商務禮節美語第33期:法律訴訟(2)

公司被人狀告索賠，同事們在討論如何應對。

S: So how does this work? What will we have to do?

B: A lawyer will stop by next week and take statements from each of us.

S: What kind of statement are they looking for?

B: It will probably be just a basic statement about what you know about our company's heat sensors. They will want to know if you had any knowledge of a cover-up of defective products.

Barry說，下週律師會來提取證詞，看看if you had any knowledge of a cover-up of defective products，員工是否知道公司有掩蓋問題產品的行爲。cover-up，意思是掩蓋。defective，意思是有缺陷。

S: I don't know anything about sensors! I'm an accountant!

B: Then that's exactly what you tell them. Just stick to the truth.

C: I'll start preparing our test records and compiling data about our products.

S: Why do you need to do that?

B: We need to prove that we are not liable. Let's give Mr. Smith's lawyers access to our internal memos and quality control data. We have nothing to hide.

跟律師談話，要據實以告, stick to the truth, 因爲we have nothing to hide，我們沒什麼好隱瞞的。Barry還說，公司會允許原告律師查看公司內部備忘錄和質檢數據。To give someone access to something，意思是允許某人接觸某物。

S: Does this mean I will have to testify in court?

B: That's very possible. We might all be called as witnesses.

S: What should I tell them?

B: Just answer all the questions truthfully. We stand by our products and we're proud of our company.

C: They will probably question me more because I'm the engineer. I'm going to have to do some homework and brush up on my knowledge.

Barry說，大家都有可能要出庭作證。Chris是工程師，說自己要do some homework，準備一下，and brush up on my knowledge，溫習一下相關的業務知識。

S: But what if we lose? If we have to make such a big payout, we might go bankrupt!

B: Hold your horses! First, we won't if we do, our lawyers will appeal the verdict.

S: But the other side can appeal too!

B: Yes, that's true. But eventually this case will come to a conclusion and no more appeals are allowed. Who knows? We might even counter-sue them for making false allegations.

C: Sounds like a plan.

Susan擔心，如果官司打輸，就要make a big payout，賠很多錢，導致公司破產。Barry勸她說：Hold your horses! 彆着急! 就算輸了也可以appeal the verdict，上訴。公司甚至可以counter-sue，反訴原告，罪名是making false allegations，誣告。