Steier Literally Blocks Door to Deposition, then claims no evidence from depositions: hearing for Sanctions Against Steier July 10

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By Kay Ebeling
We reported here April 29 that a private investigator tracked down a 96-year-old priest who was eager to talk to plaintiffs about sex abuse allegations against Father Henry Vetter in Detroit in the 1940s. “Before we asked, he volunteered details of Vetter’s inappropriate sexual conduct,” said former FBI agent David Kelley. The priest gave the name of a Passionist colleague of Vetter’s who also wanted to talk and Kelley set up the interview. “However, soon after that conversation I received a telephone call from Donald Steier,” Kelley said. “He told me he represents the defendant Passionists.”

Plaintiffs are still trying to depose those two priests. Church Attorney Donald Steier stands in the way of every deposition. Literally on May 1st a Steier associate stood in the door blocking plaintiffs entry to depose Father Parsons.

Then in a display of audacity alarming even for a church attorney, Steier filed a motion June 27 to “bifurcate” Passionists from the Vetter cases as “discovery in this case has revealed no concrete evidence of any notice to Defendant of Vetter’s pedophilia.”

No evidence has come up yet in discovery as Steier and other LA archdiocese minions have been literally standing in the way and blocking the door.

They Stood in the Doorway and Blocked Plaintiffs from Entering Parsons’ Home to Conduct the Deposition

On May 1st carrying a Court Order, plaintiff attorney Helen Zukin and Kelley drove from LA to Lake Tahoe to depose Father Parsons, taking with them a doctor, because Steier had fought the deposition claiming Parsons is in bad mental and physical health. When they got there “an associate of Steier’s and counsel for the Los Angeles archdiocese

BLOCKED THE DOOR

and objected to Kelley and Dr. Hirsch’s presence at the deposition. Zukin had to call the Court and have the Court overrule defense counsel’s objections,” write plaintiffs.

THEY STOOD IN THE WAY, BLOCKED THE DOOR
Anything to keep the truth from coming out.

Steier is no stranger to manipulation of defense tactics. On June 17 he filed a Motion to Bifurcate Trial in Case BC396816, (hearing July 20th)

Steier says Passionists should be “bifurcated” from the cases as “discovery in this case has revealed no concrete evidence of any notice to Defendant of Vetter’s pedophilia.”

There’s no concrete evidence yet in discovery because
HE WAS STANDING THEIR BLOCKING THE DOOR!!!

Does the archdiocese really believe it can get away with this?

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Father Parsons and Donald Steier’s tactics will be topic of a hearing July 10 as plaintiffs argue:

Motion for Order imposing terminating sanctions, or in the alternative, issue and monetary sanctions, against Donald Steier, Esq, and Holy Cross Province,

Their accusation: That Donald Steier and the archdiocese’s “conduct during discoveries is a serious example of discovery abuse.”

“The attempt to prevent the deposition of Father Neil Parsons is another example of “Steier’s repeated discovery abuses and obstructionist tactics.”
That's one hearing on calendar for July 10. Steier will also be in court that day arguing Motion for Protective Order for George Neville Rucker, asking for immunity so the aging predator priest can tell his story without fear of prosecution.

Allegations from 1953 to 1973
During an interview with a private detective, the 96 year old Parsons related that in the 1940s while serving in Detroit with Vetter, Vetter was “under suspicion for having molested a young boy in a Detroit hospital.”

Plaintiffs scheduled a deposition for February 28, 2007. Steier intervened.
They're still trying to depo Parsons about Vetter.

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I hope you enjoy reading this blog. It’s time for me to pass the Internet Hat. Please put a high five or more on my Pay-Pal Account so I can start feeling like a professional. The more I make from the blog, the less hours I have to spend transcribing. For more coverage of Clergy Cases 2007 hit the “Donate” button in the top left column.
THANK YOU
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What happened at Parsons' Deposition?
The court had to order over the phone for it to proceed

From Boucher's Motion for Sanctions against Steier:

The doctor examined Parsons and found he was “sharp, and not in imminent risk to his health.”

Then:

“Even though the deposition finally proceeded, Parsons’ answers were different and more evasive than those given at the interview with Kelley (the investigator).

“The events surrounding Parsons deposition “demonstrate the extent to which Steier has attempted to obstruct Plaintffs’ legitimate discovery efforts:

Attempting to circumvent a court order

Making misleading representation of Parsons’ health

Blocking the door at the deposition to Plaintiffs’ consultants.

PERSONAL NOTE:
I am so grateful. I know there truly are angels.

I’ve been working the past week on a show for E! “THS: Kidnapping.” As a result I spent Fourth of July inside the head of a psychologist who specializes in treating children who’ve been through trauma like kidnapping and rape. She went into detail on how people store memories inside their heads, and how memories come back up even though we don’t want them to. I’d been thinking the last few weeks, “Why am I still plagued with memories coming into my head of something that happened to me when I was five years old?” My job forced me to find out. I spent literally eight hours inside this therapist’s head, learning about how children are affected. And I feel better about myself now. Plus I got paid!

She emphasized that it's not that we WANT to stay in these old memories. The memories INTRUDE and come in whether we want them to or not. For some reason that really helped me to hear that.

More to Come. . .