Transcript of Melissa Kingston, morning session, Kingston v Adelman, 1/8/2013

7/29/2019 Transcript of Melissa Kingston, morning session, Kingston v Adelman, 1/8/2013

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Melissa Kingston, Deposition 1/9/2013 - Part 1/Morning Session

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Melissa Kingston Part 1.

00:00 VIDEO FILE M2U00076.

Justin Please swear in the witness.

Notary Would the witness please raise her right hand. Do you swear upon the testimonythat you are about to give and cause number DC-12-10604 will be the truth, thewhole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Melissa I do.

Justin How are you today Ms. Kingston?

Melissa Fine.

Justin Do you want me to call you Melissa or Mrs. Kingston during the deposition?

Melissa Either ones fne.

Justin Just or the record Im going to identiy mysel, since we dont have a stenographer,as Justin Nichols, attorney or the Plainti. Would you mind identiying yoursel?

Melissa My names Melissa Kingston, I am the Plainti.

Justin And Mr. Lurich.

Ryan Ryan Lurich here on behal o the Plainti.

Justin And Mr. Kingston is here as well, husband o the witness. Ms. Kingston, could youtell us your ull name?

Melissa Melissa Russ Kingston.

Justin And what is your date o birth?

Melissa 01-03-74.

Speakers.

Justin Nichols Attorney or Avi S. Adelman, Deendant

Melissa Kingston Plainti

Ryan Lurich Attorney or Planti


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Justin And your Social Security number?

Melissa Id rather not give that out.

Justin Can you give us the last our digits?

Melissa Id rather not give you my Social Security number.

Justin Any portion?

Melissa Any portion.

Justin Could you give us your address?

Melissa 5901 Palo Pinto Avenue, Dallas, X 75206.

Justin Tank you maam. And have you ever been deposed beore?

Melissa I have not.

Justin And youre a licensed exas attorney?

Melissa I am.

Justin So, do you need me to go over the rules and how its. I mean you were here yesterdayand you understand that youre under oath, thats the same as giving testimonybeore a judge and jury.

Melissa I do.

Justin Are under the inuence o any drugs or alcohol this morning?

Melissa I took some Aleve this morning.

Justin Is there any other medication or reason why you cant tell the truth today?

Melissa Not that Im aware o.

Justin Have you ever been convicted o any crime?

Melissa I have not been convicted o any crime o moral turpitude, or raud or anything elsethat would be admissible.

Justin Have you been convicted o any. Have you been arrested or any crime, elony, orcrime involving moral turpitude?

Melissa No, I have not.

Justin And how are you currently employed?

Melissa I am a lawyer at the law frm o Friedman and Fieger, LLP.

Justin And how long have you been there?


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Melissa Since June o 2002.

Justin And were you a lawyer anywhere else beore then?

Melissa I was.

Justin And where were you a lawyer?

Melissa I was a lawyer or the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company.

Justin But or about 10 years youve been employed at Friedman and Fieger, LLP?

Melissa Tats correct.

Justin And whats your role - Are you an attorney, a partner, a shareholder, what is yourposition in the frm?

Melissa I am called a partner.

Justin Do you have any unearned stake in the frm?

Melissa I dont believe I have to give that inormation to you.

Justin Is there any objection as to privilege?

Melissa I think that is privileged.

Ryan Proprietary, confdential, yes.

Justin And what is your income at Friedman and Fieger?

Melissa Again, I dont think I have to give you that inormation. I think that is privileged aswell.

Ryan Same objection.

Justin Your employment with Friedman and Feiger, is that your only source o income?

Melissa No its not.

Justin What are your other sources o income?

Melissa I have various investments that produce income.

Justin Are you an employee anywhere else?Melissa No I am not.

Justin Are you a contractor anywhere else?

Melissa No I am not.


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Justin Do you provide legal services or a ee, or any other person or entity, other thananyone within the confnes o your employer, Friedman and Fieger?

Melissa I do not.

Justin Have you ever been party to a lawsuit beore?

Melissa Yes I have.

Justin And what, how many?

Melissa I dont know.

Justin Alright. What were the previous lawsuits.

Melissa You know, I cant remember i I was a party or not to the lawsuit. Either Phillip andor both o us brought a lawsuit against the people we bought our current houserom.

Justin And when was that suit initiated?

Melissa 2005 or 2006.

Justin Here in Dallas County?

Melissa Here in Dallas County.

Justin And what was the resolution to that suit?

Melissa It settled out o court.

Justin Have you been a party to any other lawsuit?

Melissa I dont know the answer to that. Its possible. I had a car accident 10 years ago and Icant remember i a lawsuit was fled or not.

Justin Have you fled any administrative complaint or appeal within the last two years?


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Melissa You mean on behal o mysel?

Justin Yes.

Melissa No, I dont think so.

Justin Have you been a party to any administrative proceeding or the City o Dallas withinthe last year?

Melissa No.

Justin Have you been a party to any Board o Adjustment proceeding in the City o Dallasin the last year?

Melissa I dont believe I have been a party, No. I have represented the neighborhood incertain proceedings.

Justin Is it true youve appeared beore the Board o adjustment in the City o Dallas in thelast 60 days?

Melissa Yes.

Justin And, what was the purpose o the appearance?

Melissa I was representing the neighborhood, the Belmont Addition Conservation District,in its appeal o city stas decision to grant a building permit or a home being builtwith in the Conservation District that the neighborhood believes does not comply

with the Conservation District ordinance.Justin And is it true that you appeared as the attorney or the Conservation District, not in

your individual capacity?

Melissa You know I hadnt really thought about it. I mean, I am a resident, so no ones reallyasked me that, I hadnt really made that decision at the time.

Justin Alright. Im going to hand you whats been marked Deense Exhibit 1. Do yourecognize these documents?

Melissa I do.

Justin And what do you recognize this as?

Melissa Plainti s original petition and application or injunctive relie in the present case.

Justin But it doesnt have the exhibits, does it? When you fled it, there were a lot o exhibitsto it, werent there?

Melissa Im sure there were i theres an application or injunction.


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Justin Im just to trying to establish Ive given just the pleading part, not the exhibits. Ibelieve it was a 40 plus page pleading.

Melissa. Tere are no exhibits attached to Deendants Exhibit 1 to the deposition.

Justin I I could direct your attention to paragraph 5 on page 2. Could you please read the

frst sentence there.

Melissa Okay.

Justin And what does it say?

Melissa It says, Melissa Kingston is a lawyer who provides hours o ree legal services to herneighborhood association or various issues impacting her neighborhood.

Justin. How many hours o ree legal services have you provided to the neighborhoodassociations where you.

Melissa You know, I dont know that o the top o my head, you know.

Justin Now in paragraph 7 on page 3. Is it true you indicate you represent fveneighborhood groups?

Melissa I represented fve neighborhood associations in their negotiation with Wal-Martregarding the build out o the new Wal-Mart store, out on Greenville Avenue here inDallas.

Justin And were there ormal retainers signed or your representation?

Melissa No, there were none.Justin How did you come to be the lawyer or each one o these.

Melissa Te presidents o the homeowners association gave me consent to represent them,asked me to represent them.

Justin Alright, was there any vote by the board or members to appoint you as their o ce,as their attorney?

Melissa Im sure there was, its what I would assume, but I wasnt involved in that process.

Justin Is it your testimony in that you were just inormed by the presidents o each one othese neighborhood associations that you had authority to represent them in theirnegotiations with Wal-Mart?

Melissa Im sorry, can you say that again?


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Justin Sure. Is it your testimony that the only way you became aware that you had authorityto represent the neighborhood associations was by indication by each associationspresident?

Melissa Its my testimony that the president o each individual homeowners association

asked me to, and consented to me being, the attorney or the association in relationto the negotiations with Wal-Mart.


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Justin Who was the president o the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association.

Melissa Patricia Carr.

Justin And on or about what date, do you recall, did she tell you that you had authority torepresent the LGNA in negotiations with Wal-Mart?

Melissa I dont remember.

Justin Would you say. When did you begin negotiations with Wal-Mart on behal o theneighborhood associations?

Melissa I dont remember that either.

Justin Would you say it was in 2010?

Melissa No.

Justin 2011?

Melissa Ah, I dont remember.

Justin Would you say it was the entirety o 2012?

Melissa No I would not.

Justin So it wasnt all o 2012, but you say you dont know i it was 2011 too?

Melissa I dont remember when I started talking to Wal-Mart.

Justin Alright.

Melissa I would say it was towards the end o 2011 or beginning o 2012.

Justin Are you aware o whether or not the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Associationhas any minutes or records o how it came to be that the president was told to tellyou that you would be representing them?

Melissa I have no idea, Im not on that board.

Justin And the Belmont Neighborhood Association, who is their president?

Melissa Cal urman.

Justin Can you spell that?

Melissa Mmm . I think its -U-R-M-A-N.

Justin Okay, but its C-A-L, Cal?

Melissa No, Kyle.


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Justin Kyle. Im sorry.

Melissa Im sorry, Im losing my voice o all days.

Justin And do you recall the date that he told you that you would be representing theBelmont Neighborhood Association?

Melissa I do not.

Justin Do you remember the dates rom any o the neighborhood associations?

Melissa No.

Justin What about the Vickery Place Neighborhood Association? Who is their presidentthat told you?

Melissa Mark Rieves.

Justin And Reives is R-E-I-V-E-S?

Melissa I think thats right.

Justin And the Greenland Hills Neighborhood Association?

Melissa ed Tompson.

Justin And the Lower Greenville West Neighborhood Association?

Melissa Tats John Scarborough.

Justin Do you remember i you were inormed by mail, email, phone or some other way?


Justin Do you remember i your appointment, or i they were all in the same day, or over aparticular variety o days?

Melissa Mr. Nichols, I dont remember exactly how these people told me that I had consentto represent them. But to the extent that youre seeking any o my communicationswith any o those neighborhood associations, I would assert the attorney clientprivilege, and Im not going to give you any o those communications. Tey haveconsented, and thats as much as Im going to say on that subject, Okay?

Justin And that you believe that they would each corroborate with you on your testimonytoday?

Melissa I would.

Justin Do you believe they would?

Ryan Objection, orm.


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Melissa I dont know what they would do.

Justin And do you recall whether or not you applied to represent them, or did they seekout your representation?


Justin And who did you deal with primarily at Wal-Mart in your negotiations?

Melissa It depended on the subject matter.

Justin what were the various subjects that you communicated with Wal-Mart about?

Melissa Generally, I negotiated with Wal-Mart about issues pertaining to noise, tra c,lighting, building aesthetics, product placement, landscaping, there are probably acouple other things that Im not remembering at this time.

Justin What do you mean by product placement?

Melissa Wal-Mart asked input on products that would be, either unique to our community,or things that our community would like to see carried in the store. And they hadthe ocus on the Go exan campaign and trying to fnd local producers where theycan.

Justin And is it your testimony that you represented the neighborhood associations in allo those topics and subjects?

Melissa Yes.

Justin And did you represent individuals in those topics and subjects? Individual residentsin the neighborhood.

Melissa No, I dont. I represented the neighborhood associations.


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Justin Alright. For example, lets say, a resident Willy disagrees with Wal-Mart sellingalcohol, but the neighborhood association had voted that the sale o alcohol wasacceptable. Which perspective, i any did you represent to Wal-Mart?

Melissa Tat issue didnt come up.

Justin Give me an example that did come up.

Melissa I cant think o anything where I varied rom what the neighborhood associationwanted.

Justin And how did the neighborhood associations go about determining what theywanted?

Melissa I dont know how individual neighborhood associations made those decisions. As

issues came up I communicated with those neighborhood associations.Justin Did you communicate with just the presidents or did you. I mean because the

neighborhood association residents. Are you a member o any neighborhoodassociation?

Melissa Yes, Im a member o the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association.

Justin Had you served, and do you serve on the board o that?

Melissa I do not.

Justin Now, how many members are, i you know, are a member o the Lower GreenvilleNeighborhood Association?


Justin Is that compulsory or voluntary?

Melissa Voluntary.

Justin Would you say that its more than a hundred?

Melissa Yes.

Justin More than 200?

Melissa I really dont know.

Justin So when you say that the neighborhood association would tell you what theywanted, are you in touch with the neighborhood association, how did the LowerGreenville Neighborhood Association solicit input rom their residents that youclaim to represent?


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Melissa I really, I dont know. I saw, as a resident, I saw a survey sent out to people. And Iknow that there were discussions in the newsletters that I saw, not just in LGNA, butin other associations. But my client contacts were the presidents o the fve NAs. Iother residents communicated with me, which did happen, rom time to time, thoseconcerns were passed to the neighborhood association to deal with.

Justin And would you describe your roll in the negotiations with Wal-Mart on behal othe neighborhood association as a ormal role?, I mean is that a ormal role?

Melissa I dont understand your question.

Justin Did you play a prominent role in the negotiations with Wal-Mart?

Melissa Im not sure what youre asking me.

Justin What Im asking is how would you characterize how much weight you played in theneighborhoods negotiations with Wal-Mart?


Melissa Im sorry Justin, I dont know what youre asking me.

Justin Let me see i I can put it better. For example, there might be individual residentswho send an email, or make a phone call to Wal-Mart, but my question is,how did Wal-Mart view you as your role? Were you essentially the voice o theneighborhood?


Melissa I mean, I dont know how to answer what Wal-Mart thought.

Justin Okay.

Melissa I was representing the fve neighborhoods around there, around the site. And.

Justin Te neighborhood? NA?

Melissa Neighborhood association and i individuals had communications directly withWal-Mart that was between them and Wal-Mart.

Justin About how many times did you communicate with Wal-Mart?


Justin Were they just kind o inormal conversations? Or were they more ormal, sit downmeetings that lasted or a long period o time?

Melissa I youre asking me, did I meet with Wal-Mart, yes. Did I talk to Wal-Mart on thephone, yes.


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Justin Whered you meet with Wal-Mart?

Melissa Tere was you know, I dont remember. Tere was a meeting downtown atsomebodys o ce, it wasnt mine. Probably one o theirs.

Justin Do you remember who was in attendance at these meetings?

Melissa I dont. Several o the presidents o the neighborhood associations were there, Wal-Marts lawyer was there, a representative rom Wal-Mart corporate was there, andvarious trades like, maybe the construction person, engineer, architect.

Justin Alright, i I could direct you in Deendants exhibit 1, paragraph 5, and starting withthe sentence about hal way down, unbeknownst to Kingston. Could you read thatsentence and tell us what that sentence says?

Melissa Youre asking me to read it aloud?

Justin Please.


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Melissa Unbeknownst to Kingston, on September 7, 2012, Deendant registered the domain,MelissaKingston.com.

Justin So this is your testimony that you were not aware that Mr. Adelman purchased the

domain name MelissaKingston.com, you didnt know he was doing it?

Melissa No.

Justin How did you become aware?

Melissa I dont remember how I frst learned about that. I think somebody sent me it in anemail.

Justin Do you remember who?

Melissa I dont.

Justin Did you save that email?

Melissa I havent destroyed any yet.

Justin Okay.

Melissa Te emails regarding this case, so Im sure I have it.

Justin I I could direct you to paragraph 14, the frst sentence, Im sorry, on the evening,Im sorry, the sentence that says on the evening o September 10th, 2012, Kingstonlearned the Deendant was using an email address. Now did you know beore

September 10th that he had purchased the domain name, or did you fnd out that hewas using the email address and purchased the domain name at the same time?

Melissa Te frst thing I learned o was, the frst thing I saw was [email protected] an email.

Justin Okay.

Melissa And I believe that was September 10th.

Justin Okay.

Melissa I mean, thats what the petition says, I dont have any specifc memory o it, but thatsounds about right.

Justin It sounds like someone orwarded an email to you, maybe hey, I received this, FYIand you saw the email [email protected].

Melissa Someone sent me the email. I dont recall who and Im not exactly sure what theorward said i anything.


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Justin o what email did you receive that email inorming you o the email?


Justin How many emails do you have?

Melissa I dont, in general?

Justin Yeah, like whats your primary, personal email address.

Melissa I dont get emails like this on my personal email address, it had been sent to mywork email account probably.

Justin Your work email?

Melissa Or my Belmont account, my [email protected].

Justin And where do you maintain that email address? Do you have a access to it at yourhome?

Melissa I mean, I have access to it anywhere I have internet. Its a Yahoo account.

Justin And where are the emails stored?

Melissa Where ever Yahoo stores them.

Justin And i you receive them at your work, did Friedman and Fieger represent the NA, ordid you do that outside the scope o your employment?

Melissa Our frm wasnt paid or it, but my law frm knew I was doing it. Im not sure what

youre asking I guess.Justin What Im asking, was Melissa Kingston, individual attorney at law representing the

NA, or was Melissa Kingston employee o Friedman and Fieger, LLP representingthe NA?

Melissa I dont know i anybodys asked me that. I dont know i Ive thought about what theanswer to that is.

Justin Would you think about that please.

Melissa I dont know i I can answer that right now.

Justin Alright, would it help to go back to that question later on in the day?

Melissa You can try. I would probably need to look at the documents at the time that alltranspired to.

Justin What do you mean documents at the time?


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Melissa Whatever actions I took, emails or whatever I did at the time, I dont know that I cananswer that today.

Justin But you said there was no retainer agreement.

Melissa Yeah, I didnt have a ormal engagement letter.

Justin and the presidents, did they call you at home or did they call you at your o ce toinorm you that you had been appointed as their representative?

Melissa Like I said beore, I dont remember how they called, whether they called or howthey inormed me o their consent to represent them.

Justin But many o the emails, or the primary emails, relating to your negotiations withWal-Mart went to your Friedman and Fieger email account?

Melissa No I used my Friedman and Fieger account or this.

Justin What is that email address?

Melissa Its the one that you have that I use.

Justin Can you say it or me?

Melissa Mkingston@ awo ce.com.

Justin And that email account is maintained by Friedman and Fieger?

Melissa I dont know who maintains it.

Justin So an email, as you testifed, inorming you o the email address [email protected] would have been sent to your Mkingston@ awo ce.comaccount?

Melissa Tats my guess, but I dont know that without looking.


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Justin And while I wait could you look it up?

Melissa I cant rom here.

Justin I I give you access to a computer?

Melissa No, I would need access to my email at work, and I dont have that rom here.

Justin Are you willing to provide that to me?

Ryan I youll send me a request or production, well respond in accordance with therules.

Melissa Once the discovery stay is lied.

Justin Tats what Im asking. We have a written discovery stay, Im asking i youre able toprovide it without having to go through all that to help reresh your memory, notjust to have the email, but to help reresh your memory.

Ryan Were not going to conduct question and answer about what discovery will produce,we will comply with the rules with respect to discovery, so.

Justin Is there any other email address besides the Mkingston@ awo ce.com at whichthe email notiying you o this MelissaKingston.com domain issue may have beensent?

Melissa Like I said earlier, it could have been the Belmont Addition one.

Justin [email protected]?

Melissa Yeah.

Justin Any other email account?

Melissa No.

Justin So one o those two would, have the email that inormed you about the acts thatgive rise to this?

Melissa I dont know that I would say that theres a single email that inormed me about the

acts that gives rise to the suit. Teres an email that someone orwarded me, and Icant remember who, that came rom [email protected].

Justin And what did you do when you discovered that? Were you at your o ce or were youat your house?


Justin What did you do aer you discovered that?


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Melissa I dont remember exactly what I did. I mean, obviously I investigated it, looked upthe domain name to fgure out what had happened and when.

Justin And then, on the evening o Sept. 10, 2012, you discovered that it had occurred andby, i Im looking at the fle mark on the ront page o this exhibit, by 10:42 am you

had this lawsuit fled? Right?Melissa Tats what it says, yeah.

Justin So between the less than 18 hours you discovered that this had happened, and wasable to fle a 15 page lawsuit with exhibits, less than 18 hours later is that correct?

Melissa No.

Justin. Its not?

Melissa No its not.

Justin So less than 24 hours?

Melissa No its not correct?

Justin Whats not correct about it?

Melissa Te evening o the 10th to the morning o the 12th probably would be closer to 36hours.

Justin I apologize. Did you conduct your investigation immediately, or did you wait untilthe next day?


Justin Did anyone aid you in your investigation?

Melissa Not that I remember.

Justin Did you talk to anybody once you ound out about the email. Did you talk to anyoneabout that?

Melissa I did.

Justin Who?

Melissa I talked to some lawyers.

Justin Okay.

Melissa And I talked to my husband.

Justin anybody else?

Melissa Possibly the I guy in my law frm.


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Justin whats his name?

Melissa Neal Helms.

Justin Neal Helms? And why did you talk to him?

Melissa Because hes an I guy.

Justin Oh, so you maybe took investigation tips, or something like that?

Melissa I dont think that its appropriate or me to tell you about the conversations I hadwith the sta o my law frm about this litigation.

Justin So its your testimony that anyone in the employ o Friedman and Fieger hadany communication with in the law frm o Friedman and Fieger had protectedprivilege? .

Ryan Yes.

Justin Is Neal Helms an attorney?

Melissa No.

Justin Does he perorm legal draing or pleadings or anything like that?

Melissa Not that Im aware o.

Justin And you dont remember who told you about the emails?

Melissa I still dont remember that.

Justin What were your, do you remember how you elt when you discovered it? Were youenraged, sad, upset?

Melissa Probably all o those.

Justin Was it a riend who told you?

Melissa I dont remember Justin.

Justin But theres an email out there who would.

Melissa Im sure there is.

Justin Now did you just receive one email?

Melissa I dont, eventually no, I know that I had some o them, I didnt have all o them untilyou produced them, I had some o them.

Justin and well go through those a little later. But you had some o them, so how did youreceive the other emails?

Melissa I dont remember how I received any o them.


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Justin But you received them by email and not by hand delivery, or not mail or ax oranything?

Melissa Probably, yeah.


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Justin Do you remember about how many?

Melissa I received a couple o them.

Justin All at the same time, or over the course o a period?

Melissa Oh, within that frst week Id say.

Melissa So you received just a ew, but not all emails that weve produced at the time youfled the lawsuit?

Melissa I dont remember hen I received the emails I did receive, were talking about theemails sent rom MelissaKingston.com?

Justin Yes, maam.

Melissa Yeah.

Justin I I could direct your attention to paragraph 8 and 9 o the petition, you say that,the second sentence o paragraph 8 says, he holds himsel out to be a neighborhoodactivist and, am I correct in asking, he meaning, Mr. Adelman?

Melissa Yes.

Justin And you go on to, whats the frst sentence o number 9? Could you read that orme?

Melissa Deendant is a sel proclaimed vigilante style neighborhood activist, who more

accurately represents a neighborhood terrorist.

Justin Could you defne, neighborhood terrorist or me? First, who came up with thatterm? Is that something you came up with?

Melissa I dont remember, but I think the draing o this lawsuit and the input that was putinto the draing o this lawsuit would probably be protected by the attorney clientprivilege.

Justin Help me understand.

Melissa Someone who uses violence to eectuate his means. Someone who uses tactics likeidentity the to eectuate his means. Someone who is disruptive, disrespectulo projects people are trying to do to improve the neighborhood. Tose are someexamples.

Justin So, anyone whos disruptive o a project people are trying to do is a neighborhoodterrorist?

Melissa No, the totality o the attributes I just described make up a neighborhood terrorist.


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Justin Would you describe as it an objective or subjective term?

Melissa Teres probably a little bit o both.

Justin And whats a vigilante style neighborhood activist?

Melissa Someone who doesnt necessarily ollow the laws to eectuate their means, usingviolence to eectuate their means.

Justin And you say in your lawsuit that, Deendant, himsel, is a sel proclaimed vigilantestyle activist?

Melissa He is.

Justin How has he proclaimed that?

Melissa He describes himsel as someone who uses a scorched earth methodology. Hehas described himsel as a someone who will take whatever means necessary to

promulgate his agenda.

Justin Has he ever used the term vigilante?


Justin Have you ever heard Mr. Adelman say, I will not ollow the law, i it means that I willeectuate my means?

Melissa Ive heard him say things to that eect. I dont know i thats a direct quote.

Justin When?


Justin Do you remember, can you paraphrase what you heard.

Melissa I mean, I think thats a air paraphrase.

Justin But you dont remember when that happened?

Melissa No.

Justin Do you remember where it happened?

Melissa Ive heard him say stu like that a couple o times, it is typically been in, I rememberhim saying something similar to that when we were trying to get the conservationdistrict ordinance passed and he was adamantly opposed to it. I remember himsaying something like that, dealing with some issue with a bar on Lower Greenville,but I dont remember the specifcs.

Justin And whats defned as a neighborhood activist?


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Melissa I think a neighborhood activist is a neighborhood leader, is someone who.

Justin Real ast, and I dont mean to interrupt, does an activist have to be a leader? Do youhave to be a leader to be a neighborhood activist?

Melissa No, you dont.

Justin Alright, Im sorry, I know I interrupted you. Could you defne neighborhood activistor me.


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Melissa I think a neighborhood activist is someone who, takes a, Im trying to come upwith a word thats not active, someone who takes a up. My thesaurus is not workingthis morning. akes an active role in trying to work on issues that aect the

neighborhood.Justin Alright, so whats the dierence between a neighborhood activist and a

neighborhood terrorist?

Melissa In my mind a neighborhood activist does not resort to, using violence, or the threato violence, or extortion, or other criminal activities to eectuate their means, andin my mind a neighborhood activist tries to get consensus among a group. ries touse respectul means o communication, is not disrespectul or hateul o the otherpeople who live in the neighborhood around that person.

Justin And would you describe yoursel as a neighborhood activist?Melissa I would.

Justin And would you describe Mr. Adelman as a neighborhood terrorist?

Melissa I would.

Justin And, what has Mr. Adelman done thats dierent rom what youve done?

Melissa His style o communication is dierent than mine, I dont put things on the internetmaking un o my neighbors. I dont put things on the internet that disparages them.

I dont try to steal their identity in order to make my point. I dont shove bar patronsin the middle o the street while videotaping them. I dont try to extort the bars andrestaurants in my community to try to make them hire me to do my promotionalwork.

Justin And its your contention that Mr. Adelman has done all o these things?

Melissa I think hes been accused o it. And I think we heard him admit yesterday that hesdone some o those things, yes.

Justin Which one o those things?

Melissa I think he admitted yesterday that he, was involved in a physical altercation witha woman while he was trying to photograph her riend who was getting medicalattention, I think he testifed yesterday that he was accused o extortion.

Justin So an accusation is enough to reach the threshold o a neighborhood terrorist?

Melissa In Mr. Adelmans case, I believe it is.

Justin So the accusation need not be true and you can still be a neighborhood terrorist?


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Melissa I think terror, and being a terrorist, is as much about the eect you have on thepeople around you as what you actually do.

Justin Dont you think terrorist is a bit o a strong word to describe your neighborhooddispute?

Melissa I dont characterize this an merely a neighborhood dispute. He stole my name andhe sent out hateul emails using it.

Justin Objection, unresponsive.

Justin errorist aside, when does conduct constitute activism or when does it cross in tovigilantism and when it crosses into terrorism?

Melissa I think thats peoples own decision. rue, theres a legal threshold or that, but thatssomething most people come up with on their own.

Justin So its the old, I know it when I see it, I cant defne it, but I know it when I see it, isthat true?

Melissa Is that a question?

Justin Yes.

Melissa I dont understand what you mean then.

Justin Are you amiliar with the Supreme Court decision where pornography couldnt bedescribed, but I believe the justice writing the opinion says, I just know it when I seeit.

Melissa Im amiliar with that opinion, yes.

Justin And would you describe that same premise as how someone would identiy aneighborhood terrorist?

Melissa Like I said earlier, I think there is an objective and a subjective component. I thinkyou could use that premise, I think that premise could be applicable, yeah.

Justin And, in relation to the, just the Wal-Mart issue, did Mr. Adelman commit any acto violence that youre aware o to any person o Wal-Mart or any employee o Wal-

Mart.Melissa I know that he was accused o being physically aggressive with a couple o the

people that worked on .

Justin Im not interested in what you know he was accused o.

Ryan Listen, please let her fnish.

Justin Fair enough, Im sorry.


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Ryan Let her answer, I know we dont have a court reporter, but still I dont want yall to betalking over each other.

Justin I understand, Im sorry.

Melissa Ask your question again, apparently I wasnt answering it.

Justin Are you aware o any incidents in which Mr. Adelman used violence against anemployee o Wal-Mart or a representative o Wal-Mart?

Melissa I dont have any personal knowledge o that.

Justin are you personally, do you have any personal knowledge o incidents where Mr.Adelman used the threat o violence against the person o Wal-Mart or personrepresenting Wal-Mart?

Melissa Yes.

Justin Could you give me an example o that?

Melissa I think the example where he stated that i Maxine Aaronson were in charge o thenegotiations with Wal-Mart, that Wal-Mart would be in on its knees in a pool oits own blood begging or mercy as it planted the trees we asked or, is such andexample.

Justin I mean, Wal-Mart doesnt bleed presumably. Would you agree with that?


Justin Corporations dont have pools o blood, would you agree with that?Melissa I would agree with that.

Justin Alright so, was there a concrete threat o violence in that statement, or is it just kindo a rude statement? How would you describe it?

Melissa I would, I would describe it as very threatening.

Justin then what, a threat o what?

Melissa Grave physical violence.

Justin Like?

Melissa Like the type o injury that would leave someone on their knees in a pool o theirown blood.

Justin Now dont you think that statement was a comparison between your negotiationstyle and Maxines negotiation style? So i Maxine had been negotiating, thats not acomparison? Because you were negotiation?


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Melissa I was.

Justin So i Maxine was negotiating, thats not a comparison o negotiating styles?

Melissa I you want to read it that way.

Justin But when you read that, you really thought that someone was in physical danger?

Melissa When I read that, I thought that he intended to convey a physical threat.

Justin Did you call the police?

Melissa I did not.

Justin Did you fle a report?

Melissa I fled this lawsuit and I got a temporary restraining order.

Justin What was the date o that email?

Melissa Te date I saw it was somewhere around the time that the lawsuit was fled.

Justin And did you ear or your own saety?

Melissa I did.

Justin Why?

Melissa Because I know Mr. Adelman, I know his history, I know the things that hes doneand threatened to do, and I was in ear o my own saety, I continue to be in ear omy own saety.

Justin Are you, are you araid right now? Like right at this second?

Melissa I dont like being in the same room with him.

Justin Okay.

Melissa Makes me uncomortable.

Justin Alright, and when you read that about the quote about Maxine Aaronson, you didnot view it as a comparison or a hyperbole or, you viewed that as a direct threat ophysical violence against you?

Melissa I dont, I dont know i I viewed as much a threat against me, as against, everyoneinvolved in the Wal-Mart negotiations which would include me. When I read thatquote, the purpose o the that quote seemed to be a threat o physical violence.

Justin But you didnt call the police?

Melissa No.

Justin Instead you fled a civil lawsuit.


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Melissa I did.

Justin You think requiring a restraining order is every bit as eective as fling a policereport, in preventing violence?

Melissa Maybe were not talking about the same time period. I have reported Mr. Adelmans

conduct to the police.

Justin Im talking about, specifcally, this when you received this email with MaxineAaronson, i Maxine had been negotiating, Wal-Mart would be in a pool o its ownblood, while planting the trees, I think the trees thing seems pretty peaceul to medoesnt it? Im, hes going to hunt somebody unless they plant a tree.

Ill be honest with you, I dont buy that you were really physically threatened by it.I think it sounds that you didnt like it an youre trying to use it, and Im trying toexplore, really what in it was a real grounds or eeling that you needed to ear or

physical saety.Ryan Objection, orm, and argumentative.

Justin Fair enough. What part o that sentence in that email indicated to you thatsomebody, somebodys physical saety would be in danger?


Melissa Te part about being on your knees in a pool o your own blood begging or mercy.


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Justin So you thought that would be the end result? Tat Mr. Adelman would engage inconduct that would result in someone on their knees in a pool o blood?

Melissa I dont know i Id go that ar. I thought that it was a threat o physical violence.

Justin Against who?

Melissa Against the people who were primarily involved in the Wal-Mart negotiations whichwould include me. I think Kelly Durr, I cant remember the construction guys nameat Wal-Mart right now, but him.

Justin Did Kelly, did Kelly even.? Where is Kelly located?

Melissa I think her o ce is in Austin, but she spends a air amount o time up here, and wasspending a air amount o time up here during this process.

Justin You, Kelly Durr, the construction guy, who else?

Melissa Tats all I can think o right now, Id have to go back and look at the email.

Justin Just or the interest o time, Im going to go to. Well come back to it later today untilI can go look at it aer a break.

Justin Now in paragraph 9 the last sentence, on page 3 paragraph 9, it says the Deendantmaintains several websites and blogs that he uses as his tools or disrupting the goodwork others are trying to do or their community. Is that what it says?

Melissa Tats what it says.Justin And can you provide some examples o that, like how hes used his blog to do that?

Melissa Yeah, I mean an example would be his BarkingDogs.org website, where heposts pictures o, or example, presidents o the neighborhood association withhis disrespectul graphics and his statements about them. For example MaxineAaronson was a lawyer in the community, lived in the community, served on theboard o LGNA, and represented LGNA, other neighborhoods in Lower Greenvilleseorts to improve the community, he nicknamed her Mad Max, took her domainname, would post pictures o her on his website with disrespectul artwork.

Justin Im conused how posting a picture o someone with an unsavory nicknameprevents them rom doing their work?

Melissa It discourages those people rom being involved in community events and projectsbecause they dont want to be subject to his harassment.

Justin So did Maxine Aaronson quit or resign her post because o Mr. Adelman?


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Melissa I understand that was part o the reason.

Justin And did she tell you that?

Melissa She did.

Justin Did she say, I mean. What is the good work o others? How do you defne that?

Melissa Examples might be people trying to change zoning in order to, protect historicproperties, or address crime issues in the neighborhood, or people trying to set upcrime watches, people trying to have community websites like Facebook that hellget on and basically take over.

Justin Im sorry or interrupting. Im not interested in Mr. Adelman specifcally, Im justsaying the good work o others, what do you consider the good work o others?

Melissa Im not sure I understand your question then. I mean, in general?

Justin How ever you mention it in your lawsuit.

Melissa Tose are the examples I just gave you.

Justin And you meant that reasonable minds can disagree about zoning changes, wouldntyou?

Melissa I think they can, yeah.

Justin And reasonable minds can disagree about how to address crime and establish crimewatches, who should pay or how to do it, enorcement vs. education. Reasonable

minds can disagree cant they?


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Melissa I agree with that.

Justin Did Mr. Adelman participate or help establish the resident parking only in the RPOzones?


Justin Are you aware that the RPO zones exist?

Melissa I know that there are resident parking only zones in Lower Greenville.

Justin And is that a good work?

Melissa Can be.

Justin Is it important when you defne good work, to take into account how one gets to theend result?

Melissa I think thats important, yes.

Justin So, a good act might be rendered bad i you go about it the wrong way?

Melissa I think thats right.

Justin And who determines, who get to determine when the means become so egregiousthat the intention turns, the goal turns to bad itsel ?

Melissa I think thats really or the community to decide.

Justin Alright, you say the good work others try to do or their community, who are youreerring to when you say others?

Melissa I think there are other lawyers like me who have tried to do projects in theneighborhood.

Justin Can you name those?

Melissa Maxine Aaronsons one.

Justin Anyone else?

Melissa Philip Kingston is one.

Justin Anyone else?

Melissa Angela Hunt.

Justin So Mr. Adelman has, it is your testimony that Mr. Adelman has disrupted the goodworks o Angela Hunt?

Melissa I think hes tried.


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Justin You believe, Ms. Hunt has actual and personal knowledge o Mr. Adelmansactivities?

Melissa Yeah.

Justin Yes?

Melissa I do.

Justin Are you close riends with Maxine Aaronson?

Melissa No I wouldnt say that.

Justin Where is she now? Does she live in Dallas?

Melissa She does.

Justin She does now?

Melissa She does.

Justin Where does she live? Is she still in the neighborhood?

Melissa Shes not.

Justin So when you say others, youre specifcally, reerring to lawyers?

Melissa No, no not necessarily, I mean, I think it includes lawyers.

Justin Who else are you reerring to?

Melissa I think the people that serve on the local neighborhood association boards, andvarious committees, I think some o the business owners, I think that there arepeople that work at the city.

Justin Now, in recent years are you aware o some o the legislation regardingneighborhood associations? Not everyone views, has viewed neighborhoodassociations as a great thing, wouldnt you agree with that statement?

Melissa Which question would you like me to answer?

Justin Te neighborhood association as a good thing.

Melissa Im sorry can you ask it again?

Justin Would you agree that not everyone considers neighborhood associations to be doinggood work all the time.

Melissa Yeah, Im sure thats true.

Justin in act, are you aware that the legislature passed some statutes in recent years rollingback the authority on neighborhood associations?


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Melissa I know that there has been some legislation, Im not intimately amiliar with thatlegislation.

Justin wrapping up the last sentence o paragraph 9, where it says the Deendant also hasa history o cyber squatting, domain squatting and identity the. Is that what that

says?Melissa Its what it says.

Justin Can you defne cyber squatting or me?

Melissa Mmmmm, Im not sure I can dierentiate between cyber squatting and domainsquatting, but its..


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Justin I its the same thing, i youd like to defne both o them in the same answer.

Melissa Its - and Im not a techie, Im not profcient in technical language - but its generallysomeone who, takes, sets up websites, or registers domain names, that are the same

or very similar to other peoples names and put things on the internet, i its a websitethats disparaging to the original user or sends emails, or example like Avi did in theis case using someone elses name.

Justin And is it your testimony then that an element o cyber squatting and domainsquatting would require using the domain? Is purchasing it not enough?

Melissa No, I dont know that I would say that, I dont have the elements o certain cause oaction right in ront o me, so I dont eel comortable.

Justin So lets say I buy, GeorgeBush.com, am I a cyber squatter?


Melissa Im not sure I could answer that, Im not sure what youre asking.

Justin Lets say i I bought MelissaKingston.com having not known you at all, just truly byrandom, had not done anything with the domain, just le it in, it just said UnderConstruction, or didnt say anything, would that constitute cyber squatting, doespurchasing domain names o other peoples names.

Melissa Are you asking me or my legal opinion?

Justin Im just asking you, however you eel appropriate to answer the question.

Melissa I dont eel comortable giving you my legal conclusion and/or legal opinions orasking me or my legal argument.

Justin Well, what Im .

Melissa Im trying, Im not trying to be.

Justin No, I understand.

Melissa Di cult, Im just trying to be. I dont understand what youre asking.

Justin I guess what I mean is, cyber squatting, Im curious i you, i the party, i the merepurchase o a domain name i it includes a portion or an exact replication osomeone elses name other than the purchasers, is that cyber squatting? As you useit in your petition. Im trying to fnd out when you say he has a history o cybersquatting, its important or me to understand what that means, what, when you sayhe has a history o what that means.


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Melissa I know, and I think youre asking me or a legal conclusion and I dont eelcomortable giving you that. I youre asking me i you, Justin Nichols, decided torandomly purchase the domain name, MelissaKingston.com i I think thats wrong, Ido.


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Justin Beore the break, Mrs. Kingston, we were talking about the history o paragraph 9.Te last sentence o paragraph 9, the Deendant also has a history o cyber squattingdomain names, cyber squatting and identity the. Could you defne identity the

or me.Melissa I dont know about the actual legal defnition, but, here I meant it to be somebody

who takes somebody elses name and uses it without their permission.

Justin You dont, you dont contend that Mr. Adelman opened credit cards in your name.

Melissa Not that I hope, not that I know o, certainly hope not.

Justin Or, received medical services in your name or anything like that.

Melissa Not that I know o.

Justin So, in the context o your petition the term identity the relates only to the purchaseo the domain name that included MelissaKingston.com?

Melissa No, I dont agree with that.

Justin What dont you agree with?

Melissa I dont agree with that statement.

Justin How did you mean identity the in the content? I mean Im trying to get a frmedup defnition o what you meant when you said identity the.

Melissa He, purchased MelissaKingston.com, and then used it to send out communications.

Justin And, you said he had a history o doing that beore?

Melissa Correct.

Justin And can you tell us about that history?

Melissa Yesterday he testifed to doing it to Maxine Aaronson.

Justin Yeah, but you didnt know that when, frst o all, I would object as unresponsive.

Ryan Objection, orm.Justin And when you fled the petition did you know he would testiy to that?

Melissa I..

Justin Tree months later?

Melissa I didnt know that, no.

Justin What did you mean when you wrote this, what history were you talking about?


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Melissa What do you mean by this?

Justin Tis petition, when you fled this lawsuit and said Deendant has a history oidentity the, what did you mean by that, in terms o the history?

Melissa I was aware that Mr. Adelman had taken other peoples names and, or other

companys names and purchased their domains without their consent and usedthem.

Justin And thats identity the.

Break for battery change @ Philips camera. Fail.

Justin What other peoples names or business names? Who else?

Melissa I knew about Maxine, and I, seems like I knew about a couple others and I dontremember who they were at this, at this minute.

Justin Any business names?

Melissa Yeah, I think thats one o the others, Im just having trouble remembering whatI know now, dierentiating what I know now rom what knew then. Tat makessense.

Justin Alright, so besides what you allege to be Maxine Aaronson and yoursel you canrecall anyone else today?

Melissa I cant remember right now.

Justin Going on to paragraph 11 and 12, the sentence, the third sentence that begins,nevertheless, because the Deendant lives next to the new Wal-Mart, he has beenparticularly vocal to Kingston and other neighborhood leaders as well as Wal-Martpersonnel about the construction o the site. Is that what it says?

Melissa Tats what it says, yes.

Justin Is there, frst o all, does it surprise you that neighborhoods next to Wal-Mart orneighbors next Wal-Mart kind o cause a clamor when Wal-Mart moves in? Tatsnot unusual is it, would you agree?

Melissa I dont know.Justin Are you aware o any other, neighborhood expressing concern when Wal-Marts

move in?

Melissa I dont have any personal knowledge about that.


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Justin So, this was the frst time, when this Wal-Mart on Belmont was constructed, thatyou became aware o any disagreements or negotiations that became necessarybetween neighborhoods and Wal-Mart? A new Wal-Mart store?

Melissa Tis is my frst experience with it.

Justin So what part o being particularly vocal is illegal? Anything illegal about that?



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Justin You said, Nonetheless, because the Deendant lives next to the new Wal-Mart hehas been particularly vocal to Kingston and other neighborhood leaders. Is thereanything illegal about that?

Melissa Im sorry Justin, I dont understand what youre trying to ask me here.

Justin Because the Deendant lives next to the new Wal-Mart he has been particularlyvocal to Kingston and other neighborhood leaders. Is there anything morally wrongabout that? In your opinion?

Melissa In my opinion, theres nothing wrong with someone objecting to a store coming intotheir neighborhood.

Justin I theres an extra squeaky or loud neighbor, is there anything wrong with that?

Melissa I think there can be.Justin Is there anything illegal about that?

Melissa I think there can be.

Justin What community leaders are you talking about when you said he was vocal tothem?

Melissa I believe he was vocal to the presidents and maybe some o the o cers o the otherneighborhood boards.

Justin All o them? Like.Melissa I dont know.

Justin Pat Carr, was he particularly vocal to Pat Carr?


Justin Kyle urman? Was he particularly vocal to that person? o Kyle?


Justin Do you recall i he was particularly vocal to ed Tompson?

Melissa I dont, I dont remember.

Justin Or John Scarborough?


Justin So nothing that would be so egregious that it would stick out in your memory.

Melissa I dont know i I would agree with that.


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Justin You just testifed that you dont remember him being, particular instances o himbeing particularly vocal. You elt it necessary to you put it your petition.

Melissa Yeah, he was very vocal, to me and the other neighborhood leaders, and thats whatthe petition says.

Justin And you dont recall which neighborhood leaders specifcally.

Melissa I dont remember, I dont recall the specifcs about it.

Justin what Wal-Mart personnel was he particularly vocal to?

Melissa I dont remember all o them.

Justin Can you tell me what you do remember?

Melissa I remember Kelly Durr, and I remember Sam, and I am blanking on Sams last name

Justin Is it Merten?

Melissa Is it what?

Justin Merten? M-E-R--E-N.

Melissa Yes, it sounds right, and then again I cant remember the construction guy, and thenI think some o the olks that were actually on site.

Justin Now, when you say particularly vocal, does that mean that he like, would show upand scream at their ace? Or how, what does particularly vocal mean? Would hesend mean emails? What does that mean?

Melissa Whats your question?

Justin What qualifes as particularly vocal?

Melissa You mean in this instance?

Justin Yes.

Melissa He was, he did send a volume o emails, he also would go to the site and scream atthe people who were working at the site, I understood that he also made phone calls.

Justin Did you receive any phone calls?Melissa I did not receive any phone calls rom him, no.

Justin So you were just told by other people, hey Avi called me today?

Melissa I dont think thats exactly how it came up but.

Justin Im just asking how did you become aware o phone calls?



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Justin And he would go to the site, but in reality he lives across the street rom it, right?

Melissa Yes, he does.

Justin So I mean going to the site it would mean walking 50 eet across the street?

Melissa I dont know how ar it is.

Justin But, you wouldnt describe it as a long distance?

Melissa No, its across the street.


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Justin And the negotiations with Wal-Mart on behal o the neighborhood associations,did you include Mr. Adelman in any o those?

Melissa I dont understand what youre asking.

Justin Did you solicit Mr. Adelmans opinion?

Melissa Tere were surveys that were sent to everyone that were on the LGNA and theBelmont Addition email distribution lists.

Justin You put in here somewhere that his membership had been rejected to variousneighborhood associations, right?

Melissa His membership has been rejected to certain neighborhood associations.

Justin LGNA?

Melissa I dont know that.

Justin Whats the other one you said?

Melissa .

Justin Belmont?

Melissa He did receive emails rom the Belmont Addition email distribution list and asurvey was sent out.

Justin Was he still on that email distribution list do you know?Melissa Ah, as ar as I know.

Justin Okay.

Melissa No, I take that back, I take that back, he is not on it.

Justin Hes not on the list?

Melissa No, hes not on it, because I send out emails and hes represented by counsel and Idid not want there to be any conusion about me communicating directly with your

client without.Justin So when did you remove him?

Melissa Probably about the time the lawsuit started.

Justin But beore then, you sent out emails to him soliciting opinions or surveys?

Melissa We sent out at least one possibly two emails to the Belmont list, yes.


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Justin But you would you agree that independent individual residents were ree tocommunicate with, participate in the negotiations, they didnt have to go throughyou necessarily?

Melissa Tats between them and Wal-Mart.

Justin But you reer to Wal-Marts decision to cease communications with Mr. Adelman inan email didnt you?

Melissa Im sorry, ask that again?

Justin Did you ever reer in an email you sent to anybody about Wal-Marts decision tocease urther communications with Mr. Adelman?


Justin I I showed you the email would you be able to?

Melissa I you showed me the email I could tell you i it looks amiliar.

Justin And youre authority to represent anyone in the negotiations stopped, began andstopped only with the neighborhood association entity, is that correct?

Melissa I dont know i I would agree with that.

Justin did you ever represent anyone else besides the fve neighborhood association entitiesin negotiating with Wal-Mart?

Melissa Tats who I purported to represent.

Justin Did you represent anyone else?

Melissa You know, there were several people in the neighborhood that talked to me about itover time, you know, they were members o the associations or maybe they arent, Idont even know.

I mean I, somebody sent me something, I took it into consideration, Im not surewhat youre asking. Im not sure i Im answering it.

Justin I guess what I mean is, you certainly didnt represent Mr. Adelman, correct?

Melissa No.Justin And he wasnt a member o any NA, you said that you represented.

Melissa I dont know, I dont know i thats true or not.

Justin How did you know whos opinion you were sharing i you didnt speak directly tomembers, did you have a decision making authority?

Melissa No, I was representing them. Te boards made the decisions.


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Justin So i Wal-Mart said, I want to come put a tree, there, could you say yes, or did youhave to go check with the 5 board members?

Melissa .

Justin Or the fve presidents?

Melissa Te decisions like that would have been made by the board.

Justin Are you aware o the group that calls themselves Close In Neighbors?

Melissa Never heard o that.

Justin Okay.

Melissa Beore yesterday.

Justin Alright, let me hand you whats been marked exhibit sheet 2. Now Im going to askyour legal opinion, I know its (inaudible). Can you tell me what you think it is?


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Melissa It appears to be a seven page print out. Its entitled Sole Practice and Remedies Code,itle 2, rial Judgment and Appeals, Subtitle B, rial Matters Chapter 27 ActionsInvolving the Exercise o Certain Constitutional Rights.

Justin Lets go to page 2 o this document, down to number 7 i you would.

Melissa Yes.

Justin It says matter o public concern and it ends in a quote does it not?

Melissa Yes it does.

Justin And what are the listed matters o public concern in this particular sheet o paper?

Melissa It says, health or saety, environmental, economic or community well being, thegovernment, the public o cial or public fgure, or a good, product or service in the

market place.

Justin So you testifed earlier today that some o the subjects, about which you representedWal-Mart would have included noise, tra c, lighting, aesthetics, landscaping,and product placement, and streetscaping which you still say those are things yourepresented, the neighborhood associations with Wal-Mart or.

Melissa Yeah my answer hasnt changed.

Justin Would you describe, tra c as a health or saety issue?

Melissa I dont know how to, I dont know how it fts into this statute.Justin I mean lets just pretend, the statute, lets pretend, lets say its not a statute, lets say its

a defnition. You may or may not agree with it, but.


Justin Do you think tra c is a health or saety issue, using the plain meaning o what everyou mean health and saety to be.

Melissa I your asking me, outside the context o the statute you have in ront o me ingeneral, do I think tra c is a health or saety issue, then my answer is it could bedepending upon the context.

Justin Do you think, its a community well being issue?

Melissa I youre asking me i.


Melissa Sorry, i youre asking me.


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Justin Let me rephrase i I could. Do you believe tra c constitutes a community well beingissue?

Melissa I youre asking me in general, outside the context o the statute you handed mewhether tra c could be considered a community well being issue, then I think it

could be depending upon the circumstances.Justin What do you mean outside the context o the statute?


Justin Yeah, i youll set exhibit 2 aside.

Melissa Okay.

Justin Im just going to ask you to orget the statute and just use whatever you mean theollowing terms to defne, to however you think they may be defned. Do you defne

tra c as an issue o community well being?Melissa So, this line o questioning, youre asking me is not, youre not asking my opinion

based on how it fts in to Chapter 27 o the Civil Practice Remedies Code?

Justin Ill take that up with the judge, whatever you mean community well being to mean,the judge or jury I guess, what ever you mean community well being to mean.

Melissa I.

Justin Do you believe tra c to be a community well being issue?

Ryan Objection, orm.Melissa I didnt use the phrase community well being, thats not a term I used.

Justin What would you describe as community well being?

Melissa I dont know, I dont know how to answer that, I mean.

Justin What do you describe community as?

Melissa Again.

Justin You dont know what community means?

Melissa I think it could have a lot o meanings.

Justin What does it mean to you?

Melissa It depends on the circumstances.

Justin Well, in the, you used the word community in your lawsuit.

Melissa Can you direct me to the paragraph, where I used it please.


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Justin Sure, while Im looking, could you defne the term neighborhood that you use inyour petition.

Melissa Could you.

Justin Sure. Neighborhood issues, statement o acts, page 2, page 6, you say neighborhood

issues, what neighborhood. What constitutes the neighborhood thats having issues?

Melissa In that paragraph, I describe it as the Lower Greenville area o Dallas.

Justin Would you say that is a community o people?

Melissa Yes, I think thats a community o people.

Justin So is tra c as a orm o concern or the community o Greenville, is it?

Melissa No, I dont think it is?

Justin No?

Melissa No.

Justin Would permits or certifcates o occupancies relating to Wal-Mart be related to thegovernment who issues certifcates o occupancy and building permits?


Melissa I dont know what youre asking me.

Justin Who issued certifcates o occupancy and, other licenses during the construction o

Wal-Mart?Melissa I dont know.

Justin Would it be air to say its the City o Dallas?

Melissa I dont know that, I dont know what licenses youre talking about, I dont know whatpermits youre talking about.

Justin Come on, you appeared beore a Board o Adjustment within the last 30 days andyou gave an hour long sermon about permitting and licensing and ordinances,surely its not that oreign, is it?

Ryan Objection, argumentative, please restate your question.

Justin So you know what licensing and permitting was when you appeared beore theboard o adjustment with in the last month, didnt you?

Melissa When I appeared beore the Board o Adjustment, I knew about the particularpermit that was the subject o that hearing.


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Justin Permit to do what?

Melissa I think it was a building permit.

Justin A building permit, and where did you make that argument, what building were youin when you made that argument?

Melissa City Hall.

Justin So, it would be sae to say city issuing permits is a government issue, or agovernmental unction, would it not?

Melissa Say that again?

Justin Is it sae to say that cities issuing building permits is a governmental issue orgovernmental unction?


Justin You dont know?

Melissa I dont understand your question. Let me rephrase that, I dont understand whatyoure asking me.

Justin Is the issuing o building permits a governmental unction?

Melissa Yeah, I think it can be, yeah.

Justin Does anyone else issue building permits?

Melissa I dont know.Justin Is noise a community issue, or a community well being issue?

Melissa I think it can be.

Justin Is it an environmental issue?

Melissa Its not how I would typically defne environment, but, somebody could defne it thatway, I guess.

Justin Is it a health and saety issue?

Melissa Again its really not something I wouldnt consider a health or saety issue but, Isuppose someone could defne it that way.

Justin So its just a community well being issue?

Melissa I dont know i its just a community well being issue.

Justin But it is that?

Melissa Could be.


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Justin And product placement, is that an economic issue?


Justin Is product placement a good, product or service in the market place?

Melissa I dont know how it fts into the statute, Justin. I see what youre trying to do, I dontunderstand your questions, and I dont know how to answer them.

Justin What Im asking is, how you relate the matters with which you negotiated on behalo the neighborhood associations to Wal-Mart and whether or not those issuesare matters o public concern, in the context o this defnition whether its thestatute or not, I mean thats a argument o law well make later, so what Im tryingto do is when you testifed about the issues you represented them, how wouldyou characterize those issues? And Im asking would you characterize productplacement as a service in the market place?

Melissa I wouldnt.

Justin You would not? Why not?

Melissa Because I dont know what service in the market place means.

Justin Would you describe product placement as having to do with products?

Melissa Yeah, I guess it probably does.

Justin I we could go back to exhibit 1 paragraph 13.


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Justin Now you say in, Im sorry, paragraph 14, you say that in the evening o September10th, Kingston learned that the Deendant was using an email address, [email protected] and thats still your testimony right now? Tat it was

September 10th that you discovered it?Melissa Tats when I discovered it.

Justin And that you allege and you remember Mr. Adelman admitting that he purchasedMelissaKingston.com on September 7th, right?


Melissa What question are you asking?

Justin What date did Mr. Kingston purchase the domain name?

Melissa Im not sure that Mr. Kingston purchased any.

Justin Im sorry, what date did Mr. Adelman purchase the domain name in question, inrelation to the lawsuit?

Melissa According to WhoIsIt, Mr. Adelman purchased MelissaKingston.com, on September7th.

Justin You didnt allege according to (inaudible) a statement o act, Mr. Kingston,Unbeknownst to Kingston on September 7th, 2012, Deendant registered thedomain name MelissaKingston.com and thats in paragraph 5, is it not?

Ryan Objection argumentative.

Melissa You lost me with the Mr. Kingston part, can you say that again?

Justin Unbeknownst to Kingston, on September 7th, Deendant registered the nameMelissaKingston.com.

Melissa Tats what the petition says.

Justin And is that what you believe knowingly to be true?

Melissa Its what I believe to be true.Justin so at anytime between September 7th and September, when you believe he bought

the domain and September 10th, when you discovered the email including thedomain, were you aware that you had suered any damages?


Melissa Im not sure I understand what youre asking me.


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Justin Had you suered any, in between that period o time, suered any loss o money?


Justin Property?


Justin Did you lose your job?

Melissa I did not lose my job.

Justin Did you get demoted or anything?

Melissa At my law frm?

Justin Yeah.

Melissa No.

Justin So on September 10th, when you discovered it, had you been suering any anguishor the last three days, you just didnt know what the cause was until you discoveredthe email?


Melissa I dont understand what youre asking.

Justin Were you under any mental distress September 7th?



Justin Were you under any mental stress September 8th?


Melissa I mean, in general?

Justin Yes, just yes or no, or however you want to answer, yes, no, maybe.


Justin September 9th, were you under, on the day o September 9th, were you under anymental distress?



Justin Te date o September 10th, were you the subject o any mental distress?



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Melissa I would say yes.

Justin And was that beore or aer you discovered the use o the [email protected]?

Melissa Aer.

Justin So is it your testimony that you do not recall being under, being under any mentaldistress rom September 7th until you discovered the email on September 10th, thatyou dont recall?

Melissa Yeah, I dont recall any.

Justin Now in paragraph 16 o this petition, (inaudible) you cite in the middle, oninormation and belie that Deendant seeks to have Wal-Mart, neighborhoodresidents believe that Deendants statements are endorsed by Kingston on the issuespertaining to Wal-Marts new store, would you agree that thats what it says?

Melissa I would.

Justin And, what inormation and what belie did you have that led you to that statement?

Melissa I cant think o another good reason or him to use my name, other than to causeconusion, to cause people to believe that his statements are endorsed by me.

Justin So, its just your belie, not any particular inormation?

Melissa Te inormation would be the emails. Could be other inormation, Id have to thinkabout that.

Justin Do you need a second?

Melissa I remember having conversations with people about that subject.

Justin What people?

Melissa I know I had a conversation with a couple o the olks at Wal-Mart and.

Justin And this was aer the 10th?

Melissa Yeah, aer they started getting emails rom my domain name.

Justin But beore the 10th?

Melissa No, cause I didnt know about it beore the 10th, so, I dont remember what day othe week the 10th was.


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Melissa But once I ound out about it, in conjunction with that time period, I got calls romthe olks at Wal-Mart and a couple o neighborhood people who wanted to knownwhy I was letting Avi use my name, and whether I was, had approved him using my

name and whether the statements he was making were endorsed.Justin So some people called you and said, I believe, I was conused that this email was

endorsed by you, they communicated that message to you?

Melissa Tats paraphrasing, I mean, it was.

Justin (inaudible).

Melissa I know I had a conversation like that with Kelly Durr and .

Justin Others?

Melissa Yeah, there was a lawyer at Wal-Mart and I cant remember his name.

Justin But he would be on the distribution list, presumably o one o Avis emails?

Melissa No, I dont think so.

Justin I he didnt receive it.

Melissa It might have been orwarded or something.

Justin I see.

Melissa And there were a couple people in the neighborhood, and Im not rememberingwho that was at this time.

Justin You dont recall someone coming to you and saying, you just recall someone doingit, you dont recall who did?

Melissa Yeah.

Justin Do you remember i they lived on your street?

Melissa No, I dont think they lived on my street.

Justin Tey dont?Melissa No, I dont think so.

Justin Did they communicate by phone?

Melissa I remember a phone call.

Justin o what phone number?



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Justin Your cell or o ce?


Justin Did you receive any emails rom community members?

Melissa Could have, I dont remember.

Justin Did you receive any questions in person rom a community member wondering iyou endorsed, [email protected]?

Melissa I think, Ive had those conversations, I dont think it was around that time period. Itwas maybe a little bit later that the 10th or 11th.

Justin Do you remember who it was aer the 10th?

Melissa Mmmmm.

Justin But all o these communications to you happened between the time that you fledthe lawsuit and when you discovered. When.

Im sorry let me rephrase, all o the communications occurred between the time youfled the lawsuit and the time you discovered the use o the email address?

Melissa Mmmm, I dont know i Id agree with that. It was around that time, I dont know iit was exactly the time period.

Justin Im trying to fgure out is what happened between when you fgured out that theemail was being used and when you fled the lawsuit, exactly what inormation you

had that led you to state on inormation and belie.Melissa I dont remember exactly what inormation I had.

Justin Can I hand you whats been marked deense exhibit 3, I will represent to you andcounsel that it was attached as exhibit A to Deendants anti SLAPP motion todismiss. Could you review this and tell me what it appears to be?

Melissa It appears to be an email sent rom MelissaKingston.com to a distribution list thatMr. Adelman controls.

Justin But the email address is not just MelissaKingston.com, its [email protected]?

Melissa Correct.

Justin In act the name associated is Avi S. Adelman and then next to it is the specifc emailaddress?

Melissa Its what it says.


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Justin And can you identiy, were you aware o this email when you fled the suit?

Melissa I dont remember i this was o the emails I know about or not.

Justin Could you read over it and identiy what you would classiy or characterize as anylie that is in the email.

Melissa I dont know whether Wal-Mart agree to continue their support o the RPOprogram, my understanding is Wal-Mart is not providing any kind o fnancialsupport or any kind o RPO program.

Justin Wal-Mart never agreed to.


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Melissa I dont know, not that Im aware o.

Justin Well...

Melissa I dont believe that ya know, theres some stu in here that, never mind, Okay, askme your question again, I dont.

Justin Sure in paragraph 14 o your petition .

Melissa .

Justin What you have in ront o you, I think you say these emails contain name calling,accuse people o being quote liars and have a version o Wal-Marts neighborhoodmarket sign that has been altered by Deendant stating Wal-Mart screwingneighborhoods one house at a time.

Melissa Mmmmhmmm thats true.

Justin So, Im wondering, which part o this email.

Ryan Will council reerence area specifc email that was attached to this lawsuit that youhave chosen not to copy in your deposition exhibit.

Justin I understand that, Im just..

Ryan But why dont you provide her with the exhibit thats reerenced here i you want totalk about.

Justin Were going to go through all the emails, Im just, Im not necessarily relating thisemail to the petition, Im just asking, i any o this..

Miss Kingston can a rmatively state is a lie, or she believes to be a lie.

Ryan Tat was a dierent, thats a dierent question now, what you just did was comparedher answer to paragraph 14.

Justin Ill rephrase.

Ryan In an argumentati

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Transcript of Melissa Kingston, morning session, Kingston v Adelman, 1/8/2013

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