Sometimes in my business I do things my clients ask that aren’t always pleasing, but deceitful deposition testimony is a bit much. But this time I found myself doing my client’s bidding without a clue as to what was going on. And, it definitely wasn’t pleasing!
Earl Lilly, a prominent family law attorney in Houston, hired me in connection with a divorce case for his client, Dr. Michael Brown. You may have heard about Dr. Brown, as he was all over the news back in 2013. Dr. Brown was brilliant, flamboyant, and a multi-millionaire.
He was known as “The Hand Doctor,” as he had built a lucrative practice using a carpal tunnel surgery procedure that he invented. He was known nationally, as his aggressive advertising strategy had his face everywhere from on TV to airline magazine covers. Dr. Brown had his Hand Center practice locations in Houston and other Texas cities.
Depending on who you talked to, Dr. Brown was flamboyant, brilliant, accomplished or controversial. If you’re talking to me, he was the obnoxious client from Hell!
While his practice and businesses were well-organized, his life was a different matter. He had a propensity to date and marry topless dancers. He was a heavy drinker, had a terrible temper, was a control freak and known to abuse cocaine. That was all knowledge from stories I’d heard or read, as I had not met him when I began working the case.
I began surveillance on his estranged wife while consulting with him on physical security measures for his home and offices. As our relationship developed, I grew to despise the man. He was extremely difficult to work for and was often verbally abusive, especially with members of my staff.
He seemed to take pleasure in speaking down to my female employees in particular. I found myself in conflict with him on numerous occasions about his treatment of my people. His attitude and abusive behavior wasn’t confined to business, as his personal life was all over the media, and not in a positive light.
A Houston Chronicle article in November of 2013 reported on his death and highlights of his legal troubles and violent past. The 56-year-old doctor was found in a comatose state in October after trying to commit suicide. In early November he was removed from life support and declared brain dead.
Among his legal travails, he was alleged to have beaten his third wife, Darlina, with a bedpost when she was seven months pregnant. His fourth and final wife, Rachel Brown, had also accused him of domestic violence. She testified that he was prone to self-medication with prescription and illicit drugs and prone to suicidal thoughts and violence.
In self-taped video recordings, the doctor displayed a bizarre personality. In one video he is seen holding a pistol to his head while talking about killing himself to escape the hell his wife was putting him through. In another video he talks of a plot to kill him with cyanide placed in his air conditioner.
Letters to one of his daughters were brought to light with bizarre instructions to her, though she was at the time just a toddler. In them he described the importance of sex in a marriage and how she should never say “no” to her husband or act as if she did not enjoy a sexual experience. This guy was obviously going over the edge.
In 2002, Brown was placed on probation by the Texas Medical Board for concerns he had alcohol and chemical dependency issues. The bedpost beating incident was also mentioned as a consideration. He was convicted in that case and also paid Darlina $3.4 million in a civil suit according to media reports. His medical license was later revoked, allegedly for testing positive for cocaine.
There’s more, but this should be enough to lead into my experience in the doctor’s deceitful deposition. Dr. Brown requested other investigative services from my firm, and I tried to comply though I truly didn’t like dealing with him.
He was quite litigious and involved in a corporate lawsuit involving his medical practice. One day he called me during a short break in a deposition with the corporate attorneys. He said he didn’t have much time and that I should put together a very thick file that looked like investigative work product. I tried to ask questions, but he just shut me down, telling me to just listen and do as I was told!
He told me to put together the file and then immediately come to the room where he was being deposed. I again asked him what to put into the file. He was agitated and he said that it didn’t matter, to just do it and get to the deposition ASAP!
I wasn’t getting a good feeling about this, but I did what he demanded. I should have refused, as my gut was telling me to stay away from this deposition. The “depo” was being held at a prestigious law firm in the Houston Galleria area.
There were about a dozen attorneys in the room as I was ushered in and greeted by Dr. Brown. All but one of those attorneys were representing the opposition. I was a surprise to them and it was clear that they were wondering what I was doing there.
Apparently the deposition and case weren’t going the way Dr. Brown wanted, and he had hatched a plan on the fly, and I was his messenger. My gut was right, and to my horror, Dr. Brown introduced me as his investigator and began to describe what was in the large file I was holding.
He told them that the file held the results of investigations I had done on all of the “asshole lawyers” in the room! He explained that I had dirt on each and every one of them personally and on their firms. He was quite forceful and agitated in telling them that “I will use all of that dirt against you if you don’t start treating me with some respect in this litigation!”
I was horrified, especially since I knew there was nothing about any of them or their firms in the fake files. These attorneys were all from well-respected and prominent Houston law firms! Even more upsetting, some of them knew me personally, and I had done investigative work for their firms!
It had gone far enough, and I had to cut off Dr. Brown’s tirade and speak to the group. Those who knew me by reputation were attentive, as they simply couldn’t believe what they were hearing. I simply told them the truth. I outlined what had happened, the fake files, and told them that I had done no investigative work on any attorney or firm in the room. Brown shut me down at that point and told me to leave … and I gladly did!
During the next break in the deposition, Brown called me and launched into a screaming tirade of foul language. I had reached my limit, hated the guy, and invited him to meet me somewhere so that I could whip his … well, you know. He didn’t want to meet, so I hung up on him. He was fired as a client.
A couple of hours later I received a call from the attorney who referred me for the Dr.’s divorce case. He was a bit upset, asking me if I had really verbally abused the Dr. and threatened him with physical violence. I explained the entire situation and apologized if I had damaged his relationship with the client.
I told him that I thought he would end up firing the client later too, but he wasn’t convinced and hung up on me. About two weeks later I learned that the attorney fired Brown as a client as well due to his insane behavior. Our attorney/investigator relationship was repaired and is fine to this day.
While my intent was to never be involved with Dr. Michael Brown again, a few years later I was hired to work on another of his divorce cases. This time it was for the other side. I really enjoyed it! We located substantial real estate assets in Florida that the Dr. had not disclosed in the divorce. It wasn’t long after that when the Dr. attempted suicide, and you know the rest.