Document jqJmpaJwmjVVZLxrJNw0Nd5p

1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ROBERT GRAHN, ET AL., : V. : ABEX CORPORATION, ET AL.,: 922682 G. GRAHN V. ABEX, ET AL. NO. 922678 J. PURCELL V. ABEX, ET AL. 925509 G. ROSS V. ABEX, ET AL. 889978 F. SMOTHERS V. ABEX, ET AL. 863042 W. BRIGHT V . ABEX, ET AL. 931047 D. JENNINGS V. ABEX, ET AL. oL BANKS V. ABEX, ET AL 910359 915341 A. LECCE V. ABEX, ET AL. 920265 E. WALLER V . ABEX, ET AL. 934412 DEPOSITION OF JAMES HAMMOND VOLUME III May 19, 1992 2900 Smith, Suite 3149 Houston, Texas NMA COPY NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. Fyy.MriR.nn^R'ift 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Marie Bulfinch Texas CSR No. 3748/Notary Public Nell McCallum & Associates, Inc. 2900 Smith, Suite 104 Houston, Texas 77006 (713) 523-3767 ******** APPEARANCES; For the Plaintiffs James L. Hand Brayton, Gisvold & Harley 999 Grant Ave. Novato, California 94948 For the Defendant Exxon and James Hammond: Glenna Kyle AND Donna J. Petrone Exxon Company, U.S.A. 800 Bell Avenue Houston, Texas 77002 NELL NIC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003fi19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 For the Defendant Chevron U. S . A., Inc. Shell Oil Company: Bradley P. Kaplan Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold One Embarcadero Center, Sixteenth Floor San Francisco, California 94111 For the Defendant Foster Wheeler Corp.: Ashley C. Plunkett Adams and Reese 4500 One Shell Square New Orleans, Louisiana 70139 For the Defendant Mine Safety Appliances Company: Charles S. Bishop Jedeikin, Green, Sprague & Bishop 300 Montgomery Street, Suite 450 San Francisco, California 94104 For the Defendant Plant Insulation Company: John R. Wallace Jackson & Wallace 33 New Montgomery Street, 18th Floor San Francisco, California 94105 NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003620 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 Also Present; Dorine R. Kohn Bjork, Lawrence, Poeschl & Kohn The Ross House 483 Ninth Street Oakland, California 94607 Steven Kazan Kazan, McClain, Edises & Simon 171 Twelfth Street, Third Floor Oakland, California 94607 ******** NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003621 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Deposition of JAMES HAMMOND, taken on May 19, 1992, at Nell McCallum & Associates 2900 Smith, Suite 3149, Houston, Texas, commencing at 3:00 p.m., before Marie Bulfinch, CSR No. 3748 and Notary Public in and for the State of Texas, pursuant to Subpoena. The witness may read and sign the deposition before any notary public. INDEX EXAMINATION BY PAGE Mr. Kazan Ms. Kyle 6 32 ******** NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003622 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 PROCEEDINGS MR. KAZAN: What I would ask, for convenience sake, if I can have everybody's stipulation that the Professor having been sworn is still under oath, that the appearances have been made and will continue to be made in my portion. I would, however, ask the reporter to transcribe as a separate mini-volume what we are about to do from here on. You can caption it however you want. MS. KYLE: We will tell you later. Let's move it. MR. BISHOP: Steve, are you agreeable to the stipulation that the objection by one is the same by all? MR. KAZAN: Absolutely. EXAMINATION BY MR. KAZAN: Q. Professor, I am going to ask you a few questions. Do you prefer to be addressed as Professor, Mr., or director or what? A. Professor, please. Q. You mentioned that you have a home library. I take it you have kept at your residence NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 some sort of professional library accumulated over the years of your professional practice; is that true? A. I still have a few volumes of textbooks and other articles of that type, more or less hard bound volumes, that I keep -- Q. And -- A. -- in my bookcase. Q. And you also have some copies of documents that were generated with your employment with the Exxon people over the years? A. Very few, other than those that were produced here and you have copies. Q. Okay. And, sir, did you at any time ever invite or permit representatives of Exxon to come to your home and review the library that -- and papers that you have maintained there? A. I never did. Q. Never did. Have you at any time physically arranged for the transportation or provided for transportation of those materials to Exxon or its attorneys for their review? A. I have given a few copies of small papers and so forth that you have here -- I have at times NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003624 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 given them some copies of those reprints that were available to me, yes. Q. Okay. You have noticed, I take it. Professor, that the documents that were produced here yesterday all have these little stickers on the bottom that have E.F.A. numbers on them? A. Yes, I have. Q. Did you place those numbers on your original copies of documents in your own library? A. I did not. But many of those copies came to me from other sources, as I said, that have come back to me as copies sent me courtesy on the parts of lawyers and others. Q. Did all the documents that you accumulated arrive in your hands with these E.F.A. stickers or numbers on them? A. No, they didn't. Q. Did any of them arrive for the first time into your hands with those stickers on them? A. I don't recall that they were on there at that time, any of them. Q. Did you provide your originals to Exxon counsel without stickers; and then when they were returned, there were these E.F.A. stickers on them? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003625 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. I believe that they were to be returned to me, yes; but I haven't got the copies of the returned yet. Q. When did you provide them to Exxon? A. The original prints that I had? Q. Yes. A. Which were all, as I said -- there were none of them that were really the original papers, either from the publishers or my own; but they were actually copies that had been made. And that - they had accumulated from me over a period of the last four or five years. Q. So over the last four or five years you physically turned over your own copies of these documents? A. Some of my own copies, yes . Q. To the Exxon counsel? A. To the Exxon counsel. Q. And none of the documents you have ever turned over have yet been returned from Exxon to you; is that correct? A. Yes, some of them have; but they are copies you have, similar to the ones you have there. Yes, they have some returned to me. Q. But some they still retained? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003626 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. Some they still have not returned. Q. Now, you told us, if 1 understood correctly, when you moved to the university, you took reference or research files with you; is that correct? A. I took reports with me and articles that I particularly wanted to use in my teaching operation. Q. And how many -- do you know what a banker's box is? The Beacon -- like the office brought in today, these square cardboard boxes? A. No. No. Mine are measured by the boxes that would go up on shelves of a bookcase, similar to that; and they would be -- I estimated there were 12 or more of those boxes. Q. And these are the kinds of slip cases the journals go in? A. Yes. Q. So they are about 4, 6, 8 inches wide, something like that? A. More like 4 inches wide. Q. And there were how many of those, do you think? A. 12, let's say, 12 to 15. Q. And did you keep these in your university NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003627 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 office? A. Yes, I did. Q. And when you left the university, did you leave them in your office or did you have them boxed up and put in storage? A. They were left on my bookcase, top of the bookcase, where they fit in nicely; and I intended to go back and get them, which I went back for them later on, maybe several months after I had moved out, but no one had occupied my office. My boxes were all empty. Q. Now - A. I estimated there were probably 180 publications or articles or prints, reprints, in that. Q. Were these all copies of articles published in the regular professional literature; or were some of them, if I can call it, internal corporate documents or reports? A. They were both. Q. Did you report this loss or theft to any of the authorities? A. Yeah, I reported it to the assistant Dean of the school and several of the faculty members. Q. Okay. And was this a written report? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003628 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A . No . NO . Q. Did you ever file any kind of formal police report either with the local authorities or the university police? A. No, I never did. Q. Did you make any claim against any insurance company for the loss of these valuable papers ? A. No, I never did. Q. Had you ever discussed the subject of asbestos litigation with any representatives of Exxon before you retired from the university? A. I don't recall that I did, no. Q. Had any representative of Exxon ever visited you to interview you or speak with you in your university office? A. I don't recall. Q. By "representative of Exxon," I refer not only to somebody who actually is employed by Exxon but any of their counsel. A. I never did recall anyone speaking to me in my office. Q. Over the years we went through your CV and the list of lectures or presentations you made, and I think you told us you don't have any of your NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003629 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 original notes that you used to give those talks; is that true? A. That's true. And the notes that I had would have been in the boxes that were robbed. Q. All right. Was it part of your practice at Exxon or Humble that when you went on company business and gave a presentation, that you would prepare any kind of trip report or summary memorandum of what had happened and submit it to your superiors? A. No, I did not. Q. Over the years you have had some involvement in asbestos litigation, I take it; is that correct? A. More recently, since I have retired from teaching. Q. All right. When is the first time you ever spoke with a lawyer representing anybody in connection with asbestos disease claims or litigation? A. In 1989. Q. And who was the attorney? A. William Baggett in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Q. And in connection with that, you actually NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003630 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 testified as an expert witness at his request? A. I had. Q. And you prepared a report, a written letter report, for Mr. Baggett, did you not? A. I did. Q. Was everything that you put in your report true and correct? A. I believe it was. Q. All right. And was all the testimony - in the case where you worked at the request of Mr. Baggett, as I recall, you gave your deposition in October of 1989? A. I believe that was the month. Q. And then you gave court testimony the following month, November of 1989? A. I think that was the Cold case. Q. Yes. Do you recall both of those testimonial experiences, if I can call it that? A. Fairly well. Q. And you were under oath on both occasions; is that correct? A. I was. Q. I don't mean this to be in any way insulting. So don't take it the wrong way. But, Professor, during the deposition and the Court NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003631 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 testimony, was all the testimony that you gave true and correct, to the best of your knowledge? A. At that time it was. I may have exaggerated here or there. Even giving it again, I may not use the same terms and same expressions. Q. But you knew you were under oath, and at the time you did your best to tell the truth as you knew it? A. I did. Q. And have you ever corrected any of that deposition testimony in any formal way by letter to the court reporter? A. I never have, other than for correction and reading over and correcting spelling. And some of the expressions that were used that were not clear, I tried to clarify those. Q. So you did review the transcript and make whatever corrections or changes you felt were necessary to accurately reflect your intended testimony? A. After the deposition. Q. Yes. And you did that; is that correct? A. I did. Q. I don't know that I have seen a copy of that letter. Do you have a copy of that yourself? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003632 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. No. I returned that along with the \ deposition, and I don't believe I have a copy of it. Q. All right. I will presume we can find it. Now, who was the next attorney at whose request you became involved in asbestos litigation? A. David Ledyard, L E D Y A R D. Q. Did he represent Exxon? A. Yes, he did. Q. And what case was that? MR. KAZAN: Counsel, if you want to help him. (DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE WITNESS AND HIS COUNSEL) A. Williams, yeah. It was Williams. Q. (By Mr. Kazan) You believe that was the Williams case? A. I think so. Q. Have you ever testified in asbestos cases at the request of any other attorneys besides Mr. Ledyard for Exxon and Mr. Baggett for NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003633 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 plaintiff? A. I don't recall any other attorneys. (DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE WITNESS AND HIS COUNSEL) A. I am talking at trial. You wanted deposition? Q. (By Mr. Kazan) And depositions, as well. That was -- Blanks was the lawyer, and that was the Allen case. MR. GROTT: Blanks? THE WITNESS: Blanks, BLANKS. Q. (By Mr. Kazan) If we include the last two days, have we now covered all your asbestos and deposition and trial experience? A. Those three cases? Q. Yes. A. I think there was Only three cases besides this one. Q. All right. Have you ever prepared any written reports or summaries for Exxon or its counsel dealing with asbestos litigation? A. I don't recall. Q. You don't recall any? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003634 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. I don't recall any. Q. Have you -- other than yourself writing them, have you dictated reports on tape or to a secretary at the request of Exxon? A No * Q. Now that we have computers all over the place, I want to ask you: Have you made any other kind of record of your opinions or conclusions or beliefs at the request of Exxon, whether dictating it on a tape, putting it in a computer keyboard, or in any other way making a record of it? A. Not that I can recall. Q. Do you have any recollection of ever having any of your conversations with Exxon or any of its counsel or their representatives recorded in any way while the conversation was going on? A. Not that I can recall. Q. All right. Now, is somebody compensating you for your time yesterday and today devoted to these depositions? A. Yes, they are. Q. And who is that? A. Exxon. Q. And can you tell me, please, at what rate are you being compensated? NELL NIC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003635 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. I charge for depositions and court appearances $400 an hour. Q. And is that sort of door-to-door time, or is it only while the meter is running during the deposition? A. That's deposition time. Q. Okay. And you limit yourself to four hours a day pretty much? A. Five -- sometimes five hours. Q. Now, again, I don't mean to pry; but is that something that you have done for your own comfort because you find that you do better if you limit it to five hours or four hours, or is it on the advice of a physician or other health care provider? A. No. It's my own standards of stress, and I have established that in my own guide. Q. How long ago did you establish these ground rules for depositions, Professor? A. '91, I guess it was. '91. Q. Okay. Now - A. I went too many hours in the Allen case. It was too many hours there. Q. Now, are you under any kind of consulting contract or retainer agreement with Exxon dealing NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003636 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 with any litigation matters? A. Only on individual matter. Each time I come in as an independent consultant or expert for them, but no -- no retainer or nothing of that kind. Q. So you don't have an arrangement whereby they pay you so much a month or so much a year? A. No. No such arrangement. Individual case. Q. Now, you are an Exxon retiree? A. I am an annuitant. Q. So you have some pension rights with the company, I take it? A. I have some. Yes, I earned that by the 31 years. Q. I have no doubt, sir, that you earned every penny. My question is: Do you know whether that annuity is funded or secured by any insurance obligations outside of Exxon's own net worth and ability to pay? A. It's entirely outside, and it's by various insurance companies that are -- a conglomerate of insurance companies who have that program. Q. So if Exxon went bankrupt tomorrow, that would not affect your annuity? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003637 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. No. My annuity is assured as well as can be by the insurance companies. Q. That's assuming some degree of faith in the insurance companies, but we'll put that aside. Over the years that you worked for Exxon, did you have any stock option or stock purchase program? A. I bought stock in the beginning from the first year on; but they would match the amount that I put in there up to a certain amount if I would buy stocks in the company, yes. That was an ongoing program for all the employees. Q. Okay. And this was purchased at the market? A. It was. Q. And over the years, then, you accumulated some amount of Exxon stock? A. I did. Q. Do you still hold that stock? A. No, I don't. I gave that to charity and settled up my trust, and that trust came mature last year. And the total amount of it that I gave to the universities, schools, and other charitable institutions was about a half million dollars. Q. Very nice of you. NELL NIC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003R3R 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 So you at this point have no financial interest, direct or indirect, in Exxon or its financial condition or its survival; is that correct? A. I think I own 3 or 400 shares, total. I bought most of that in recent years. Q. Okay. I guess I can look up and figure out what it's selling for. A. It's about $60 a share. Q. And was the first time you were contacted in connection with asbestos litigation by Exxon sometime in 1990 or '91? Do you recall? A. '90, I think would be the right time. Q. Some of the documents that you produced appear to be photocopied and shrunk somewhat in size. Can you tell me whether your originals were of those size print when you first lent them to Exxon? A. I didn't have any way to condense them. And, so, it was done elsewhere on a different machine than mine. Q. Was it done -- was it in that form when you first received them? A. No, it was not. Q. So at some point you had normal-sized NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. 23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 copies that you provided to Exxon? A. Well, now, I take that back. There might have been some that was poor copies that was hard to read that might have been too small. In my opinion, they shouldn't -- it should have been inflated after I noticed; but I don't remember how many of those. Q. For example. Professor, 5A, the National Safety Council Transactions of 1933, that is not the full size of the actual transactions that you originally had, is it? A. No. I don't -- no. I didn't remember that size. Q. At one point you had full-sized copies that you provided to Exxon; is that correct? A. I am not sure. I may be guilty of having not -- whatever I had, I gave to them -- to Exxon without any apology. Q. I understand that, Professor. I am just trying to determine -- for example, 5G, which is the Drinker paper, also appears to have been reduced in size. A. Uh-huh. Q. The copy that you had was full size, wasn't it? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003640 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. It was the full print, full-sized print. Q. And at some point you had turned that over to Exxon or its counsel; is that correct? A. I did. Q. And you don't have your original at this point in your own possession, do you? A. I don't believe I have. If I do have, it' s still of the same size that it was originally; but I don't have a condensed copy. Q. And do you know whether you have a full-sized copy of this in your home? A. No, I do not remember. Q. You do not know, or you don't have it? A. No, I don't know that I have it. I have just -- would have to go and see, but I doubt if I have it anymore. Q. Professor, I would like to ask you this evening - A. And that one deals with what? Q. This is the "Uses and Limitations of Respiratory Protective Equipment" by Philip Drinker. I would like to ask you. Professor, this evening or tomorrow morning before you return for whatever we do tomorrow, to see if you have NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003641 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 full-sized copies of any of these actually at your home. And if you do, I would ask that you bring them so that we can recopy them and have copies that, even with my bifocals, I would be able to read. Okay? A. Uh-huh. Also, I suggest to you that the Cannon copier that I have will blow these up by 25 percent if you want to. Q. I understand that, but... (DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE WITNESS AND HIS COUNSEL) Q. (By Mr. Kazan) By shrinking and increasing, there is a loss of quality each time; and if you have the actual originals from which something was shrunk, that would be better. A. I see. I don't have the original. All of mine are copies. Q. If you would look and see if you have full-sized copies, I would appreciate it. Let me ask you. Professor, that -- to clarify something for me. Am I correct that throughout your employment at Exxon and Humble, you worked and were assigned to the medical department NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003642 26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 at headquarters? A. I was. Q. And during the course of that employment, you provided industrial hygiene services and counsel and guidance on a company-wide basis? A. I did. Q. And that included providing such services to various divisions of the company? A. It did. Q. And various subsidiaries of the company? A. It did. Q. Did you provide services, for example, to a company called, in time, Enjay Chemical Company? And that's E N J A Y. A. I did. Q. Did -- would it be fair to say. Professor, that as long as somebody In the Humble family of companies requested industrial hygiene services, those would be provided by you or under your direction through the medical department of headquarters ? A. It would. Q. Did you ever distinguish between or care whether it was a separate corporate subsidiary or an operating division? NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003643 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A. No. They all received the same services. Q. Okay. You told us yesterday that you never went to meetings of the international -- I'm sorry -- you never went to international petroleum expositions. A. I never did. Q. Did you attend any other international petroleum meetings? A. I don't recall that I did. Q. All right. Were proceedings or abstracts of any international petroleum expositions or meetings ever prepared, to your knowledge? A. Not to my knowledge. Q. Was part of your employment with Exxon and Humble - MR. KAZAN: Withdraw that. Q. (By Mr. Kazan) Was one of the things you did as part of your employment from 1947 on, to attempt to stay current with developing industrial hygiene literature on subjects that might be of relevance to your employment? A. It was. I felt somewhat like Alice in Wonderland: You had to run as fast as you could to stay in one place. Q. There's a lot of literature coming out on NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003644 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 various subjects, and you did your best to keep up with developments? A. Yes. Q. Did you ever attend meetings of the National Petroleum Manufacturer's Association? A. I never did attend any of their meetings. I -- not that I recall. Q. Did you ever receive publications from that organization? A. One or two occasions I saw some publications, but I don't recall what they were. Q. Do you recall whether they dealt with issues relating to workplace health and safety? A. No, I do not recall. Q. There has been some discussion about Mr. Venable. Was he -- he was somebody who technically was under your supervision? A. In 1960 he came under my supervision. So for the last 18 years, he was under my supervision. Q. All right. A. My term. Q. Was he a highly qualified and very competent industrial hygienist? A. He was. NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003645 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q. Did you ever have reason to criticize him for dereliction of duty or professional incompetence or dereliction of performance? A. No. I determined he was overanxious about getting everything done himself without using the available manpower that would be in his command. That was my own criticism of him. He tried to do too much individually. Q. Okay. Do you have any reason to think that in the years before you became his supervisor he was any less competent or qualified to do his job? A. No. MS. KYLE: Do you have any reason to believe when you didn't know him? I am going to obj ect. MR. KAZAN: He didn't say he didn't know him; he said he didn't supervise him. Q (By Mr. Kazan) met Mr. Venable? When is the first time you A. I am sure it was in 1950. Q. Okay. at the time? He was a young industrial hygienist A. 42 years ago. Q. All right. And did you have occasion to NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. EXX-MOR-003646 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 speak with him or work with him at all between 1950 and 1960? A. Yes. 1950, he was working for the State Department of Health; and I invited him to come down to go through our refineries and evaluate conditions and had that relationship with the State Department of Health in Texas and also in Louisiana, and I made use of their services as much as I could. ,, Q. And in fact during the 1950's, you would speak with Mr. Venable on almost a daily basis; is that true? A. Yes . That's a good -- Q. And that was on matters of professional interest, not purely social - A. That's right. Q. All right. MS. KYLE; Where are we, Steve? MR. KAZAN: Let me just finish this subject. MS. KYLE: Okay. Q. (By Mr. Kazan) During that period when you spoke with him on a regular basis and before you were the supervisor, did you have any reason to question his skill or competence as an industrial NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003647 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 hygienist? A. I never did. MR. KAZAN: Counsel, I probably had about 20 minutes. If the witness would like to stop now for his own comfort - THE WITNESS: When you finish this question about Mr. Venable, I think would be a good stopping point. MR. KAZAN: Well, I did finish the question about Mr. Venable; and I was just offering your lawyer to quit now if you would prefer. THE WITNESS: I prefer. MS. KYLE: Can I at this point -- I realize you may not be passing him', but can I at this point ask two questions? MR. HAND: Why don't you wait and put this on your record. You are doing a video deposition of your own witness tomorrow. If you want to create a record of something he has to say, go ahead and do so tomorrow. MR. GROTT: Go ahead and ask the questions. MR. KAPLAN: You can do it subject to his motion to strike. MS. KYLE: I think it would help the NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003648 32 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 overall situation. I want to ask two questions. EXAMINATION BY MS. KYLE: Q. The first question is: Professor Hammond, have you provided documents to plaintiffs' attorneys in asbestos cases? A. I have. Q. As you sit here today, do you know if they returned shrunk or unshrunk copies to you? A. No. I don't remember that I paid that much attention to them. They came back to me in bundles. I put them away, and then I did not know for sure. MR. KAZAN: Professor, nobody is suggesting that you have done anything evil by shrinking documents. We just would like better copies; and if you have them, I would appreciate you bringing them. NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE STATE OF TEXAS: COUNTY OF HARRIS: I, JAMES HAMMOND hereby certify that I have read the foregoing transcript of my testimony given in the foregoing numbered and styled case and that same is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I further certify that any and all corrections have been made on a separate page and initialed by me. Thisday of1992 . JAMES HAMMOND SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME this day of/ 1992 . MY COMMISSION EXPIRES: NOTARY PUBLIC NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES. INC. 34 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE STATE OF TEXAS: COUNTY OF HARRIS: I, Marie Bulfinch, a Certified Shorthand Reporter, hereby certify that the foregoing testimony was given before me after the Witness had been first duly sworn. I further certify that this deposition was prepared under my direction and that the foregoing pages constitute a complete and correct copy of the transcript of the proceedings, and that the original is being given to James Hand. I further certify that I am neither attorney for, related to, nor employed by any of the parties to the lawsuit in which this deposition was taken. Further, I am neither related to nor employed by any attorney of record in this cause, nor do I have a financial interest in the matter. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL OF OFFICE in Houston, Texas, on this the '>t'. day of May, 1992. Marie Bulfinch, CSR, RPR, CM Certification Number Date of Expiration Business Address 3748 December 31, 1993 Nell McCallum & Associates 2900 Smith Street Houston, Texas 77006 NELL MC CALLUM & ASSOCIATES, INC. EXX-MOR-003651