Judge orders lawyers to play game
Acrimonious attorneys told to settle dispute by playing a round of 'rock, paper, scissors.'
NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - Faced with the inability of two bickering attorneys to resolve even the most innocuous scheduling questions without his intervention, a Florida federal judge yesterday ordered the two to meet on the steps of the federal courthouse and resolve their latest quarrel by playing "one (1) game of 'rock, paper, scissors.' " (Read the ruling.)
Judge Gregory A. Presnell of Orlando ordered the unusual measure, which he characterized as "a new form of alternative dispute resolution," after the two Tampa attorneys had proven unable to agree upon where to hold a deposition, even though both of their offices are just four floors away in the very same building in Tampa.
Defense attorney D. Lee Craig, of Butler Pappas Weihmuller Katz Craig, proposed holding the deposition in his office, but plaintiffs' attorney David J. Pettinato of Merlin Law Group wanted it to take place at the court reporter's office down the street.
The Solomonic ruling comes in an insurance dispute filed last September by Avista Management against Wausau Underwriters Insurance Co.
Characterizing the disagreement as "the latest in a series of Gordian knots that the parties have been unable to untangle without enlisting the assistance of the federal courts," Judge Presnell ordered each attorney, "accompanied by one paralegal who shall act as an attendant and witness," to play the dispositive round of RPS on June 30.
"The winner of this engagement shall be entitled to select the location of the . . . deposition," he ruled, so long as it was within Hillsborough County.
In an interview, plaintiff's lawyer Pettinato says, "I'm going to comply with the court's order to the letter." Defense lawyer Craig did not respond to a phone message, while Judge Presnell, 63, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 2000, declined comment.
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"''.