions allow parties to determine what will your testimony be in a possible trial.
Mental evaluation happens at the request of the other party and the only ones present will be Robson and the doctor doing the mental examination. I tried to learn about it to see what entails. This is what I gathered (and please share if you know or find something else)
- examination is referred to as an "independent" as the doctor wouldn't have any previous doctor- patient relationship with Robson. So a totally new doctor to evaluate him
- some documents refer to the doctor as "Defense expert" - making me think that Estate selects it.
- According to the law the doctor who can perform such examination should be "licensed physician, or a licensed clinical psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis of emotional and mental disorders."
- it's mentioned as "hours long" examination and the doctor totally determines what type of examinations they would do. In 30 days they will write a report and provide it to both sides.
- for such motion to be granted there needs to be a "controversy"about the mental health and there needs to be a good cause. By controversy they mean that parties disagree about the mental health claims.
- As respect77 wrote one website gives this example of when a mental examination can be done "For example, a mental exam may be granted when a plaintiff alleges sexual harassment that leads to diminished self-esteem, reduced motivation, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, fear, anxiety, loss of reputation, emotional distress" . In other words if someone claims a mental distress situation, you can ask them to go through a mental evaluation to see if this mental distress claims are actually true or not.
- Another source says for plaintiff (Robson) one way to avoid such mental examination is "no claim is being made for mental or emotional distress over and above what is usually associated with the physical injuries claimed and no expert testimony regarding this usual mental distress will be offered at trial." or "If plaintiff ’s emotional distress ceases during the course of the litigation, it is no longer at issue." I can't see any of these helping Robson. His whole claim is mental/emotional distress.
- Plaintiff (robson) can also try to come to an agreement with other side to "a) protecting plaintiff ’s privacy, limiting discovery into his or her personal life, and (b) limiting the time required for examination, the number of examiners, examinations,and tests administered. "
Finally why Estate might be asking for this and how will they benefit from it
- "Defendant’s primary reason to compel a mental evaluation is to prove alternative causes for the alleged injuries." Looking for preexisting condition and thereby raising the question of alternative sources for the distress
- "the defense mental examination also tends to cast plaintiff in a negative light due to general bias against people with psychiatric diagnoses"
- "Undermining plaintiff’s credibility: the presentation of alternative theories of causation combined with plaintiff ’s psychopathology diagnoses operate to undermine his or her credibility. Defendant’s psychiatric experts will give the opinion that plaintiff had numerous preexisting problems that caused the mental condition long before he or she encountered defendant. These alternative diagnoses serve to cast doubt on plaintiff ’s reliability as a witness and his or her veracity."
That being said given the medical nature of this and patient protection rights, I'm quite sure any report will be under a protective order and sealed and we won't hear about the details until a summary judgment or even until trial stage (if it comes to that of course).