Opinion ID: 790167
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Schreiber's Summary Judgment Motion

Text: 72 Schreiber contends that Stichting has presented no genuine factual issue as to Schreiber's advice being the proximate cause of Saybolt's injuries. He claims that Mead's criminal conviction for violating the FCPA—in light of the jury's finding that in authorizing the Panamanian bribe Mead both acted intentionally and did not actually believe that the bribe was legal—requires the conclusion that Schreiber's advice was irrelevant to Mead's actions. Additionally, Schreiber points to the fact that Pluimers, who had the ultimate authority to approve the illegal payment, invoked the Fifth Amendment in the course of his deposition on this matter. Schreiber argues that Pluimers' assertion of his privilege against self-incrimination gives rise to the negative inference that his decision to authorize the bribe was also not based on Schreiber's advice. 73 In Stichting I, we held that, because Saybolt and Mead were not in privity with each other at the time of Mead's criminal trial, Stichting was not collaterally estopped from relitigating the issue of whether Mead believed the payment of the Panamanian bribe to have been legal. Stichting I, 327 F.3d at 184. We abide by the holding of Stichting I, and therefore think it clear that Stichting is entitled to put forth, in this proceeding, any evidence tending to establish Saybolt's reliance—through its principals, Mead and Pluimers—on Schreiber's advice. What Stichting I does not necessarily resolve, however, is the question of what quantum of evidence can create a genuine issue of fact in this regard, given that a criminal jury concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mead did not rely on the advice of counsel in authorizing the Panamanian payment. The evidence proffered by Stichting on the question of Mead's reliance consists primarily, if not exclusively, of Mead's own assertions—made during his deposition in this case—that he believed the Panamanian transaction to have been legal, and that if he had been advised to the contrary he would not have authorized payment of the bribe. While these assertions contradict the finding of the criminal jury, Mead's own statements were not considered by that jury, since he did not testify. 74 Stichting may well face an uphill battle in persuading the civil jury in the instant case to credit Mead's alleged ignorance of the illegality of the Panamanian bribes. But to resolve at the summary judgment stage, and before Mead testifies, the question of whether a reasonable jury might believe Mead would, we think, amount to a credibility determination that we are not entitled to make. See R.B. Ventures, Ltd. v. Shane, 112 F.3d 54, 58 (2d Cir.1997) ([E]ven where the surrounding circumstances indicate what has been termed, perhaps unfortunately, `implausibility,' at the summary judgment stage the court should not `weigh' the evidence in the same manner as a trier of fact.); Rule v. Brine, Inc., 85 F.3d 1002, 1011 (2d Cir.1996) (Assessments of credibility and choices between conflicting versions of the events are matters for the jury, not for the court on summary judgment. Any weighing of the evidence is the prerogative of the finder of fact, not an exercise for the court on summary judgment. (internal citations omitted)). 75 As to Pluimers, it certainly is unlikely, in light of his legal situation, that he will add anything of value to Stichting's case. Indeed, to the extent that his deposition is offered into evidence at trial, the defendants may be entitled to an instruction that the jury may draw adverse inferences against Pluimers on each question as to which he asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege during the deposition. Cf. LiButti v. United States, 107 F.3d 110, 123-24 (2d Cir.1997) (setting forth factors relevant to a determination of whether an adverse inference may be drawn on the basis of a non-party's invocation of his or her Fifth Amendment privilege). Even assuming that a jury might draw such inferences, however, we are required at summary judgment to draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party, i.e., Stichting. Doing so, we cannot conclude that Pluimers's silence resolves all genuine issues of fact on the question of Saybolt's reliance on Schreiber's advice. 76 Therefore, Schreiber's motion for summary judgment was properly denied. 77