The Dryline. Jack Grubbs
you can see the stress concentrations quite easily. In particular, look at the colors where the whip hose is crimped into the metal annulus of the breakaway device.” The entire length of the circular joint between hose and metal was bright orange—a clear indication of high stress. “This would thus be an area where not only the design needs to be correct, but where the actual physical application of the crimping mechanism can have no imperfections.”
“Thank you, Mr. Seiler, you can return to the stand.”
Tom returned to his seat and sat down. Ed entered the computer graphics into evidence and walked midway between the witness stand and the jury box.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the whip hose I just entered into evidence. Had it not failed in the manner in which it did, we would not be here today. Now that he has given an engineering overview of the whip hose, I am going to ask Mr. Seiler to explain exactly what happened—and why it should not have happened.”
He walked back to Tom, giving him the whip hose.
“Before I ask you to explain the faults associated with the whip hose in question, please give us your understanding of the events leading up to the incident.”
The jury, fully alert, looked forward to Tom’s next chapter, gory as it might be.
“Certainly. Mr. Hanson comes to fill up his gas tank. He does absolutely nothing wrong. He puts his credit card in, gets authorized, and then pulls out the hose to begin filling the gas tank. Gasoline enters the hose as soon as he pulls the handle. As he approaches having a full tank, he does what most people do. He engages and disengages the handle numerous times. This constant start–stop of gasoline creates a series of pressure waves that are known as the water hammer effect. A good analogy might be a long train standing still that is hit by another train. Each car is rammed by the car behind it until the front car slams into the engine. In effect, a wave of banging cars moves from the back of the train to the front.”
Don leaned back in his chair, musing on his brother’s delivery. How can anyone so damn smart be so clear in explaining these things?
Tom stopped and turned toward Judge Pickering. “Your Honor, would it be permissible to move closer to the jury in order that they can see the whip hose and the manner in which things unfolded?”
Over the objection of the defense lawyer, Judge Pickering concurred. Tom moved to a place five feet in front of and centered on the jury rail. He continued.
“Unfortunately, the whip hose had already been damaged to the point that the water hammer effect caused the whip hose to separate from the end section of hose that goes back to the dispenser. As I mentioned, there had been a drive-away event three to four months earlier. The reason I know that is because of the damage to the hose.” Tom held the hose horizontally in front of the jury. He ran his finger over one end of the hose. “At this end you can see what is known as necking. It’s the area that is thinner than the rest of the hose.” Tom walked to the left side of the jury and walked slowly in front of each juror. At such a close distance, the jury members could easily see the damaged section of hose. “It happened when the pulling force-stretched the hose beyond its elastic limit. Inside the hose are two helix wires, used for reinforcement and to counter static electricity. They were stretched so much that when the force was released, some permanent deformation remained. Over time spalling occurred, which is nothing more than the flaking off of parts of the damaged whip hose.” Tom pulled the whip hose easily out of the connector. “This should not have happened. The hose should have been replaced long before the incident.”
Not wishing to be too theatrical, Tom returned to the stand. Without hesitation, he finished his remarks.
“Mr. Hanson’s girlfriend, Ms. Marion Culver, had a cigarette. When the whip hose separated from the breakaway device, gasoline spewed all over him and into the car. Tragically, there was a spark, either from the cigarette or from static electricity, which ignited the gas. Mr. Hanson inhaled gasoline and fell to the ground just as the inside was engulfed in flames. The flames traveled underneath and around the car. While people were able to drag him away and smother the flames, Ms. Culver was burned to death.” Tom and Ed expected an objection but none was stated.
The more Tom spoke, the more impressed Don became. He had attended Tom’s appearance on the stand for the legendary murder case out of Alvin and remembered Tom’s skill at relating to the jury. Every answer, to Don’s way of thinking, was dead on target.
Don suddenly remembered that Elam had called earlier. He knew it was important, so he quietly, at least as quiet as possible for him, got up and walked out of the back door of the courtroom.
By the time Don returned, Tom was finishing his testimony. Don surveyed the jury and could tell by their attention to Tom’s testimony that he had scored well. One company assembled the whip hose incorrectly, and another company did a lousy job of inspecting the equipment. Tom stepped down from the witness stand and disappeared through the double doors of the courtroom. Don joined him on the way out.
“The hell you say.” Tom was surprised at the turn of events. “Did he say why?”
“Nothing specific. I just talked to Elam about it. He said a secretary was calling all of the guy’s clients, stating that he had medical problems and would not be able to continue with his job.” Don reached to the floorboard of Tom’s car, grabbed his ugly US Navy Seabee baseball cap, and feverishly molded the bill into an exaggerated semi-circle. Frustration was running roughshod. “I’m beginning to get a little pissed off about all this garbage.”
Tom paid the parking toll, smiled at the attendant, and pulled onto San Jacinto Street for the ride home.
Don placed the hat on his head, leaned back, and proclaimed, “I’ll be dammed if I’m going to let this slow me down. We’ve gone too far to kiss it off over some incompetent lawyer.”
“Well, hell, let’s find ourselves another one. I know lots of lawyers who can help us out.”
Don spit out a sliver of fingernail he had just bitten off. “Elam said not to worry because he already has a line on a new lawyer.”
“Any idea who the lawyer is?”
“Naw, I don’t. But given Elam’s last pick, I’m leery as hell about the new one.”
“Why don’t you just tell him to let me get the next lawyer?”
Don looked back at Tom. “I’ll give the guy a few weeks. If he farts around like the last one, I’ll can him myself and turn it over to you. I’m headed out to the site tomorrow afternoon and will tell Elam that I’m not putting up with another loser.” Don spoke with resignation, changing the subject. “My intent was not to get you all wrapped up into this thing. I’ve already let you spend too damn much time helping me out. Don’t even think about this little roadblock.”
“OK, it’s your call. Just let me know if and when you want me to make a couple of phone calls.”
“I will. I’ve got to get back to California for a few days to pacify the twenty clients who are screaming their heads off.” Don started to turn his attention to the road but remembered something. “By the way, you really snowed that jury with your wit and wisdom.” He smiled at Tom.
Tom returned the smile. “Just remember that the graphical displays were the product of Paige’s computer analysis of the whip hose. She’s as smart an engineer as she is a pretty woman. Yessiree, I sure raised a smart one.”
Indeed, his daughter was as smart as they come.
The fact was that Elam knew zilch about good patent lawyers.
Earlier that morning Elam was walking out of his house when his cell phone rang. He didn’t recognize the person or the number and thought about ignoring