Free Motion in Limine - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

EXHIBIT 2
Case 2:04-cv-00384-ROS Document 564-3 Filed 06/10/2008 Page 1 of 5

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1 Rober M. Fribee #018779

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FRISBEE & BOSTOCK. PLc .
2 1747 E. Mort Avenue, Suite 108

Phoen Arna 85020
3 Phone: (602) 354-3689

4 Attrney for Platiff
5 6

Fax: (602) 266-7744

e."MAY J B 2008

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IN TH SUPERIOR COURT OF TH STATE OF ARONA

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IN AN FOR TI COUNTY OF MACOPA 7 GREGORY S. HA~OCK a mared person, No. 2 0 0 J ..' 05 1 a 1 9 CV 8

9 vs.
11 MERIAGEHOME
CORPORATION,
13
14

Plaintiff

COMPLAIN
(Defamaton)

10 C. TIOTH WHI and BRENDA
LEE WHTE, husband and wie;
12 a Delaware corporation,

(Assigned to the Honorable
)

Defendants.

15 Plaintiff Gregory S. Hancock, for his Complait agai defendants, aleges as
16 follows:

17 PARTIES. JUDICTION AN VENUE
18 1. Plaitiff is a mared peron and a resident of Marcopa County, Arona.
19 2. Defendants C. Timothy Whte ("White") and Brenda Lee Whe are husband and
20 wife, for the benefit of

their mar este, who reide in Marcopa County, Arona at 660i

21 E. Malcomb Drive, Pardise Valley, AZ 85253.
22 3. Defendant Mertage Home Cororation ("Meritae") is a Delaware corporation

23 authorizd to do business in the Stat of Arizna, County of Marcopa, havig as its
24 principal place of

business the address of 1 7851 N. 85th Street (perete Drve), Suite 300,

25 Scottsdale, Arzona 85255-8958.

26 4. White is the Vice-President and General Counsel ofMerige and durng the

Case 2:04-cv-00384-ROS

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1 events alleged here was ac:g in the coure and scope ofhi dutes and acg as an agent

2 and serant ofMertae.

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3 5. Venueïs prer puruantto A.R.S. § 12-401.
4 GENERA ALLEGATIONS

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5 6. From May 30,2001 to Marh 3, 2003, Plaitiffwas the Prident of

Hancok

6 Communities division ofMertae.

7 7. During that tie, defendant Whte was a member of the board of dictors of .
8 Meritage; in 2005 he bece Mertae's Executive Vice-President, General Counel and

9 Seceta and has contiued in th position to date.

10 8. In ealy 2004 Mertae sued plaitiff in Feder Dis1ct Cour in Phoeni in cae
11 number CV 040384-PHX-ROS, which case IS scheduled for jur tral commencing on July

12 i 5, 2008; the entity of said cae is incorporated herein by reference for fuer background

13 regardig the relatonship between the paries.
14 9. On May 15,2008, Mertae sharholder Eileen Carlson atnded a sharholders
15 meetig ofMeritage and asked questions ofMeritaeCEO Steven Hiton regarding varous

16 clai and contentions mae by Mertae in the aforeentioned case; Hilton referred
17 Carlson to Whte for answer.
18 10. Withn the hearg of

Eileen Carlson and another person Whte published the

19 followig staements regardig Hancock peronaly:

20 a. Gr~g Hancok is a liar; 21 b. Greg Hancock is cra;
22 c. Greg Hancock is a blowhard;
23 d. Greg Hancock engages in malicious litigation.
24 1 i. Within the hearg of Eileen Carlson and another person Whte published the
25 followig stents regardig Meritae's lawsuit with Hancock:

26 a. Mertae wil probably get nothg from it;
2

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1

~. Meritage h.as been trg to get out of the cae, but Hancok wil not let it

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2 do so.

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3 COUN I - DEFAMTION PER SR
4 12. The staements mae by Whte recit in paragh 10, abve, consttue

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5 defamaton per se as they ar defamatry on thei fac and incapable of reonably inocent
6 constrction.
7 13. Said sttements impute to plaintiff

basic dishonesty, ilegal behavior and a lack

8 of abilty to perorm his tre, business or profession.
9 14. Said statements hold plaitiff

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up to disrepute, contempt and ndicule.

10 15. Said staements were made intentionay and loowig that they were false, and
11 were made with the intention ofdes1oyig plaitiffs good name and reputaon.

12 16. In that said staements are defamatory per se it is unecsar for plaitiff to
13 show special damages.

14 i 7. As the diec result of said fae and defamatory stents plaitihas suffered
15 and will sufer both peronal and economic daages all in an amount to be deterined by

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16 ajui.

17 COUN n - FALSE LIGII DEFAMTION
18 18. The statements made by Whte recited in paraph 11, above, consttute false
19 light defamation in that they charactere plaitiff as a litigious and judgment proof

20 individual, staements highly offensive to a reasonable peron.

21 19. In that said statements attbute to plaiti a desire to engage or contiue in
22 unmertorious litigation dishones under

the circumstces, they ar also defamory per se.

23 20. Said stateents hold plaitiffup to disrepute, contempt and ridicule.

24 21. Said stements wer made intèntionaly and knowi that they wer false, and

25 were made with the intention of desoyig plaitiffs good name and reputaon.
26 22. As the direct result of said false and defamatory statements plaintiff

has suffered
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1 and wil suffer both personal and ecnomic dages al in an amount to be deted by
2 a

3 COUNT TH - PUN DAGES
4 23. Due to the intetionaly false na of

jur.

Whit's staents and the opprobrium

5 of their imputations, all evidence of an evil hand guided by an evi mid, plaitiff is entitled

6 to a judgment for punitive and exemplar damages in such amount as the jur shall award.
7 JOIN AN.

SERAL LIILIT

8 24. When White made the defamory stents refer to abve he was actig in

9 the coure and scope of hi employment with Mertae and as its agent, and Mertae is

10 equay resonsible for said defamon under the docte of respondat superir.
11 25. Defendants are liable to platiff

jointly and severy puruant to A.R.S. § 12-

12 2506 D. 2.
13 WHREORE, plaintiff

prys forjudgent as follows:

14 A. Agait defendats jointly and severally an award of damag~s, both general and
15 special, in such amount as the jur shall award.

16 B. Agai defendats jointly and severally an award of puntive and exemplar
17 dames in such amount as the jur shal award.

18 C. Agaist defendants jointly and severally an award of plaintiffs cost and
19 dibursements herin.

20 D. Agait defendats for such fuer relief as to the court may see appropriatè.

21 PLAIF DEMAS TR BY JUY
22 DATED this ZZJday of

May, 2008.

23

FRISBEE-& BOSTOCK. PLC

24 25
26

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Attorneys for Plaiti

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