Alward Greg Deposition

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Mid-Michigan Reporting LLC (989)835-9171

GREGORY ALWARD - May 29, 2013

1 STATE OF MICHIGAN

2 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF GLADWIN

3

4 PHILIP CAFFREY,

5 Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant,

6 vs. File No. 12-6665-CZ

7 GLADWIN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, GLADWIN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION,8 SALLY HIGHTOWER, KELLY GOWER, GREG ALWARD, TREVOR GRAVELLE, BRAD WITHROW,9 LISA SCHWAGER, LINDA WINARSKI, RICK SEEBECK, JULIE A. SHEARER, jointly10 and severally,

11 Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs. ______________________________________/12

13

14 DEPOSITION OF: GREGORY ALWARD

15 May 29, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.

16 401 West Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, Michigan

17

18 APPEARANCES:

19 For Plaintiff/ CLINE CLOSE DYER Counter-Defendant: BY: KURT N. HANSEN (P14622)20

For Defendants/ O'NEILL WALLACE & DOYLE21 Counter-Plaintiffs: BY: DAVID A. WALLACE (P24149)

22 ALSO PRESENT: PHILIP CAFFREY

23

Reported by: DIANE KRAYNAK, RPR, CRR, CM, SCC24 Certified Shorthand Reporter 2122 (989)835-9171 Fax: (989)835-606425


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1 -----------------------------------------------------------------

2 EXAMINATION INDEX

3 -----------------------------------------------------------------

4 PAGE

5 Examination By Mr. Hansen 3

6

7

8

9 -----------------------------------------------------------------

10 EXHIBIT INDEX

11 -----------------------------------------------------------------

12

13 (No exhibits marked.)

14

15

16

17 GREGORY ALWARD,

18 having been first duly sworn,

19 testified on his oath as follows:

20

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1 EXAMINATION

2 BY MR. HANSEN:

3 Q Would you state your name and address, please.

4 A Greg Alward -- Gregory Alward, excuse me, 320 Clark Street,

5 Gladwin, Michigan.

6 Q And how old are you?

7 A 47.

8 Q You were on the School Board in 2012, is that correct?

9 A Yes.

10 Q Okay. You're no longer on the Board now.

11 A That is correct.

12 Q Now, there was an original lawsuit that was filed in this

13 particular case, and the service was back in May of 2012.

14 How did you find out about that lawsuit?

15 A Through Mr. Seebeck, I would imagine.

16 Q Okay. Did he contact you about it, do you recall?

17 A I do not recall.

18 Q Okay. Somebody contacted you.

19 A Yes.

20 Q Did you have any conversation with him about the merits of

21 the lawsuit or anything else like that?


23 Q And did you have any conversation with him about whether or

24 not this should be turned over to the insurance carrier?

25 A I have -- I have no knowledge of that. I don't recall that.


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1 Q Was there any conversation that you recall concerning

2 whether or not he'd talked to any other Board members about

3 it?

4 A No.

5 Q You don't recall anything like that?

6 A I do not recall that.

7 Q Did you receive a copy of the complaint?

8 A Not to my knowledge.

9 Q Did you have anything to do whatsoever with the hiring of an

10 attorney to defend this lawsuit?

11 A I have no -- no.

12 Q Okay. And did you have anything to do with it being turned

13 over to the insurance carrier?

14 A I have no knowledge of that.

15 Q Do you know what the lawsuit was about?

16 A I just know of a lawsuit. That's all I know.

17 Q You didn't make any inquiry as to what you were being sued

18 for?

19 A No, I did not.

20 Q So you were unaware of any problems with the Freedom of

21 Information Act or anything else of that nature.

22 A I was unaware of that? That is correct. I was unaware of

23 that.

24 Q And were you aware of any claims that certain detailed phone

25 numbers that were on phone bills were being declared as


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1 being private?

2 MR. WALLACE: Before you answer, please let the

3 record reflect that I'm going to object to form and

4 foundation. That relates to a previous lawsuit that was

5 dismissed in favor of defendants and with prejudice to

6 plaintiffs, and it is no longer an issue; it's irrelevant.

7 Answer if you can, please.

8 A I was aware of those.

9 Q Okay. Did you make any decisions as to whether or not these

10 phone numbers should be turned over to Mr. Caffrey?

11 A No, I did not.

12 Q Did you talk to any other members of the Board about whether

13 or not these things should be turned over?

14 A No.

15 Q Do you have any knowledge about how Mr. Wallace was

16 retained --

17 A No, I do not.

18 Q -- in this matter?

19 Do you have any knowledge as to whether or not the

20 School Board retains their phone bills?

21 A No, I do not.

22 Q Do you have any fears of Mr. Caffrey?

23 A No.

24 Q Have you ever expressed to anybody that you have any fears

25 of Mr. --


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1 A No.

2 Q -- Caffrey? Did you ever seek to have a protective order

3 issued by the Court to protect you from Mr. Caffrey?

4 A No.

5 Q Were you aware that anybody was seeking a protective order

6 on your behalf or on behalf of anybody else in this case?

7 A No.

8 Q Was there any necessity that you feel that you needed a

9 protective order against Mr. Caffrey?

10 MR. WALLACE: I'm going to object to the form and

11 foundation. There was no motion for a protective order

12 against Mr. Caffrey. There was a motion for a protective

13 order pursuant to court rule that was not in any way a

14 personal protection order motion.

15 Q The motion was for motion for protective order, so are you

16 aware of any necessity concerning yourself for any

17 protective order?

18 A No, sir, I'm not.

19 Q Was there any conversation between you and any other member

20 of the Board for protective orders?


22 Q Never heard that at a meeting or outside a meeting?

23 A No, sir.

24 Q The fact that it was filed, that's a surprise to you?

25 A I'm not aware of this.


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1 Q In this matter you filed a counterclaim against Mr. Caffrey,

2 alleging that he slandered you and he libeled you, correct?

3 A When was this? I don't --

4 Q Do you recall the meeting of December 24th of 2012?

5 A (No response.)

6 Q It would have been on Christmas Eve.

7 A I'm not -- I was at a Board meeting. Maybe that was -- if

8 the attendance shows that I was there, then I was there, but

9 I can't -- I cannot answer that. We would have to see the

10 attendance record to make sure.

11 Q Showing you a copy of the special meeting minutes of

12 December 24th, go ahead and read them all over.

13 Do you recall that meeting?

14 A Yes, I do.

15 Q At that meeting you voted to file a counterclaim against Mr.

16 Caffrey, do you recall that?

17 MR. WALLACE: Wait. Excuse me. To the extent

18 you're asking what occurred during the closed session of

19 that meeting, I'm going to object, it's attorney/client

20 privilege.

21 Don't say anything that happened during the closed

22 session.

23 Q You voted to --

24 A I don't recall.

25 Q -- file the counterclaim?


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1 A I don't recall, on the advice of my attorney.

2 Q Has Mr. Caffrey ever said anything that's slanderous about

3 you?

4 A I -- I don't know that I can answer that.

5 Q Well, you've alleged that he said false things about you to

6 third parties. Who were the third parties that were -- that

7 this was said to?

8 A I do not know.

9 Q And you said that certain things were done in writing. What

10 writings were you referring to?

11 A I don't know.

12 Q What verbal statements were made about you that were untrue?

13 A I don't have knowledge of that.

14 Q Is there any extreme or outrageous conduct that Mr. Caffrey

15 did towards you?

16 A No.

17 Q Is there any willful and wanton misconduct that he did

18 towards you?

19 A No.

20 Q Was there any way that you know of that he abused the

21 process of law against you?

22 A No.

23 MR. WALLACE: I'm going to object. That's a legal

24 term of art. There's no foundation for this witness to

25 answer that.


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1 Q Now, you're aware that the only way that the Board can

2 properly act is if everybody's present and the issue is

3 presented and that there's a motion and a second as to

4 whatever you're trying to resolve, is that right?

5 A Yes, sir.

6 Q At the December 24th meeting, the minutes indicate that Lisa

7 Schwager seconded a resolution to go into closed session for

8 attorney/client privileged correspondence.

9 Do you recall her actually seconding that motion?


11 Q The resolution itself indicates that Mr. Wallace is to be

12 appointed and hired by you to pursue counterclaims and any

13 legal action necessary in the cases numbered 12-6665-CZ and

14 12-6380-CZ, and any others as applicable.

15 What does the "any others as applicable" apply to?

16 A I cannot answer that.

17 Q Mr. Wallace was being hired by the School Board to represent

18 you as an individual, is that correct?

19 MR. WALLACE: I'm going to object, form and

20 foundation, specifically to the term "hired".

21 MR. HANSEN: Well, do you like "retained" better?

22 We'll use that.

23 Q He was retained by the School Board, appointed and retained

24 by the School Board to represent you individually in this

25 counterclaim?


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1

1 MR. WALLACE: Same objection, form and foundation.

2 Q Do you recall that?

3 A Could I have a minute?

4 Q Yes. This is Mr. Wallace.

5 A Right, but I'm just saying -- yes. I mean yes. I'm sorry.

6 Yes.

7 Q Was Mr. Wallace at the meeting?

8 A No.

9 Q Have you ever talked to Mr. Wallace before today?

10 A No.

11 Q Apparently Mr. Seebeck is the person that was talking to Mr.

12 Wallace concerning the lawsuits, is that correct?

13 A I -- I can't answer that.

14 Q Do you know who it was that was designated to speak with

15 him?

16 A No, I do not.

17 Q Was there ever any discussions about who should be the point

18 person or who should be the one to talk to him?

19 A I cannot answer that.

20 Q Do you recall anybody contacting you about this special

21 meeting on December 24th ahead of time?

22 A No.

23 Q It would be unusual to have a special meeting on Christmas

24 Eve, wouldn't it?

25 A I can't answer that.


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1

1 Q Do you recall what the purpose of the meeting was?

2 A No, sir.

3 Q Did you talk to any of the Board members prior to the

4 meeting about what was going to happen on that December 24th

5 meeting?

6 A No.

7 Q And did you talk to Mr. Seebeck?

8 A No.

9 Q Do you recall how you received notice of the meeting?

10 A No.

11 Q So just so that I'm clear, the FOIA requests that are the

12 subject matter of this lawsuit, you didn't have any

13 knowledge of that whatsoever?

14 A No.

15 Q Do you recall the last time it was that you spoke with Mr.

16 Caffrey about anything?

17 A No.

18 Q A year ago, two years ago?

19 A Through conversation, correct?

20 Q Any conversation of any type.

21 A Not offhand. I shook his hand at church.

22 Q Okay. Are you aware of any statements that Mr. Caffrey made

23 about Rick to you or to anyone else?

24 A No.

25 Q Are you aware that Mr. Caffrey made any statements about


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1

1 Rick that would be derogatory in nature to any of the other

2 Board members?


4 MR. HANSEN: That's all I've got.

5 (Deposition concluded at or about 1:15 p.m.)

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1

1 STATE OF MICHIGAN

2 COUNTY OF MIDLAND

3 I, Diane Kraynak, Notary Public in and for Midland

4 County, State of Michigan, acting in Gladwin County, State

5 of Michigan, do hereby certify that I stenographically

6 recorded the deposition of GREGORY ALWARD, the deponent in

7 the foregoing deposition; that prior to the taking of said

8 deposition the said deponent was duly sworn to tell the

9 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and that

10 the foregoing deposition is a true and correct transcript of

11 the testimony of said deponent, to the best of my ability.

12 I further certify that I am not a relative, employee,

13 attorney or counsel of any of the parties, a relative or

14 employee of such attorney or counsel, or am financially

15 interested in the transaction.

16 I further certify that no request was made that the

17 foregoing deposition be submitted to the said deponent for

18 examination and correction by him or that he sign the same.

19

20

_________________________________________21 Diane Kraynak, CSR-2122

Certified Shorthand Reporter22 Registered Professional Reporter Notary Public, Midland County, Michigan23 My Commission Expires: 11-1-13

24

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Caffrey vs.Gladwin Community Schools, et al.

GREGORY ALWAMay 29, 2

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Caffrey vs.Gladwin Community Schools, et al.

GREGORY ALWAMay 29, 2

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