Jeff Curtis Testimony Anon July 2020

Trial Transcript Anonymized to protect identity of the Claimants
0001
1 AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION
2 IN THE MATTER OF
5 PROCEEDING NO.
6 01-17-0003-2867
9 VICTORIA AND BILLYBOB ANONYMOUS,
10 Claimant/Plaintiff(s),
11 vs.
12 TERMINIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LP et al.,
13 Respondent/Defendant(s).
14
15 TESTIMONY OF JEFF CURTIS
16 DAY THREE
17
18
19
20 DATE: JUNE 19, 2020
21 PLACE: Hilton Garden Inn, Mobile, Alabama
22 BEFORE: MR. Arbitrator
23 REPORTED BY: Nancy W. Pannell, CCR
0002
1
1 INDEX
3 EXAMINATION BY: PAGE NO.
4 MR. GIBSON 3
5 MR. CAMPBELL 31
6 MR. GIBSON 85
7 MR. CAMPBELL 89
8 CERTIFICATE 96
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
0003
1 ARBITRATOR: Would you state
2 your name?
3 THE WITNESS: My name is
2
4 Jeff Curtis.
5 ARBITRATOR: Mr. Curtis, my
6 name is FakeName Arbitrator. I'm going to swear
7 you in.
8 JEFF CURTIS,
9 being first duly sworn, was examined and
10 testified as follows:
11 DIRECT EXAMINATION
12 BY MR. JAMES GIBSON of Lightfoot, Franklin and White:
13 Q. Good afternoon, Mr. Curtis.
14 Would you please tell Mr. Arbitrator
15 about your history at Terminix.
16 A. So I've been with the company for
17 17 years. I started off as a branch
18 manager. I managed multiple branches up
19 until the end of 2014, and then in January
20 of 2015 I went into region management, so
21 I managed eight branches in the state of
22 Florida.
23 Then I managed from there I went
0004
1 into the director of fumigation for the
2 company, so I ran the fumigation for the
3 entire state of Florida. When that
4 project shut down, I came to the gulf
5 region in April of 2018. I believe it was
6 the 16th or 17th, whatever the Monday was
3
7 that day falls on.
8 I did that job until November of
9 last year and then I moved to director of
10 claims for Terminix.
11 Q. And, Mr. Curtis, are you licensed
12 as a certified operator?
13 A. I am. I'm licensed in the state
14 of Florida and the state of Alabama.
15 Q. And do you have any sort of
16 professional associations or affiliations
17 that are meaningful to you in your job?
18 A. Yes, I currently also sit on the
19 board of directors for the Alabama Pest
20 Control Association.
21 Q. And in that role what do you do?
22 A. I'm a general board member. So we
23 just talk about industry topics, the
0005
1 association, financials, and memberships,
2 and just general association business.
3 Q. Tell me about your role when you
4 were serving as director of operations for
5 the gulf region. What that was job like?
6 What were your responsibilities?
7 A. As director of operations I had
8 multiple things that I was responsible
9 for. I was responsible for oversight on
4
10 damage claims for the gulf region,
11 approval of damage claims up to my
12 threshold in the gulf region and then
13 technical aspect of we totally changed the
14 business model in the gulf region so I
15 helped develop the training programs. I
16 also stood up a quality assurance team.
17 Q. And when did you start that role
18 as director of operations for the gulf?
19 A. I believe it was April 16th or
20 17th in 2018, whatever that Monday is. I
21 don't remember which day it actually fell
22 on.
23 Q. You just told us that and I forgot
0006
1 to write it down.
2 A. That's okay.
3 Q. You mentioned that there was a
4 change in the model that led to this gulf
5 region. Tell me about that.
6 A. So we changed -- so first of all,
7 the gulf region is kind of like the I-10
8 corridor or belt of Formosan termite alley
9 so to speak, and they put it together
10 because our regions are structured to
11 where there are anywhere from six to ten
12 branches.
5
13 So all of these regions had one or
14 two branches in them with Formosan
15 termites, yet the rest of them had other
16 -- or didn't have them and just had, you
17 know, normal or dry-wood termites, so all
18 different, you know, different treatments.
19 Some are fumigated. Some are
20 liquid treated, baited, whatever. So we
21 pulled all of these branches that had the
22 common Formosan termite situations going
23 on and leveraged the learnings, the
0007
1 experience, but also re-developed an
2 entire program of qualification of
3 structures, treatment of structures. We
4 launched a new contract just for this
5 market, it's called Dual Defense, where we
6 took two different products.
7 So liquid termiticides and baiting
8 systems work on different biological
9 habits of termites, so we took the best of
10 both and created one contract where we
11 would perform a liquid treatment and
12 install a baiting system on all of our
13 homes that we sold from that point forward
14 and it's called a Dual Defense.
15 Q. Why is it helpful for a customer
6
16 to be associated with a branch that is in
17 a region or with other branches that are
18 dealing with Formosan termites?
19 A. Formosan termites are very unique.
20 They cause a lot of issues that eastern
21 subterranean termites, standard termites
22 don't. They are treated totally different
23 than if you were in a dry-wood termite
0008
1 market. That's a fumigation program for
2 control.
3 So when you just have one or two
4 branches it's a minority of your business
5 and it wasn't the focus that we needed to
6 see to gain control of the Formosan
7 termite areas.
8 Q. And while this gulf region was
9 developing were there any other changes
10 going on from a big picture perspective at
11 Terminix?
12 A. There was. In that same timeframe
13 we had --
14 Q. To interrupt you, the timeframe
15 being spring of 2018?
16 A. Spring 2018, April, May, June, lot
17 of leadership changes. We put a new
18 region in so we brought all new region
7
19 level staff in. We had branch changes,
20 management changes, management shifts just
21 trying to reposition talent where it was
22 best suited for the skill sets and then
23 even into the division levels, the
0009
1 division realignments changed, even all
2 the way up into our Memphis office there
3 were changes all the way from the top
4 down.
5 Q. Tell me about what Terminix did as
6 part of that process to improve the Gulf
7 Shores and Mobile offices in particular.
8 A. Well, we went through a bunch of
9 training. We stood up a quality assurance
10 team. We changed management. We got new
11 equipment. We put thermal imaging cameras
12 in the hands of every salesperson and
13 technician that worked in the termite side
14 of the business.
15 We got termite in one side and
16 pest control on the other. We put thermal
17 imaging in all of our managers' hands. We
18 also purchased some higher end moisture
19 meters that would read deeper into a wall
20 than a standard pen style or what I call a
21 flat-back moisture meter.
8
22 Q. Why is a moisture meter important
23 to a Terminix technician in this part of
0010
1 the state?
2 A. In a Formosan market, Formosan
3 termites have the ability to break ground
4 contact and live in a structure. If there
5 is a source of moisture that will sustain
6 it they will actually create a colony in
7 the house and never go back to ground.
8 So one of the things we found over
9 time is if a house has any type of
10 moisture leak, it could be something just
11 a simple drip. It could be fireplace
12 flashing, it could be plumbing vent pipe,
13 anything, it's enough to sustain a colony.
14 It can even be just kind of weird
15 construction where it keeps a high level
16 of humidity or moisture in the wall just
17 through condensation from an air
18 conditioner running on the inside and
19 96 degrees on the outside, if there's not
20 proper control built into the structural
21 part, it can create levels of moisture
22 that can sustain a termite colony.
23 So the infrared or the thermal
0011
9
1 imaging pulls hot and cold spots off of
2 walls, so if I would have my camera with
3 me I could take a slightly moist paper
4 towel and hide it behind that picture and
5 not tell you and give you my camera and
6 you can flow through it and you'll see
7 that cool spot where that rag is.
8 It's the same thing happening in
9 homes. We will take it and if there's a
10 Formosan termite carton or a water leak,
11 it will pop off the screen depending on
12 what you do for your variables, but I use
13 the old LSU colors, I use yellow and
14 purple, so if it's hot it's yellow, if
15 it's wet it's purple, so they're very
16 contrasting the colors.
17 So once we find that we don't just
18 assume that the FLIR, that's the brand,
19 the thermal imaging camera is accurate.
20 We then go right behind and put moisture
21 meters on it and try to get an actual
22 level of moisture that's present in the
23 wall.
0012
1 Q. What about personnel and what
2 about mechanical things like trucks? Are
3 y'all making changes in the areas for
10
4 those types of assets --
5 A. Yes, yes, yes. So immediately
6 upon the new gulf region we added ten
7 termite rigs to the region, hired ten
8 people to do it, and then we actually
9 started using two-man teams, whereas in
10 the past we had always used one-man team.
11 We also hired more re-inspectors,
12 just changed the entire staffing model to
13 allow -- because it just takes more time
14 to do these treatments than a standard,
15 you know, any other area of the country
16 would be.
17 Q. Any scheduling changes associated
18 with that?
19 A. Scheduling as far as -- so we
20 backed way down. Like our re-inspectors
21 may have done 10 to 12 a day. Now,
22 they're doing six to eight. Treaters we
23 actually schedule it 1.5 jobs a day,
0013
1 whereas before we would do three or four
2 depending on, you know, the size of the
3 house, the footage, what the treatment
4 entails. Now, we're averaging about one
5 and a half per day. Actually I think it's
6 1.4 is what the number is.
11
7 Q. Have there been changes to the
8 claims process?
9 A. The claims process has changed.
10 We brought in a third-party administrator
11 so we kind of took the claims piece out of
12 the branch, so once we've identified a
13 claim we open the claim, it gets turned
14 over to PPA or third-party administrator.
15 MR. CAMPBELL: I object to
16 his characterization of their
17 responsibility. Number one, it doesn't
18 have anything to do with this case, but
19 number two, they can't have a third-party
20 claims administrator in a warranty
21 contract where the first party payee --
22 ARBITRATOR: Well, as I
23 understand it, the evidence is being
0014
1 offered in response to your contention
2 their egregious conduct justifies damages,
3 that's their defense to it, and so I'm
4 going to allow that.
5 And as to whether or not a
6 third-party administrator is legally
7 permissible, the parties can brief on it
8 and I'll make a decision about it but I'll
9 hear his testimony.
12
10 MR. COCHRAN: And just one
11 other thing. There's a master service
12 agreement that says that as far as claims
13 management is concerned that they're not a
14 third-party, so just the characterization.
15 ARBITRATOR: Well, look, I
16 mean, I think we can all agree regardless
17 of who's handling the claim, Terminix is
18 still responsible.
19 MR. COCHRAN: Right.
20 ARBITRATOR: Everyone
21 understands that.
22 MR. GIBSON: I'll try to
23 shorten this up.
0015
1 Q. Why is the Broadspire situation --
2 without getting into any specifics, why is
3 the Broadspire situation better for
4 Terminix customers today than it was say
5 two and a half years ago or in 2018?
6 A. So claims is a piece of a
7 manager's day. We don't have a dedicated
8 claims manager, so they have to do all
9 their other duties as well as manage
10 claims.
11 Whereas with Broadspire, they have
12 dedicated claims personnel and they just
13
13 help push the claims through the system
14 and we've actually seen a reduction of
15 around 30 days life of claim from initial
16 identification to the contractor's paid
17 and the claim is closed out.
18 Q. And just from a big picture sense
19 why is Terminix making these changes in
20 the gulf?
21 A. It's all customer-service related,
22 trying to be better than what we were
23 before.
0016
1 Q. Were there historical issues that
2 needed to be addressed?
3 A. As I mentioned before, claims is
4 just a small piece of a branch manager's
5 day so things fell through the cracks,
6 things took longer than they probably
7 should have to get processed so just
8 trying to make it a better system, more
9 efficient system, a better experience for
10 the customer and the company. The
11 managers are freed up to do more
12 customer-service related interactions.
13 Q. Mr. Curtis, there's been evidence
14 related to an August 2018 communication
15 between the Department of Agriculture and
14
16 Industries and Terminix related to baiting
17 contracts that include a phrase defined
18 post-construction soil treatment.
19 Are you familiar with the
20 correspondence?
21 A. I am.
22 Q. Has Terminix taken any action in
23 response to that communication and
0017
1 directive from Joe Debrow at the
2 Department of Agriculture?
3 A. Yes, we've actually taken action
4 on that and even opened it up even
5 broader. So Terminix right now we are
6 re-treating these homes.
7 We're actually re-treating every
8 termite customer in south Alabama that are
9 in these two branches, Mobile and Gulf
10 Shores, with a full comprehensive
11 treatment. It's been quite an
12 undertaking.
13 We've had to purchase another --
14 we've got 70 vehicles assigned to this
15 project. We've got about 120 personnel
16 assigned to this project. It was quite an
17 undertaking, took quite a bit of logistics
18 to put together.
15
19 We had to find a building, remodel
20 to make it useable. We transferred about,
21 I don't know the exact number, somewhere
22 between 20 and 30 existing personnel out
23 of the branches there and then we've had
0018
1 to hire and train the rest.
2 Q. And what about the rest of this
3 thing, are there customers elsewhere in
4 the state that aren't getting this
5 treatment right now?
6 A. It is. We were trying to put the
7 resources at the hottest spot, and then as
8 this program will wind down toward the end
9 of the year, we will reallocate those
10 assets to address other issues in other
11 areas.
12 Q. What communications have you had
13 with the Department of Agriculture about
14 the supplemental treatments that are being
15 provided?
16 A. So I am the liaison for the
17 Department of Agriculture and Terminix for
18 Alabama, so I work through the branches
19 and then through the Department of
20 Agriculture primarily Mr. Debrow. I talk
21 to Mr. Debrow more often -- I'm sorry, I
16
22 lost track.
23 Q. Just explain what communications
0019
1 you've had with Mr. Debrow.
2 A. Oh, about the program, okay.
3 So in order to open up a facility
4 you have to have licensing so I reached
5 out to him on that piece, and we were
6 filing licensing towards the ends of last
7 year and he recommended, and I don't
8 remember exactly the words, but basically
9 if I change my application and submit it
10 to the state, I could get the end of last
11 year and this year covered at one time and
12 not have to pay the fee and then two
13 months later pay it again.
14 So we walked through that, and
15 then we talked about that facility, so he
16 knows -- he knew at that time we were
17 opening it. We've talked about some
18 treatment mechanics. We've talked about
19 waivers, Alabama State waiver process.
20 I use a term called preference
21 waivers, and so we've had some in-depth
22 conversations about that process so he's
23 very aware of what we're doing here
0020
17
1 currently in the state.
2 Q. And there were some questions from
3 Mr. Cunningham about how Terminix would go
4 about identifying folks who are Terminix
5 customers who have contracts like the one
6 that Terry Thompson signed in June of 2017
7 that reference the defined
8 post-construction soil treatment.
9 What would that undertaking look
10 like?
11 A. That undertaking literally would
12 be putting eyes or hands on every single
13 agreement because depending on if they
14 were sold through an electronic
15 transaction, based on which version of
16 electronic device and templates we were
17 using, you have paper contracts, so as you
18 know, electronics are not always perfect,
19 they fail so when they fail we don't shut
20 down, we have to convert to paper so
21 there's different versions of bait
22 contracts out there.
23 So depending on which one the
0021
1 salesperson or whoever writes up the
2 agreement uses, so it literally will be a
3 physical eyes on everything.
18
4 Now, here in south Baldwin County,
5 again, we're re-treating every termite
6 customer that we have regardless of what
7 their contract says, I mean as far as the
8 type of contract that they have.
9 Q. So if you're a bait only customer,
10 are you getting that supplemental
11 treatment?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And is it a defined treatment?
14 A. No, we're doing comprehensive
15 treatments.
16 Q. Can you explain to me the
17 difference? And, Mr. Arbitrator, if this is
18 something you're familiar --
19 ARBITRATOR: I remember that
20 from prior testimony.
21 Q. (By Mr. Gibson) Okay. So,
22 Mr. Curtis, if we were to search for
23 contracts that are in the TBSS, termite
0022
1 baiting system Sentricon, if we were to
2 search TBSS contracts only and then use
3 2014 as our cut-off date, would we be able
4 to filter all of the contracts that have
5 the defined post-construction soil
6 treatment language that we've been talking
19
7 about?
8 A. No, I don't have the exact dates
9 but there's TBSS, TBSA, TBSW. It would be
10 a little bit more involved than just
11 running a TBSS list.
12 Q. And so what else would we need to
13 do in addition to searching by service
14 line?
15 A. You would have to pull every
16 customer who has any of those three
17 different systems and then off of that
18 list you would have to go to the filing
19 cabinet first to see if it was a manual
20 contract.
21 If it was not a manual contract
22 then you have to go into one of two
23 different electronic repositories and
0023
1 locate it, and you can pull it up and view
2 it or you could pull it up and print it.
3 Q. So you referred to a paper file
4 versus an electronic file?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. We've heard evidence related to a
7 file jacket that was produced in this
8 lawsuit. It's an orange file jacket.
9 Everybody has seen it. It has
20
10 Terry Thompson's name handwritten on the tab
11 and then it has a claim number written on
12 it. For a contract that was entered into
13 in June of 2017, would that folder have a
14 typical place in a customer file?
15 A. So went paperless around 2012, so
16 back in the old days we would use a
17 color-coded file folder to identify the
18 contract.
19 So if I was looking in a drawer I
20 would see orange, yellow, or purple
21 folders and that would tell me which
22 contract the customer has.
23 Now, you could have an orange
0024
1 folder with 30 different variations of a
2 liquid contract. You could have a yellow
3 folder which was bait. You could have
4 three or four different versions of a
5 baiting contract, and then purple folder
6 is not available in Alabama. That's a
7 warranty sale program which Alabama
8 doesn't allow but Florida does.
9 So currently though, we have
10 branches, some have more than others, but
11 we have an inventory of folders so we use
12 those as you would any other manila folder
21
13 such as in your carrying case there. It's
14 just a folder. It has no relevance
15 anymore.
16 Q. And if you would look in that
17 green book in front of you, you can look
18 at page 2 and 3 which are copies of the
19 folder that has been provided in this
20 case. Is there any reason that the
21 history of re-inspections and retreatments
22 and damage claims, et cetera, would have
23 been tracked on --
0025
1 A. No.
2 Q. -- on the file folder that's
3 produced here?
4 A. Even if you go back pre-2012,
5 there's no regulatory requirement to keep
6 a folder with this data on it. The state
7 just tells us what records you have to
8 have in the folder, so they don't care if
9 it's red, yellow, blue, purple, pink,
10 manila, it doesn't matter.
11 None of this data is regulatory
12 required. These are just internal stuff
13 that we used pre-2012.
14 Q. And can you tell based on what you
15 know about this suit and by looking at
22
16 this particular file jacket, why there's a
17 paper folder for a customer file that was
18 originated in the paperless era?
19 A. Yeah, so if you have an electronic
20 storage file for a customer, for instance,
21 Mr. Thompson's contract was done through one
22 of our electronic devices, so all of his
23 documents are stored on a repository.
0026
1 When you have a claim, a claim
2 file requires a lot of documents so you
3 need a contract, you need the graph. You
4 actually need other items. You'll have
5 intake sheets and stuff, so you just
6 create a file and you'll leave it on your
7 desk instead of having, you know, five,
8 ten, 20 sheets of loose paper.
9 So this to me looks like this
10 branch has an inventory of orange folders
11 still and they're just using them as file
12 folders.
13 But based on the claim number and
14 the way it's written, it would sit on his
15 desk in a rack and he would be able to
16 look at those numbers off of it. I mean,
17 that's nothing more than a file folder.
18 Q. Very briefly. When is the last
23
19 time that you're aware of Terminix using
20 Sentricon stations that were filled with
21 wooden pieces of untreated wood as opposed
22 to always active termiticide?
23 A. Early 2000s. I started in 2003
0027
1 and we were using the monitoring stations
2 at that time which had a little actuator,
3 it's a little plastic and you put two
4 pieces of wood on each side of it and drop
5 it down in the station, but I would say
6 just a matter of a few years after I
7 started, I don't remember exactly when,
8 but they switched to always active. We
9 don't even inventory any of these older
10 systems anymore.
11 Q. Mr. Curtis, what is your view of
12 the progress that Terminix is making in
13 the gulf right now with its customers?
14 A. I would say it's pretty close to
15 180-degree turn from where we were in the
16 right direction. We've totally changed --
17 you know, just about everything you can
18 think of changing we've changed it for the
19 better. We've put a lot of resources into
20 it, a lot of investment to change the
21 entire culture.
24
22 Q. And your current title is director
23 of claims resolution; correct?
0028
1 A. Correct.
2 Q. As director of claims resolution
3 what are your primary day-to-day goals in
4 that role?
5 A. So I have the entire country, but
6 my main focus is here and it's -- so it's
7 kind of two-fold.
8 So in the gulf region anything
9 over $5,000 I have to review and approve,
10 and then across the rest of the country
11 anything over $50,000 I have to review and
12 approve up to $100,000 and then it goes
13 above me.
14 Q. Why is there a different cut-off
15 in Baldwin County and Mobile County or the
16 gulf region than in other parts of the
17 country? Your approval is 5,000 and up in
18 the gulf region and 50,000 elsewhere;
19 correct?
20 A. So --
21 Q. Let me ask it a different way.
22 ARBITRATOR: Why is there a
23 lower threshold?
0029
25
1 Q. (By Mr. Gibson) Right. Why does
2 it make sense to get you involved earlier
3 in this part of the country?
4 A. All right. So I have 17 years
5 experience with the company, 16 to
6 17 years have been dealing with Formosan
7 termites.
8 When I came here as the director
9 of operations they were leveraging my
10 experience and skill-set with Formosan
11 termites and damage claims. The region
12 manager they brought in, who was my boss
13 at the time, was focused more on
14 administrative functions so when I
15 transitioned to this new role they asked
16 me if I would continue to do the region
17 manager level approvals in the gulf, so I
18 do that.
19 It's kind of like wearing two
20 hats. I've got to throw on my gulf region
21 hat and do that five to 50, and then I've
22 got to throw on my national hat and do my
23 50-plus. Does that make sense?
0030
1 Q. Does that allow you to stay more
2 involved with managing claims in this part
3 of the region?
26
4 A. It does.
5 Q. What is your personal involvement
6 in the claims process, let's talk about in
7 the five to $50,000 range in Baldwin and
8 Mobile counties?
9 A. Well, I review the treatment
10 documents. I review the estimates. On
11 occasion I'll do site visits depending on
12 what it is. I'll help diagnose treatments
13 on complex issues.
14 I do whatever I've got to do to
15 help keep the claim moving and to get a
16 good solid treatment done. You know,
17 really whatever the branch, any of the
18 branches asked me to do I try to
19 accommodate.
20 Q. And what's the current Terminix
21 policy in this part of the state for
22 retreatment if a home has termite
23 activity?
0031
1 A. It's a full comprehensive
2 retreatment.
3 Q. In every instance?
4 A. In every instance we go out with
5 the intent of doing a full comprehensive
6 retreatment.
27
7 Q. Bait or liquid?
8 A. Doesn't matter what it is. It is
9 full comprehensive liquid.
10 MR. GIBSON: I don't think I
11 have anything further right now,
12 Mr. Curtis. I appreciate it.
13 CROSS-EXAMINATION
14 BY MR. CAMPBELL:
15 Q. So you've had this -- you took
16 over the new position as the gulf coast
17 regional director in April of 2018 in
18 order to take things 180 degrees in a
19 different direction?
20 A. So in April of 2018 I took the
21 director of operations.
22 Q. Director of operations.
23 A. Not regional director, but
0032
1 director of operations.
2 Q. And is that a region position --
3 A. It's a region level position but
4 -- so as you know our standard structure
5 you have a region director, right. So
6 gulf is the only region in the company
7 that had two region director level
8 positions, but I was the secondary.
9 I was the service side and then I
28
10 reported to the actual regional director.
11 Q. Okay. And part of that job, as I
12 understand it, was to take things
13 180 degrees in a different direction so
14 that y'all would start going in the right
15 direction; is that right?
16 A. Incremental, yes.
17 Q. And so 16 days after taking that
18 job, two branch officials in your region,
19 Matt Cunningham and Jim Faust, met by
20 telephone with my client BillyBob Anonymous and
21 denied his claim on the basis that his
22 contract did not transfer.
23 Was that part of the new direction
0033
1 or had the incremental improvement not
2 reached his claim yet?
3 A. Okay. So based on what I was able
4 to look at in the file, the decision to
5 not transfer it was because there was no
6 request, there's no documentation, there's
7 note in our Mission or our phone system,
8 our database system. There's no
9 handwritten notes, there's no request for
10 a transfer.
11 There's two documents in that file
12 that tell the customer the process. One
29
13 is the state form which clearly tells them
14 to contact the company in regards to
15 transfer. And then there's the actual
16 contract that says if request is not made
17 to transfer it, it will cancel upon the
18 sale of the property, so the company made
19 the right decision.
20 They unfortunately may not have
21 communicated it the right way, but the
22 decision was right.
23 Q. So you're happy with that
0034
1 decision? You think it was the right one?
2 A. The decision was the right
3 decision because the process was not
4 followed and there are two different times
5 that the customer is told to contact the
6 company for transfer, so, yes, I believe
7 we did the right decision.
8 I don't believe that the
9 communication to the Anonymouss was right.
10 That ball got dropped, but the decision to
11 do -- the legal decision to do the
12 cancellation for non-request of transfer
13 is the right decision.
14 Q. Okay. Who made that decision to
15 your personal knowledge?
30
16 A. I don't know who spit it out. I
17 can't tell you that. I don't know.
18 Q. Your answer to that question about
19 why the decision was made is that just
20 sort of a guess on your part from looking
21 at the records today?
22 How can you come to giving us an
23 answer to the question about why the
0035
1 contract didn't transfer if you don't know
2 who made the decision?
3 A. So you can know a decision without
4 knowing who made it. You can know the
5 decision, and transfers happen all the
6 time and they're done on a case-by-case
7 basis based on a variety of different
8 things.
9 Some of our contracts say they
10 don't transfer. Some of them say you
11 don't have a choice but to transfer. So
12 it depends on the agreement.
13 It depends on a lot of different
14 factors, but each time a property is sold
15 and a request is given then the file is
16 reviewed and a determination is made.
17 When a house is sold and no
18 request is given then the contract says
31
19 that it cancels upon the date of sale, and
20 that's what happened on this one.
21 Q. So you've been on the job for
22 16 days. This meeting is going to occur.
23 What I want to know now I think is a yes
0036
1 or no question. Did you know that those
2 two gentlemen were going to communicate to
3 BillyBob Anonymous that the decision had been
4 made by an anonymous person at the company
5 that his contract didn't transfer at or
6 about the time that phone meeting was to
7 take place?
8 A. So I did not know of a date and
9 time that a meeting was going to have or
10 the communication was going to happen. I
11 did not -- I can't say I knew that on
12 Tuesday at three o'clock a call was going
13 to be made, no.
14 Q. Did you know prior to that call
15 taking place that that decision had been
16 made and it was going to be communicated
17 at some point?
18 A. I can't recall exactly.
19 Q. So you don't know whether you knew
20 that that event was going to happen or not
21 or whether you got involved in even
32
22 understanding that was going to occur?
23 A. I don't recall of a timeline. I
0037
1 can't tell you for 100 percent that I knew
2 before the call or after the call.
3 Q. And when you found out that
4 decision had been made whether it was
5 before or after that call took place, did
6 you ever attempt to find out who had made
7 that decision and what they based that
8 decision on?
9 A. No.
10 Q. Instead, you decided to testify

11 about why the decision was made from your
12 independent review of the file material?
13 A. Well, that same decision has been
14 made multiple times, many times over in my
15 17 years to not transfer for non-request,
16 so I'm not exactly sure what you're
17 asking.
18 I was not shocked to see that
19 decision made because it had been made
20 before.
21 Q. Well, I'm sorry I didn't ask a
22 good question. I'll try to make it
23 clearer.
33
0038
1 ARBITRATOR: I understood
2 your question and I understood his answer,
3 which didn't really answer your question
4 but I did hear it.
5 MR. CAMPBELL: That's my
6 issue.
7 ARBITRATOR: Well, I think
8 the answer is no. Since he didn't answer
9 your question the answer is no.
10 MR. CAMPBELL: Okay.
11 Q. Now, do you understand as -- did
12 you understand as the gulf region
13 operations manager that your branches in
14 Alabama were required to follow each of
15 the Alabama regulations and that the
16 failure to follow those regulations could
17 subject the company or its licensees if
18 they didn't follow it to having their
19 license restricted or revoked, a civil
20 penalty, or even a criminal penalty?
21 A. I believe that's consistent with
22 all states.
23 Q. And so based upon those degrees of
0039
1 actions the state could take for
2 violations, did you have an appreciation
34
3 for and do you today that the state of
4 Alabama considers the compliance with
5 those regulations something that the state
6 considers serious?
7 A. Yeah, and we consider operating
8 under the regulations serious too.
9 Q. Now, if you've got a contract that
10 you're issuing in Alabama for termite
11 control, do you understand -- I know you
12 can't speak for the whole company, but I'm
13 just asking you as now the former region
14 director for the gulf region, and that
15 gulf region, just to be clear, that
16 covered two counties in south Alabama,
17 Mobile and Baldwin County; right?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. I'm going to get that in a minute
20 and follow up on that in a minute. But as
21 region director of the two county gulf
22 region, both the counties in the state of
23 Alabama, did you have an understanding
0040
1 when you were in that job that the terms
2 of your contract had to comply with those
3 regulations?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Were you ever under the impression
35
6 that the branch managers that you
7 supervised -- well, one of those branch
8 managers is supervisor Matt Cunningham;
9 right?
10 A. Yes, Matt got put in a branch
11 towards the end of my --
12 Q. Were you personally ever under the
13 impression that if you had a term in your
14 contract that that would trump what the --
15 if the regulations provided one standard
16 that you had to meet for Alabama consumers
17 that did business with you, did you ever
18 believe that Terminix could change whether
19 they had to meet that standard for
20 consumers by different terms in their
21 contracts?
22 A. No. The state -- whatever state
23 you're operating in your contract needs to
0041
1 conform with the regulation.
2 Q. And if your contract is
3 inconsistent with the state regulation,
4 which one controls, the Terminix contract
5 or the state regulations?
6 A. Well, the state regulations would
7 control.
8 Q. So if the state regulations in
36
9 Alabama, for example, on our wood
10 infestation inspection report that's made
11 part of the regulations as Attachment [A] of
12 the regulations, say that a consumer --
13 that a transferrable contract can be
14 transferred up to the expiration date
15 that's listed on the wood infestation
16 inspection report and the contract says
17 that the request to transfer has to be
18 made before the property is sold, which
19 one of those, based on your understanding
20 you just gave us, is going to control?
21 A. I have never read in the
22 regulations -- I've not read that in the
23 regulations. I'm sorry.
0042
1 Q. Well, they're in front of you.
2 Turn to the 2012 version of the
3 regulations and we'll go to the back to
4 the form WIIR report, it's on A1, it's
5 about five or six pages from the very back
6 of that tab.
7 Do you see that in there in the
8 second text box under the treatment
9 section? It's right here. There's a
10 little bit bigger version up on the
11 screen. It's on the screen in front of
37
12 you.
13 Do you see there that it says that
14 the present treatment contract is
15 transferrable to any subsequent owner on
16 or before the expiration date above?
17 A. I see it.
18 Q. Is that the first time you have
19 had an appreciation or an awareness of
20 that requirement of our wood infestation
21 inspection report and transfer regulation?
22 A. So I still don't know if it's --
23 if you read the regulations, I've never
0043
1 read that in the regulations. If you pull
2 up the state regulations and read them, I
3 have never seen that sentence in the
4 regulations.
5 Q. Do you understand that under
6 Alabama law that this is Exhibit A to
7 Rule 80-10-9.-18 of the termite code that
8 it is part of the regulations? You didn't
9 know that until just now?
10 A. I knew this is an Alabama state
11 form, yes.
12 Q. You didn't know that it was part
13 of the regulations, though?
14 A. I have never read that sentence in
38
15 the regulations.
16 Q. You never read -- do you realize
17 that sentence is on every wood infestation
18 inspection report that your company has
19 issued since 1978 when these regulations
20 first came out?
21 A. I'll take your word for that. I
22 have not read those from 1978 forward.
23 Q. So if that is the law in the state
0044
1 of Alabama, doesn't this mean that BillyBob
2 Anonymous could have made a request to
3 transfer that contract to him any time
4 prior to the expiration date of the
5 contract?
6 A. You're getting me to make a legal
7 determination and I'm not a lawyer.
8 Q. Yes. You're a licensee, and as
9 part of the licensee's obligation you have
10 to make a determination of how to comply
11 with the regulations.
12 That's what your job is as a
13 licensee; right? I mean that's why they
14 have licensees, right, because you're
15 supposed to be the guy in the branch that
16 knows how to interpret these regulations
17 and apply them, so, yes, I am asking you
39
18 that.
19 I'm asking you to perform the same
20 activity that the state expects you to
21 perform as part of your duty as a licensee
22 so yes, sir. So after now having a chance
23 to read this for the first time both as a
0045
1 licensee and the regulatory liaison
2 between Terminix International Limited
3 Partnership and the state of Alabama
4 regulatory agency, does it appear to give
5 Mr. Anonymous the right to ask for that
6 contract to be transferred until the
7 existing one expires?
8 A. It does, but there's still no
9 record of any request for a transfer.
10 Q. Is Mr. Anonymous -- is the statement
11 by the defendant I owned a home, I want
12 you to pay a claim under the contract, is
13 that not sufficient to be considered a
14 request for transferring that coverage to
15 you?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Is him having the real estate
18 company or the seller say I want this
19 contract transferred to the buyer of the
20 home who I have a contractual obligation
40
21 to make this request on behalf of, is that
22 sufficient?
23 A. No.
0046
1 Q. The first time you reviewed --
2 that's not sufficient?
3 A. It says subsequent owner, so the
4 seller does not have that right according
5 to what I'm reading there.
6 Q. Excuse me?
7 A. You just said did the seller have
8 the right to call and have it transferred.
9 Based on that, it says subsequent property
10 owner, so, no, the seller would not have
11 the right to obligate a buyer to anything.
12 Q. So they couldn't have an agent --
13 the buyer couldn't have one of their
14 agents, they couldn't have somebody that's
15 acting on their behalf, their secretary,
16 their wife, somebody who has a contractual
17 commitment to them to take actions on
18 their behalf, they couldn't do it? It
19 would literally have to be the human being
20 that is the title holder of the property?
21 A. It would have to be, yes, the way
22 I read it, it would have to be the owner
23 of the property.
41
0047
1 Q. Is writing you a letter --
2 ARBITRATOR: Let me stop
3 you. I've heard a lot of evidence on the
4 transfer issue. I think I've got it. I
5 don't know that we need to cover it
6 anymore.
7 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) Do you know
8 who, from that same meeting we've been
9 talking about, do you know who came up
10 with the idea that a $10,000 payment would
11 be offered to Mr. Anonymous?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Have you done anything to find out
14 who made that decision?
15 A. No. And I think it was a starting
16 point from what I have seen.
17 Q. From your review of the records as
18 a person responsible for reviewing claims
19 at the region level, did you understand
20 that that was roughly approximate to the
21 amount of money that Terminix's contractor
22 Gary Powers had allocated for the
23 demolition of the roof structure of one
0048
1 room in the house?
2 A. No.
42
3 Q. Separate and apart from the
4 termite contract, did you understand that
5 if Terminix had done a poor job doing its
6 wood infestation inspection report and
7 accurately conveying the results of the
8 thorough inspection to Mr. Anonymous, that
9 they would have liability for that --
10 A. That's an assumptive statement.
11 You're assuming that somebody did a poor
12 job so that's kind of a loaded question.
13 Q. Do you realize --
14 MR. KING: Mr. Arbitrator, we
15 would also object to it to the extent
16 whether the company has liability that's a
17 legal question.
18 ARBITRATOR: Well, I
19 understand any opinion he gives is simply
20 his opinion, but with that said, I would
21 like to hear the answer too because as I
22 understand the evidence today, and,
23 Mr. Curtis, you can tell me if my
0049
1 understanding is -- excuse me, tell me if
2 my understanding is different than yours.
3 And understand I'm not
4 asking you to draw a legal conclusion.
5 I'm just telling you what I've heard to
43
6 date, which is that if the company does a
7 wood infestation report and it turns out
8 that there is, in fact, an infestation
9 within 90 days, the company's obligated to
10 go re-treat; is that correct?
11 THE WITNESS: Correct, that
12 is correct.
13 ARBITRATOR: What about the
14 second part of that what you were just
15 asked, what if, in fact, they did the
16 report and turns out there was an active
17 infestation at the time they did the
18 report, do they have any obligation to
19 repair the damage?
20 THE WITNESS: Not on a WIIR,
21 no, sir.
22 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) If the company
23 had not exercised reasonable care in doing
0050
1 the inspection and accurately reporting
2 what the company found, do you understand
3 that to be a situation where the company
4 would have responsibility for the things
5 that it failed to report accurately?
6 ARBITRATOR: And let me do
7 this just so we're all clear, I'm not -- I
8 don't want him to offer even his
44
9 understanding of what he thinks the law in
10 Alabama would be generally. I simply want
11 to know whether or not the regulations
12 that he is licensee under would require
13 that.
14 MR. CAMPBELL: Well, I think
15 I'm entitled to ask him that question
16 because it gets to malice and bad faith.
17 If his position is they do a sorry
18 inspection --
19 ARBITRATOR: I just heard
20 him say they have no obligation --
21 MR. CAMPBELL: -- if his
22 position is that they have no obligation
23 to pay, that's the textbook evidence --
0051
1 ARBITRATOR: Well, that's
2 where it stands right now --
3 MR. KING: There's no cause
4 of action for bad faith breach --
5 ARBITRATOR: We're not going
6 to argue law right now. You'll have a
7 chance to brief that.
8 A. So let me, based on everything
9 I've read, all statements, statements from
10 the Anonymous’s, statements on the file, the
11 area that was identified is 24 feet I
45
12 believe is Mrs. Anonymous's estimation of
13 height, 24 feet in the air on a cathedral
14 ceiling.
15 It is not reasonable. Our guys
16 carry either a six-foot A-frame ladder or
17 a ten-foot telescoping ladder to get in
18 and out of attic spaces, first floor level
19 inspections.
20 To think an inspector is going to
21 be able to put a 30-foot extension ladder
22 on a F-150 pickup truck or a Ford Focus
23 car to get a close view is unreasonable,
0052
1 so it's above the scope of what he could
2 see. If it was on a first floor level, he
3 would have done additional inspections,
4 probing, sounding, break the tubes open,
5 whatever he would have found and then
6 could have made a more clear determination
7 of what was there.
8 But it clearly states on the WIIR
9 that if anything is identified, they
10 strongly recommend that the consumer seek
11 the guidance of a licensed professional in
12 building to go deeper into what's there
13 because we're not structural engineers.
14 It clearly states that we can't
46
15 tell you what's there and it also gives
16 you warning that it is going to have
17 possibly some potential damage, hidden
18 damage, that's not visible.
19 And the documents, the state's
20 document, it gave the Anonymouss and any other
21 consumer who has one of these letters
22 where activity or damage is identified, it
23 tells them that they should seek
0053
1 additional assistance from a licensed
2 professional.
3 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) I would like to
4 inquire about two points on follow-up to
5 your answer.
6 The first one is is it your
7 position as the region operations manager,
8 former regions operation manager that if
9 the company undertakes to do an inspection
10 of 26-foot high ceiling that they don't
11 need to take the tools with them to
12 inspect that system to investigate what's
13 on top of the ceiling?
14 A. So there's a term in the pest
15 control industry called accessible and
16 inaccessible. 24-foot high elevation
17 would be considered inaccessible area with
47
18 standard tools used in the industry.
19 The only crews that I have ever
20 seen with 30-foot ladders in my career
21 with Terminix is fumigation crews and
22 related repair type when we're doing
23 exclusion work to keep rodents and things
0054
1 like that out, but your standard
2 technician would not carry such a thing.
3 Q. Is taking a painter's pole a tool
4 that you think termite company -- Terminix
5 should be prepared to use if they are
6 going to agree to protect, service, and
7 inspect the home with a 24-foot ceiling?
8 A. Well, I would say that the agility
9 and skill-set to maneuver that pole would
10 be potential for defacing the customer's
11 property and it also says in the WIIR that
12 we do not deface.
13 We do not destroy or deface the
14 structures, so I would doubt that you
15 would have the agility and skill-set and
16 I'm pretty sure there's no eyes on the end
17 of that to see 24 feet in the air, so it's
18 still an unreasonable expectation in my
19 opinion.
20 Q. And certainly would be
48
21 unreasonable to expect a Terminix employee
22 to take a 24-foot ladder out there?
23 A. I've already answered that.
0055
1 Q. Have you learned in preparing to
2 give the answers for Terminix in this case
3 that you're giving that indeed the former
4 service manager of Baldwin County branch,
5 Wade Okahashi, did, in fact, take a
6 24-foot extension ladder out to the house
7 the day after Pat Touart did the WIIR
8 inspection and put it up against the wall
9 and inspected the area and confirmed that
10 that was actual termite damage rather than
11 possible hidden termite damage?
12 A. So I'm not aware of that, but
13 again, that's a manager bringing a 24-foot
14 ladder and I'm sure he didn't throw it on
15 the back of a Ford escort.
16 He had to have some type of
17 special way to carry it there. I don't
18 know if you've ever tried to haul a
19 24-foot ladder but you can't just do it in
20 a regular vehicle.
21 Q. And you mentioned that in
22 Terminix's 180-degree turnaround that
23 y'all have gotten a lot better tools for
49
0056
1 your people to do inspections; right?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. But extension poles and ladders
4 and ladder racks for trucks are not
5 amongst those tools; correct?
6 A. We do not have that extension pole
7 and we do not regularly carry 24-foot
8 ladders on our vehicles.
9 Q. If, and I want to probe further
10 what you think the standard of care is
11 that Terminix owes in this new era of
12 service commitment to its customers.
13 If a Terminix manager who
14 supervises renewals, a real estate
15 inspector follows up their report, looks
16 at a graph and sees our inspection six
17 months ago didn't reveal any signs of
18 termite infestation, the WIIR inspector
19 found signs of termite infestation that
20 might be evidence of activity, in that
21 circumstance where the company has the
22 property under a prevention and
23 eradication bond and a repair bond, would
0057
1 it be appropriate for the company to get a
2 ladder if they had to borrow one or rent
50
3 one and go out to that customer's house
4 and inspect the area?
5 A. I believe you said we already did
6 that, so what I was trying to allude to
7 earlier is that standard equipment on a
8 regular vehicle would not hold a 24-foot
9 ladder and that's industry-wide, not just
10 Terminix. They also have F-150s. They
11 all drive sales vehicles Focuses and
12 whatnot.
13 Q. And I'm trying to probe what you
14 believe is an appropriate standard of care
15 as the person who --
16 A. So we apparently -- I did not know
17 Wade Okahashi went out there, but that is
18 the proper standard of care. He followed
19 up with his inspector. He went to the
20 house. He had a 24-foot ladder.
21 My statement earlier was it is not
22 standard equipment on a regular service
23 vehicle to be able to haul a 24-foot
0058
1 ladder.
2 Q. Now, with regard to that
3 180-degree turnaround, you've done an
4 eloquent job describing to Mr. Arbitrator all
5 the items that you list as pointing the
51
6 company in the right direction as a result
7 of that 180-degree turnaround.
8 I assume you know where my
9 question is headed. Can you tell us what
10 the actions were that were on the opposite
11 end of that continuum? What was Terminix
12 doing that was wrong that needed to be
13 turned around?
14 A. So what we changed were our
15 contracts would state defined soil
16 treatments. Even a liquid contract,
17 straight liquid, would have the ability to
18 do a defined soil treatment.
19 We discovered that a comprehensive
20 treatment, which is very invasive on a
21 structure, but is the most -- the best way
22 to try to control termites, so we are
23 performing more than our contracts are
0059
1 requiring us to do now.
2 ARBITRATOR: Let me stop you
3 there. You said there's a new contract
4 for this region?
5 THE WITNESS: Yes, since
6 April of 2018.
7 ARBITRATOR: Are you saying
8 that Terminix no longer offers a defined
52
9 soil contract?
10 THE WITNESS: We do not
11 offer defined in this market at all.
12 ARBITRATOR: Do y'all still
13 offer a bait only contract?
14 THE WITNESS: We do not. I
15 don't believe we do.
16 MR. CAMPBELL: I'm sorry, I
17 missed that, the question and answer.
18 MR. REECE: Do they offer
19 just the bait only contract and he said
20 no.
21 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) And the
22 company's gotten out of the business of
23 issuing termite repair contracts on a
0060
1 routine basis in south Alabama too,
2 haven't they?
3 A. Across four states.
4 Q. So that's part of the new
5 direction is that y'all aren't going to
6 repair termite damage anymore for your
7 customers that get these new contracts
8 ever; correct?
9 A. That's a consistent position by
10 companies that operate in high Formosan
11 pressure markets.
53
12 Q. And while we're on that topic
13 let's talk about a little finer point in
14 this new direction that the company is
15 taking.
16 What y'all did with a lot of the
17 customers in Mobile and Baldwin County is
18 go to them and say your renewal premium
19 can go up from 100 or 200 or $300 a year
20 to $1499 a year or you can switch to a new
21 contract that's the dual control contract
22 that will expire after seven years and
23 which doesn't include a repair commitment;
0061
1 correct?
2 A. Incorrect.
3 Q. What part of that is incorrect?
4 A. So the seven-year plan, the Dual
5 Defense plan after a ten-month waiting
6 period I'm not -- I'm going -- I have four
7 states in this market, I'm pretty sure
8 we're all using the same contract but
9 after a ten-month waiting period a repair
10 plan will kick in.
11 Q. And what Alabama state regulation
12 allows a hybrid re-treat repair contract?
13 A. Well, I would say that from my
14 understanding, I wasn't involved, but the
54
15 contracts were submitted to all the states
16 and approved before we started using them.
17 Q. Are you aware that Section 16 of
18 the Alabama regulations require either
19 saying that you have a re-treat or a
20 repair contract but there's no provision
21 in the regulations that allows for a
22 hybrid contract?
23 A. So it is -- it is a repair and
0062
1 re-treat contract. You've lost me on
2 hybrid.
3 Q. But the rest of that is correct.
4 For a lot of these customers they said
5 your renewal premium is going to go up to
6 $1500 a year unless you pay $800 to get a
7 new seven-year contract that doesn't have
8 a repair guarantee for the first ten
9 months; correct?
10 A. Right. But I also know that
11 existing customers who get it, they would
12 waive the ten-month period --
13 Q. And for those customers many of
14 those -- let me rephrase.
15 This plan that you're describing
16 was one that was approved by the service
17 -- the CEO of ServiceMaster, a gentleman
55
18 named Nick Vardy, and it was described in
19 both recorded earnings calls with the
20 company's investors that were open to the
21 public and in the company's public
22 Securities and Exchange Commission
23 filings, you're aware of that; correct?
0063
1 A. We're a publicly traded company,
2 so if it's a requirement, I'm sure they
3 did it.
4 Q. And the plan was that they were
5 going to use targeted price increases to
6 reduce the renewal revenue for termite
7 contracts in Mobile and Baldwin County by
8 $10 million a year.
9 That was the plan when this
10 direction was changed; correct?
11 A. I'm not aware of that.
12 Q. If it was $10 million published to
13 the Securities and Exchange Commission,
14 that would be roughly somewhere between 55
15 and 60-something percent of the renewal
16 revenue for these two counties; correct?
17 A. I think your percentage is high
18 but I don't have a number.
19 Q. It's in the right zip code though;
20 right?
56
21 A. I don't think it's as high as
22 yours, no, sir.
23 Q. If you use the old numbers before
0064
1 the price increases and you reduced the
2 renewal revenue by $10 million a year for
3 these two counties, what percentage would
4 you put on it?
5 A. Just guessing, 30-ish.
6 Q. Okay. And for those customers who
7 got those price increases, did you go to
8 those customers and say that the reason, a
9 reason that we're doing this is because
10 either your termite treatment was
11 incomplete or the termite treatment we
12 provided wore off and it hadn't been
13 replaced for a number of years and your
14 home has been vulnerable to having hidden
15 termite infestations?
16 A. I don't believe that's an accurate
17 statement.
18 Q. You published on your website that
19 the chemicals you used wear off after a
20 few years; correct?
21 A. Again, no. I don't believe that's
22 true because chemicals could be a wide
23 variety of products and they all have
57
0065
1 different levels of efficacy.
2 Q. Up until this current retreatment
3 program for these two counties in the
4 state of Alabama, the company has not had
5 a protocol in place anywhere in the
6 country to re-treat houses unless the
7 company discovers an active termite
8 infestation, the customer builds an
9 addition to their home, or the chemical
10 barrier in the ground around the property
11 is disturbed; correct?
12 A. Correct, that's the regulations.
13 Q. So whether the house is under
14 contract for five years or since 1942 like
15 [Dee Dall’s} house, the company's not going
16 to re-treat that house once the chemical
17 wears off until it gets infested or they
18 alter the foundation; correct?
19 A. No, I would not agree with that
20 statement.
21 Q. Now, you mentioned that the reason
22 for this program was to improve the
23 customer experience. Are you familiar
0066
1 with the fact that the chief executive
2 officer of the company's parent
58
3 corporation Nick Vardy in a recent SEC
4 filing said that the reason for this
5 program was to reduce excessive claims
6 costs in the Mobile and Baldwin County
7 area?
8 A. I didn't read the filings.
9 Q. Are you aware otherwise, other
10 than from those filings that an objective
11 of the program was to reduce the company's
12 loss experience in Mobile and Baldwin
13 Counties?
14 A. I know that the package as a whole
15 that we've implemented is to get a better
16 control of the Formosan termite pressure
17 in this market.
18 Q. And are you aware that when
19 investors asked Mr. Vardy if this program
20 was going to be expanded to other counties
21 or other parts of the country, that his
22 answer was, to paraphrase Mr. Vardy or the
23 chief financial officer Mr. DiLucente, one
0067
1 of the other of those gentlemen who were
2 on the call, that the company was not
3 going to expand the program to any place
4 else unless they started losing a lot of
5 money in lawsuits for doing deficient
59
6 prevention service?
7 A. I did not -- I've not ever heard
8 that, and I know that we have had
9 conversations and plans of at least three
10 other markets that we would implement a
11 version of the same system we implemented
12 in the gulf, so --
13 Q. And just to be clear about these
14 reforms, there's 65 other counties in the
15 state of Alabama that are governed by the
16 same regulations, you understand that?
17 A. I didn't know the counties, but
18 yes, the state of Alabama has the same
19 regulations --
20 Q. Terminix does business in all of
21 those counties; correct?
22 A. I would assume probably, yes.
23 Q. Any customer who lives in any of
0068
1 those other counties there's no currently
2 existing plan to provide those customers a
3 termite treatment for any of these things:
4 They got one of these baiting contracts
5 that also promised a defined treatment;
6 their initial treatment was incomplete; or
7 their initial termite treatment wore off,
8 unless those homes were discovered by
60
9 Terminix to be reinfested; correct?
10 A. No, sir.
11 Q. So are there some other counties
12 in Alabama where these retreatments
13 without termite infestation are scheduled
14 for?
15 A. So as I mentioned earlier, when
16 this program winds down we have 70 termite
17 rigs or 70 trucks, not all of them are
18 termite trucks, we have 70 trucks, 120
19 people that would be reallocated into
20 other areas to address other issues and
21 concerns.
22 I don't have an etched-in-stone
23 roadmap at this point but that is a topic
0069
1 of where some of this resource will go.
2 Q. My question is: is there a current
3 plan in place to do the same thing in
4 Alabama's other 65 counties?
5 A. There's a current plan in place to
6 expand this program at the end of this
7 program. If you're asking me to give you
8 the name of each county, I don't know that
9 specific to this point yet, but I know we
10 are working as to where to reallocate
11 these assets.
61
12 Q. Now, if Terminix was -- even with
13 this new claims procedure in place where
14 you're using Broadspire to perform some
15 actions, under that arrangement the branch
16 managers and service managers still have a
17 role to play to go out and assess damage
18 claims and help set the scope of repairs;
19 correct?
20 A. So the branch manager would manage
21 through the treatment, identification of
22 areas. They will meet the contractor and
23 be the company representative while the
0070
1 contractor does their exploratories.
2 Q. And one of the biggest branches in
3 the state of Alabama is the Mobile branch;
4 right?
5 A. I imagine it's one of the bigger,
6 yeah --
7 Q. One of the top two or three
8 branches in Alabama; right?
9 A. I'm not familiar with the size of
10 the northern branches. I know Birmingham
11 and Tuscaloosa are pretty big.
12 Q. If the company is going to expect
13 a new claims handling procedure, do you
14 think it would be a good idea to have the
62
15 branch manager of the Mobile branch, Matt
16 Cunningham, to give him a copy of and let
17 him see the protocols for how Terminix is
18 supposed to work with Broadspire on the
19 claims process?
20 A. There is a -- there is a document
21 that outlines the process and flow.
22 Q. Do you think it would be a good
23 idea --
0071
1 A. He's had it.
2 Q. -- to train Matt Cunningham on
3 that document?
4 A. If he says he hasn't been trained,
5 then we can get him some more training.
6 Q. My question is do you think it
7 would be a good idea to let him read it?
8 A. It's available to anybody in the
9 system, who has access to our system.
10 It's there.
11 I'm not sure what you're alluding
12 to because I didn't hear Mr. Cunningham's
13 testimony, so I don't know -- if he's
14 saying he's never been trained, then we
15 will address that.
16 Q. Do you think it would be a -- your
17 company uses something to set what the
63
18 service protocol is that termite customers
19 are entitled to.
20 Each January y'all publish
21 something called the termite -- the
22 technical bulletin for termite services;
23 correct?
0072
1 A. Yes.
3 idea to actually provide that to your
4 branch manager like Matt Cunningham?
5 A. Again, sir, it is an electronic
6 document housed on an internal system that
7 he has access to.
9 idea to have a program in place to assure
10 that your managers have actually read the
11 protocol for --
12 A. There is an acknowledgement
13 required.
14 Q. Did you learn -- have you ever
15 learned, I want to see what you know about
16 how well this new 180-degree turnaround
17 system that's being implemented.
18 Do you know or have you heard that
19 until last week when Matt Cunningham gave
20 a deposition to lawyers in my firm that he
64
21 had never seen any of the termite service
22 protocols for the last three years or the
23 new Broadspire claims process document?
0073
1 A. I'm not aware of that.
2 Q. One way to limit claims in Mobile

3 and Baldwin County is to quit issuing
4 repair guarantees; correct?
5 A. If you don't have a repair
6 guarantee, yeah.
7 Q. And y'all accomplished that in
8 this turnabout by not issuing repair
9 guarantees to any new customers; correct?
10 A. No, sir, that is incorrect. There
11 is a ten-month waiting period and then the
12 repair guarantee kicks in.
13 Q. And one of the new things in this
14 turnaround as relates to these contracts
15 too which didn't exist in this contract is
16 a provision that says Terminix's repair
17 guarantee once it kicks in is going to be
18 limited to the used value of the house
19 you're protecting; correct?
20 A. That's incorrect. The word "used"
21 you added.
22 Q. Okay.
65
23 A. It's the appraised value.
0074
1 Q. Okay, excuse me. The appraised
2 value of the used house that you have --
3 A. It's the appraised value of the
4 structure.
5 Q. The appraised value of the
6 structure. So if that were to be -- if
7 that had been in place with the BillyBob
8 Anonymous contract and the appraised value
9 said it was worth $125,000 for the
10 structure or $400,000 for the structure
11 depending on which appraisal you looked
12 at, the most Terminix would be responsible
13 for paying is one of those two numbers,
14 whichever one is found to apply; correct?
15 A. Yes. The appraised value of the
16 structure is the claims limit on the plan.
17 Q. But you recognize as Terminix's

18 new national claims director for the type
19 of contracts that BillyBob and Beth Anonymous
20 have, if it was indeed transferred to
21 them, that that's unlimited guarantee. If
22 the cost of repairs cost $2.8 million,
23 then Terminix is obligated itself to pay
66
0075
1 $2.8 million even if the appraised value
2 of the structure itself is only worth
3 400,000?
4 A. Right. It's a like for like
5 repair and the contract says it will pay
6 the cost of labor and materials to repair
7 the termite damage.
8 Q. And so if that's an unusual house
9 with a bunch of weird roof lines and heavy
10 wooden exposed beams and wood ceilings and
11 expensive cypress walls, you're going to
12 build them back a house just like that
13 like for like?
14 A. Like for like.
15 Q. And if the building inspector says
16 it's got to be built above the floodplain,
17 then you're going to build it above the
18 floodplain; right?
19 A. It's to put it back to its
20 original condition like for like.
21 Q. And that's just the deal Terminix

22 struck; right?
23 A. That's the terms in the agreement
67
0076
1 pre-April 2018.
2 Q. And the company has decided to
3 treat people in south Alabama better by
4 issuing these new contracts where once the
5 repair guarantee kicks in the company is
6 never going to have to pay for those kind
7 of disproportionate damages again; right?
8 A. So the contract is going to be
9 used in other areas. It's not limited to
10 two counties. It's not like they picked
11 on two counties. It is a contract that
12 we're using, we will take the learnings
13 and everything and the best practices that
14 we pulled out of the gulf region and we
15 will reallocate assets and mirror the
16 program or some hybrid of the program in
17 other markets.
18 Q. That would be an example of
19 something that Terminix would call a best
20 practice from its standpoint?
21 A. Best practice would be more of a
22 treatment mechanic or something to that
23 nature or an inspection procedure
0077
1 utilizing thermal imaging, moisture
2 meters, things like that.
68
3 Q. These new dual defend contracts
4 that you -- did you mean to tell
5 Arbitrator Arbitrator that those contracts are
6 better than the old lifetime renewable
7 contracts?
8 A. They are a better level of
9 protection and control of termites.
10 Q. And that's because the scope of
11 the liquid treatment is a comprehensive
12 treatment plus you're going to use baiting
13 systems for all those houses; right?
14 A. Both systems are functional and
15 capable of controlling Formosan termites
16 but we're using both of them simultaneous
17 to give even a higher level of protection
18 for their home.
19 Q. And that's a contract you're very
20 familiar with because it's the -- I forgot
21 what term you used about the reconfiguring
22 your business, realigning it, or what was
23 it?
0078
1 A. You've lost me.
2 Q. The change, overall change you
3 said to use your term, one time you said
4 180-degrees and another time you used
5 another phrase.
69
6 A. I don't remember. She can read it
7 back maybe.
8 Q. That contract, that Dual Defend
9 contract actually says in number
10 paragraph 7 in the fine print on the back
11 is that the company is going to use a
12 Terminix baiting system, and slash or, a
13 liquid treatment and slash or other
14 controlled measures. That's what the
15 contract actually provides; correct?
16 A. I have not read -- memorized every
17 word on that contract.
18 Q. If that's what the contract --
19 A. If that's what it says --
20 Q. If that's what the contract says,
21 during the lifetime of that contract
22 Terminix could decide that the only thing
23 it's going to do for the entire seven-year
0079
1 period of the contract other than whatever
2 it does in the beginning is just other
3 control measures; right?
4 A. No, sir, I believe in the box, I
5 believe in the first paragraph it talks
6 about they add a liquid. Do you have a
7 copy of the contract? Do you want me to
8 read it?
70
9 ARBITRATOR: Let's not
10 belabor about the contract. It's not the
11 contract at issue here, and I think your
12 point has been made.
13 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) The other thing
14 I want to talk to you about is is for
15 these customers are you going to the
16 customers that are getting these termite
17 treatments and telling them hey, we're
18 doing this treatment because -- let's
19 limit it first to the customers that got
20 exactly the same contract as BillyBob and
21 Beth.
22 To those customers are you going
23 to them and saying we should have provided
0080
1 this treatment when we put your house
2 under bond in March of 2014 but we didn't
3 and so we're doing that now?
4 Are you confessing to them that
5 the service you were supposed to provide
6 in the past was not provided?
7 A. I can't answer that because I do
8 not have the script. I do not know what
9 they are saying when they're calling the
10 customers to schedule them. I have zero
11 knowledge of what they're saying.
71
12 Q. Now, getting back to the state
13 regulation, are you familiar with the fact
14 that when the company provides for a
15 defined treatment in the text box, that if
16 the company skips part of that defined
17 treatment that the customer's then
18 entitled to a comprehensive treatment
19 including all the things that are
20 described in Section 20 of the
21 regulations?
22 A. I know that a bait system meets
23 the standards under regulation of a
0081
1 comprehensive treatment, satisfies the
2 requirement of the comprehensive
3 treatment.
4 I don't know that -- I don't
5 recall reading that it says if you have a
6 defined treatment and you missed a drill
7 hole or whatever that we have to go back
8 with full comprehensive. I'm not saying
9 it doesn't. I'm not aware of it. [Let’s show the Regulatory Liaison another provision of the
regulations for which he is supposed to be Terminix’s expert.]
10 Q. And we've got a copy of the
11 regulation on this board, Section 16 of
12 the regulation that says any deviation of
13 the defined post-construction treatment
14 per product label and this rule shall be
72
15 considered a comprehensive
16 post-construction treatment and shall meet
17 all requirements of this rule and
18 subsection 20, do you see that?
19 A. Yeah, I see it.
20 Q. And if you can in that pink book
21 in front of you turn to tab marked 2012.
22 Go to Section 20 and some of those
23 requirements listed in Section 20 involve
0082
1 things like treating all foundation voids
2 and cracks; correct?
3 A. A comprehensive treatment does
4 treat all voids.
5 Q. And the only thing that can be
6 used to treat all voids in a property is a
7 liquid termiticide, a soil-based
8 termiticide treatment; correct?
9 A. Or a foam product.
10 Q. And the foam product is used from
11 --
12 A. The base of a liquid.
13 Q. Base of a liquid. So this
14 provision doesn't provide that if you skip
15 doing or miss stuff in the defined
16 treatment that you can just install a
17 baiting system.
73
18 Section 20 is talking about
19 traditional comprehensive liquid
20 treatment; correct?
21 A. Right. [The upshot of this is that the Treatments Terminix had to perform for the Defined”
treatment that Terminix skipped altogether for up to six years is that it owed all of those customers
the better “comprehensive” treatment that is required by the regulations when they failed to give the
customer what they paid for in the first place.]
22 ARBITRATOR: Let's take a
23 short break.
0083
1 (Off the record.)
2 Q. (By Mr. Campbell) As part of this
3 new process for handling claims, did that
4 new system lead to disapproving 60 pending
5 repair estimates by one of the company's
6 long-term repair contractors Gary Powers?
7 A. I have no knowledge of what you're
8 talking about.
9 Q. Were you aware that Mr. Powers had

10 always had hundreds of estimates he
11 prepared for termite damage approved by
12 Terminix until the new system came in
13 place and then all 60 of his estimates
14 were denied?
15 A. No. [The person who just testified that he approves and disapproves all
claims over $5,000 in the Gulf Region says he is unaware that he disapproved 60
claims. Some people have bad memories. Maybe Prevogen would benefit Mr.
Curtis?]
74
CASH SETTLEMENTS
16 Q. One of the other things that is a
17 focus of that new system is to go to
18 customers that have termite damage and
19 instead of arranging for and making the
20 necessary repairs, Terminix is asking them
21 to enter into cash settlements; correct?
22 A. Terminix will ask a customer to
23 accept a cash settlement when there are
0084
1 other extenuating damages not associated
2 with termite damage.
3 Q. And one of the standard releases
4 that Terminix uses with those settlements
5 is a release where a customer agrees to go
6 away and never to be a customer again,
7 keep the terms of the transaction secret,
8 and never say bad things about Terminix;
9 correct?
10 A. There's two versions of releases.
11 One is they have to cancel the contract
12 and the other is they get to keep the
13 contract.
14 Q. Okay. And the one for canceling
15 the contract says they'll keep the terms
16 of the settlement secret and they'll never
17 say anything bad about Terminix; right?
75
18 A. From my understanding, both
19 releases say the exact same thing other
20 than you get to keep your contract or you
21 have to cancel your contract.
22 Q. And some of the same things that
23 they say is keep it a secret and don't
0085
1 talk bad about Terminix, confidentiality
2 and non-disparaging?
3 A. Right.
4 MR. CAMPBELL: I think
5 that's all I have.
6 REDIRECT-EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. GIBSON:
8 Q. Very briefly.
9 Mr. Curtis, would you please turn
10 to page 57 of the doc comp?
11 A. The green book?
12 Q. In the green book. Which is the
13 WIIR. And would you just read for me
14 please the second sentence of the first
15 paragraph under scope of inspection which
16 begins with if visible evidence. Starts
17 on line 2 if visible evidence of active --
18 A. I'm not finding that. I'm sorry.
19 ARBITRATOR: I can read it.
20 Q. (By Mr. Gibson) And it reads, if
76
21 visible evidence of active or previous
22 infestation of listed organisms is
23 reported, it should be assumed that some
0086
1 degree of damage is present.
2 And my question to you,
3 Mr. Curtis, is if previous infestation is
4 listed on a WIIR by the inspector, if it's
5 identified, does that tell the person
6 reviewing the report that there is damage
7 in the property?
8 A. Yes. It's telling them that there
9 is either visible or could be hidden
10 damage in the property.
11 Q. Mr. Curtis, do the changes that
12 Terminix has made to its contracting
13 process in south Alabama, in Mobile and
14 Baldwin Counties has that done anything to
15 terminate any of the existing contracts in
16 place unless the customer volunteered to
17 change the contract?
18 A. No, not at all.
19 Q. In other words, if a customer had
20 a lifetime unlimited repair guarantee,
21 then they would be able to keep that
22 unless they chose to change their
23 contract?
77
0087
1 A. That's correct, or failed to pay
2 the renewal.
3 Q. Mr. Curtis, there is an extensive
4 history of different contract forms that
5 Terminix has used over its many, many
6 years of existence; correct?
7 A. Correct, there's a bunch of them.
8 Q. Are you familiar with the damage
9 repair provision in all of those
10 agreements?
11 A. Not all of them, no. We have
12 limitations of all values, unlimited
13 limitations, there's -- I mean there's
14 hundreds of agreements over the life of
15 the company.
16 Q. And so are you capable to speak in
17 broad terms about what all Terminix's
18 agreements are obligated to do with
19 respect to repairing or replacing damage
20 or is that a contract-by-contract
21 analysis?
22 A. It's contract-by-contract review.
23 Q. And then are you familiar with
0088
1 Terminix's typical contractual language
2 that refers to essentially limiting its
78
3 liability to damage that occurs while a
4 property is under contract with Terminix?
5 A. Right. Most commonly the term is
6 Terminix's responsibility is subsequent
7 upon the execution of the contract and the
8 completion of the initial treatment.
9 Q. Is that a standard term in the
10 industry?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Are you aware of any contracts
13 with other termite control providers
14 that's obligated to provide repair or
15 replacement for property that occurred
16 prior to the contract in process?
17 A. I'm not aware of any contract that
18 assumes the previous damage would be
19 covered under the agreement that they
20 entered into.
21 Q. The transition to a limited -- a
22 contract with a seven-year period, is that
23 a relatively common practice in the
0089
1 industry?
2 A. It is relatively common practice
3 in the industry and, you know, in every
4 state. It's not just Alabama. All states
5 have those.
79
6 Q. So states where Formosan pressure
7 is limited to nonexistent often those
8 states will use seven-year contracts?
9 A. Sure, yeah. Five, seven, ten,
10 there's, you know, all types terms on
11 them.
12 MR. GIBSON: That's all I
13 have. Thank you.
14 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
15 BY MR. CAMPBELL:
16 Q. Couple of things I failed to
17 mention. You mentioned you were
18 describing your region that you brought
19 all the areas that have Formosan termite
20 problems together in one region so
21 experienced people that knew about that
22 special kind of termite could work on
23 those. Do you remember that?
0090
1 A. Yes. And so let me clarify, there
2 are pockets of Formosan termites down
3 around Tampa, they're obviously not in
4 this region and there's Formosan termites
5 in Hawaii, they're not in this region.
6 There's Formosan termites other
7 places. It's just on this I-10 corridor
8 there are eight branches across four
80
9 states that makes logical sense to pull
10 these four together, or excuse me, these
11 four states together and work with them as
12 one unit.
13 Q. You recognize this Formosan
14 termite map --
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. -- that Terminix and the
17 university of Florida have provided?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Those are all the counties where
20 Formosan termites are known to be a
21 problem?
22 A. Where Formosan termites have been
23 identified.
0091
1 Q. And that's a lot more than four
2 counties, isn't it, or eight counties?
3 A. You lost me. What's eight
4 counties? I don't understand.
5 Q. You mentioned you pulled four or
6 eight counties --
7 A. No, sir, no, sir. Four states,
8 eight branches, I'm sorry if I wasn't
9 clear.
10 Q. And those are in the gulf region
11 or does the gulf region just have Mobile
81
12 and Baldwin County? I'm confused.
13 A. So the gulf region consists of
14 Niceville, Florida; Pensacola, Florida;
15 Mobile, Alabama; Gulf Shores, Alabama;
16 Pascagoula, Mississippi; Gulfport,
17 Mississippi; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and
18 Lake Charles, which they've kind of done
19 some flip-flop restructuring but that was
20 the original eight.
21 Q. And the lawyer asked you to read a
22 provision of the contract relating to
23 presumptions that should be made about
0092
1 some damage existing if something's
2 disclosed. Do you remember that line of
3 questioning?
4 A. It was in reference to the WIIR
5 report, not the contract.
6 Q. That's right. WIIR report.
7 Do you remember that line of
8 questioning?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And you read it into the record, I
11 believe the second sentence under scope of
12 inspection, where it says, invisible
13 evidence of active or previous infestation
14 of listed organisms isn't reported.
82
15 MR. GIBSON: Tom, just to
16 clarify, that's an artifact from the
17 copying. It's "if visible". It looks
18 like "in" after it's been xeroxed.
19 MR. CAMPBELL: I'm just
20 reading the form. If you've got a
21 different one, give it to us. This is the
22 one that was supplied.
23 Q. Invisible evidence of active or
0093
1 previous infestation of listed organisms
2 is reported, it should be assumed that
3 some degree of damage is present.
4 Did what was reported to the
5 Anonymouss list any invisible evidence?
6 A. So first, to clarify, I didn't
7 read it.
8 Q. Could you explain to the
9 arbitrator why Terminix changed the words
10 from the state regulation that says if
11 visible evidence?
12 A. So the forms that we use are
13 pulled right off of the state. We don't
14 -- we have not reworded these documents.
15 These are the state documents we
16 make copies of. We don't create our own
17 document.
83
18 ARBITRATOR: Well, I'll tell
19 the parties so everybody knows and
20 Terminix knows, I see pretty clearly on
21 page 57 that it says "invisible", and I've
22 compared that to the regulations and it
23 says "if visible", so if there's a better
0094
1 copy that will show me that Terminix's
2 form isn't different, show me because
3 right now my conclusion is it is
4 different.
5 MR. CAMPBELL: My point is
6 --
7 ARBITRATOR: I've got your
8 point.
9 MR. CAMPBELL: -- they're
10 trying to hold my client to something they
11 didn't say.
12 MR. KING: We'll look for a
13 better copy and try to clear that up.
14 ARBITRATOR: I don't know
15 that that's critical. I'm just pointing
16 out as to that single question, I can see
17 what the question was.
18 MR. CAMPBELL: Thank you. I
19 have nothing further.
20 ARBITRATOR: Thank you,
84
21 Mr. Curtis. You're free to leave.
22 Let's take a five-minute
23 break and then y'all have your next
0095
1 witness. We're all going to work hard
2 here to limit it to just the important
3 stuff.
4 (Recess was taken.)
5 MR. KING: Can I say
6 something while we're waiting? I've blown
7 this up as big as I can, the WIIR on my
8 computer, I believe it says "invisible".
9 We made an assumption that it tracked the
10 language that we could read --
11 ARBITRATOR: It would not be
12 the first time there's been a typo.
13 MR. KING: So for the record
14 we don't think it says "if visible".
15 ARBITRATOR: Just why don't
16 you try to get it fixed. Tell your client
17 to get it fixed.
18
19
20
21
22
23
85
0096
1 CERTIFICATE
3 STATE OF ALABAMA )
4 TUSCALOOSA COUNTY )
6 I hereby certify that the above and
7 foregoing proceedings were taken down by
8 me in stenotype, and the questions and
9 answers thereto were reduced in transcript
10 form by computer-aided transcript under my
11 supervision, and that the foregoing
12 represents a true and correct transcript
13 of the proceedings occurring on said date
14 at said time.
15 I further certify that I am neither of
16 counsel nor of kin to the parties to the
17 action, nor am I anywise interested in the
18 results of said cause.
19 Signed the 27th day of June, 2020.
20
21 NANCY PANNELL, CCR
22 Alabama CCR#30-Expires 9/30/2020
23 My Notary Expires 07/17/2021
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Jeff Curtis Testimony Anon July 2020

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Trial Transcript Anonymized to protect identity of the Claimants

1 AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION

9 VICTORIA AND BILLYBOB ANONYMOUS,

12 TERMINIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LP et al.,

15 TESTIMONY OF JEFF CURTIS

20 DATE: JUNE 19, 2020

21 PLACE: Hilton Garden Inn, Mobile, Alabama

22 BEFORE: MR. Arbitrator

23 REPORTED BY: Nancy W. Pannell, CCR

3 EXAMINATION BY: PAGE NO.

1 ARBITRATOR: Would you state

3 THE WITNESS: My name is

5 ARBITRATOR: Mr. Curtis, my

6 name is FakeName Arbitrator. I'm going to swear

9 being first duly sworn, was examined and

12 BY MR. JAMES GIBSON of Lightfoot, Franklin and White:

13 Q. Good afternoon, Mr. Curtis.

14 Would you please tell Mr. Arbitrator

15 about your history at Terminix.

16 A. So I've been with the company for

17 17 years. I started off as a branch

18 manager. I managed multiple branches up

19 until the end of 2014, and then in January

20 of 2015 I went into region management, so

21 I managed eight branches in the state of

23 Then I managed from there I went

1 into the director of fumigation for the

2 company, so I ran the fumigation for the

3 entire state of Florida. When that

4 project shut down, I came to the gulf

5 region in April of 2018. I believe it was

6 the 16th or 17th, whatever the Monday was

8 I did that job until November of

9 last year and then I moved to director of

10 claims for Terminix.

11 Q. And, Mr. Curtis, are you licensed

13 A. I am. I'm licensed in the state

14 of Florida and the state of Alabama.

15 Q. And do you have any sort of

16 professional associations or affiliations

17 that are meaningful to you in your job?

18 A. Yes, I currently also sit on the

19 board of directors for the Alabama Pest

21 Q. And in that role what do you do?

22 A. I'm a general board member. So we

23 just talk about industry topics, the

1 association, financials, and memberships,

2 and just general association business.

3 Q. Tell me about your role when you

4 were serving as director of operations for

5 the gulf region. What that was job like?

6 What were your responsibilities?

7 A. As director of operations I had

8 multiple things that I was responsible

9 for. I was responsible for oversight on

11 approval of damage claims up to my

12 threshold in the gulf region and then

13 technical aspect of we totally changed the

14 business model in the gulf region so I

15 helped develop the training programs. I

16 also stood up a quality assurance team.

17 Q. And when did you start that role

18 as director of operations for the gulf?

19 A. I believe it was April 16th or