Conflict of interest alleged against court reporter

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

The Nevada Certified Court Reporters Board also is investigating the complaint from Washoe County collections manager Charles "Beau" Wiseman against Diane Brumley, owner of Bonanza Court Reporting Service.

Wiseman said he also intends to file a complaint against her brother, David Grundy, with the Nevada State Bar Association discipline division.

Brumley took a deposition from Wiseman, who claims in a federal lawsuit against Washoe County and former county Manager John MacIntyre that his civil rights were violated in 1997 when MacIntyre forced him to attend Vistar group training sessions over six months to keep his job.

The county hired Grundy to defend MacIntyre against the suit filed in 1998.

Wiseman said he had complained to Brumley for months about text missing from a deposition she transcribed last spring. In January, Wiseman began filing complaints about the sibling relationship and the missing text with several state and local agencies.

Last week, Brumley discovered 103 pages of Wiseman's testimony that was not transcribed from her court reporting machine, and on Monday delivered copies of the text to lawyers involved and the sheriff's office, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Brumley's lawyer, Cal Dunlap, said a computer error is behind the missing text. With the newly discovered text, Wiseman's deposition now exceeds 900 pages.

"My client is very embarrassed and upset this happened," Dunlap said. He said Brumley and Grundy "have very good reputations, absolutely unquestioned integrity."

With the deposition part of a pending lawsuit, Grundy declined to say much about the investigation against his sister. He said his sister has been doing depositions for him since she started her business 17 years ago. "It's very widely known," he said.

Because the case involves Washoe County officials, the district attorney's office is claiming a conflict of interest and will ask the Washoe County Commission to send the investigation to the state attorney general for review, said county chief civil attorney Madelyn Shipman.

Wiseman also named Vistar a defendant in his suit. To endure the group training sessions, he claims he reverted to drinking after 14 years of sobriety. He also claims he nearly committed suicide after being forced to relive his Vietnam combat experience.

Wiseman said he didn't learn Brumley had a conflict until November, nearly nine months after his deposition was completed.

While at Brumley's office last November, Wiseman said he made a snide comment about David Grundy, MacIntyre's attorney. Then Brumley told him not to talk about her brother that way.

Until then, he said he was unaware of the sibling relationship.