HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-05
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PETITIONER'S EXHIBIT
1 - 04/18/05 transcript
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
MARKED
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ADMITTED
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1 THE COURT: This is the time and place for a
2 hearing on Petitioner's Motion for Recusal of Judge Due to
3 Appearance of Impropriety in the case of the Estate of Robert
4 M. Mumma at No. 21-86-398 Orphans' Court.
5 We will let the record indicate that the
6 Petitioner, Robert M. Mumma, II, is present in court
7 representing himself. Ivo V. Otto, III, Esquire, is present in
8 court, as is Brady L. Green, Esquire. Mr. Otto, Mr. Green,
9 which party are you representing?
10 MR. GREEN: Counsel for Barbara McKimmie Mumma and
11 Lisa Mumma Morgan, the executrixes and trustees under the will.
12 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Mumma, this is your
13 motion.
14 MR. MUMMA: Yes, sir, Your Honor. I would like to
15 refer the Court to transcript proceedings held on April 18,
16 2005, in this courtroom.
17 THE COURT: Is that in a separate case?
18 MR. MUMMA: It is in a case 04-6183, Robert M.
19 Mumma, II, Plaintiff, versus the estate.
20 THE COURT: All right. Do you want to have that
21 item marked as an exhibit?
22 MR. MUMMA: I can do that.
23 THE COURT: I think we should because otherwise
24 that record is not part of this record since they are separate
25 cases. I am assuming that is the case in which I did recuse
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1 myself--
2 MR. MUMMA: It is. I would like to read it into
3 the record.
4 THE COURT: I pretty well remember it. If we get
5 the transcript in the record, then it will be there.
6 MR. MUMMA: I wanted to call to the attention to
7 two specific paragraphs from this, which is a rather lengthy
8 document, and I think it might be more efficient if I just read
9 those two paragraphs in, and then we can make the whole thing
10 an exhibit.
11 THE COURT: All right, go ahead. Please read
12 slowly for the stenographer.
13 MR. MUMMA: I will, and I also try to identify the
14 paragraphs by page and line numbers so that you can find them.
15 THE COURT: All right.
16 MR. MUMMA: The first is found at line 5, page 74:
17 "THE COURT: All right. What is counsel's position
18 as to whether I would be able to consider them? I am thinking
19 maybe since this issue has come up I should simply get out of
20 the case rather than continue on with it. Because I can see
21 other matters coming up between now and June when I am going to
22 be asked to recuse myself for one reason or another, and maybe
23 there could be an agreement that the record from today's
24 proceeding will simply be assigned to another judge and that
25 judge could consider this record and further proceedings."
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1 The second paragraph lS found at line 17 on page
2 75.
3 "THE COURT: Okay. We will enter this order: And
4 now, this 18th day of April, 2005, it appearing to the Court
5 that one of the witnesses in this proceeding had written the
6 last will and testament of the Court's mother, who has since
7 died, and that that witness' credibility may be an issue in
8 this proceeding, and with the concurrence of counsel, the Court
9 will recuse itself from further participation in this case, and
10 the Court administrator is requested to transfer this dase,
11 including the Petition for Emergency Relief filed on behalf of
12 the Plaintiffs to another judge of this Court. Court is
13 adjourned."
14 THE COURT: Okay. Let's have this transcript
15 marked as Petitioner's Exhibit 1.
16 (Petitioner's Exhibit No.1 marked for
17 identification.)
18 THE COURT: I believe that item has been m~rked as
19 Petitioner's Exhibit No.1. Mr. Green, do you have amy
20 objection to its admission?
21 MR. GREEN: No objection, Your Honor.
22 THE COURT: Mr. Otto, do you have any objection?
23 MR. OTTO: No, Your Honor.
24 THE COURT: All right. Petitioner's Exhibit 1 is
25 admitted. Mr. Mumma.
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1 MR. MUMMA: Your Honor, I would like to further
2 remind the Court that this issue of recusal originally carne up
3 in '99, 2765, which was the case of Robert Mumma against pennsy
4 Supply, Inc.
5 THE COURT: I can't take judicial notice of other
6 cases in the courthouse. If you want to present some sort of
7 testimony to support your motion for recusal, of course, I will
8 consider it. But you can't just start citing other cases in
9 the Court that have taken place and expect me to go down to the
10 files and see what is in those cases.
11 MR. MUMMA: Your Honor, I am not asking you to do
12 that. We tried to get the transcripts from -- that was an
13 in-chambers meeting. There was also another in-chambets
14 meeting in this case, and a first day of hearing on the
15 appointment of Mr. Andrews in this case. All three of those
16 transcripts relate to the issue of recusal, and the closeness
17 of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius to the Oler family.
18 THE COURT: Well, you have
19 MR. MUMMA: They were not able to prepare those in
20 time for today.
21 THE COURT: Well, then you have to place on the
22 record the grounds for your motion. You have referred to the
23 closeness of the Oler family with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, you
24 need to be very specific as to what you are taking about.
25 My recollection is my father was in the firm of
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1 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and that he retired in the 1970s.
2 Apparently, Joseph A. O'Connor, Jr., who was with Morgan, Lewis
3 & Bockius, wrote my mother's will, which has since been
4 probated following her death. The firm of Morgan, Lewis &
5 Bockius is not the attorney for the estate.
6 Is there something more that you think should be
7 placed on the record with regard to my association with Morgan,
8 Lewis & Bockius such as it is?
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MR. MUMMA:
I think that relationship is enough,
10 Your Honor. We are talking about the reliability of your
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father's law partners.
It is his law firm and his partners
12 that are here taking my assets and distributing them to my
13 father's estate.
14 I claim it is a continuing criminal conspiracy, and
15 I don't think that I am going to get an impartial hearing in
16 these issues because of the closeness of the relations~ip with
17 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Your father was a partner there.
18 They wrote your mother's will. They provided legal services to
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the Oler family.
I don't think that you can be impartial. You
20 had to rely on their advice. You believe them to be good
21 people. This whole case is about the fact they are baa people,
.
22 they are stealing from me.
23
THE COURT: You are assuming some attitude on my
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part that would cause me to be partial to one side.
For one
25 thing, this case is in the hands of an auditor at this point.
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1 I am not hearing any testimony from anybody, let alone
2 Mr. O'Connor. In the other case, I was faced with the prospect
3 right at that moment of hearing testimony from him which quite
4 frankly took me by surprise and I did recuse myself in that
5 case, but that is not the situation here.
6 MR. MUMMA: I can assure you that if I filed an
7 objection, Mr. O'Connor is going to be on that stand and that
8 will be at the end of the day and it will all be for not. Now
9 the time to do this is now.
10 THE COURT: Why would he be on the stand in my
11 courtroom?
12 MR. MUMMA: Well, I guess we are assuming then that
13 whatever Mr. Andrews says is going to be gospel and it will
14 never be able to be challenged.
15 THE COURT: No, we are assuming that the record
16 will be made in front of Mr. Andrews, not in front of me.
17 MR. MUMMA: That is hardly due process. I am
18 entitled to my day in front of a judge, he wasn't elected
19 judge.
20 THE COURT: All right. Is there anything further
21 you want to bring to the Court's attention on the issue of
22 recusal?
23 MR. MUMMA: I think the very fact that you
24 appointed Mr. Andrews to burry this whole thing and drag it out
25 as long as he could and to hide the facts in this issue shows
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1 the bias. It is all about covering up for Morgan, Lewis &
2 Bockius, that is all it lS, protecting them.
3 THE COURT: Mr. Green, do you have a response?
4 MR. GREEN: Your Honor, we have nothing to add to
5 the record at this point.
6 THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Otto, is there anything
7 further that you wanted to say?
8 MR. OTTO: No, Your Honor, thank you.
9 THE COURT: We will enter this order, AND NOW, this
10 29th day of August, 2005, upon consideration of PetitioJner's
11 Motion for Recusal of Judge Due to Appearance of Impropriety,
12 and following a hearing, the motion is denied without prejudice
13 to Petitioner's right to submit a new motion in the event that
14 the record as it develops would warrant the same.
15 So, Mr. Mumma, I have denied your motion at this
16 time. If as the record transpires it seems to me that there
17 would be a conflict or the appearance of a conflict on my part,
18 obviously, I will consider it in a motion.
19 MR. MUMMA: In my perspective, Your Honor, I have
20 been thrown out of court, that is exactly what you are doing.
21 I am now in the hands of Mr. Andrews, who is going to ~o
22 whatever he is told to, and this Court is denying me due
23 process. I have asked that since you have thrown me out of
24 court that I be able to appeal this issue.
25 THE COURT: No, you may not; and you have not been
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court, and that is a ridiculous statement.
MR. MUMMA: It is not a ridiculous statement.
THE COURT: Court is adjourned.
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the proceedings are contained
fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the above
cause and that this is a correct transcript of same.
e~{!.~
patricia C. Barrett
Official Stenographer
The foregoing record of the proceedings on the
hearing of the within matter is hereby approved and di~ected to
be filed.
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