


                                IN THE SUPERIOR COURT

                               OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

                             IN AND FOR CHEROKEE COUNTY
                  

                  

                  ( HOMER A. FICTION, et al.,
                  (
                  (               Plaintiffs,
                  (
                  (       -vs-                 No. 712321
                  (
                  ( MOUNTAIN CEMENT, et al.,
                  (
                  (                  Defendants.
                  (________________________________
                  

                  


                  

                              DEPOSITION

                                 OF

                              HOMER A. FICTION

                              VOLUME I

                  



                  

                              Monday, Oct 10, 1994

                  



                  

                  Reported By:   Ralph B. Jones, CSR License #1231


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          1         BE IT REMEMBERED that on Monday, October 10,

          2       1994, commencing at the hour of 11:00 a.m., at the

          3       Law Offices of Nelson, Falmore, Moran & Morrison,

          4       1234 West Ensign Street, Billings, Montana, before

          5       me, Ralph B. Jones, a duly licensed Certified

          6       Shorthand Reporter in the State of Montana, appeared

          7                         HOMER A. FICTION,

          8       a witness called by the Defendants in the before

          9       entitled action, who, having been duly sworn by the

         10       Certified Shorthand Reporter to tell the truth, the

         11       whole truth and nothing but the truth, testified as

         12       follows:

         13                     EXAMINATION BY MR. MORRISON

         14                Q.   Have you taken any pills or medication

         15       of any kind in the last 24 hours?

         16                A.   No.

         17                Q.   Have you had any alcohol in the last 24

         18       hours?

         19                A.   Sure, but not this morning, though.

         20                Q.   Is there anything that you're aware of

         21       that would impair your ability to testify today?

         22                A.   No. Do you have a bathroom?

         23                Q.   Have you talked with either Officer

         24       Jones or Officer Smith since the accident?

         25                A.   Yes.


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          1                Q.   Okay.  Which one did you talk with?

          2                A.   Officer Perry Jones.

          3                Q.   When did you talk to him?

          4                A.   Two weeks ago.

          5                Q.   Did you call him?

          6                A.   No.  He called me. Officer Smith's

          7       been trying to call me, too.

          8                Q.   What did you and Perry talk about?

          9                A.   He wanted to know if I got my truck

         10       fixed yet. I told him it would be a long time until

         11       I have it back from the shop.

         12                Q.   How many chickens got lost after the

         13       accident?

         14                A.   150 chickens ran away, and about 50

         15       stayed in the truck. Some of them came back the next

         16       day, I don't know how many -- all the smart ones did.

         17                Q.   When did you first notice the cement

         18       truck that hit you?

         19                A.   When it was on top of the hood of my

         20       pickup.

         21                Q.   You didn't see it or notice it until

         22       after the accident?

         23                A.   That's right, it came out of nowhere

         24       and just smashed my pickup. It smashed it real bad.

         25                Q.   Did you know that the cement truck


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          1       was parked, with the engine off, and nobody was

          2       driving it when the accident occurred?

          3                A.   No. Who says that?

          4                Q.   You are asking over $1,000,000 in

          5       damages for the accident, is that correct?

          6                A.   Yes, but I wouldn't get all of the

          7       money myself, my attorney would get about  -- um,

          8       I think he would get about $660,000 of the money

          9       and I would get all of the rest of it. He came right

         10       over to the scene of the accident real fast after he

         11       heard the siren on the ambulance.

         12                Q.   Your attorney is Dewey Cheatem, right?

         13                A.   Yes.

         14                Q.   Did he give you any instructions about

         15       what to say during this deposition?

         16                A.   Sure, we talked about that more than

         17       all of the other stuff. He made real sure that I

         18       should say I still hurt real bad, but my girlfriend

         19       says I seem just fine to her. She doesn't like me

         20       driving around in her car, though. That makes her

         21       madder than me wrecking old blue.

         22                Q.   Why did your attorney drop you off and

         23       rush off after coming here with you this morning?

         24                A.   We heard about this other wreck on the

         25       radio driving up to the building, and he said that


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