Document yp7D9a1O1BmL266J1KNO6BanE

JEROME H. riAVTDSON JUNE 26. IQ 92 1 1 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 2 TRANSWESTERN PIPELINE * 3 COMPANY, a Delaware * corporation 4 * * VERSUS 5 * NO. BC026959 * MONSANTO COMPANY, a * 6 Delaware corporation, and * DOES 1 through 200, * 7 inclusive * 8 9 10 ORAL DEPOSITION 11 OF 12 JEROME H. DAVIDSON 13 14 15 16 17 On the 26th day of June, 1992, at 9:31 a.m., the 18 oral deposition of the above-named witness was taken 19 at the instance of the Plaintiff, before Maria E. 20 Mills, Certified Shorthand Reporter in and for the 21 State of Texas, at the offices of Johnson & Gibbs, 100 22 Founders Square, Conference Room 3N, in the City of 23 Dallas, County of Dallas, State of Texas, taken 24 pursuant to the agreement hereinafter stated on the 25 record by counsel. ru M & M REPORTING, INC, 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON00401 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 2 1 APPEARANCES 2 3 MR. JAMES P. TALLON Shearman & Sterling 4 21st Floor 725 South Figueroa Street 5 Los Angeles, California 90017 6 APPEARING FOR PLAINTIFF 7 8 MS . JANINE S. SIMERLY Law Offices of Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon 9 505 Montgomery Street San Francisco, California 94111 -2514 10 APPEARING FOR DEFENDANTS 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 M & M REPORTING, INC 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 3 1 INDEX 2 WITNESS JEROME H. DAVIDSON 3 PAGE 4 EXAMINATION BY: MR. TALLON 5 5 EXHIBITS INDEX 6 EXHIBITS DESCRIPTION IDENTIFIED 7 55 Memo to Mr. Gossage from 62 8 Messrs. Bradford and Johnson, dated 11/17/71 9 132 Call Report No. 1971-6 60 10 (Exhibit Nos. 55 and 132 previously marked ) 11 362 12 Organizational Chart 31 363 Memo to Mr. Biven from 37 13 Mr. Davidson, dated 7/25/67 14 364 15 365 16 Memo to Mr. Herber from Mr. Davidson, dated 8/24/67 Memo from Messrs. Benignus and Johnson, dated 3/3/69 39 49 17 366 18 367 19 Memo from Mr. Johnson, dated 2/16/70 Letter to Solar from Mr. Smith, dated 4/15/70 53 57 20 368 21 369 22 Letter to Mr. Tucker from Mr. Smith, dated 8/14/70 Memo to Mr. Davidson from Mr. Bevacqua, dated 5/7/71 58 59 23 370 24 Memo to Mr. Papageorge from Mr. Bradford, dated 9/16/71 61 25 M & M REPORTING/ INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 4 1 2 EXHIBITS 3 37 1 4 5 372 6 EXHIBITS INDEX (continued) DESCRIPTION IDENTIFIED Memo to Mr. Gossage from Messrs. Bradford and Davidson, dated 12/8/71 63 Memo to Mr. Bradford from Mr. Davidson, dated 12/22/71 65 7 373 8 374 9 Memo from Mr. Davidson, dated 2/1/72 Memo from Mr. Davidson, dated 1/21/72 74 75 10 375 Product Brochure for 77 Turbinol 153 11 376 12 Call Report dated 1/11/73 78 (Per agreement of counsel, the exhibits which were 13 originally marked in this deposition as Exhibits TRAN 200 through 214, inclusive, were renumbered as 14 Exhibits TRAN 362 through 376, inclusive, in order to keep the exhibits consecutively marked from deposition 15 to deposition.) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040124 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 5 1 PROCEEDINGS 2 MS. SIMERLY: The deposition is being 3 taken pursuant to agreement, and that it's being taken 4 under the California Code of Civil Procedure. All 5 objections, except as to the form of the question, are 6 reserved until the time of trial. 7 MR. TALLON: Is that a microphone? Are 8 you recording in addition to -- 9 THE COURT REPORTERS Yes. 10 MR. TALLONs Okay. Are you taking this 11 down? 12 THE COURT REPORTER: Yes. 13 MR. TALLON: Would you stop? 14 (Discussion off the record.) 15 JEROME H. DAVIDSON, 16 the witness hereinbefore named, being first duly 17 cautioned and sworn to testify the truth, the whole 18 truth and nothing but the truth, testified under oath 19 as follows: 20 EXAMINATION 21 BY MR. TALLON: 22 Q. State your full name and address for the 23 record, please. 24 A. Jerome H. Davidson, 403 Washington Drive, 25 Arlington, Texas. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 6 1 Q. Mr. Davidson, are you employed? 2 A. Yes, I am. 3 Q. By whom? 4 A. Alcon Laboratories in Fort Worth, Texas. 5 Q. And what is your position with Alcon Labs? 6 A. I'm a field sales manager in the vision 7 care group. 8 Q. 9 Company? Have you ever been employed by Monsanto 10 A. Yes, I have. 11 Q. 12 Company? When did you leave the employ of Monsanto 13 A. 1973. 14 Q. And when did you join Monsanto Company? 15 A. 1965 . 16 Q. Are you a college graduate, Mr. Davidson? 17 A. Yes, I am. 18 Q. From what college or university were you 19 graduated? 20 A. University of Iowa. 21 Q. In what year? 22 A. 1965. 23 Q. And what degree do you hold from the 24 University of Iowa? 25 A. Bachelor of Science in chemical M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 7 1 engineering. 2 Q. Did you join Monsanto immediately after 3 you concluded your educational career at the 4 University of Iowa? 5 A. Yes, I did. 6 Q. Do you hold any graduate degree? 7 A. No, I don't. 8 Q. When you started work in 1965 with 9 Monsanto, what position or positions did you hold 10 immediately upon beginning employment with them? 11 A. I was a process engineer in the technical 12 services department at the John F. Queeny Plant in St. 13 Louis. 14 Q. And how long did you hold the position of 15 process engineer, approximately? 16 A. Approximately oneyear. 17 Q. And in 1966 did you change positions? 18 A. Yes, I did. 19 Q. And what position did you assume in 1966? 20 A. I assumed a position in the research and 21 development department as an applications research 22 engineer. I -- that's the best of my recollection of 23 the title. 24 Q. How long did you hold that position? 25 A. It would have been 1966 -- between a year M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 8 1 and a half and two years. 2 Q. At the end of a year and a half or two 3 years, did you change positions? 4 A. Yes, I did. 5 Q. And what position did you assume then? 6 A. I became a salesman -- sales 7 representative for Monsanto in Los Angeles. 8 Q. Do you recall the approximate date when 9 you started work in Los Angeles for Monsanto? 10 A. It was the summer of 1968. 11 Q. And for how long did you hold the position 12 as sales representative? 13 A. Just shy of three years. 14 Q. And you changed positions, once again with 15 Monsanto, in about three years or just shy of three 16 years ? 17 A. Yes. In 1971 I moved back to St. Louis 18 into the marketing department, same division, same 19 group, as a -- I believe my title was product 20 supervisor. 21 Q. And how long did you hold that position? 22 A. Approximate -- I was in the marketing 23 department approximately two years before I left 24 Monsanto in 1973. 25 Q. So from the time you returned to St. Louis M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040128 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 9 1 in 1971 until the time you left Monsanto in 1973, you 2 were a product supervisor? 3 A. Yes. Actually, I think the last few 4 months I had a little bit of additional 5 responsibility. I don't recall the -- my -- my best 6 recollection is it was like marketing manager -- 7 market manager -- marketing manager, a few months 8 before I left. 9 Q. And did you leave Monsanto for a position 10 at Alcon Labs or for -- or with another entity? 11 A. No, sir, with another company. 12 Q. Since leaving Monsanto in 1973, have you 13 performed any work for Monsanto? 14 A. No, I haven't. 15 Q. Is Alcon Labs, to your knowledge, 16 affiliated in any way with Monsanto? 17 A. No, it is not. 18 Q. Have any of your other employers since 19 1973 been affiliated with Monsanto, to your knowledge? 20 A. No, they have not. 21 Q. Has Alcon Labs -- does Alcon Labs do any 22 contract work for Monsanto? 23 A. No, they do not, to my knowledge. 24 Q. Okay. And have any of your other 25 employers, since leaving Monsanto in 1973, been M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON _________JUNE 26 , 19 9 2_______________ 10 1 working on contract or by another mechanism for 2 Monsanto? 3 A. No, not to my knowledge. 4 Q, Okay. When you -- when you referred to 5 yourself as a product supervisor from 1971 through - 6 just about the time you left Monsanto, what product or 7 products were you supervising? 8 A. The Pydraul line of industrial hydraulic 9 fluids. 10 Q. Was Turbinol 153 included within the line 11 of products for which you had responsibility from 1971 12 forward? 13 A. I really don't have any -- I don't have 14 any recollection that Turbinol 153 -- I have been 15 shown a couple of documents with my name on them that 16 indicate that in the last few months that I was 17 employed I either wrote or received memos with that as 18 a subject matter. 19 But, frankly, since it's over 20 years 20 ago, i -- i -- you know, I had no recollection of that 2 1 at all prior to -- to seeing one or two documents. 22 Q. When in your answer you indicated that you 23 were shown some documents, you're referring to 24 documents shown to you by counsel in anticipation of 25 this deposition? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040130 JEROME H. DAVIDSONJUNE ,26, lgg211, I | 1 A. Yes, uh-huh. 2 Q. You're not referring to documents that you 3 reviewed in the ordinary course of your business in 4 the last -5 A. No, I'm not -6 Q. -- few months ? 7 A. -- no . 8 Q. Okay. Do you 9 A. Yes . 10 Q. Do you -11 A. It's a turbine 12 have been able to answer that question, although I 13 probably would have, prior to seeing those one or two 14 documents. 15 Q. Okay. I just want to get a little 16 additional history from you - 17 A. Certainly. 18 Q. -- Mr. Davidson, if you wouldn't mind. 19 When you were a process engineer in the 20 technical services department, to whom did you report, 21 as best you recollect? 22 A. As best I recollect, I had two supervisors 23 during that approximately one year. A gentleman by 24 the name of John Clark and Harvey Schulte. 25 Q. And, to the best of your recollection. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040131 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 12 1 what were your responsibilities as a process engineer? 2 A. To -- I was assigned various support 3 projects for the manufacturing plant, as were other 4 members of that department who were engineers, to do a 5 variety of -- of things. 6 I certainly don't recall any of the 7 specifics. But the -- the function of the department 8 was to, for example, study a process in depth to 9 determine what might be done to improve the yield of a 10 product or the efficiency, or to prevent a problem, 11 that type of thing. 12 Q. Did your responsibilities include 13 supporting any particular business unit or units? 14 A. No, they did not. 15 Q. Were you -- was the technical services 16 department by which you were employed supporting the 17 industrial fluids group within Monsanto at that time? 18 A. I really don't recall. But, really, 19 the -- the -- the technical services department was 20 attached to the entire plant, which was a very large 21 plant with probably 1500 to 2,000 employees and there 22 were all kinds of products made in that plant. I 23 don't recall where the functional fluids were made at 24 that time. 25 Q. Were you responsible for technical M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 13 1 services or support with respect to any products which 2 you understood to be formulated with polychlorinated 3 biphenyls ? 4 A. No, I was not associated with any product 5 formulated with polychlorinated biphenyls at that 6 time. 7 Q. When in your answer you indicated that you 8 weren't associated with any product formulated with 9 polychlorinated biphenyls at that time, did you mean 10 to suggest at a later date you became associated with 11 such products? 12 A. Yes, certainly -- 13 Q. What date -- 14 A. - - I did. 15 Q. -- approximately? 16 A. When I went into research and development, 17 that was a preparatory assignment in the -- what was 18 called the functional fluids group -- if not then, it 19 was later called the functional fluids group -- to 20 prepare me specifically to go into a field sales 21 position. That was the purpose of the assignment 22 in -- in research and development. 23 Q. You're indicating the applications 24 research engineer post you held beginning in 1966? 25 A. Yes, I am. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26 , 19 9 2_______________14 1 Q. And how was that position preparatory to a 2 sales position? 3 A. Well, it was within the functional fluids 4 product group in research. And the plan -- and 5 subsequently that plan came to fruition -- was that I 6 would be involved with and do various projects in 7 research and learn the products in that group so that 8 it would enable me to have -- you know, acquire 9 product knowledge in preparation for a sales 10 assignment. 11 Q. In your position as applications research 12 engineer, did you acquire product knowledge in 13 preparation for a sales assignment? 14 A. Yes , I did. 15 Q. And how did you go about doing so? 16 A. Well , I was in what was called the 17 applications research group. And, again, this is over 18 20 years ago. 19 Q. I understand. 20 A. But basically my duties were to execute 21 the projects assigned to me, which principally 22 involved the formulation and testing of industrial 23 hydraulic fluids. 24 Q. In what way does -- did the -- did your 25 work in the applications research group prepare you M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 15 1 for sales? 2 A. Basically, from a product knowledge 3 standpoint, applications knowledge. For example, the 4 Pydraul fluids were used in various industrial 5 applications, the purpose of which -- the 6 functionality of the products was to -- as being 7 industrial hydraulic fluids, was to lubricate various 8 hydraulic equipment. And to do that, the 9 characteristic that made these products unique was the 10 fact they were fire resistant. 11 So I was able to learn the product 12 characteristics that made the products unique and to 13 actually perform the tests that would be typically 14 required, for example, to go to a customer. 15 Q. Uh-huh. 16 A. The customer would ask, you know, what are 17 the characteristics of these fluids. And not only did 18 I know them by memorization, I actually had, you know, 19 performed the tests in R&D so... 20 Q. When you refer to the functionality of 21 products, are you referring to the use to which they 22 were put by the customers of those products? 23 A. Yes, I am. 24 Q. Was it part ofyour job tobecome familiar 25 with the attributes of a particular product such as M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 16 1 their viscosity? 2 A. Yes . 3 Q. Was it part of your job to become familiar 4 with the use for which the product was put to by your 5 customers ? 6 A. Yeah. 7 Q. Did you work with the Pydraul fluids? 8 A. Yes, I did. 9 Q. Did you work with Skydrol fluids? 10 A. No, I didn't. 11 Q. Did you work with any product other than 12 the Pydraul fluids, that you recall today? 13 A. No, I don't believe I did. 14 Q. Do you recollect whether during the period 15 you were in the applications research group you had 16 any responsibility for learning the characteristics of 17 Turbinol? 18 A. I really don't recall that I had any 19 contact or did any work at all on Turbinol. 20 Q. Have you ever heard of Texas Eastern 21 Transmission Company? 22 A. Yes, I've heard of the company. 23 Q. Do you recollect whether during the period 24 you were working for Monsanto you personally had any 25 contact with anyone you believe to be a representative M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JE ROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 17 1 of Texas Eastern Transmission Company? 2 A. I had no recollection of ever having any 3 contact with Texas Eastman (sic); however -- again, 4 the one or two documents that -- that I looked at, 5 apparently I may have had a contact at one point in 6 time . 7 Q. Are you familiar with the Transwestern 8 Pipeline Company? 9 A. No , I'm not. 10 Q. Are you familiar with Columbia Gulf? 11 A. No, I'm not. 12 Q. Are you familiar with the Solar division 13 of International Harvester? 14 A. No, I'm not. I've heard the name but I'm 15 not at all familiar with the company. 16 Q. To the best of your recollection, was 17 there any person in the research and development group 18 when you were working there in 1966 and later who had 19 direct responsibility for Turbinol 153? 20 A. I really don't recall. 21 Q. Do you recollect whether Turbinol 153 22 represented a significant portion or any other portion 23 of the sales of the functional fluids group? 24 A. I don't recall any specifics about 25 Turbinol, but I certainly can tell you that it was not M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 18 1 a major product line because the major product lines 2 were Pydraul, Skydrol and Therminol in that group. 3 Q. And Therminol is a -- used as a heat 4 exchange fluid? 5 A. Yes. 6 Q. Is it fair to say, based on your answer 7 just now, that the principal products sold by the 8 functional fluids group were the Therminol group, the 9 Pydraul group and the Skydrol group? 10 A. Yes, to the best of my recollection. 11 Q. Is it your recollection that -- if you 12 have one, that Turbinol was a fairly small share of 13 the sales of that group? 14 A. My recollection is thatSkydrol was at one 15 time a fairly significant part of that group; however, 16 it was a patented product. And when the patent went 17 off, there was a natural competitive force in the 18 marketplace. And that certainly -- there was price 19 attrition -20 Q. Uh-huh. 21 A. -- and the total sales of that product 22 line declined. 23 Q. Was it everpart of yourresponsibility 24 while you were in the R&D department to do flash tests 25 with respect to Pydraul products? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 19 1 A. Flash tests -- flash point -2 Q. Yes. 3 A. -- tests? 4 Yes, it was. 5 Q. Do you recollect whether in your -- do you 6 recollect whether in performing those tests you 7 compared the flash point of Pydraul products with 8 products made by competitors of Monsanto? 9 A. Yes, I'm sure that I did. 10 Q. Your answer indicates that you're sure 11 that you did. Do you have a recollection of actually 12 having done so? 13 A. No, no specificrecollection. 14 Q. Do you recollect whether you were required 15 at the time to record the results of tests that you 16 performed in writing? 17 A. Yes, in research I'm sure that I was. 18 Q. Do you recollect in what fashion you 19 recorded work that you did in writing, whether it was 20 in a memo or in a lab book or in some other fashion? 21 A. In research, I -- I don't recall exactly. 22 But to -- my best recollection is that everything was 23 recorded in a lab manual that was provided by the 24 company. Standard -- that would -- would be standard 25 research protocol. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 20 1 Q. When you were in the R&D department, to 2 whom did you report? 3 A. I reported to Lou Stark. 4 Q. And did you have anyone reporting to you? 5 A. No, I did not. 6 Q. Did you know to whom Mr. Stark reported 7 when you were in the R&D department? 8 A. Yes. He reported to -- I believe all the 9 time that I was there, to Dr. Bill Richard. 10 Q. Were there others working for Lou Stark, 11 as best you recall it, who had responsibility of the 12 same kind that you did? 13 MS. SIMERLY: For the same product line 14 or for different product lines? 15 MR. TALLON: The latter. 16 A. The -- there were other people who worked 17 for Lou Stark. The only two that I can recall after 18 this length of time -- Tom McDonnell was one and there 19 was another gentleman by the name of, I believe, Bill 20 Calloway. Don't -- I could be -- could be wrong about 2 1 that. 22 Q. All right. Are you familiar with the 23 current whereabouts of either Mr. McDonnell or Mr. 24 Calloway? 25 A. No, I'm not. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040140 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 21 1 Q. Have you seen them since you left 2 Monsanto? 3 A. No, I haven't. 4 Q. Was there a particular reason why it was 5 part of your sales training to become familiar with 6 the functionality of the products sold by Monsanto? 7 A. It was simply a mutual business decision 8 by functional fluids group management and myself. 9 When I -- when it was determined that I wanted to go 10 into sales, which I'd expressed that interest, they 11 indicated there was a choice of several different 12 product lines -- 13 Q. Uh-huh. 14 A. -- and -- and a choice as to whether or 15 not a -- a choice of sorts. 16 In other words, they asked my preference 17 in terms of product line, outlining what they saw as 18 the opportunities, and also whether or not I wanted to 19 go into research to learn about the products first or 20 go directly to the field. And I'd expressed a 21 preference -- really, we worked it out mutually that 22 it seemed to make sense if I was going into the 23 functional fluids group that an assignment in research 24 for a year or two years would be good preparation 25 prior to going to the field. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 22 1 Q. You were discussing a moment ago a 2 preference among product lines. Do you recall why you 3 expressed a preference for the particular product line 4 which ultimately you pursued as a salesman? 5 A. I -- I, you know, said preference. 6 Actually they -- you know, this is, again, many, many 7 years ago. 8 Q. I understand. 9 A. But -- but as I recall there were two - 10 two or three potential openings -11 Q. Uh-huh. 12 A. -- and we discussed them mutually -13 Q. Uh-huh. 14 A. -- and what the products were and did I 15 have any preference. And, of course, I was eventually 16 assigned based on need and my background. And then 17 asked specifically if -- if I would like to take an 18 assignment in research and then go to the field, and I 19 indicated that I would -- I would certainly like to do 20 that. 2 1 Q. Did you express a preferencefor working 22 with the Pydraul line of products? 23 A. No. I think -- when I say preference, it 24 seemed to fit -- I'm sure they probably pushed me a 25 little bit in that direction for whatever reason, M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON____________ JUNE 26. 1 9 92_______________ 23 1 perhaps the fact that I was an engineer and our field 2 sales force had, you know, some engineers but some 3 people with basically business backgrounds without 4 technical backgrounds. And selling those products is 5 a little bit more technically involved, so I'm sure 6 they nudged me in that direction and said they felt I 7 would be well prepared background-wise to do that. 8 Q. Do you recollect whether it was 9 recommended to you that you go into sales with the 10 Pydraul line of products? 11 A. I don't recall any -- really, any more 12 than I' ve just told you. I don't know -- I don't know 13 what else to tell you. 14 Q. You indicated -- 15 A. This was -- this is, what, 1966 so -- 16 Q. So many years ago. 17 A. -- 26 years ago. if my arithmetic is 18 correct. 19 Q. You indicated in an answer a moment ago 20 that a technical background was particularly helpful 21 with these products; is that right? 22 A. I think so, yes, uh-huh. 23 Q. And why so? 24 MS. SIMERLY: I just want to make an 25 objection for the record. I don't see what the M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040143 JEROME H. DAVIDSON____________ JUNE 26 , 1992_______________24 1 relevance is of this witness's opinion that a 2 technical background is helpful for the sale of these 3 products. You can answer. 4 A. I think the -- a technical background 5 would be helpful to anyone going into this product 6 area because of the nature of the customer 7 applications. Customer applications were -- for 8 example, aspirin was a big product of Monsanto. 9 Q. Uh-huh. 10 A. The salesmen who sold bulk aspirin to 11 various pharmaceutical companies, for example, there 12 wasn't -- probably the end use -- aspirin was a very 13 old product, probably not the technical involvement. 14 It was more of a commodity product. 15 Q. Uh-huh. 16 A. This was a specialtygroup. And the 17 reason it was a specialty group is because there were 18 so many different end use applications. I guess 19 it's -- it was an evolving technology would be one way 20 to -- to put it. And there were, you know, a variety 21 of end uses. And certainly being a -- an engineer, 22 further being a chemical engineer, it's reasonable, I 23 think, any technical person would say a technical 24 background would be helpful in being effective. 25 Q. Is it fair to say thatunderstanding the M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 25 1 application to which a customer puts a product helps 2 the salesman make a sale? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. Is it fair to say that understanding the 5 application to which a customer puts a product helps 6 the -- the salesman get closer to the customer with 7 the ultimate goal in mind of having continued sales? 8 A. Yes. I think understanding the end -- the 9 product end use certainly can make a salesman more - 10 more useful in filling a need, which is what salesmen 11 do . 12 Q. And if a salesman is indeed useful in 13 filling a need, then you believe that that would 14 result in increased sales to that particular 15 customer -- 16 A. Yes, uh-huh. 17 Q. -- or continued sales? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. When you switched from the position as 20 applications research engineer to sales representative 21 in Los Angeles in approximately 1968, did you have a 22 person to whom you reported in Los Angeles? 23 A. Yes, I did. 24 Q. Who was that, please? 25 A. Larry Bradford. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 26 1 Q. Was Mr. Bradford stationed in Los Angeles 2 at that time? 3 A. Yes, he was. 4 Q. Did you have a person to whom you reported 5 in St. Louis? 6 A. Simultaneously? 7 Q. Yes. 8 A. No, no. I reported to Mr. Bradford. 9 Q. Mr. Bradford was your only report -- 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. -- rather, the only person to whom you 12 reported? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. Did you have salesmen in the field 15 reporting to you? 16 A. No, I did not. 17 Q. What was your responsibility as a sales 18 representative for Monsanto in Los Angeles when 19 initially you took up that position? 20 A. To call on customers in a variety of -- of 21 industries, soliciting business, primarily with the 22 Pydraul and Therminol lines of products. 23 Q. Did you have responsibility for sales of 24 any products other than the Pydraul and Therminol 25 products ? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS ARTOLDMON00401 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 27 1 A. I don't believe so. 2 Q. During the period -- the entire period 3 that you were in Los Angeles, did you keep the same 4 sort of responsibility? 5 A. Yes, as best -- well, as -- there was a 6 minor change in territory at one point, I believe. 7 Other than that, no, it would -- my basic 8 responsibilities remained the same. 9 Q. When initially you started work in Los 10 Angeles, what territory -- for what territory were you 11 responsible? 12 A. Basically it was the entire West Coast, 13 primarily; the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle 14 market areas. 15 Q. How about Arizona or New Mexico? 16 A. I don't recall. I don't believe so, but I 17 really don't recall. 18 Q. Do you recollect whether someone else in 19 the Los Angeles office was responsible for sales in 20 the Arizona, New Mexico area? 21 A. I don't recall. 22 Q. Do you recollect whether anyone in the Los 23 Angeles office was responsible for sales of products 24 in Texas or Louisiana? 25 A. I don't -- I don't recall that. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 28 1 Q. Do you recall whether anyone in St. Louis 2 was responsible for sales in the Texas or Louisiana 3 area? 4 A. I'm sure there were, but I don't recall 5 any specifics. 6 Q. Not that you recall? 7 A. Huh-uh. 8 Q. Would your answer change if I asked you if 9 anyone in St. Louis were responsible for sales in 10 Arizona and New Mexico? 11 A. No, i -- i -- you know, someone had 12 responsibility for sales in -- in Arizona and New 13 Mexico, but I -- I don't know who it is -- 14 Q. All right. 15 A. -- who it was at that time. 16 Q. During the period that you were a sales 17 representative for Monsanto in Los Angeles, did you 18 have any responsibility for selling products to 19 companies that you believed to be involved in the oil 20 and gas business? 21 A. The oil and gas business, not that I 22 recall. 23 Q. Did you have any responsibility for 24 selling product to Southern California Gas Company? 25 A. I don't believe so. I don't -- I -- if M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON____________ JUNE 2 6 , 19 9 2_______________2 9 1 we -- if Pydraul and Therminol would have been used - 2 those products would have been used, then technically 3 I would have had responsibility. I don't recall that 4 they were a customer. 5 Q. Do you have any recollection of having 6 been responsible for any sales or attempted sales to 7 Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco? 8 A. I don't recall any contact with them or 9 any sales to them. 10 Q. During the period that you were in San 11 Fran -- you were in Los Angeles, do you have any 12 recollection of having sold or attempted to sell any 13 products to any company that you believed to be 14 involved in the transmission of natural gas through 15 interstate pipelines? 16 A. No, I don't recall any -- any sales or 17 contact with -- with anyone in that business. 18 MR. TALLON: Go off the record for a 19 second. 20 (Off the record.) 21 Q. Could you describe the circumstances, Mr. 22 Davidson, under which you left Los Angeles and moved 23 back to St. Louis? 24 A. Yes. I was promoted to -- to the 25 marketing department in St. Louis in -- in the home M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040149 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 30 1 office, the headquarters. And that was 2 approximately -- it was sometime early in -- or the 3 spring of 1971, as best as I remember. 4 Q. And you said that when you went back to 5 St. Louis in -- sometime in 1971, you believed that 6 your title was product supervisor? 7 A. Yes, that's the best I recall. 8 Q. And as a product supervisor, were you a 9 product supervisor in the functional fluids group? 10 A. Yes, I was. 11 Q. And to whom did you report? 12 A. I reported to Larry Bradford. 13 Q. And to the best of your recollection, who 14 at that time did Mr. Bradford report to? 15 A. One of -- sometime during that period, 16 between 1971 and 1973, Mr. Bradford reported to Tom 17 Gossage. Whether or not immediately -- when I assumed 18 the job, whether or not he reported to Mr. Gossage, I 19 really don't recall. But that's -- certainly during 20 that time he -- a significant portion of that time Mr. 21 Bradford reported to Mr. Gossage. 22 Q. Let me show you a document which we'll 23 mark as an exhibit. It's a one-page document bearing 2 4 production number TRAN 08589. 25 MR. TALLON: Just off the record for a M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 31 1 second. 2 (Discussion off the record.) 3 (Exhibit No. 362 marked.) 4 MR. TALLON: I have one also for you, 5 Janine. 6 Q. Mr. Davidson, I want to show you a -- a 7 document which we have now marked as Transwestern 362 8 and ask you if you have seen this before. 9 A. I don't recall. 10 Q. All right. The -- from reviewing this 11 exhibit, do you know what it is? 12 A. Well, it appears to be an organizational 13 chart. 14 Q. Right. And you appear to be listed as a 15 product supervisor, industrial, on this -- on this 16 chart there; is that correct? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. A moment ago I had asked you whether you 19 recall the identity of Mr. Bradford's -- the person to 20 whom Mr. Bradford reported, and you indicated that it 21 was Mr. Gossage. 22 MS. SIMERLY: I'm going to object. I 23 think that mischaracterizes his testimony. His 24 testimony was that he doesn't know when, but at some 25 point during his tenure as a product supervisor Mr. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26, 19 92_______________ 32 1 Bradford reported to Tom Gossage. 2 MR. TALLON: Right. 3 MS. SIMERLY: We don't know that that 4 is the same point in time for which this 5 organizational chart applies. 6 MR. TALLON: Right. 7 Q. This particular organizational chart 8 appears to be dated October 1st, 1971. Do you see 9 that? 10 A. Yes. It's a bad Xeroxed copy but it does 11 appear to be October 1st, 1976. 12 Q. You have to take up the quality of the 13 copying with Ms. Simerly. But do you know whether 14 this is an accurate depiction of the organizational 15 structure of the specialty products group of Monsanto 16 in October of '71? 17 A. It appears to be, but I certainly don't 18 recall all the people and their position. 19 Q. Okay. Did you know a person who was the 20 market manager for aviation who is -- appears in the 21 box immediately above yours on this chart? 22 A. Yes, Frank -- Frank Langenfeld. 23 Q. Was he a con -- not a contemporary -- but 24 did he have responsibility like your responsibility? 25 A. Yes, best I recall. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 33 1 Q. 2 Hatton? And did you know Mr. Roger Hatton or Dr. 3 A. Yes, I did. 4 Q. Was he a technical service manager when 5 you were in the St. Louis office in '71 and later? 6 A. I certainly don't recall his title, but I 7 worked with Roger -- knew Roger for a number of years 8 and -- and worked with him. 9 Q. Did you know a Mr. Roush or Roush? 10 A. Yes, I did. 11 Q. And did you know what his job was when you 12 were working in St. Louis? 13 A. He was in the -- Don was a -- you know, he 14 was in the Therminol product group -- had 15 responsibility for the Therminol heat transfer fluids. 16 Q. Did you know a Mr. Pogue while you were in 17 St. Louis ? 18 A. Yes, I did. Uh-huh. 19 Q. And do you recollect what his 20 responsibilities were? 2 1 A. I really don't. I replaced Don Pogue in 22 Los Angeles. Don was a salesman in Los Angeles and 23 moved back to St. Louis and then I, you know, assumed 24 his responsibility in Los Angeles. And I -- I don't 25 recall what Don's specific job was. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040153 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 34 1 Q. Who replaced you in Los Angeles? 2 A. Who replaced me in Los Angeles? 3 Q. Yeah. 4 A. I don't recall. 5 Q. Do you know a Mr.Bevacqua? 6 B-e-v-a-c-q-u-a. 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. And was he stationed in Los Angeles during 9 any portion of the time that you were stationed there? 10 A. I remember -- Ican't remember where Bob 11 was. Bob was a salesman who, to the best of my 12 recollection, had responsibility as a salesman for the 13 Skydrol line of products. And -- but I don't recall 14 that Bob was stationed in Los Angeles or where he was. 15 Q. While youwere in St. Louis, Mr. Davidson, 16 did you work with -- with either Mr. R. H. Munch or 17 Munck or Q. E. Thompson? 18 A. No, I did not ever work, you know, 19 directly with them. I remember the name Quentin 20 Thompson, who I assume you're referring to. 21 Q. Uh-huh. 22 A. And Quentin was inresearch. I, you know, 23 became acquainted with him when I was in research. 24 Q. While you were in St. Louis, Mr. Davidson, y 25 did you ever work with a J. R. Fallon? ABS, INC. (800)32 I 6458 M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040154 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 2 6 , 19 9 2 35 1 A. Yes. I can't recall exactly what Jack's 2 job was, but I -- I did work with him. I -- I was 3 acquainted with him. 4 Q. Okay. You can put that aside, if you 5 like, or not; whichever you prefer. 6 Once you returned to St. Louis to be a 7 product supervisor, what were your responsibilities? 8 A. Again, this is over -- over 20 years ago. 9 Q. Uh-huh. 10 A. But I had responsibility for the -- for 11 the Pydraul product line in regard to the -- the -- I 12 had typical marketing responsibilities such as 13 forecasting sales, budgeting various expenditures for 14 anything from advertising to technical -- or 15 brochures -- marketing and sales brochures. I was 16 held responsible for the overall sales progress and 17 profit of the Pydraul product line. 18 MR. TALLON: Excuse me. Would you just 19 read that last answer back, please? I didn't get it 20 all. 21 (Record read.) 22 Q. Did you have people reporting to you as a 23 product supervisor in St. Louis? 24 A. No, I did not. 25 Q. As part of your responsibility of being in M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040155 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 36 1 charge of the overall sales progress and profit of the 2 Pydraul line, did you from time to time receive 3 reports on sales of product? 4 A. Yes, I did. 5 Q. And from what source did you acquire that 6 information? 7 A. Basically internal sales reports. 8 Q. And what information, as best you can 9 recall, was captured on internal sales reports while 10 you were in St. Louis? 11 A. I certainly -- I certainly don't recall 12 that. 13 Q. Well, I don'tmean the specific 14 information. I mean what kind of categories of 15 information; total volume by region or - 16 A. I really don't recall. 17 Q. Do you recall whether during the period 18 you served as a product supervisor for the Pydraul 19 product line, the Pydraul product line was profitable? 20 A. To the -- to the best of my -- my 21 recollection, it -- it was. 22 Q. Mr. Davidson, are you familiar with 23 something known as rust inhibited MCS-153? 24 A. No, I'm not. 25 Q. Are you familiar with something known as M & M REPORTING, INC 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON00401 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 37 1 MCS-153? 2 A. I had -- you know, have no present 3 recollection of MCS-153. I, again, had -- have been 4 shown a couple of documents referring to that 5 particular product designation. 6 Q. All right. Well, I don't want to spend 7 too much time on this. I wonder if you could just 8 take a look at this document, which we'll have marked 9 as the next exhibit in order. 10 And my question to you, Mr. Davidson, is 11 after having reviewed it, whether you have any 12 enhanced recollection with respect to the -- a product 13 or proposed product known as rust inhibited MCS-153. 14 MR. TALLON: Mark that as the next 15 exhibit in order. 16 (Exhibit No. 363 marked.) 17 Q. Here's the actual marked exhibit, Mr. 18 Davidson, if you want to take a look at that one. 19 A. No, I -- I don't have any enhanced 20 recollection. 21 Q. Do you have a recollection of ever 22 having -- having seen this document before today? 23 A. No, I don't. 24 Q. Do you know what an Aroclor is? 25 A. Yes, I do. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 38 1 Q. Do you know what Aroclor 1242 is? 2 A. It's -- it is a polychlorinated biphenyl. 3 Q. Does the -- if you flip to the second page 4 of that exhibit, there's a notation on the bottom of 5 the page that says developed by J. H. Davidson? 6 A. Yes. 7 Q. Does that developed by indication have any 8 significance to you or meaning to you? 9 A. Again, we're talking about a very long 10 time ago. 11 Q. Uh-huh. 12 A. But from the cover sheet and then looking 13 at this sheet, this looks like a -- in fact, it 14 says -- it's a blend sheet so it's a formulation 15 that's some notice to the plant concerning a 16 formulation change. So -- developed by would mean 17 produced by, based on a prior -- prior blend sheet. 18 Q. When you were a -- either a process 19 engineer or applications research engineer, did you 20 have any responsibility for formulating product? 21 A. I'm sorry. As a process engineer -22 Q. Or as anapplications research engineer, 23 did you have any responsibility for creating the 24 formulations of products or modifying the formulations 25 of products? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 39 1 A. Yes, as an applications research engineer. 2 Q. Does the -- just one more question on this 3 document, Mr. Davidson. 4 On the second page, under the caption 5 composition, does that indicate to you, as best you 6 recall today, the composition of the product under 7 discussion in this memorandum? 8 A. I -- I don't recall. I certainly don't 9 recall the composition of what is referred to here as 10 MCS-153 rust inhibitor. So, you know, I couldn't - 11 couldn't tell you if that is accurate or not. I would 12 assume it is if it's a document produced from 1967. 13 Q. Fair enough. 14 Let me show you a document, Mr. Davidson, 15 which we'll mark as the next exhibit in order. 16 (Exhibit No. 364 marked.) 17 (Discussion off the record.) 18 Q. Here's the actual marked copy of that 19 exhibit, Mr. Davidson. My question for you is, is 20 that your handwriting that appears on the foot of the 21 exhibit. 22 A. It appears to be. 23 Q. Do you have a present recollection of 24 having written the notation that appears on the bottom 25 of this exhibit? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 40 1 A. No, I don't. 2 Q. Do you know what MCS-1531 is? 3 A. No, I don't. 4 Q. By the way, Mr. Davidson, do you know 5 what's indicated in the name Aroclor 1242 by the 1242 6 portion? Do you know what that signifies? 7 A. Yes. 1242 -- the last two digits indicate 8 the percent of chlorination of the biphenyl molecule. 9 Q. So 42 percent - 10 A. Forty-two percent chlorine, I believe, by 11 weight, but I really don't recall specifically. 12 Q. All right. 13 MS. SIMERLY: Can we take a very brief 14 break? I just want to have a word with Jerry outside 15 just for a second. Okay? 16 MR. TALLONs Okay. 17 (Recess taken.) 18 Q. Mr. Davidson, while you were serving as an 19 applications research engineer or a process engineer, 20 do you recollect whether Monsanto had gas liquid 21 chromatography equipment in St. Louis? 22 A. Yes, it did. 23 Q. And do you recall whether Monsanto had 24 such equipment in 1965 when first you began work in 25 St. Louis? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE._2i,,, 19 92______________ 1___ 1 A. I don't know about 1965, but when I was in 2 research, certainly there was gas liquid 3 chromatography equipment. 4 Q. Do you know who was responsible for 5 working with that equipment at that time? 6 A. I have no idea. 7 Q. Do you know whose -- under whose 8 jurisdiction it fell? 9 A. I have no idea. 10 Q. All right. Do you know whether in 11 during the period that you served either as an 12 applications research engineer or a process engineer 13 Monsanto had nuclear magnetic resonance equipment in 14 St. Louis? 15 A. That, I don't know. 16 Q. Do you know whether during the period you 17 served as a process engineer or an applications 18 research engineer in St. Louis Monsanto had infrared 19 spectroscopy equipment? 20 A. I really don't -- don't recall. 21 Q. Are you familiar with the -- with an 22 individual by the name of Risebrough? 23 MS. SIMERLY: Other than what you've 24 learned from your attorneys. 25 A. I -- I have no recollection of anyone M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040161 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 42 1 named Risebrough. The name was mentioned, you know - 2 MS. SIMERLY: You don't have to discuss 3 with him -4 Q. Right, I got it. 5 MS. SIMERLY: -- anything you heard 6 from me. 7 MR. TALLON: Right. 8 Q. Do you recollect that there came a time 9 during your service at Monsanto that reports were 10 publicized regarding the effect of polychlorinated 11 biphenyls on the environment and on living creatures? 12 A. Yes, I recall that. 13 Q. And can you tell me when, to the best of 14 your recollection, you remember learning that such 15 reports had been published? 16 A. I don't recall. 17 Q. Do you remember if it was while you were 18 in Los Angeles or whether it was later? 19 A. I really don't recall. 20 Q. Do you remember the sum and substance of 21 the information of which you became aware? 22 A. Basically, that there were scientific 23 studies in -- in the public forum which -- scientific 24 opinion, which indicated or speculated that PCBs could 25 be persistent in the environment. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON_____________ JUNE 2 6. 1992_______________43 1 Q. Do you recall making any changes to your 2 job function as a result of hearing that information? 3 MS. SIMERLY: I'm going to object to 4 the question to this regard. The witness has already 5 testified that he doesn't recall when he heard this. 6 MR. TALLON: Uh-huh. 7 MS. SIMERLY: You're asking if he made 8 any change to his job responsibilities. 9 MR. TALLON: Right. 10 MS. SIMERLY: He's also indicated he 11 doesn't remember if he heard about it in Los Angeles 12 or in St. Louis. 13 MR. TALLON: Right. 14 MS. SIMERLY: And I think your question 15 assumes that he is going to be able to pinpoint when 16 he learned this and what impact it would have had on 17 his job responsibilities. And I think that - 18 MR. TALLON: I am certainly asking him 19 that because I'm trying to refresh his recollection. 20 MS. SIMERLY: Okay. 21 MR. TALLON: But thank you for the 22 clarification. 23 A. I don't -- could you repeat the question? 24 Q. Yes. 25 Do you recall whether upon learning of the M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 44 1 publication of these reports there was any impact on 2 the way that you carried out your job? 3 A. Well, there were events that occurred over 4 a number of years -5 Q. Okay. 6 A. -- with regardto changes in the Pydraul 7 product line and so it -- it -- you know, you would 8 have to be more specific in which job -- 9 Q. Okay. 10 A. -- I was in. And, of course, that 11 whole -- that whole time period is over 20 years ago, 12 so... 13 Q. All right. You referred to events that 14 occurred over a number of years. To what were you 15 referring in your answer a moment ago? 16 A. From -- from the initial -- from the 17 initial scientific studies in the public forum, over a 18 period of time when the Pydraul products, for example, 19 were reformulated. 20 Q. Is that -- are -- those two events that 21 you just described, the additional scientific studies 22 in the public forum and the reformulation of the 23 Pydraul products, are those at one end and then the 24 next end of a spectrum, or are they just events in a 25 series of events? I'm not sure what you meant by the M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 45 1 answer. Let me ask another question. 2 Did -- is -- is it your testimony that the 3 initial scientific studies and the public forum 4 resulted in the reformulation of the Pydraul products? 5 MS. SIMERLY: And, again, I want to 6 caution the witness not to speculate. You can testify 7 as to your own personal knowledge. Obviously, I want 8 you to do that, but please don't speculate. 9 A. Monsanto reformulated a number of products 10 involving polychlorinated biphenyls to -- in acting as 11 a responsible manufacturer of chemicals about which 12 there were questions regarding their persistence in 13 the environment. 14 Q. In your mind, Mr. Davidson, was there any 15 relationship between the initial published reports 16 relating to the environment or other impact of the 17 PCBs and reformulation of Pydraul products? 18 A. Yes. There was the relationship that, as 19 best as I recall, the -- some of the initial 20 scientific studies were finding evidence of very trace 21 amounts of PCB. And Monsanto was interested in -- in 22 verifying those reports to the best of their ability 23 from a scientific perspective, and in -- that resulted 24 in Monsanto doing a lot of their own investigation -- 25 investigative work. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040165 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 46 1 And the -- what we're talking about here 2 is a process of -- process of knowledge that occur - 3 that occurred -- of increasing knowledge that occurred 4 over a period of time. And that did result in a - 5 many actions by Monsanto, including reformulation of 6 products. 7 Q. During the period that you served as a 8 product supervisor in St. Louis, did you ever work 9 with a Mr. Papageorge? 10 A. Yes, I did. 11 Q. In what context did you work with Mr. 12 Papageorge? 13 A. Mr. Papageorge was the -- as best as -- as 14 I recall, was the coordinator for the company with 15 regard to the polychlorinated biphenyls -- coordinator 16 of all information concerning polychlorinated 17 biphenyls. 18 Q. All right. And how did you work with Mr. 19 Papageorge, if you did? 20 A. Well, for example, if a customer inquired 21 about anything regarding PCBs, what products contained 22 PCBs, anything with regard to PCBs, they were referred 23 to -- to Mr. Papageorge. 24 MS. SIMERLY: Off the record. 25 (Discussion off the record.) M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME__H_--D-AVIDSQN jlHHE i 2 6 , litiL2. AJ. 1 Q. Just for point of clarification, Mr. 2 Davidson. I -- I understood your -- your answer about 3 customer inquiries were referred to Mr. Papageorge. 4 Is that what you did, did you refer customer inquiries 5 to him? Because I had asked you how you had worked 6 with him. 7 A. On occasion, uh-huh. 8 Q. Do you recall particular customer 9 inquiries which you referred to Mr. Papageorge? 10 A. No, I don't. 11 Q. Okay. Do you recall working with Mr. 12 Papageorge in any other way during the period that you 13 were in St. Louis following your return from Los 14 Angeles ? 15 A. No, not really. 16 Q. Did you have any responsibility for 17 supervising the reformulation of the Pydraul products? 18 A. I did not supervise the reformulation, no. 19 Q. Did you have any responsibility in 20 connection with the reformulation of Pydraul products? 21 A. Yes, to the extent that when the Pydraul 22 products were reformulated to present the reformulated 23 products in the marketplace through brochures, and 24 that type of thing, educating our own sales force. 25 Q. When, to the best of your recollection, M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 48 1 Mr. Davidson, did the process of reformulating the 2 Pydraul products begin? 3 A. I don't recall. 4 Q. Are you able to place it in time with -- 5 in relationship to anything that you did while you 6 served in St. Louis, following your return from Los 7 Angeles ? 8 A. I had no present recollection of -- only, 9 you know, between -- sometime during my Monsanto 10 career I -- you know, I've seen documents that -- you 11 know, that confirm when I was a salesman and when I 12 was a product supervisor, and so forth. But I don't 13 have any exact recollection of that. 14 Q. In your answer you referred to having seen 15 documents. Are you, again, referring to documents 16 that you've seen in contemplation of this deposition? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. You don't have any Monsanto documents at 19 home? 20 A. No, I don't. 21 Q. Okay. You didn't hold on to any files 22 from the period that you worked at Monsanto? 23 A. No, I didn't. 24 Q. Let me just show you a document that we'll 25 mark as the next exhibit in order, and I want to ask M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 49 1 you if you've ever seen it before. 2 (Exhibit No. 365 marked.) 3 Q. Here's the -- the originally marked 4 exhibit, Mr Davidson. 5 A. And your question is? 6 Q. I'm asking if you've ever seen this 7 document before -- rather, whether you recollect 8 having seen it before. 9 A. I don't recall. 10 Q. There's a series of names listed on the 11 top half of the first page of the exhibit, which one 12 could conclude were recipients of this document. Do 13 you see those? 14 A. Yes . 15 Q. Are the -- the names Bevacqua and the 16 following sales personnel for Monsanto? 17 A. Yes, they were. 18 Q. Did you know an M. K. Ritterhouse in 1969? 19 A. Yes, I did. 20 Q. And do you remember what Mr. Ritterhouse's 21 job was at that time? 22 A. He was a heat transfer fluid specialist in 23 Houston. 24 Q. While you were -- when -- strike that. 25 When you returned to St. Louis -- strike that. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 50 1 When you were serving as a sales rep in 2 Los Angeles, Mr. Davidson, what was the -- the policy 3 or practice of Monsanto with respect to maintaining 4 inventory of product to be sold? 5 MS. SIMERLYs What time period, I'm 6 sorry, are you talking about? 7 MR. TALLON: While in Los Angeles. 8 MS. SIMERLY: As a product supervisor? 9 MR. TALLON: No, in Los Angeles I think 10 he was a sales rep. 11 MS. SIMERLY: Yeah, excuse me. I beg 12 your pardon. 13 A. We -- we kept an inventory -- I can only, 14 obviously, speak for the products that I sold. 15 Q. Right. 16 A. And we kept -- best of my recollection, we 17 kept an inventory of Pydraul products in the Los 18 Angeles warehouse, which was also a regional office 19 and warehouse within one facility. And so we shipped 20 Los Angeles area customers from that warehouse. 21 Q. Where physically was that warehouse 22 located? 23 A. In the city of Commerce, best as I recall. 24 Q. Was there a production facility in Los 25 Angeles or was product shipped to the Los Angeles M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 51 1 warehouse from St. Louis? 2 A. It was shipped to Los Angeles from St. 3 Louis. 4 Q. With respect to products for which you had 5 responsibility for sales, do you know the level of 6 inventory maintained in the L. A. warehouse from time 7 to time? 8 A. No, I wouldn't recall that. 9 Q. Do you have any knowledge as to the level 10 of inventory, whether it was maintained in terms of a 11 month's supply or more than a month's supply? 12 A. I don't recall. 13 Q. Do you recall how Pydraul products were 14 stored within the warehouse; whether it was in drums 15 or tanks, or otherwise? 16 A. It was stored in drums. 17 Q. As a sales rep in Los Angeles, did you 18 from time to time see inventory reports indicating how 19 much was on hand of any particular product? 20 A. I don't recall. 21 Q. Do you know whether inventory reports were 22 maintained with respect to product stored in the L. A. 23 warehouse? 24 A. I really don't. 25 Q. Do you recollect whether there was a M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040171 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 52 1 person or persons in Los Angeles whose responsibility 2 it was to be aware of the inventory on hand? 3 A. I'm sure there was, but I don't recall who 4 it was. 5 Q. Did you, in your job as a sales rep, 6 actually take orders from customers for product? 7 A. Yes. Most of the orders, as best as I 8 recall, were called into the order desk to the sales 9 assistants, I believe they were called, whose 10 principal job it was to take and process orders. 11 Q. As best you recall, were orders typically 12 filled from inventory? 13 A. Best as I recall. 14 Q. As a sales rep, if a customer order for a 15 customer over which you had responsibility had to be 16 filled by new production in St. Louis or elsewhere, 17 would you be notified of that? 18 A. I -- I really don't recall. 19 Q. In general terms, if a customer order had 20 to be met by new production, would that result in a 21 delay in filling the customer order? 22 A. I assume that it would. 23 Q. And by that use of the term delay, I mean 24 it would take longer to fill a customer order from new 25 production than it would from inventory. Correct? M St M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON00401 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 53 1 A. It seems reasonable. 2 Q. Okay. Let me show you a document, Mr. 3 Davidson -- by the way, do you have any recollection 4 of -- strike that. 5 MR. TALLON: Why don't we just mark 6 this as the next exhibit in order. 7 (Exhibit No. 366 marked.) 8 (Discussion off the record.) 9 Q. Did you get a chance to look at that 10 document, Mr. Davidson? 11 A. Yes, I did. 12 Q. Do you have any recollection of ever 13 having seen that before today? 14 A. No, I don't. 15 Q. Do you, having reviewed this letter, have 16 any enhanced recollection of approximately when you 17 for the first time received any information about the 18 persistence or claimed persistence of polychlorinated 19 biphenyls in the environment? 20 MS. SIMERLY: Wait, wait, wait. I'm 21 just going to ask. Are you asking him whether this 22 memo refreshes his recollection or are you asking him 23 if he makes an assumption based on this letter that - 24 that that is the case? And I think it's a fair - 25 MR. TALLON: I think my question was M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 54 1 pretty clear that I was asking him, if he had any 2 enhanced recollection following reading the memo. 3 MS. SIMERLY: Okay. 4 A. No, I don't have any enhanced 5 recollection. 6 Q. Do you have any recollection of a Norman 7 T. Johnson? 8 A. Yes, I know -- knew and worked with Norm 9 Johnson. 10 - Q. Do you know what his job was in 1970? 11 A. I don't recall what his exact job was. 12 Q. Do you know what his responsibilities 13 included in February of 1970? 14 A. Norm was in sales management. I don't 15 recall his exact title. But he -- Norm was in the 16 sales department as opposed to, you know, 17 manufacturing or -- or whatever. I don't recall his 18 exact responsibilities. 19 Q. Did you have any reporting obligation to 20 Mr. Johnson? 21 A. Yes, ultimately -- I did not report to 22 him, but my supervisors, I believe, reported to Norm 23 at that time. 24 Q. At that time, referring to February of 25 1970? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040174 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 55 1 A. Yes. Actually I had two different 2 supervisors as a salesman; the first was Mr. Bradford, 3 that I mentioned previously -4 Q. Uh-huh. 5 A. -- and the second was a Mr. Raleigh 6 Garcia. 7 Q. Where was Mr. Garcia stationed at the time 8 you reported to him? 9 A. He was in Akron, Ohio. 10 Q. Did either Mr. Bradford or Mr. Garcia 11 report to Mr. Johnson, so far as you recall? 12 A. I believe that -- that both of them did. 13 Q. Do you recall whether you ever received 14 any instruction to discourage the return by customers 15 of PCB-based products that they had on hand? 16 A. I don't recall that. 17 Q. Do you recollect ever being questioned by 18 a customer with respect to the PCB content of products 19 that you sold or for which you were responsible as a 20 sales rep? 21 A. I have no exact recollection of that, but 22 I'm sure I was in the normal course of business. 23 Q. Do you recall whether you ever referred 24 customers to Mr. Johnson or any other personnel in St. 25 Louis to answer questions with respect to the PCB M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 56 1 content of products, the sales of which -- the sales 2 for which you were responsible? 3 A. I don't -- 4 MS. SIMERLY: Other than Mr. 5 Papageorge, which he has already testified he believes 6 he referred people to at some point in time. 7 A. I have no recollection --specific 8 recollection of ever referring any customers to Mr. 9 Johnson. 10 Q. Or anyone else ? 11 A. Or anyone else, no . 12 Q. Do you have any recollection of ever 13 having been told by Mr. Johnson or anyone else that it 14 was Monsanto's position that Monsanto didn't want to 15 loose one dollar of business as a result of the 16 reformulation of products? 17 A. I -- I have no recollection of that. 18 Q. Was it your understanding that it was 19 Monsanto's goal to maintain its business in functional 20 fluids, notwithstanding the reformulation of product? 21 A. Yes, that -- that would have been my 22 understanding, certainly, to maintain our business. 23 Q. Let me ask you. I had -- oh, by the way, 24 did you ever have the title fluid specialist while you 25 were stationed in Los Angeles? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 57 1 A. I might have. 2 Q. You don't recall having it, though? 3 A. My job duties were essentially the same 4 during that three-year period. I -- I may have had a 5 different title or reference by the company. 6 Q. Okay. I had asked you before whether you 7 had any recollection of selling or attempting to sell 8 product to the Solar division of International 9 Harvester Company. Let me have marked as the next 10 exhibit in order a two-page letter bearing production 11 numbers TRAN 004340 and 4341 and ask you if reviewing 12 this exhibit refreshes your recollection in any 13 respect. 14 MR. TALLONs Here you go. Mark that. 15 (Exhibit No. 367 marked.) 16 Q. Did you get a chance to review that 17 document, Mr. Davidson? 18 A. Yes, I did. 19 Q. And did reviewing it enhance your 20 recollection in any respect as to whether you ever 21 attempted to sell or -- or sold product to the Solar 22 division of International Harvester Company? 23 A. No, it doesn't enhance my recollection. 24 Q. Do you have any recollection of ever 25 having contacted anyone you believe to be a M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040177 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 58 1 representative of the Solar division of International 2 Harvester? 3 A. I have no recollection of ever contacting 4 Solar. 5 (Exhibit No. 368 marked.) 6 (Discussion off the record.) 7 Q. Let me just show you one other document in 8 this regard, Mr. Davidson, and ask you if after 9 reviewing this document, a one-page letter bearing 10 production number TRAN 004339, enhances your 11 recollection or refreshes your recollection in any 12 respect regarding a contact by you to the Solar 13 division of International Harvester Company. 14 A. This doesn't enhance my recollection, no. 15 Q. Okay. Do you recollect ever selling or 16 attempting to sell product to Pacific Lighting & 17 Service Company? 18 A. No, I don't. 19 Q. Okay. Well, the -- let's see if we can 20 refresh your recollection in that regard by reviewing 21 a one-page document bearing production number TRAN 22 002801, which we'll mark as the next exhibit in order. 23 (Exhibit No. 369 marked.) 24 MS. SIMERLY: Is this 369, Maria? 25 THE COURT REPORTERS Correct. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26. 19 92_______________5_9_ 1 Q. Does having reviewed the exhibit refresh 2 your recollection, Mr. Davidson, with respect to ever 3 having sold or attempted to sell product to Pacific 4 Lighting & Service Company? 5 A. No, it doesn't. 6 Q. Do you recall ever having seen this 7 exhibit before today? 8 A. No, I don't recall. 9 Q. Did you know a Mr. Tim Mefford at Pacific 10 Lighting & Service Company? 11 A. No, I don't. 12 Q. Do you have any recollection of having - 13 ever furnished Mr. Bevacqua information with respect 14 to product to be sold or potentially to be sold to 15 Pacific Lighting & Service Company or a customer for 16 which he was responsible? 17 A. No, I have no recollection. 18 Q. Are you familiar with the -- the term 19 MCS-1109? 20 A. No, I'm not. 21 Q. Do you have any recollection, Mr. 22 Davidson, of ever having been involved in 23 communications with General Electric Company about 24 Monsanto product? 25 A. No, I have no recollection of that. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040179 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 60 1 Q. Do you recollect ever having been involved 2 with any effort to secure the approval of any General 3 Electric division about the use of Monsanto product in 4 turbines ? 5 A. No, I have no recollection of that. 6 Q. Did you ever have any responsibility with 7 respect to the use of Monsanto products in gas-fired 8 turbines? 9 A. I -- I have no present recollection of 10 that. Again, I've seen one or two documents referring 11 to products to be used in -- in turbines that -- those 12 documents were dated in the last few months in my 13 career with Monsanto. 14 Q. Let me show you a document which is a 15 five-page memo bearing production numbers TRAN 004391 16 through 4395, which we'll have marked as the next 17 exhibit in order -- actually, strike that. It's 18 already been marked as Exhibit Transwestern 132, so 19 we'll save ourselves the trouble -- and ask you if 20 reviewing that refreshes your recollection about any 2 1 contact you may have had with representatives of G. E. 22 A. I -- I have no recollection of this. 23 Q. Do you have any recollection, Mr. 24 Davidson, of establishing a timetable for the 25 withdrawal of products, including PCBs? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 61 1 A. No, I do not. 2 Q. Do you have any recollection of 3 establishing a timetable for the reformulation of 4 products that included PCBs as a component element? 5 A. No, I don'thave any recollection ofthat. 6 Q. Let me just ask the court reporter to mark 7 as the next exhibit in order a two-page memo dated 8 September 16th, 1971, bearing production numbers TRAN 9 004966 and 004967, and ask you to review that. 10 (Exhibit No. 370 marked.) 11 Q. This is the official copy, if you want to 12 take a look at that one. 13 A. (Complies.) 14 Q. Does having reviewed that document, and in 15 particular the last paragraph on the second page of 16 that document, refresh your recollection in any 17 respect about establishing a timetable for withdrawing 18 PC -- any PCB-based product? 19 A. No, it doesn't. 20 Q. Okay. Oh, by the way, does reading that 21 document, and particularly the last paragraph of that 22 document, refresh your recollection in any respect 23 about Turbinol 153? 24 A. No, it doesn't. 25 Q. Let me show youanotherdocument, which is M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 62 1 dated November 17th, 1971, and has been marked as an 2 exhibit already, Exhibit 55, and ask you if you would 3 take a moment, please, and review that. 4 A. (Complies.) 5 Q. Did you get a chance to review that 6 document? 7 A. Yes, I did. 8 Q. And, in particular, did anything on - 9 under the caption Turbinol 153, Mr. Davidson, refresh 10 your recollection in any respect? 11 A. No, it didn't. 12 Q. So nothing about Turbinol 153, it's still 13 a complete blank - 14 A. Yes, sir. 15 Q. -- in essence? Okay. 16 Do you recollect ever having worked while 17 in St. Louis, following your return from Los Angeles, 18 on a proposed agreement under which Monsanto would 19 continue to sell PCB-based product to its customers? 20 A. No, I don't recall that. 21 (Discussion off the record.) 22 Q. Okay. Let me show you a document, Mr. 23 Davidson, which we'll mark as the next exhibit in 24 order. And actually --no. It's a multi-page 25 document bearing production numbers 10947 through M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26. 1 992_______________63 1 10965 . 2 (Discussion off the record.) 3 (Exhibit No. 371 marked.) 4 Q. Can you take a few moments and review 5 that, please? 6 A. Uh-huh. 7 Q. Can you identify that document, Mr. 8 Davidson? 9 A. Sir? 10 Q. Can you identify it? 11 A. I -- I don't recall the document, no. 12 Q. You -- the document indicates on its face 13 that it's from C. L. Bradford and J. H. Davidson. Do 14 you recollect having participated in drafting any 15 aspect of the exhibit? 16 A. I don't recall drafting it. I'm sure that 17 I did, my name is on it, but I don't -- certainly 18 don't recall drafting a letter, sir, written in 1971, 19 and it's now 1992. 2 0 Q. Okay. Do you remember what the 21 objective -- do you remember whether there was a 22 transition program in place in 1971 with respect to 23 the transition from PCB-based products to 24 non-PCB-based products? 25 A. I don't remember a specific transitional M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040183 JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26 , 19 92_______________64_______ 1 program, no. 2 Q. Not so much whether there was a specific 3 one, but whether there was one at all. 4 A. Well, certainly --- and -- and this 5 document clearly indicates that plans were underway. 6 And I certainly do recall that during the period - 7 this period of time, you know, when I was employed by 8 Monsanto that -- that there was a transition to - 9 from PCB-containing products to non -- 10 non-PCB-containing products. 11 Q. Are you able to state, as you sit here 12 today, what the objective of that transition program 13 was ? 14 A. No, sir, I -- 15 Q. Do you -- does reading the lastparagraph 16 on the first page of the exhibit under the caption 17 objective refresh your recollection as to what the 18 objective of the transition program was? 19 A. Well, I -- I certainly recall that -- in 20 general, during this period, that we did not want to 21 withdraw products in a precipitous manner. 22 Q. Uh-huh. 23 A. We had to act, you know,responsibly to, 24 as you can see in the memo, General Motors, Johnson 25 Motors. So clearly from a business perspective, we M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040184 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26,, 1992 1 were trying to rapidly find substitute products. 2 Q. Do you believe that the paragraph which 3 appears at the bottom of the first page of the exhibit 4 fairly states the objective as the -- of the 5 transition program, as best you recall it? 6 A. As best I recall it. 7 Q. Let me ask you to look at another document 8 which we'll mark as the next exhibit. It's a 9 multi-page document bearing production numbers TRAN 10 003179 through 3183. 11 (Exhibit No. 372 marked.) 12 Q. Would you take a moment to review that, 13 please? And just for a moment, Mr. Davidson, I want 14 to focus you just on the first page of the exhibit 15 before you proceed to review the entire document. 16 There's a -- a typed notation J. H. 17 Davidson, do you see that? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. And over that there's a -- in handwriting 20 it looks like it says Jerry. 21 MS. SIMERLY: It didn't come through 22 on -- oh, I'm sorry. I was looking at the upper 23 left-hand corner. 24 MR. TALLON: No. 25 MS. SIMERL_ Y: I see. Okay. \ M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040185 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 66 1 Q. And then it looks like the initials L. B. 2 Do you see that? 3 A. Yes, I do. 4 Q. Is that your handwriting? 5 A. It does not appear to be my handwriting. 6 Q. And did you have a secretary in 1971 whose 7 initials were L. B.? 8 A. I don't recall. 9 Q. Okay. Would you please then go ahead and 10 review the -- the entire exhibit? 11 A. (Complies.) 12 (Discussion off the record.) 13 Q. Did you get a chance to review that 14 exhibit, Mr. Davidson? 15 A. Yes, I did. 16 Q. Do you recollecthaving authored that 17 memorandum? 18 A. No, I don't recollect authoring it. 19 Q. Do you recall whether it was part of your 20 responsibility in 1971 to -- excuse me -- yes, in 21 1971 -- to do sales forecasts for the products over 22 which you had responsibility? 23 A. Yes, it certainly was. 24 Q. Do you believe that during the period you 25 were employed as a product supervisor in St. Louis, M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 67 1 following your return from Los Angeles, you indeed 2 authored sales forecasts for the products over which 3 you had responsibility? 4 A. Yes, I certainly would have. 5 Q. Does the format of the sales forecasts 6 reflected in this exhibit conform to the format of 7 sales forecasts that you did while you were in St. 8 Louis ? 9 A. I -- I don't recall any specific format 10 that was -- that was used, but it's certainly 11 reasonable -- my name is on this document, and it's 12 certainly reasonable to assume that I authored it. 13 Q. Do you recollect -- if you could, just 14 flip for a moment to page 003181 of the exhibit. 15 There's a list of products beginning with Pydraul 60 16 and ending with Pydraul 540-B. 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. Do you recall whether those were products 19 over which you had supervisory responsibility as 20 product supervisor? 2 1 A. I certainly recall the Pydraul products 22 listed there. I do not recall having any 23 responsibility for Turbinol 153. 24 Q. Does the inclusion of Turbinol 153 in this 25 sales forecast indicate to you that you may have had M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 68 1 some responsibility for that product? 2 A. I don't know what it indicates, to be 3 honest with you. 4 Q. Would it have been your practice to 5 include a product in a sales forecast that you did if 6 you did not have a responsibility for that product? 7 A. I could have been requested to include 8 Turbinol 153. I -- I wouldn't speculate on -- on 9 that. 10 Q. And, by the way, do you have any 11 recollection whether there was anybody else in -- or 12 whether there was anyone in December of 1971 who had 13 responsibility for Turbinol 153 as a product 14 supervisor? 15 A. I believe that during this time frame, 16 1971 to 1973 -- well, during that time frame, during 17 part or all of that time frame, Roger Hatton -- Dr. 18 Roger Hatton reported to Larry Bradford and had 19 responsibility for a number of products. And -- and 20 as I recall, he had responsibility for turbine 21 lubricant testing field evaluations, that type of 22 thing. 23 Q. Was Dr. Hatton responsible for supervising 24 the sales and marketing aspect of turbine fluids, as 25 best you recall? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 69 1 A. As best as I recall. 2 Q. Do you recollect ever having communicated 3 in any fashion with Dr. Hatton about turbine fluids? 4 A. I had no recollection, but there were a 5 couple of documents shown to me concerning turbine 6 lubricants that were dated in the time frame -- the 7 last few months I was with Monsanto, where actually 8 Roger Hatton began to report to me. I was actually 9 promoted and he began to report to me. 10 Q. And did you have an enhanced recollection 11 based on review of those documents with respect to Dr. 12 Hatton's communications with you? 13 A. No, I did not. 14 Q. What is your understanding of the 15 communications that you had with Dr. Hatton relating 16 to turbine products? 17 A. I don't recall any specific communication 18 with Dr. Hatton. 19 Q- But what's your understanding of the 20 communications, having reviewed those documents? 21 MS. SIMERLYs You're -- 22 A. What -- 23 MS. SIMERLY: -- asking what the 24 documents that he reviewed said? 25 MR. TALLON: I'm asking him for his M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 70 1 understanding of the communications based on his 2 review of the documents. 3 A. I looked at one or two documents. I don't 4 recall the specific subject matter of the documents at 5 this point. 6 Q. In general, what is -- what did the 7 document signify to you? 8 A. As I indicated to you, several months 9 before I left Monsanto I was given additional -- some 10 additional product responsibility. And also Dr. 11 Hatton began to at that point report to me. Prior to 12 that time, he actually reported to Dr. Cumming 13 Paton -- 14 Q. Uh-huh. 15 A. -- who was the product manager, I believe 16 his title was, of the functional fluids group. 17 Q. Okay. And did you recollect that Dr. 18 Hatton began to report to you as a consequence of 19 having reviewed documents or did you recall that 20 before you began - 21 A. Actually, I recalled that he began to 22 report to me as a consequence of reviewing documents, 23 that's correct. 24 Q. Okay. And do you recall the content, in 25 general, of any of those communications -- M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26.1992 71 1 A. No -2 Q. -- with Dr. Hatton? 3 A. -- I have no recollection of any 4 communication with Dr. Hatton. 5 Q. And was it the documents that you reviewed 6 that suggested to you that Dr. Hatton had a 7 responsibility for turbine products? 8 A. Yes, basically, that's correct. 9 Q. Was it the documents that you -10 A. I have a vague recollection -11 Q. Sorry. 12 A. And I have a vague recollection that Dr. 13 Hatton was -- prior to him being in marketing, okay, 14 he was in the -- what was called the commercial 15 development group. 16 Q. Uh-huh. 17 A. And I believe that he had responsibility 18 then for some initial exploration of fire-resistant 19 lubricants for turbines. 20 Q. Uh-huh. 21 A. It's very vague in my mind, but... 22 Q. I -- I'm not saying this to 23 characterize -- or, indeed, mischaracterize your 24 testimony, Mr. Davidson. But I had thought when we 25 started today you indicated that review of some M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040191 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 72 1 documents may have suggested to you that you had a 2 contact or that Dr. Hatton had a contact, which he 3 referred you to, regarding Texas Eastern Transmission 4 Company. Is that correct? 5 MS. SIMERLY: He I think what he 6 said was he saw documents that indicated - 7 MR. TALLON; Right. 8 MS. SIMERLY: -- that there had been a 9 contact -- 10 >'R. TALLON: Uh-huh. 11 MS. SIMERLY: -- that those documents 12 did not reflect his recollection as to such a contact, 13 but that he assumed based on the documents and their 14 content that such contact occurred. 15 A. That is a correct statement. 16 Q. Which, Ms. Simerly's? 17 A. Yes, Ms. Simerly's. 18 Q. Okay. And do you recall anything about 19 the content of those documents as you sit here today? 20 A. No, I don't. 21 Q. Do you recall what the contact was to 22 which you referred in your testimony earlier today? 23 A. If you're referring to a document that I 24 saw -- 25 Q. Yeah. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040 JEROME H. DAVIDSON_________________JUNE 26, 19 92_______________ 73 1 A. -- then the document that I saw was a call 2 report in which I apparently attended a meeting with 3 Dr. Hatton and I believe John Fredericksen, a call - 4 a visitation to Texas -- Texas Eastern. 5 Q. Okay. And I take it from your testimony 6 thus far that you have no present recollection of 7 having indeed made such a visit. 8 A. That's correct, I have no recollection of 9 that visit. 10 Q. And your review of that document was - 11 refreshed your recollection -- or didn't refresh your 12 recollection that there had been such a visit? 13 A. Yes, that's correct, it did not refresh my 14 recollection that there was such a visit. 15 Q. Okay. 16 A. I simply assumed I had been there -17 Q. Based on - 18 A. -- because I was listed as being an 19 attendee. 20 Q. Okay. Based on your review of the 21 document, you can assume that you had indeed been 22 present on a call to Texas Eastern? 23 A. Yes, that's correct. 24 Q. Do you recall from reviewing the document 25 whether the document stated that the meeting occurred M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON________________ JUNE 26, 1992_______________74 1 in early 1972? 2 A. I don't recall the date. 3 Q. Do you recall from a review of the 4 document whether the document indicated that there 5 were a number of persons present at the call? 6 A. Yes, I recall that there were several. I 7 don't recall how many. . 8 Q. Do you recall from a review of the 9 document that it stated that the purpose of the call, 10 among other things, was to inform Texas Eastern that 11 the product would no longer -- product in question 12 would no longer be sold to them? 13 A. I don't recall that. 14 Q. Okay. Okay. Let's see. Let me just show 15 you another document, Mr. Davidson, bearing production 16 number TRAN 003171 through 3174 and ask you if you can 17 identify that document. 18 (Exhibit No. 373 marked.) 19 (Discussion off the record.) 20 Q. Mr. Davidson, while you're reviewing that, 21 I just want to go off the record for a second, take a 22 short break. 23 (Recess taken.) 24 (Discussion off the record.) 25 (Record read.) M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 13 1 Q. Actually, what I'd like you to do, Mr. 2 Davidson, if you didn't get a chance before we go - 3 went off the record is to review that and also review 4 this other sales forecast, which is dated January 21, 5 1972. It's a new document which I'll be giving you. 6 (Exhibit No. 374 marked.) 7 Q. And the new document -- or new exhibit is 8 Exhibit 374 and has production numbers 3175 through 9 3178 . 10 MS. SIMERLY: So, actually, 11 notwithstanding the order of the exhibits. Exhibit 374 12 is an earlier document in terms of time than 373? 13 MR. TALLON: 374 is dated January 21, 14 1972, and 373 is dated February 1, 1972. 15 MS. SIMERLY: Okay. Oh, well, I'm - 16 oh, that's right. Okay. 17 Q. Initially, Mr. Davidson, my question for 18 you is whether you recollect having prepared or 19 drafted either one or both of these two documents. 20 A. No, I don't recall them. 21 Q. The sales forecast dated January 21, 1972, 22 on the sheets that are typed horizontally showing the 23 actual sales forecasts in thousands of pounds, there's 24 some handwritten notations which appear through those 25 pages. Do you see those? M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 76 1 A. Yes, I do. 2 Q. Are you able tostate whether that's your 3 handwriting? 4 A. It does not appear to be my handwriting. 5 Q. Do you recognize it? 6 A. No, I don't. 7 Q. Do you have any recollection of having 8 asked anyone for -- who worked for you in 1972 to 9 prepare sales -- sales forecasts? 10 A. No, I don't recall asking anyone to 11 prepare sales forecasts. 12 Q. Do you have any recollection of preparing 13 any sales forecasts in early '72 with respect to 14 Pydraul products? 15 A. I have no present recollection of that, 16 no . 17 Q. Would it have been your responsibility -- 18 or among your responsibility to prepare a sales 19 forecast for the Pydraul products in early '72? 20 A. Yes, it would. 21 Q. And if you could, take a moment to look at 22 page 003177 of Exhibit 374. That's the January 21 23 forecast. 24 A. (Complies.) 25 Q. There's a line that says Turbinol153, M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 H 1 followed by a series of handwritten and typed figures. 2 Do you see that? 3 A. Yes, I do. 4 Q. Do you have any recollection of having 5 prepared those figures? 6 A. No, I don't. 7 Q. Compare that page, if you would, to page 8 003173 of Exhibit 373. 9 A. (Complies.) 10 Q. Do you see the entry for Turbinol 153 11 which shows null for each of the projected months of 12 1972? 13 A. Yes, I do. 14 Q. Do you have any present ability to state 15 the reason why the projection for Turbinol 153 was no 16 sales as of February 1, 1972? 17 A. No, I have -- I do not know why that is. 18 Q. Let me show you a document which we'll 19 mark as the next exhibit in order -- 20 (Exhibit No. 375 marked.) 21 Q. -- and ask you whether you can identify 22 the document. 23 Does that appear to you to be a product 24 brochure? 25 A. Yes, it appears to be. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 78 1 Q. Do you have any recollection of having 2 participated in the preparation of that brochure? 3 A. No, I do not. 4 Q. Do you have any recollection of having 5 approved the issuance of that brochure? 6 A. No, I do not. 7 Q. Let me show you a document that we'll ask 8 the court reporter to mark as Exhibit 376, a two-page 9 document bearing two production numbers, one of which 10 is TEX 000373 and 374. 11 (Exhibit No. 376 marked.) 12 Q. Take a moment, please, and I'll ask you if 13 you can review that document. 14 A. (Complies.) 15 Q. Did you get a chance to review that 16 document, Mr. Davidson? 17 A. Yes, I did. 18 Q. Have you ever seen thatdocument before? 19 A. I don't recall seeing it before. 20 MS. SIMERLY: Other than yesterday? 2 1 MR. TALLON: Right. 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Is this the document to which you were 24 referring in your testimony before, indicating that 25 you had seen a document reflecting a meeting with M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS IARTOLDMON00401 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 79 1 representatives of Texas Eastern Transmission Company? 2 A. Yes, this is the document that you 3 referred to. 4 Q. And I take it from your earlier testimony 5 today that you have no present recollection of the 6 meeting which is described in this call report. 7 A. That's correct, I have no recollection of 8 this meeting. 9 Q. Do you know Mr. Fredericksen or did you 10 know him in 1973? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. And what was his responsibility in 13 January, 1973? 14 A. I believe he was the sales representative 15 in the functional fluids group located in Houston. 16 Q. Do you havea present recollection of 17 having communicated with Mr. Fredericksen on any 18 subject related to Texas Eastern Transmission Company? 19 A. I have no -- no recollection of that. 20 Q. Do you have any present recollection of 21 ever having spoken to, by phone or in person, any of 22 the men whose names are listed in the top third of the 23 memorandum following the word contacted, and starting 24 with the name Roland Moore? 25 A. No, I have no recollection of any contacts M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 80 1 with any of those people. 2 Q. Any recollection, Mr. Davidson, with 3 respect to the trial by -- by Texas Eastern of a 4 replacement product formulated by Monsanto? 5 A. No, I have no recollection of that. 6 Q. Any recollection, Mr. Davidson, of ever 7 having been informed of whether or not Texas Eastern 8 used a Monsanto replacement product following 9 discontinuance of sale of another product? 10 A. No, I -- I don't recall. 11 Q. Do you have any recollection of ever 12 having heard a report from Dr. Hatton about sales of 13 product to Texas Eastern Transmission Company or any 14 other gas pipeline company? 15 A. No, I don't have any recollection of that. 16 Q. Do you recognize the handwritingwhich 17 appears on the right, upper third of the document on 18 page 1? 19 A. No, I don't. 20 Q. Do you have any -- any recollection which 21 you have not stated in an answer thus far today about 22 Texas Eastern Transmission Company and -- and the 23 contacts of that company with Monsanto? 24 A. No, I have -- I have no recollection of 25 any -- any contacts with Texas Eastern. M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 81 1 Okay. Well, thank you. 2 MS . SIMERLY: We're done? 3 MR. TALLON: Yeah. 4 (Deposition concluded.) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 M & M REPORTING, INC 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040: JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 82 1 2 STATE OF TEXAS ) 3 COUNTY OF DALLAS ) 4 This is to certify that I, Maria E. Mills, 5 Certified Shorthand Reporter in and for the State of 6 Texas, certify that the foregoing deposition of JEROME 7 H. DAVIDSON was reported stenographically by me at the 8 time and place indicated, said witness having been 9 placed under oath by me, and that the deposition is a 10 true record of the testimony given by the witness. 11 I further certify that I am neither counsel for 12 nor related to any party in this cause and am not 13 financially interested in its outcome. 14 Given under my hand of office on this the 13th 15 day of July, 1992. 16 17 Maria E./Mills, Certified 18 Shorthand Reporter in and for the State of Texas, 19 CSR No. 2171. Commission expires 12/31/92. 20 M & M REPORTING, INC. 21 1402 Corinth Street Suite 231, L.B. 109 22 Dallas, Texas 75215 214/565-5874 23 Taxable cost of original 24 charged to Plaintiff Atty: James P. Tallon 25 Shearman & Sterling: $_ M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26, 1992 83 1 CORRIGENDUM 2 The witness wishes to make the following changes 3 or corrections in the testimony as originally given: 4 WITNESS NAME: JEROME H. DAVIDSON 5 PAGE NO. LINE NO. CHANGE REASON FOR CHANGE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040203 JEROME H. DAVIDSON JUNE 26. 1992 84 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 JEROME H. DAVIDSON 11 12 STATE OF * 13 COUNTY OF * 14 Subscribed and sworn to before me by the said 15 witness, JEROME H. DAVIDSON, on this the day 16 1992. 17 18 Notary Public for the State of 19 County of Commission Expires: 20 21 22 23 24 25 M & M REPORTING, INC. 214/565-5874 DALLAS, TEXAS HARTOLDMON0040