Gibbons’ deposition moved to court

Chrissy Mazzeo's attorney will depose Gov. Jim Gibbons today at the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas instead of at his own law offices.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen selected the location Thursday after granting an emergency motion to move the deposition from the offices of Mazzeo's attorney, Robert Kossack. The governor's lawyers cited security concerns in filing the motion.

The judge, who expressed doubts about the motion, chose the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse over other locations proposed by the governor's attorneys.

"That's your neutral site," Leen told Gibbons attorney Pat Lundvall, who participated in the hearing by telephone. "It's about as secure as you're going to get."

The emergency motion stemmed from a 2008 lawsuit filed by Mazzeo, who claims Gibbons assaulted her and then used his influence to cover up the allegations.

According to the motion, filed Tuesday, the governor's protection detail conducted a security assessment of Kossack's law offices, located at 4535 W. Sahara Ave., and recommended that they not be used for the deposition.

"The facility has several problem areas that can create security concerns for the governor's safety and the safety of his protection detail," the report states. "It would be nearly impossible to remove the governor from a hostile situation if it arose while he was at this facility."

The assessment also noted that the offices are located near areas known for gang violence.

In Kossack's opposition to the emergency motion, he accused the governor's lawyers of trying to control the location of depositions in the case for a "strategic advantage."

Leen told Kossack, who attended Thursday's hearing in person, that she shared his skepticism about the request to change the location of Gibbons' deposition.

However, the judge said she would take the security concerns at "face value."

Court records show that the dispute over the location of Gibbons' deposition began with a Nov. 20 letter from Carla Higginbotham, one of his lawyers, to Kossack.

"Your office is unacceptable for the deposition of my client," Higginbotham wrote. "Pat and I are personally uncomfortable and intimidated by the arrangement and decor that you have chosen."

Kossack told Leen he considered that comment a "personal insult." He later told the Review-Journal he has spent more than 15 years collecting the woodworking tools, gems and minerals on display in his office.

The attorney penned a colorful response to Higginbotham's letter on Nov. 24. In it, he wrote, "Although Ms. Higginbotham's letter was not specific, she was perhaps trying to express her concern that when subjected to intense questioning, they or their client might want to grab something off the wall and hurl it at me. Let me assure you that my reaction time is still sufficiently quick, and I can take care of myself."

In his letter, Kossack offered to remove the sharp-edged hand tools from the walls and tops of cabinets in his offices.

"Otherwise, anything that could be lifted and thrown (I have heard of at least one instance when a chair came flying over a table during the course of a deposition) could be considered a weapon, and any venue would be unacceptable unless we all agreed to stand in a padded room after emptying our pockets and taking off our shoes and belts," he wrote.

In a Dec. 2 letter, Lundvall told Kossack that she and Higginbotham had "attempted to be as diplomatic as possible" in their previous correspondence.

"You have now forced me to be blunt with my concerns," Lundvall wrote. "I am uncomfortable with the cleanliness and general upkeep of your office."

According to Kossack's opposition to the emergency motion, he next received "the phony-baloney security report" regarding his offices.

"In other words, since the decor and cleanliness arguments did not fly, the so called security report was obviously written for the sole purpose of protecting Gibbons from the discomfort from having his deposition taken in this counsel's office (and to subject this counsel to extra effort)," Kossack wrote.

Kossack also accused Lundvall of making "the most serious security breach" by filing the motion that made details of the deposition available to the public.

In an interview after Thursday's hearing, Kossack said Mazzeo's deposition took place last week at Lundvall's office, about a mile from his law offices. He said the deposition lasted a total of 14 hours over the course of three days.

"I only get seven hours with the governor, but I plan to use every minute," Kossack said.

Lundvall said she was pleased with Leen's decision to move the governor's deposition to the courthouse. She said "people usually behave themselves and mind their manners" there.

Mazzeo claims she drank cocktails with Gibbons and others on Oct. 13, 2006, at McCormick & Schmick's near Flamingo and Paradise roads.

Gibbons then offered to walk Mazzeo to her car. She alleges he assaulted her in a nearby parking garage.

Her lawsuit claims that her rights to due process and equal protection were violated during the garage incident and the subsequent police investigation.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.