Order of the court
Avista Management vs. Wausau Underwriters Insurance Co.
NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - This is the text of the order requiring attorneys for each side to play a game of 'rock, paper, scissors' on the courthouse steps. (Back to story)
__________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION
AVISTA MANAGEMENT, INC., d/b/a Avista Plex, Inc.,
Plaintiff,
-vs-
WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.
______________________________________
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion to designate location of a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition (Doc. 105). Upon consideration of the Motion – the latest in a series of Gordian knots that the parties have been unable to untangle without enlisting the assistance of the federal courts – it is
ORDERED that said Motion is DENIED. Instead, the Court will fashion a new form of alternative dispute resolution, to wit: at 4:00 P.M. on Friday, June 30, 2006, counsel shall convene at a neutral site agreeable to both parties. If counsel cannot agree on a neutral site, they shall meet on the front steps of the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse, 801 North Florida Ave., Tampa, Florida 33602. Each lawyer shall be entitled to be accompanied by one paralegal who shall act as an attendant and witness. At that time and location, counsel shall engage in one (1) game of "rock, paper, scissors." The winner of this engagement shall be entitled to select the location for the 30(b)(6) deposition to be held somewhere in Hillsborough County during the period July 11-12, 2006. If either party disputes the outcome of this engagement, an appeal may be filed and a hearing will be held at 8:30 A.M. on Friday, July 7, 2006 before the undersigned in Courtroom 3, George C. Young United States Courthouse and Federal Building, 80 North Hughey Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, Orlando, Florida on June 6, 2006.
Copies furnished to: Counsel of Record
Unrepresented Party
Piedra
Papel
Tijeras

Un tribunal federal del estado de la Florida les ordenó el martes (6) a dos abogados, enfrentados en un caso de compañías de seguros, resolver una disputa mediante el conocido juego de "piedra-papel-tijeras".

El juez Gregory A. Presnell, de Orlando, dictó una orden en la que insta a D. Lee Craig, abogado defensor, y a David J. Pettinato, abogado demandante, a decidir el lugar en el que se va a realizar una declaración a punta de "piedra, papel o tijeras". Craig había propuesto su oficina como el sitio para tomar la declaración, pero Pettinato prefería la oficina de prensa del tribunal. Como no se ponían de acuerdo, Presnell decidió emitir la orden.

El juego se realizará el próximo 30 de junio a las 16:00 hora local (20:00 UTC), en un lugar "neutral" decidido por el tribunal. Si éste no lograse una decisión "neutral" sobre el sitio, la partida, de un solo juego, deberá llevarse a cabo en la escalinata del frente del Palacio de Justicia de la ciudad de Tampa. El ganador de la inusual partida decidirá el sitio en el que se llevará a cabo la declaración antes mencionada.

Si alguno de los abogados llegare a cuestionar la decisión, el juez podrá convocar a una audiencia extraordinara para declarar un vencedor. La orden, dada por escrito, asombró a ambos abogados. Pettinato declaró a ''Fortune'' que iba ''"a acatar la orden del tribunal al pie de la letra"''.