America 1982-Chapter 210 - 75: Judgment_6
The sudden statement caught Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs, who had just smiled and nodded to Jim Manz, off guard, their eyes widening in confusion as to why this man would suddenly lie in court!
Delia’s eyes lit up; she immediately addressed the judge, "Your Honor, the witness’s statement seems to indicate that Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs of Lotus Corporation plagiarized OSS code, countering their claim that it was Mr. Manz who led the initiative while in office. This calls into question the veracity of the previous statements made by Mr. Mitch Kapor and Mr. Jonathan Sachs."
"Your Honor, I suspect that our witness is testifying maliciously. I request that his status as a witness be terminated to ascertain whether he has any financial ties with Actor Corporation," Jon Meyer quickly added.
The judge looked perplexed at Jon Meyer, "But Mr. Manz is a witness called by the plaintiff to testify on certain details of the case, and the documents submitted show no affiliation with Actor Corporation. I don’t believe he is testifying maliciously, and so far, the court hasn’t detected any malice from Mr. Manz towards Lotus Corporation. He seems to merely be stating facts. Motion denied, Mr. Manz, please continue your testimony."
"All Lotus Corporation employees can attest that I had no involvement in technical work. How could I possibly have an opinion on technical issues in front of two technical geniuses?" Jim Manz said with open earnestness.
"It was you who insisted I add them!" Jonathan couldn’t restrain himself, shouting loud enough for all to hear, "You specifically came to my office urging me to incorporate those features, to speed up our rollout to the market!"
"Order, plaintiff," the judge reminded sternly.
Delia continued, "If Mr. Jonathan Sachs insists that the software development process, this technical work, was led by Mr. Jim Manz, then his claim that he played no part in the technological assessment of Actor Corporation for the acquisition is false. Moreover, he persisted in acquiring Actor Corporation. If he had influence within the company, a settlement would have been reached by now. I believe, this only proves that either Mr. Jim Manz or Mr. Jonathan Sachs is lying, and I am inclined to think it’s Mr. Jonathan Sachs."
"Jim! Why would you lie? Have you been bought off?" Jonathan still couldn’t help but shout at Jim.
He couldn’t understand why Jim Manz would lie; neither he nor Mitch had withheld his salary, nor set any limits on him; it was simply a matter of persistent disagreements about acquiring Actor. Why then, was he witnessing this scene?
Jim addressed the judge calmly, "I haven’t lied, nor have I been bribed, Your Honor. My role at Lotus Corporation was in business operations, and I had no say in technical work like development updates; that was entirely up to Mitch and Jonathan. I did suggest acquiring Actor Corporation because Mitch and Jonathan had praised OSS for its many convenient features. I thought acquiring this small company would make Lotus Corporation stronger, but Mitch and Jonathan rejected my proposal, feeling that Actor Corporation wasn’t worth acquiring and that they could implement those features themselves without an acquisition. That’s all I know."
"You’re lying!" Mitch couldn’t hold back, "You had suggested we sue Actor Corporation, it was Jonathan and I who proposed the acquisition!"
Jim didn’t even glance at Mitch; he simply told the judge, "I have no ties with either company now nor any conflict of interest. I don’t need to lie, Your Honor. This is the truth, and I am ready to stand behind every word I’ve said."
Watching Jonathan and Mitch roaring in court, Jim couldn’t help but laugh inwardly with satisfaction.
The two idiots, I had been diligently safeguarding Lotus, and yet they showed me no trust. Now, they’d see what kind of bastard I could be towards strangers; I didn’t need a favor to be glad to kick someone when they’re down, free of charge.
Tommy Hawk, the bastard, had his attorneys pose questions so precisely as if knowing exactly what I wanted to say, comfortably tossing the questions from the right angle early on.
Although it was helping that bastard, I felt a peculiar thrill, almost wanting to say thank you.
And when Delia saw Jonathan losing his composure, a smile crept across her lips. Tommy’s eye for people was indeed very sharp. She hadn’t anticipated that Jim Manz would indeed fiercely slap the Lotus founders in court.
Of course, it wasn’t without a cost. After this, Jim Manz would find it considerably more difficult to find work, as future employers would worry about this incident happening to them, too.
Most people would hesitate, generally not behaving this way towards a former employer, but Tommy was convinced that, having put up with so much for so long, Jim Manz would rather risk difficulty finding work than miss the opportunity to teach the two idiots a lesson.
And now, it appeared Tommy was right again.
Moreover, this lawsuit was a consolidation of Actor Corporation’s countersuit against Lotus Corporation for plagiarism, making Jim Manz’s testimony even more significant for the consolidated countersuit.
The presiding judge, Hart Bronx, sounded the gavel for the first time in this court session, signaling for the plaintiff to maintain order. Jon Meyer sighed with an ugly expression. Normally, the judge shouldn’t have the opportunity to sound the gavel for silence; any side that warranted the judge’s gavel would be noted and become a point of contention when the judges were deliberating the final verdict. At this moment, Jonathan’s behavior as one of Lotus’s founders had clearly made the plaintiff’s side lose face.
