Authors: R. J. Blacks
I call Berkeley and tell him the news. We
still have an hour left so we meet in the hotel restaurant, grab a snack, and
go over the science.
“Now that you explain it, it
seems so obvious,” he says.
“Not obvious enough for GWI
to see it,” I respond.
We get back to the courthouse
just as the jury files in, and then, the judge brings the court back in
session.
“Counsel for the plaintiff,
please continue,” the judge says.
Berkeley walks out to the
floor.
“Dr. Benson, could you
explain in simple language what a catalyst is?”
“Anyone with basic
high-school chemistry should know what a catalyst is.”
“Just for the record, would
you describe it?”
“It’s a substance that
facilitates a chemical reaction.”
“What kind of substance?”
“It depends on the reaction,
but it could be a solid or a liquid or something else.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“The catalytic converter in
your car.”
“Please explain how that
works?”
“Your engine produces carbon
monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons, both of which are highly toxic. By passing
them through a platinum screen and adding a little air, they’re converted to
carbon dioxide, which every human exhales, and water.”
“Why do you need the platinum
screen?”
“That’s the catalyst.”
“How hot are the gasses that
come out of the engine?”
“Over one-thousand degrees.”
“What would happen if we just
added some air to the hot exhaust gasses without the platinum screen?”
“Nothing.”
“You mean one-thousand
degrees is not hot enough to turn carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Why is that?”
“There’s this thing called
‘Activation Energy.’ A chemical reaction will not occur unless you exceed the
activation energy. One-thousand degrees does not have enough energy to turn
carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide.”
“So how does the platinum
screen figure into all this?”
“The platinum is the catalyst
which lowers the activation energy. Every first year chemistry student knows
that.”
“So, to summarize, the
catalyst allows the reaction to occur at a lower energy?”
“Yes.”
“Earlier today you testified
that the UV energy from the sun was too low to cause the R-form isomer of
Farm-eXia to turn into the S-form. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Suppose we added a catalyst,
wouldn’t that lower the activation energy and make the reaction possible?”
“Technically, yes, if you
found the right catalyst. But this is all hypothetical.”
“Objection, Your Honor.
Speculation,” Fullbright says.
“Overruled, please continue,”
the judge says.
“Dr. Benson, are you familiar
with the Haber process?”
“Yes, it’s used in the
production of ammonia.”
“What is the catalyst in the
Haber process?”
“Iron.”
“So iron is a well-known and
useful catalyst?”
“Of course.”
“The last time you testified,
you told us you had three PhD’s, have published over a hundred papers, and
teach at a well-known ivy-league university. With qualifications like that,
this next piece of evidence should be as easy to read for you as a newspaper.”
Berkeley hands the bailiff a
sheet of paper.
“Your Honor, with your
permission, I would like to enter this document as evidence.”
“Objection,” Fullbright says.
“We have not been given the opportunity to examine it.”
Berkeley interjects: “If it
pleases the court, the defense will have all the time they need to examine it.”
“Objection overruled,” the
judge says.
“Dr. Benson, would you take a
few minutes and examine the evidence I just gave the bailiff.”
The bailiff hands the paper
to Dr. Benson.
“Please describe what you see
on the paper.”
“This is an activation
diagram.”
“And what does it show?”
“It shows the R-form isomer,
in the presence of a catalyst, and under the influence of UV light, reforming
into the S-form.”
“What is the catalyst?”
“Iron.”
“And the wavelength of the
UV.”
“330 nano-meters.”
“Isn’t 330 nm radiation, also
known as UV-A, the type that passes directly through the atmosphere and is a
primary cause of sunburn?”
“Yes it is.”
“So it appears, in this
example, the iron catalyst has lowered the activation energy enough that
ordinary UV-A can now reform the R-form isomer of Farm-eXia into S-Form. Is
that a correct statement?”
“Objection, leading,”
Fullbright says.
“Overruled. Please continue
Dr. Benson.”
“That statement would only be
true if we performed the experiment in the presence of an iron catalyst.
Without the iron, the statement is nonsense.”
Berkeley turns to me and
winks. I give him an unobtrusive thumbs-up in approval.
“But nonetheless, is that
activation diagram you hold in your hand, as it now stands, true or untrue?”
“If you included the iron
catalyst, then yes, it would be true.”
“But earlier you testified it
would be impossible for the sun’s UV radiation to change R-form Farm-eXia into
S-form. Are you now changing your mind?”
“You’re twisting my statement
all around.”
“Perhaps you should clarify
that,” Berkeley says.
The judge interjects: “May I
remind the witness he’s under oath. Please answer the question to the best of
your ability.”
Berkeley speaks up: “Dr.
Benson, would you let the jury know if it is possible or impossible for the
sun’s UV radiation to change R-form Farm-eXia into S-form.”
“Under normal circumstances,
it would be impossible. But in the presence of an iron catalyst, then yes, it
would be possible.”
“Thank you Dr. Benson.”
Berkeley hands the bailiff
another piece of paper.
“With the court’s permission,
I would like to enter this as evidence.”
“Permitted,” the judge says.
The bailiff hands the paper
to Benson.
“Dr. Benson, is there
anything special about that paper?”
“I’m not sure what you’re
asking.”
“For the record, this is a
copy of a graph included in an article Dr. Benson wrote for a trade magazine
ten years ago. The title of the article is: ‘GWI Cares About Water Quality.’”
“Oh yes, I remember it now.”
“What do you find significant
about this particular graph.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“This graph contains
measurements of water samples taken in and around Lake George. The very first
item on the graph is the concentration of Farm-eXia, but interestingly no
mention of the isomers.”
“Who cares about isomers?”
“Apparently no one,” Berkeley
says, and then gazes around the room looking for a reaction, but he gets none.
He then turns back to Benson.
“About half-way down the page
are the words, ‘Iron content.’ Would you be so kind to read it for the jury?”
“Iron content: 15 grams per
liter.”
“Doesn’t 15 grams per liter
seem like a lot of dissolved iron?”
“Not really. That’s typical
for groundwater in many parts of the country.”
“Okay then Dr. Benson, let’s
review your testimony. Number one, ten years ago you knew about isomers and
that the S-form was damaging to wildlife. Number two, you knew about the
ultraviolet effect and its ability to break bonds if the energy was sufficient.
Number three, you knew about the Haber process, and how iron would be an
effective catalyst to lower the activation energy. Number four, you were aware
that lake water in and around agri-businesses was laden with dissolved iron.
And finally number five; you knew that if the oxygen atom was knocked off by UV
light, it would recombine into a more stable molecule, the psychotropic S-form
isomer. And in spite of all this, you did nothing to prevent the sale of
Farm-eXia. I don’t know about you, but in my world that speaks of negligence.”
A quiet descends over the
courtroom, and then, Fullbright speaks out.
“Objection, Your Honor.
Hypothetical and speculative.”
“Overruled.”
Dr. Benson glances at Ellis
Grimes with the most forlorn look I’ve ever seen, and then, shrugs. He responds
in a soft, barely audible voice shaking his head from side to side.
“It’s not negligence.”
“Speak up please,” the judge
says.
“It’s not negligence!” Benson
blurts out, looking at Berkeley.
“What then, would you call
it?”
“It’s complicated. I’m not
sure there’s time to go over it.”
Berkeley looks at the judge.
“Your Honor, I leave it to
you.”
“Please answer the question
Dr. Benson.”
“It’s not negligence...
because... I did try to do something. I was shot down.”
“Shot down? I don’t
understand.”
“I went to my boss and raised
my concerns.”
“And who was your boss?”
“Ellis Grimes.”
“You went to Ellis Grimes,
told him your concerns, and he disallowed you to do anything about it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I glance at the defense team and
Grimes has his head down on the table, resting his forehead on his folded arms,
as if he doesn’t want to hear this.
“Please continue Dr. Benson,”
Berkeley says.
“When the isomer issue became
apparent, I explained to Mr. Grimes what was happening and told him I needed
more time to resolve it.”
“And what did Mr. Grimes say?”
“He seemed concerned at
first, but then told me he had gone out on a limb and promised the Board of Directors
he would personally make sure Farm-eXia launched on August first.”
“What was special
about August first?”
“It was the date
they had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It affects the market
cap.”
“Market cap?”
“Market
capitalization, the value of the company. It’s the stock price multiplied by the
number of shares outstanding.”
“And if you didn’t
meet that date?”
“The stock price would
fall dramatically.”
“Why would missing
a date cause the stock price to fall?”
“GWI had been
promoting Farm-eXia for over a year and there was a lot of buzz among investors.
They were anticipating a substantial increase in revenue and had bid up the
stock price to stratospheric levels. If we didn’t release it on time, they
would believe something was wrong, panic, and sell off their shares.”
“But don’t share
prices fluctuate all the time? Why should anyone be concerned?
“We’re not talking
normal fluctuations. This could be huge.”
“How huge?”
“Our analysts had
estimated five to seven percent.”
“Five to seven
percent doesn’t seem like very much.”
“Maybe not for
the stock price, but for market capitalization, it’s huge.”
“For the record,
could you explain that?”
“Well, the
current market cap for GWI is $300 Billion. A drop of five to seven percent
means that $15 to $21 Billion instantly evaporates into thin air. If that
happens, there’s going to be a lot of unhappy people on Wall Street.”
“Unhappy enough
to fire the Board of Directors, and maybe others?”
“Could be.”
“So if you didn’t
meet the date, investors would lose a lot of money and some people might get
fired. But if you did, you believed the product could be damaging to the environment.”
“Yes, that’s the
gist of it.”
“That’s a lot on
your shoulders. What did you do?”
“I pleaded with Mr.
Grimes, asked him for more time to work out the problems.”
“And his
response?”
“He was adamant, reminded
me my continued employment with the company depended on me meeting that date.”
“So you released
it.”
“Not yet. I told
him there were legal issues, and how it could come back to haunt us later.”
“What kind of
legal issues?”
“Objection, Your Honor.
Witness is not an expert in the law,” Fullbright interjects.