PHILIP A.R. STATON, Plaintiff, And INGEBORG STATON, MERCEDES
STATON, THE 1991 REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST OF INGEBORG STATON, AND
THE 1983 REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST OF MERCEDES STATON, Plaintiffs,
And WILLIAM E. WEST, JR., Intervenor-Plaintiff v. THOMAS BRAME,
JERRI BRAME, JERRI BRAME d/b/a T&J VENTURES, T&J VENTURES, INC.,
S&B INVESTMENTS, JRB INVESTMENTS, JRB INVESTMENTS, INC., GLOBAL
SPORTS MANAGEMENT CO., GLOBAL LAND MANAGEMENT, INC., AND DARRELL
WILSON, Defendants, Cross-Claimants, and Third-Party Defendants,
And CENTURA BANK, DANNY WRENN, GEORGE R. JARVIS, POYNER &
SPRUILL, POYNER & SPRUILL, L.L.P., CURTIS TWIDDY, ESQ., AND
CORNELIUS COGHILL, ESQ., Defendants; PHILIP A.R. STATON,
Plaintiff, And INGEBORG STATON, MERCEDES STATON, THE 1991
REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST OF INGEBORG STATON, AND THE 1983 REVOCABLE
LIVING TRUST OF MERCEDES STATON, Plaintiffs and Third-Party
Plaintiffs, v. CENTURA BANK, DANNY WRENN, GEORGE R. JARVIS,
POYNER & SPRUILL, POYNER & SPRUILL, L.L.P., CURTIS TWIDDY, ESQ.,
AND CORNELIUS COGHILL, ESQ., Defendants and Third-Party
Defendants, And CENTURA BANK, Third-Party Plaintiff, v. PHILIP
A.R. STATON, JERRI R. BRAME, PHILIP A.R. STATON, TRUSTEE OF
STATON FOUNDATION DECLARATION OF THE TRUST DATED DECEMBER 6,
1993, ALL UNKNOWN AND UNASCERTAINED HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF
PHILIP A.R. STATON, INGEBORG E. STATON, BENEFICIARY OF THE
INGEBORG E. STATON REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST DATED NOVEMBER 3, 1993,
EDUARDO ARBOLEDA, MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORGE. STATON, VIVIANA
ARBOLEDA, MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORG E. STATON, ROBERTO ARBOLEDA,
MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORG E. STATON, ALL UNKNOWN AND UNASCERTAINED
HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF INGEBORG E. STATON, AND MICHAEL F. EASLEY,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, Third-Party
Defendants; PIEDMONT INSTITUTE OF PAIN MANAGEMENT, T. STUART
MELOY, M.D., NANCY I. FALLER, D.O., AND WILLIAM JOSEPH MARTIN,
D.O., Plaintiffs, And INGEBORG STATON, MERCEDES STATON, THE 1991
REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST OF INGEBORG STATON, AND THE 1983 REVOCABLE
LIVING TRUST OF MERCEDES STATON, Plaintiffs and Third-Party
Plaintiffs, v. CENTURA BANK, DANNY WRENN, GEORGE R. JARVIS,
POYNER & SPRUILL, POYNER & SPRUILL, L.L.P., CURTIS TWIDDY, ESQ.,
AND CORNELIUS COGHILL, ESQ., Defendants and Third-Party
Defendants, And CENTURA BANK, Third-Party Plaintiff, v. PHILIP
A.R. STATON, JERRI R. BRAME, PHILIP A.R. STATON, TRUSTEE OF
STATON FOUNDATION DECLARATION OF THE TRUST DATED DECEMBER 6,
1993, ALL UNKNOWN AND UNASCERTAINED HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF
PHILIP A.R. STATON, INGEBORG E. STATON, BENEFICIARY OF THE
INGEBORG E. STATON REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST DATED NOVEMBER 3, 1993,
EDUARDO ARBOLEDA, MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORG E. STATON, VIVIANA
ARBOLEDA, MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORG E. STATON, ROBERTO ARBOLEDA,
MINOR CHILD OF INGEBORG E. STATON, ALL UNKNOWN AND UNASCERTAINED
HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF INGEBORG E. STATON, AND MICHAEL F. EASLEY,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, Third-Party
Defendants
Constitutional Law--self-incrimination--different proceeding
The trial court erred by granting a motion to compel defendant Brame's response to
deposition questions in this state action involving misappropriation of funds when he had
previously given relevant testimony in a deposition as part of federal bankruptcy/equitable
distribution proceedings. The federal bankruptcy/equitable distribution proceeding is a separate
proceeding from the state court action, and defendant's waiver of his right against self-
incrimination in the federal proceeding did not apply in the state court action.
Judge WYNN concurs in the result only.
Appeal by defendant Samuel Thomas Brame from order entered
21 August 1998 by Judge Ben F. Tennille in Forsyth County
Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 16 September 1999.
Davis & Harwell, P.A., by Fred R. Harwell, Jr., for
plaintiff-appellees Ingeborg Staton, Mercedes Staton, The
1991 Revocable Living Trust of Ingeborg Staton, and The 1983
Revocable Living Trust of Mercedes Staton.
Adams Kleemeier Hagan Hannah & Fouts, by Robert G. Baynes,
W. Winburne King, III, and Christine L. Myatt, for
defendant-appellee Centura Bank, and Smith Helms Mulliss &
Moore, L.L.P., by Larry B. Sitton, for Poyner & Spruill,
L.L.P., Curtis Twiddy, and Cornelius Coghill.
Edward Jennings for defendant-appellant Samuel Thomas Brame.
Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A., by James R. Fox, for Philip
Staton, no brief filed.
Randolph M. James for Darryl Wilson, no brief filed.
Bennett & Guthrie, L.L.P., by Richard V. Bennett, for Minor
Party Beneficiaries of Trust, no brief filed.
Blanco Tackbery Combs & Matamoros, by Reginald F. Combs, for
Minor Party Beneficiaries of Trust, no brief filed.
Michael F. Easley, Attorney General, by George W. Boylan,
Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State, no brief
filed.
Jerri S. Russell, pro se, no brief filed.
Edward L. Powell for Piedmont Institute of Pain Management,
T. Stuart Meloy, M.D., Nancy I. Faller, D.O., and William
Joseph Martin, D.O., no brief filed.
Ivey, McClellan, Gatton & Talcott, L.L.P., by Charles M.
Ivey, III, Trustee of Estate of Jerri Russell, Bankruptcy,
no brief filed.
M. Bruce Magers, Chapter 7 Trustee, no brief filed.
EDMUNDS, Judge.
This suit originated with an allegation that defendants
mishandled and misappropriated funds belonging to plaintiffs.
The issue before us is the propriety of the trial court's order
requiring defendant Samuel Thomas Brame (Brame) to provide
testimony in the instant case. Although Brame previously had
given relevant testimony at a deposition conducted as part of
bankruptcy proceedings, he asserted his Fifth Amendment right not
to respond to deposition questions in the case at bar. The trial
court granted Centura Bank's (Centura) motion to compel Brame's
testimony. Brame appeals on the ground that the trial court's
order violates his rights under the Fifth Amendment of the United
States Constitution and Article I, Section 23 of the North
Carolina Constitution. We reverse.
As a preliminary matter, we note that the caption of the 21
August 1998 order appealed from lists only one plaintiff and one
defendant in each action and leaves all other parties under the
rubric et al. Appendix B of the Rules of Appellate Procedure
requires that all parties be named in the caption. See Buie v.
Johnston, 69 N.C. App. 463, 463 n.1, 317 S.E.2d 91, 92 (1984).
The instant case illustrates the importance of this rule;
defendant Brame, whose actions constitute the subject of this
appeal, is not named in the caption of the order from which the
appeal was taken and is only identified as a party defendant on
page six of that order. However, the record also contains a 29July 1998 order that appears to contain the complete caption. We
adopt the heading of this order as setting out the correct
caption of the case.
The intricate backdrop of this case need not be set out in
detail. Plaintiffs Philip A.R. Staton, Ingeborg E. Staton, and
Mercedes Staton (the Statons), who lived abroad, inherited a
block of stock in the Pan American Beverage Company. Trusts were
set up for Ingeborg and Mercedes Staton. The Statons wired funds
to an account called the PIM Group Clearing Account at Centura in
Winston-Salem in 1993. Defendants Brame and his former wife,
Jerri Russell (Russell), who were living in the United States,
were provided powers of attorney by the Statons. Thesedefendants were to allocate funds from the PIM Group Clearing
Account into investments for the Statons and to manage their
assets pursuant to a written fee arrangement. The Statons
maintained little control over Brame's treatment of their money
until early 1996. Brame allegedly used funds from the PIM Group
Clearing Account for his own personal benefit and for speculative
and unsuccessful business ventures and investments. In 1996, the
Statons and others filed the first of several claims (the Staton
cases) against Brame, Russell, and Centura for Brame's alleged
misuse of the money. Centura asserted claims against Brame forcontribution and indemnification. The various suits against
Brame were joined for discovery.
After the 1996 institution of the Staton cases, the United
States Internal Revenue Service informed Brame that he was the
target of an ongoing criminal investigation concerning many of
the matters relevant to the Staton cases. Subsequently, on 21
December 1998, a federal indictment was returned against Brame in
the Middle District of North Carolina.
Centura and other parties to the Staton cases attempted to
depose Brame on 27 March 1997. At that point, Brame was aware
that a criminal investigation had begun. The deposition did not
take place because Brame asserted his privilege against self-
incrimination, pursuant to the Fifth Amendment of the United
States Constitution. Centura's subsequent motion to compel
Brame's deposition testimony, filed on 23 April 1998, was denied.
However, on 20 July 1998, Centura filed a Motion to Reconsider,
citing Brame's waiver of his Fifth Amendment privilege at a 1
August 1997 deposition conducted as part of a pending bankruptcy
action.
Centura's Motion to Reconsider and supporting exhibit
revealed that on 27 December 1996, Brame filed a petition in
bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina. Russell, Brame's former wife, also
filed for bankruptcy at the conclusion of the marriage. On 1
August 1997, Brame was deposed in an equitable distribution
action, which had been removed to the Bankruptcy Court. He was
questioned by an attorney for the Trustee in Bankruptcy and by anattorney for Russell. When questioning began, Brame responded,
I did not decide to talk until late yesterday. I spent several
sleepless nights. But it's time to clear the air. It was the
toughest decision I think I've ever made in my life not to plead
the Fifth . . . . He then answered questions posed to him.
The trial court found that by answering questions in the
bankruptcy/equitable distribution proceeding, Brame waived his
Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in the case
at bar. Having knowingly waived his right for his personal
benefit, he should not be allowed [to] assert those same rights
in this litigation where it might be beneficial to him not to
testify. The trial court then granted Centura's Motion to
Reconsider and ordered Brame to answer deposition questions.
Brame appeals.
Whether Brame's waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights in a
hearing related to bankruptcy binds him for the purposes of this
case is a question of law. We review questions of law de novo.
See Al Smith Buick Co. v. Mazda Motor of America, 122 N.C. App.
429, 470 S.E.2d 552 (1996). Brame contends the trial court's
order requiring him to provide deposition testimony violates his
rights under the United States and North Carolina Constitutions.
We begin with a review of pertinent cases. An analogous issue
arose in State v. Pearsall, 38 N.C. App. 600, 248 S.E.2d 436
(1978). Pearsall involved an armed robbery in which two
defendants were charged, then tried separately. One defendant,
Williams, after being convicted, entered notice of appeal.
Williams then provided self-incriminating testimony at her co-defendant's first trial. However, when Williams was called as a
witness at the co-defendant's second trial, she refused to
testify, exercising her Fifth Amendment rights. Noting that
Williams' own appeal was still pending at the time she refused to
testify when called as a witness in the second trial, we held
that her testimony in the first trial did not operate as a waiver
of her Fifth Amendment rights in the second trial. It is the
majority view that a witness who testifies to incriminating
matters in one proceeding does not thereby waive the right to
refuse to answer as to such matters on subsequent, separate, or
independent trial or hearing. Id. at 603, 248 S.E.2d at 438
(citations omitted).
We reaffirmed the Pearsall rule with our holding in State v.
Hart, 66 N.C. App. 702, 311 S.E.2d 630 (1984). In Hart, two
defendants were charged with drug-related offenses. One
defendant, Smith, refused to testify as a defense witness at
Hart's trial because he feared his testimony would incriminate
him in his own pending trial. However, Smith previously had
executed a written statement to the effect that the drugs were
not Hart's. Despite the existence of this statement, we held
that Smith had not waived his Fifth Amendment right to refuse to
give testimony in Hart's criminal trial. The rule in this state
and most others . . . is that a witness who testifies to
incriminating matters in one proceeding does not thereby waive
the right to refuse to answer questions concerning such matters
at a subsequent hearing or trial. Id. at 705, 311 S.E.2d at 632
(citing Pearsall, 38 N.C. App. 600, 248 S.E.2d 436). In light of our prior holdings, the relevant issue before us
is whether the federal bankruptcy/equitable distribution
proceeding, in which Brame provided testimony, is a separate
proceeding from the Staton cases, in which he asserts his Fifth
Amendment rights. Centura cites In re Mudd, 95 B.R. 426 (Bankr.
N.D. Tex. 1989) for the proposition that a civil suit and
equitable distribution/bankruptcy proceeding are the same
proceeding. In Mudd, the debtor testified at five examinations
conducted pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2004. At the sixth Rule
2004 examination, however, the debtor invoked his Fifth Amendment
privilege and refused to answer questions, claiming that
additional indictments were pending against him. The court
implicitly found that all of the Rule 2004 examinations were the
same proceeding and explicitly found that the defendant's answers
in earlier examinations presented a distorted and incomplete
picture. The court held that the defendant's original waiver of
his Fifth Amendment privilege in prior examinations constituted a
waiver in subsequent examinations conducted pursuant to Rule
2004, in which the trustee sought details of the defendant's
previous testimony, unless revealing those details would further
incriminate him or subject him to new areas of incrimination.
Id. at 431.
Mudd is readily distinguishable. A civil deposition in
state court is manifestly different from an equitable
distribution/bankruptcy proceeding in federal court. Not only are
there significant procedural and jurisdictional differences, the
two depositions have different purposes. Brame's deposition in the
bankruptcy matter pertained to resolution of equitable distribution
matters between Brame and his former spouse; the attempted
deposition in the case at bar apparently related to his authority
to act on behalf of plaintiffs. Unlike the defendant in Mudd,
Brame was not being asked to provide details underlying earlier
testimony he had provided in the same type of proceeding before the
same court. Therefore, Brame was entitled to exercise his right
against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United
States Constitution, and the trial court erred when it granted
Centura's motion to compel Brame to answer deposition questions.
Accordingly, it is unnecessary to address Brame's claim under
Article I, Section 23 of the North Carolina Constitution.
[B]ecause the United States Constitution is binding on the states,
the rights it guarantees must be applied to every citizen by the
courts of North Carolina, so no citizen will be 'accorded lesser
rights' no matter how we construe the state Constitution. State
v. Jackson, 348 N.C. 644, 648, 503 S.E.2d 101, 103 (1998). We have
determined that Brame effectively invoked his Fifth Amendment right
against self-incrimination when he was deposed in the case at bar;
he has no lesser right under our state constitution.
Finally, on 25 August 1999, Centura and Poyner & Spruill filed
a joint motion pursuant to N.C. R. App. P. 9(b) for leave to amend
the record on appeal to include material relating to a supersedingindictment returned against Brame on 28 June 1999. The Statons
oppose the motion, contending that the records in question
originated after the trial court's order to compel was entered and
after notice of appeal was given. The motion for leave to amend is
denied.
Reversed.
Judge JOHN concurs.
Judge WYNN concurs in the result only.
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