20 Hour Record: Receiving File, Trying Case, Closing File

We here at Abnormal Use are pleased to report on the trial of one of our contributors, Nick Farr.  Earlier this year, GWB lawyer, Rob Corney, set the modern (the 1970’s is not modern) firm record for the least amount of time elapsed between the firm’s retention in a case to the trial of that case at just over 30 days.  That’s now old news. Farr took the record after opening a file, trying the case, and closing said file all in a mind-boggling 20 hours.  And he secured a defense verdict to boot!

How you might ask?  GWB partner David Rheney received a call at 4:00 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon from a client with a new case pending in magistrate’s court.  Apparently, the complaint had been filed in October, served in November, and answered by the defendant in December.  The defendant remembered to tell the insurer that very Tuesday afternoon.  Once Rheney confirmed that there had been no default, we determined that we could amend the answer since we were within the 15 day period. All good things.

However, we then learned that the case was up for trial the very next day! Farr responded that he was up for the task. Armed with nothing more than two grainy black and white photographs , he appeared in court on Wednesday, obtaining a defense verdict in a non-jury trial.  Case closed.  He was pleased to report, as an added bonus, that the plaintiff’s daughter slammed the door in his face on the way out the courtroom.

Joe DiMaggio’s record 56 game hitting streak and Byron Nelson’s record of 11 straight PGA tour victories will be nothing more than ashes on the dust heap of history long before anyone approaches Farr’s record 20-hour Open-Try-Close.

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