NDC

My work with NDC has shifted a good deal since my last blog post. Since then I have conducted three separate oral interviews with individuals associated with the Old Goucher Vision Master Plan. Basically this was a plan that was developed by a select group of residents in the Old Goucher neighborhood of Baltimore City to show the history and uniqueness of the neighborhood against the abutting more visible and prominent neighborhoods of Charles Village and Station North. NDC's function in the project was essentially to be a guide for how to organize a community based effort in terms of setting up a charrette, or community buy-in, for the residents of the community, securing funding to pay a professional design studio to create a visually captivating booklet showcasing the neighborhood's history and current standing, and a lionshare of the actual writing within said booklet. My role was to interview the various individuals who participated in the project in order to get a sense of what drives them to both maintain the historical integrity of their neighborhood, as well as responsibly grow the neighborhood going forward.

After concluding that aspect of my internship responsibility, I shifted my focus completely to working with Mr. Sharpe of the Duncan Street Miracle Garden. At the beginning of the summer I met with Mr. Sharpe to discuss some of the improvements he is eager to see actualized in the garden. Among those were the painting of a mural on the side of one of the vacant buildings abutting the garden, as well the gating of an alley to car traffic that essentially splits the garden into two halves. Mr. Sharpe's dream is to create a safe environment for children to play in this alley without the hazard of cars speeding through.

Both of these tasks are still ongoing and I hope to have them further along, if not completed in the coming weeks. As for the mural, Jen at NDC was able to get the renowned Baltimore based street artist Gaia to commit to painting the mural for free. My tasks on this front have been to track down the owner of the property which contains the wall and secure his permission for the project. I have also been acting as a liaison to coordinate with Mr. Sharpe and Gaia as to the time frame and logistical requirements necessary to complete the project. Aside from a few minor roadblocks, this project is looking good and hopefully the mural will be completed by the end of September/early October.

The alley gating process has proven quite a bit more tedious and difficult. As I write this I am actually going over some photos I took of the alley in question, as well photos of the surrounding networks of alleys, in order to attach them to a formal application which must be sent to the city prior to receiving preliminary approval to move forward with the project. I have had to document the space thoroughly as well create elaborately edited block maps via photoshop which show the various municipalities (water meters, power lines, trash pickup etc.) which require the usage of the alley. I am hoping to have the application completed this week so we can send it in to the city by the first week of September. Realistically I don't imagine I will be able to see this project through to it's completion since the whole process can take upwards of a year depending on how long it takes the city to review the application and the subsequent process of securing funding for the actual gates and the necessary locks for said gate. Nevertheless, I intend to spend a few more weeks on the process and see it along as far as possible.

National Electronics Museum 3

Moving into the third month of my internship at the National Electronics Museum, I had initially thought things would be settling into a familiar routine. However, that was not the case. As July ended the last big education event for the summer was the second session of Pioneer Camp on August 15^th and 16^th. Having already completed the first session of the camp, I thought I knew what to expect going into the second session. The first issue arose when I needed to order materials for the 29 campers that were currently signed up (compared to 19 the first session) but was worried about last minute sign ups that would increase the camper count. The week leading up to the first session we had an extra 8 campers register, which was fine because I had over ordered supplies so we had some for the second session. But, there was no third session so I did not want to waste the museums limited funds on excess supplies that we would never use for anything else. With that in mind I went to the assistant director, Alice, and received permission form her to put an end date on registration for the second session so that we had time to order excess supplies as needed.

That settled my supplies issue but left me with, perhaps the more pressing concern. Pioneer Camp session one had 19 campers and I had three and a half (one volunteer could only do one day of the two day camp) assistants to help me run the camp. Pioneer Camp session two had 27 campers enrolled and I had one and a half assistants to run the camp. One volunteer could be there both mornings but had to leave at lunch time. Then the day of the camp, Alice told me the front desk assistant could help me, but my primary education assistant got sick and could not help on the first day and had to leave at lunch on the second day. This led to Alice stepping in to help me run the camp, so I now had two and a half assistants, but none of them were there the first time. They were all fantastic, and thankfully the satellite demonstration and HAM radio station at our museum both came through again to give us a bit of a break during the second day.

The second session of the camp was nearly the direct opposite of the first session in behavior. The first session was well behaved on day one, but was much more rambunctious on day two. The second session was horribly behaved on the first day, partly due to the lack of familiarity of the staff with the projects, and were much better behaved on the second day, thankfully. The difference in staff to camper ratio aside the second session went very well, a part from one or two unexpected issues. The first issue was that one parent was extremely late to pick up their children, which was something the museum had never had an issue with during prior years. In prior years the camp was over at 1:00pm so if a parent was late they child could just visit the museum with a staff member. This year the camp did not end until 5:00pm, and the museum closed at 4:00pm. So the director and I had to stay until the children was picked up by their parents. The parent finally arrived around 6:00pm, which was an hour late. After this, the museum has decided that in the future they will charge a late pick up fee much like a daycare would if a camper is not picked up in a timely fashion. The second issue was that one of the tables had trouble paying attention because they were constantly trying to trade Pokemon cards, and I largely mention this because I would never, ever have predicted I would have to confiscate Pokemon cards over the summer here.

Both sessions of Pioneer Camp were fairly successful this summer, and I have defiantly learned a lot about teaching kids, and running an educational camp during the summer. Due to feedback from prior years I decided to make the camp two full days from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and ultimately I believe that was a mistake. That is two days that are longer than their regular school day, and by 2:00pm the kids were getting restless and tired of being in camp all day. As a museum staff we have not had a meeting about Pioneer Camp and how to make it better but I thought this would be a good place to try and articulate my thoughts on the matter. This summer we had 4-8 groups nearly every week of June and July. These were other summer camps that would come to the museum for tours, demos, and sometimes workshops as well. We charge $2 for the guided tour, $5 for demos and tours, and most of our workshops are $10 per participant. That means a group that comes here for two and a half hours at the cost of $15 per student if they want everything. Most of our workshops we buy the supplies in bulk so the cost is maybe $5-$6 per participant plus my hourly wages, and maybe the wages to one of my assistants. So a group of twenty campers would cost $300 for tours, demos, and workshops but the cost to us would only be around $150 for staff and materials. So, in that two and a half hours the museum has made about $150, and any extra supplied go towards the next workshop. That is also a $50 an hour profit for the museum. If a group just wants tours and demos the only cost is staff time and so it is nearly pure profit. Pioneer Camp supplies cost nearly $1,000, and we charged $80 per camper, $72 if you had more than one camper register to make it easier for families. So with 46 total campers, 38 paid $80 and 8 paid $72 that means we were paid a total of $3,616. Take away $1,000 for supplies and that is $2,616. Take away another $1,120 just to pay for staffing the two sessions of camp and that leaves $1496 as the profits for the museum. $1496 divided by the 36 hours that the camp lasted for is $41.56 per hour profit for the museum. This profit also does not count all of the hours I spent prepping for the camp, ordering supplies, talking with parents etc. In light of that and the drastic increase of the number of groups visiting the museum from other summer camps.

 I believe we need to seriously consider overhauling Pioneer Camp due to the lower profit margin and its lower impact in that it has drastically less participants. The participants for Pioneer Camp have all already heard of the museum or visited, so it also is not really introducing the museum to new attendees that will tell people about the museum. Not that pleasing a base of people who already know about the museum is a bad thing, I just think it is something we need to keep in mind moving forward. I do believe we should not do full days next summer because while easier for the parents it is very tough for the kids and at that point they aren’t really learning anything anymore. I wonder if one option is to do multiple shorter “camps” that target age groups other than 8-10. Maybe smaller more intimate sessions where we can teach older kids how to solder, and focus specifically on one principle of electricity or magnetism each day of the camp. That activity/lesson lasts maybe 3 hours and the attendees pay just for whichever lesson interests them? I honestly am not sure what the best thing to try next summer is, but I am looking forward to discussing it with the staff here at NEM moving forward. I am also immensely grateful for this experience directing staff and volunteers in leading an educational summer camp for young children. It has helped me to develop better leadership, logistical, teaching, and people skills. All of which will help me moving forward in just about any job position. 

Talbot Historical Society 3

Today was my last day at my internship with the Talbot Historical Society. Over the summer, I got to step into the role of a historian and see how the Talbot Historical Society operates. During my three months, I was able to scan and catalogue over 2,000 negatives from the Laird Wise--almost the whole collection. In addition, I aided in setting up two exhibits, one of which has attracted nation wide attention. the Director of the THS has had TV and radio interviews regarding the exhibit on Unionville (More about Unionville in my first post).

The members-only event for our second exhibit,  Trains in Talbot County, was a big success. We had historian Mike Dixon give a lecture on how the trains impacted our county that was accompanied by an informative power point. After the lecture, members were able to view the exhibit and I got many compliments for my work on the exhibit and had a great opportunity to see all of the support that the society has.

Other small tasks that I helped with this month were cleaning out and organizing the attic space. We managed to create a central area for picture frames, glass, and mat board for easier access in the future. 

I had a wonderful internship experience. The people I got to work with and those that I got to meet made me realize how wonderful our little county is, and how rich it is in history. Despite my internship being over, I will still continue to volunteer at the society during my free time. 

Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Internship Blog Post 3

For the past three months I have been an intern with Visitor Experience for the Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Galleries. I have learned so much and I am happy to report that I will be extending my internship for another six months during my last semester in college. I will continue working with the F|S team to plan and execute the Freer|Sackler IlluminAsia Reopening Weekend. I enjoy seeing projects to the end so I am very happy I was asked to stay on as a reopening team member.

Currently in our office, we have large maps for the layouts for different galleries. Curators are able to put up pictures of the artifacts they are showing in their exhibits as well as the text that accompanies the art. There are also swatches of fabric for some of the galleries as well as material used for couches we are putting in the hallway. People are constantly changing their boards with text edits, adding or omitting information that they deem necessary to share with the public. We also have vision boards for the theatre in the Freer Gallery. Everything in the Freer Gallery has been renovated and our technology has been updated so it is very exciting seeing the whole museum come together. There is a lot that goes into reopening a museum. The Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Galleries are going through a rebranding as well. We are pushing the idea that they are “2 Galleries, 1 Destination.” We are hoping more people will visit the two national Asian Art museums. A lot of people don’t realize they are Smithsonian affiliated museums and some people don’t even know about the Sackler Gallery. We are going to try to make a bigger statement in 2018 for the Freer|Sackler.  

In the middle of August, I was able to accompany my supervisor to a Herman Miller showroom to pick out new chairs that will be put at the Visitor Information Desk. Because both museums are being renovated, we are getting new Information Desks and chairs for our volunteers to sit at. This was my first time ever going to a showroom and representing a company. In a way, we were buyers for Smithsonian. I really enjoyed the experience. We were brought into a display room with all the chairs the company offered in our price range and we tested them out, picked out colors, and set up a delivery for mid September.

I am hoping that once both museums are open, I will be able to work in both the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery as well as the Charles Lang Freer Gallery. I have not been in the Freer Gallery in over two years so I will be attending training in September prior to the reopening to learn about the new layout and all the new exhibits. I really enjoy trainings because the curators are able to talk about everything they have researched and we, as Visitor Information Specialists are able to share this with the public.

When I return to work in September, I will continue working on putting out the seasonal newsletters to our Docents and Volunteers. I will continue to stay in contact with those volunteering for IlluminAsia and I will continue to attend docent trainings to familiarize myself with our new exhibits and prepare for visitors to return.

Internship at Casais & Prias PLLC Law Firm 2

These past two weeks continued to provide challenging research opportunities at my internship. In court itself, note taking on rapid cases with very little time to prepare was a skillset I had to get comfortable with. It felt similar to the type of note taking associated with interviews I’ve done for historical research before. My experience with research in the history major continues to help in general research and argument forming at this internship. Constructing legal arguments uses many of the same skills as writing in the historical discipline. Where history majors tend to struggle finding those key sources that can prove your argument perfectly, lawyers can seek information then commit it for posterity. 

Following the first part of my research at Casais & Prias I began shadowing attorney Prias at dependency court. For this I took notes on defendants, retrieved documentation, and back at the office performed necessary research. The hearings provided a challenge of trying to break out the information for each case in my notes. Following that, I had to collect information and relevant case law so objections could be filed in time. 

Casais & Prias PLLC Law Firm has a contract with the state to provide representation in dependency court. When children are taken into protective custody for any multitude of reasons, attorneys Casais or Prias represent one of the parents as they either work to regain custody or relinquish parental rights. In this arrangement, the attorney does not normally meet the parent they are representing until moments before the hearing. Prosecution, defense (for each parent separately), case managers, and (if assigned by the court) guardian ad litems are handed packets detailing all the information for the case. The judge listens to whatever the hearing is for, and makes a decision if applicable. If need be, a follow up hearing is set. The decision is usually whether the parent is “compliant” or “non-compliant” with what they’ve been ordered to do by the court to get their children back.

One hearing of note was a parent whose children were placed into foster care because of her alleged drug use. According to paperwork that everyone had received she is completing her court ordered therapy and remaining clean on drug tests. Despite this, prosecution claimed to have no information that she was completing therapy. On top of this, prosecution claimed to have seen a video of her using drugs in the past month. The judge decided to file the parent as “non-compliant” with a ten-day deadline for objections on the basis that hearsay is allowed in dependency court. 

It was interesting to see how much the law is up to the judge’s discretion. Judges have a lot of leeway in recording someone’s compliance. It reminded me of Natalie Zemon Davis’ analysis of early French judge Jean De Coras in The Return of Martin Guerre. I was under the impression that modern law maintained a much more black and white style with little room for personal judgements. Natalie Zemon Davis attributed Jean De Coras’ roman style interpretation of laws to his overwhelming desire to keep families together. From my experience these past two weeks in litigation and talking with attorney Prias it’s clear each judge has their own predilections. 

Back at the office I first researched statutes for introducing evidence or using new information (video of the parent) in dependency cases. Through my research I found that the court could not use this information without an evidentiary hearing first. In addition to that rule, the video in question was a video of the original video playing on a laptop at a distance. Case law showed that videos whose origin or method of collection are as questionable as this cannot be used. Following that I got into contact with the parent’s therapy manager. I managed to get documentation for each of her therapy sessions and drafted an affidavit for the therapist attesting to the parent’s work in the program. Attorney Prias then filed the objections with the court. The strength of which should place the parent into “compliant” status. This allows her to maintain her visitation and continue her work to regain her children. 

Patapsco Heritage Greenway 2

In July, I met with the director of the Elkridge Heritage Society, Mary Bahr. She runs and maintains many of the historic documents and photographs from Elkridge. Mary showed me around the town of Elkridge, which was very helpful and introduced me to the important historic landmarks and neighborhoods in Elkridge. After I met with Mary, I realized that having grown up and lived in Elkridge all her life, she will be a valuable resource to those students that are researching sites in Elkridge.  

I also met with some local residents from Relay. Kurt and Karen Hoffman are board members of the Relay Improvement association. Not only are they interested in the history of their community, but they are also invested in preserving vital community institutions. In the town of Relay, neighborhood groups and community institutions are dwindling. One that remains at the center of Relay is the Relay Town Hall. This building is one that is rich with history for members of the community. In 1910, the structure that is now the town hall was built, and served as a volunteer fire station for the town until 1929, when it was used as a Baltimore County public library. Today, the Town Hall serves as a community center.

Talking to Kurt and Karen was very informative, as it helped me to understand certain dynamics and concerns that they and other members of the community face. One of their concerns is that the families that live in Relay do not know or try to celebrate the history of the town. Many families did not grow up in the community, and are therefore unfamiliar with its history. Furthermore, Karen was expressing that there are very few community groups where neighbors can come together. It is apparent that the Town Hall, being a historic building, is one of the last community institutions that still brings neighbors together.

On July 12th, my internship supervisor invited me to an event hosted by the nonprofit organization Preservation Maryland. It was called the Old Line State Summit, where museum professionals, historic preservationists, and advocates come together to discuss and explore various topics, challenges, and successes they have faced in the field of historic preservation. There were a series of lectures throughout the day, focusing on different topics. I was very fortunate to be able to attend this conference,as it gave me a better sense of the direction of the field, and have the opportunity to talk and hear the perspective of various professionals in the field were able to share their successes, failures, and goals for the future.

This month, I have continued to research sites in the towns of Relay, Elkridge, and Halethorpe. The challenge about these towns is that they are all so close together, yet they all maintain their own unique identities. This is something that will have to be recognized and addressed by the students who are research sites in these communities. Additionally, through my research and exploration of these sites, I recognize the importance of preserving and celebrating the history of these small towns. It is especially important, as some of the significant historical sites in these areas are crumbling or are no longer there at all. That is why public history projects and preservation efforts are so important so that the rich history of small towns is not lost or forgotten.

Talbot Historical Society 2

The second month of my internship has been just as exciting as the first.

For the majority of the month, I have continued scanning and cataloging donated photographs. The photos that I am working on come from the Laird Wise collection, and contain negatives of people, events, buildings, and various aspects of life in Talbot County. The Society was given a grant in order to digitally preserve the photographs and have obtained three computers and scanners, accompanied with the PastPerfect database.

The Society's photograph collection is primarily made up of three local professional photographers (Laird Wise, H. Robins Hollyday, and C.C. Harris), who's documentation of our region spans from 1870 to 1950. There are well over 100,000 negatives, prints, and slides in the photograph collection and I have catalogued close to a thousand photos, though that is a relatively small number compared to the grand total.

On an unrelated note, I was given the responsibility of finding a permanent storage solution for framed portraits and paintings in the vault. The framed collection was hung on peg board, but it gave in and fell down early in my internship. As of yesterday, they were being stored on the ground, leaning up against the wall. Not a good way to store them. Due to the heavy rain we got last week, the vault flooded (thankfully there was minimal damage), but today, my proposed storage solution was implemented and installed. I suggested that a more durable storage method would be chicken wired panels to get the paintings off of the ground and hung out of harms way. 

At the very end of July, We took down our Unionville exhibit in order to assemble our next exhibit: Trains and the Development of Talbot County. There were two major railroad lines that passed through Talbot County. The Baltimore and Eastern Rail Road went from Baltimore to Ocean City, while the Pennsylvania Rail Road went from Clayton, DE to Oxford, MD. We had a wealth of photos, artifacts, and information to put on display in a limited amount of space, but the exhibit turned out wonderful and a kick-off event will be held this Saturday, which I'll be attending and will later blog about.

Howard County Historical Society 3

In the final weeks of my internship at the Howard County Historical Society, I have again taken to researching the life and legacy of Joshua Barney. This research has aided me in successfully accessioning a collection of 589 items related to Joshua Barney. The collection contained a wide variety of documentary items, from journal entries, to maps, to letters.

The research that I carried out aided me in placing these items into their historical context. Many of the items related to Barney’s prolific naval career during the War of 1812. Such items included letters recounting the Battle of Bladensburg, and hand-drawn maps showing the position of the Patuxent Flotilla in 1814. Without research, these items would be difficult to place within their historical context.

The primary and secondary source research that I studied painted a detailed picture of the life of Joshua Barney during the war. Already a veteran from the War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, Barney was a well known figure in American admiralty. Despite this, Barney refused to join the new, official navy of the United States. At the onset of the War of 1812, Barney instead opted to enlist as a privateer.  

Now Commodore of the schooner Rossie, Barney was tasked with protecting the Chesapeake Bay from British intrusion. Barney excelled at this task, and between July 12 and 10 November, Barney claimed more than $1,500,000 in plunder from the British Fleet. Using the small 13 gun schooner, Barney frequently captured small, isolated British ships taking their supplies for America and protecting the Bay communities from plunder.

In 1813, the British focussed their strategy on naval operation on the Bay. This shift placed Barney’s operation on the Rossie in danger. Privy to the dangers this new change posed, the Navy Department rewarded Barney’s good work with a commission as the Commodore of the Flotilla of Baltimore. This new flotilla was to be raised that year as a lightweight fleet of agile ships. These ships were designed not for pitched battles, but rather to harass the newly bolstered British fleet in the Bay.

Now in command of the fleet, Barney engaged the British in a series of small battles across the Bay and in the Patuxent River. Using the ships’ small sizes and light weights, Barney frequently escaped capture by sailing upriver into the Bay’s many rivers and tributaries. Unlike the ships of the Baltimore Flotilla, the British fleet found the rivers to shallow to give chase. Barney relied on this fleet to continue his harassment of the Fleet.

Barney continued to see great success with this tactic until mid-1814. The British, having defeated Napoleon in Europe, had focussed the might of their armed forces on the Americas. Determined to end the war, Britain gathered a grand fleet of 46 ships aimed at the Patuxent River. Realizing his flotilla could not stand against a fleet this large, Barney was forced to take the fleet upriver and scuttle it, preventing the ships from falling into enemy hands.

Without a fleet, Barney was forced to take his 500 sailors to land. As the British fleet disembarked from the Patuxent north of Washington, America hastily put together a defence.Calling upon all available forces, America gathered several thousand Maryland Militiamen to join Barney in defending Washington at the crossroads at Bladensburg.

The ensuing battle was catastrophic for the Americans. Many of the Maryland militia routed instantly, leaving Barney and his sailors without support. Barney’s sailors bravely held against the British veterans until Barney was shot and wounded. Immobile, Barney called on his soldiers to flee and avoid capture, but many refused to abandon their captain.

Barney was captured by the British at the end of the battle only to be put on parole by the commander of the British fleet in the Chesapeake. The British went on to burn Washington, and the war ceased shortly afterwards with neither side claiming total victory. The wound Barney suffered in the Battle of Bladensburg was never fully treated, leading to Barney’s early death in 1818 as he and his family moved from Baltimore to Kentucky.

Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Internship 2

Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Internship: July Wrap-Up

This last month at the Smithsonian Freer|Sackler galleries has been quite busy, which is why I am writing this blog post so late.

On July 4^th the Sackler Gallery closed one of our most popular exhibits, Filthy Lucre. Filthy Lucre, also known as Peacock Room REMIX, is an exhibit by Darren Waterston. It is Waterston’s interpretation of James McNeill Whistler’s (original) Peacock Room. Supposedly, it was a commentary by Waterston about what happens when money and art collide. The Peacock Room (original) is known for its decadence; the paintings, porcelain, and colors used in the room are considered to be iconic. Filthy Lucre is the Waterston’s honest opinion of Whistler, going to such lengths to produce such a luxurious room.

On July 10^th, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery closed for a 3-month reinstallation period. On October 14^th, there is a reopening weekend in which the Sackler and Freer Galleries will be open to the public again. The two day event will celebrate the renovation of the Charles Lang Freer Gallery and the new art that will be available in both Asian Art Galleries.

Because both museums are closed now, and I am employed as an intern working with Visitor Experience, my job has changed drastically. Last month, I was working out in the Gallery mostly, spending very little time in the office with my other co-workers. Now, I spend every day in the office, working on statistics for the museums, coordinating with volunteers for the reopening event in October, and doing research in the other Smithsonian Museums. It is not as active and exciting as last month, but this month I am really getting to show off my office skills. It is a bit lonely without being able to talk to the visitors and interact with guests, but it is nice staying at the desk and finishing all my work in a day. Currently, I am working on the September newsletter for our Docents and Visitor Information Specialists.

I have been attending lots of meetings and talking about preparation for the IlluminAsia Reopening event. I also attend lots of lunch meetings with the other interns from the disabilities program I am employed with. I like meeting with other interns because they are stationed in different museums and are having completely different experiences than I am. One intern named Sam is stationed at the Natural History Museum with Visitor Experience as well. His museum is much larger than my museum and has way more visitors per day than my museum. He says it’s a bit stressful because lots of children and school groups visit the Natural History Museum and children have a lot of energy. The Natural History Museum has lots of interactive things for children to experience.

During my internship, I’ve noticed how different History Museums are from (fine) Art Museums/Galleries. Personally, I find I enjoy art museums more. History museums are so informative and educational but they are very straightforward. In art museums, the kinds of art displayed vary from being historical pieces to abstract pieces in which the audience can interpret in a variety of ways. However, both history museums and art museums present culture and history in a way that everyone can learn from.

Internship at Casais & Prias PLLC Law Firm

I have completed the first part of my internship at the law office of Casais & Prias PLLC. I have primarily filled a research role in the operation. Using resources pertaining to law I have been diving through statutes and case law. It is in this type of work the relationships between being a historian or a lawyer share many similarities. For law cases, you must research throughout judicial history to then structure arguments which are then reviewed by peers through the legal process. This type of work closely mirrors the process of source research, argument construction, and peer review found in the History discipline.
Since the 24th of July I have been preparing research for one of attorney Prias' cases. She is representing a defendant who was charged with 7 counts relating to civil theft, breach of contract, and conspiracy. My research would dictate whether we would go forward with a motion to dismiss the complaint altogether or at least dismiss some of the counts and prepare to contest the ones that remain. The motion she will be filing is only in response to the complaint she received at this time, so any research or argument made had to be bound by the information in the complaint itself. Reading the complaint itself and statutes surrounding bankruptcy and alter ego, I discovered the following.
Unfortunately for plaintiff, he had purchased goods from the defendant who then filed for bankruptcy which cleared the company of any possible debt it faced. To try and retrieve what he paid, this customer included a count of alter ego in their complaint. My research discovered that alter ego is the practice of mixing your company and personal finances, as well as practicing complete control over a company to the point where it's simply an extension of yourself. If you prove this against a company it allows you to "pierce the corporate veil" and pursue payment from the owner who would normally be protected. This was established in the Broward Marine Inc. V. S/V Zeus Florida case.
I was able to use my research skills from History courses and they helped greatly in digging through case law. Although the resources are more specialized for law, I was able to extract pertinent information for my notes. I then brought the case law and my reasoning for all 7 counts to attorney Prias. Using my research, they drafted their motion to dismiss 3 of the counts (pertaining to alter ego) and began their arguments. It was exhilarating to see research turned around so quickly into action.