Chapter 468

“Mr Garland, would you say that you could recognize the vehicle driven by the Jacobs by sight?” Eric asked, heading back towards the witness stand.

“Objection,” Samantha said again, “No foundation, Your honour.”

“I’m laying the foundation now, your Honour,” Eric said.

“Overruled,” Judge Mathews said. “But pick up the pace a little bit, Mr Daniels.”

“Thank you, your Honour,” Samantha and Eric both said.

“Of course, your Honour,” Eric nodded, following up, and then turned back to ‘Fred.’ “So, Mr Garland, would you recognise the Jacobs’ vehicle if you saw it?”

“I would,” ‘Fred’ said.

Eric set the first printout on the photo in front of him. “Would you say that this is a fair and accurate representation of the Jacobs family vehicle?

‘Fred’ took a look at it, then looked down and shuffled the papers of his script, then back up. “I would,” he said.

“Your Honour, at this time the defence would offer Exhibit 2 into evidence, its authenticity has previously been stipulated to,” Eric said, using the correct phrasing. He handed a copy of the photograph to the Judge, and then another to Tucker at the Plaintiff’s table.

“Any objections?” Judge Mathews asked.

Tucker turned and whispered for a moment with the rest of his team, though you did notice that Maeve at the far end of the table didn’t even bother looking down at him. The blond ‘lead’ of their team turned back to the Judge. “No, your Honour.”

“You have your exhibit, counsel,” Judge Mathews nodded to Eric.

“So, Mr Garland,” Eric picked back up, placing the photograph in front of ‘Fred.’ “Is this the Jacobs’ family vehicle?”

“It is,” ‘Fred’ said.

“And this is the same vehicle that is covered by the policy we’ve been speaking of, correct?”

“It is,” ‘Fred’ nodded again.

“Does a Toyota Sienna come with an American Flag hood wrap like that standard or as an official add-on?” Eric asked.

“It doesn’t,” ‘Fred’ said.

“Would you consider the fabric hood wrap a ‘cosmetic addition’ to the vehicle?”

‘Fred’ nodded. “It’s definitely not a functional one,” he said.

“Just for clarity, sir, could you give us a yes or no?”

“Yes,” ‘Fred’ said, “It’s a commercial add-on.”

“And what about the rather large window sticker on the rearview window?” Eric asked.

“Another cosmetic add-on.”

“If you were asked by a client about adding either of these cosmetic additions to their vehicle under a policy like the one the Jacobs had, what would you tell them?”

“I’d tell them not to,” ‘Fred’ said. “It’s a bad idea.”

“Did you say that to the Jacobs?”

“I did when they put the sticker on,” ‘Fred’ said. “Randy told me to mind my business.”
You could practically feel Samantha wanting to find a way to object to the line of questioning, but ‘Fred’ was testifying to something that had been said to him, not something that he’d heard had been said.

“Did you say the same thing with the fabric hood cover?” Eric asked.

“No,” ‘Fred’ said.

“Why not?” Eric asked.

“Randy spent a month nagging me about being whipped by my job,” ‘Fred’ said. “So I knew the hood cover was another shot at me and decided not to warn him anymore.”