Original subtitles

Morning, Dorothy.

Need some help?

We're all right.

Are you doing a little fog cleaning?

There's just so much clutter in here.

Don't need anything. Give a holler.

Thanks, Matthew.

Miss Dorothy?

Mm -hmm?

I found this behind the shelves.

Hmm. Some legal documents.

This looks like the original deed to this building when it was a telegraph

office.

Aunt Tilly's soda cocktail.

Best drink you ever tasted or double your money back.

Just came in from Frisco. They actually guarantee it? No, I guarantee it. Only

two bits a bottle.

Two bits?

Well, shipping's expensive.

Besides, if you don't like it, you get double your money back.

What have you got to lose? I'll take a case.

Case? And one of your Havala golds.

And one of your Vanagolds.

Oh, I'm sorry. I just sold the last one.

The Cubans are my brand.

Yes, I know.

You're the one who recommended them to me.

Gracias.

You think you're funny, don't you?

Si.

Stay out of my way.

Watch where you're going.

You all right? My nose. I think you broke my nose.

Broken noses can be quite painful.

It should feel better in a few days.

As long as you don't touch it.

Thanks, Dr. Mike.

Oh, uh, you think I could pay you next month? I just sent money to Myra and

Samantha. Of course.

You know, Horace, this is really Hank's responsibility.

You're right. You should be more careful.

No, I mean, Horace got himself what they call a tort.

What? A tort.

It means you can get Hank to pay Dr. Mike's fees because it was his fault.

sure. Just try to get Hank to do that.

If he doesn't, you can take him to court. Matthew, maybe you can shed some

on this.

Oh, my goodness.

Horace, are you all right?

Feeling better every minute.

Have you seen Hank?

No. Losing.

Well, it seems to be the original deed that belonged to the telegraph company.

I never saw that.

Well, we just found it. It slipped behind one of the bookcases.

But I'm afraid it's just a little odd.

Why is that?

Well, it says that the property extends 40 feet back from the street.

Your building isn't that large, is it? No, that's right.

According to this, my land extends into Grace's cafe.

And this is no time to bother Grace with something like this.

You should figure out who owns what.

Do you think there might be something like this situation in your law books?

Maybe. I got some of the books out of my excrement.

Oh, you really think this is a good idea, Matthew?

These kind of disputes can become very complicated.

I can't see what harm can it do to get the facts straightened out.

Oh, that's right.

I'd sure like to know about them torts.

You want

me

to pay you for being stupid enough to walk into my fist?

I owe Dr. Mike $1 .50 for fixing my nose.

Maybe your wife can send you some money.

Thanks, Hank.

You'll be hearing from my lawyer.

So, uh, this tort, Matthew, it says I can take Hank to court because he said

ain't gonna pay you, Dr. Mike. Perhaps we can just let you go, Horace.

Consider it a free visit.

Oh, no, Dr. Mike, you gotta get paid.

Somebody's gotta teach Hank a lesson.

So, what do we gotta do?

You're hiring Matthew as your lawyer.

No, wait a minute. I ain't a lawyer.

Not yet.

Well, that's not a bad idea.

Yeah, you've been a law man, Matthew.

You've been studying the statutes.

Lots of folks hang up shingles on their doors with less experience than you got.

I know, but I don't have enough experience to ask people to trust me.

Couldn't you just give me some advice, Matthew?

All right.

Well, I'll tell you, the first thing you ought to do is wire up the circuit

court judge to hear the case.

That sounds good.

Hank ain't gonna like this.

Well, Horace is angry, I suppose.

And he has every right to be. Before I've seen lately, Hank's angry, too.

Hank was born mad.

Perhaps.

The business hasn't been quite what he and Jake have been counting on.

With the Indian bombing and the temperance lady smashing up the bar,

some unexpected stresses.

That's why Jake's in Denver and St. Louis looking for potential investors.

You ain't making excuses for Hank, are you? No, of course not.

To be honest, with all the tragedy lately, there have been times when you'd

never wish that I could find somebody to blame it on.

Easier than the truth.

What is the truth?

That life can be very, very difficult.

And quite often, it's no one's fault.

Lauren, I'm afraid I have to return these bottles to you.

What do you mean return?

Your money back guarantee.

Pardon me, double money back guarantee.

I'm afraid my guests didn't find it the best drink they've ever tasted.

Well, they certainly drank them. They must have liked them all right. They did

like them, but they all agreed it wasn't the best drink they've ever tasted.

That's highway robbery.

You can't drink a whole case and come in here and ask for your money back.

That has stated where in your advertising?

It's common sense.

Common sense dictates that an honest businessman such as you live up to his

promises.

If he expects to keep his customers happy...

Thank

you, Lauren.

I knew you'd do the right thing.

What are you going to do?

I'll think of something.

Great.

I just found this behind some shelves.

It says that the telegraph office property extends out from the building

into your cafe.

It says the land goes 40 feet back from the street. Well, the building's 27

feet, and that leaves 13 feet.

I wanted to show this to you just to find out if you knew anything about it.

You're saying I'm stealing your land and not telling you?

Of course not. I didn't mean that. I just... I just want to get it

out.

You want to get it straightened out?

Tell her.

Tell her I did. Come, sir. Grace, Dawson's our friend. You know you ain't

her. Tell her.

When I bought the land from old man Granger, it included the whole corral,

there was a corral where the cafe is now.

So, you can put the paper back where you found it.

Grace, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.

I just thought we ought to get it all worked out.

And now it's all worked out.

I don't suppose you'd mind if I just... to have a look at your deed?

No, of course not. Are you saying he's lying? That's not great. No, great.

That's not what I'm saying.

Of course you can look at it.

I just got to find it.

Yes, you do.

Matthew.

Matthew.

I got a wire from the circuit judge.

He says he's too busy for petty chases and that the mayor ought to decide.

Jake's out of town for a couple of weeks. If we don't got a mayor, the

can appoint a people's court judge.

We got to get the council together right away.

I got a right to a speedy trial.

I read about that in the Gazette.

This is stupid.

Who are you going to appoint judge?

Does it have to be one of us?

Boy, it doesn't seem to.

Do you remember when the judge appointed Kate Cole to be his proxy?

How about Daniel? Daniel?

That's right. Picked the one person in town who's got it in for me.

What about Lauren?

Trust him, don't you? Oh, no, you don't. Leave me out of it. How about you?

No, just leave me out of it. We're friends.

We're all friends.

Gentlemen,

gentlemen, gentlemen.

We're not going to get anywhere yelling at each other.

Seems like it.

You'd only want people to listen to Dr.

Mike. That's right. Let her do it.

It's all right by me.

Wait a minute. It ain't neutral. She's getting paid.

That's right. No, it don't matter. You're going to get paid by one of us,

way or the other. A buck fifty.

As I said before, it's a very simple procedure. Why don't we just let it go?

No, Dr. Mike.

We've got to do this legal.

So what do you say, Hank?

You know, Dr. Mike would be fair.

All right.

It's settled.

Let's make a judgment.

Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me.

How about this, Lauren?

I just heard. What happened?

Apparently, he slipped and fell. It was too wet.

What do you mean, too wet? It's a spa.

My feet went right out from under me.

That hurts, too?

Everything hurts.

He claims to be badly bruised.

Bruised?

I'm crippled.

Well, nothing appears to be broken, Lauren.

Then it's broken inside.

Inside.

And it's your fault.

A tort is something that you handle in a civil case, not a criminal case.

Can anything be a tort? Just about.

Battery, negligence, libel.

Can't what Hank did to Horace be interpreted as battery?

It's got to be intentional to be battery. More probably, it was

Hank was moving fast, not watching where he was going.

Hank says that Horace walked right into his fist.

Horace should have been looking where he was going.

Negligence doesn't have to be on purpose.

It's all so petty.

Compared to the legal problems, it's always facing.

I'll tell you what. I'll mark some of these cases here for you. You can read

tonight.

I have to admit, I was quite surprised when I read the case law on this

There seems to be no question that Hank was negligent, according to Section 10

of the Colorado Revised Statute, and so that means he is responsible for Horace

Smith.

If there's no further business... I have business.

What happened to you, Lord?

I slipped and fell on the negligent wet deck over at the Chateau. That's what

happened to me.

I got expenses, too.

This is absurd.

Madam, would you make room for a cripple?

I already paid for his fees with Andrew.

Well, then, you see, he admits he's at fault. I certainly do not.

I got damages, too. Lots of them.

How am I supposed to be able to work like this?

He can't even reach the top shelves.

I'm going to have to hire a stock boy.

How am I going to pay him?

I tell you, all the joy has gone out of my life.

It even hurts when I have to open the cash box.

He's faking.

Well, we'll let Dr. Mike decide that.

She's the judge.

Ain't you?

You examine Lauren.

He's faking, isn't he?

Well, it's difficult to say. He says his back is in great pain.

But I have to rely upon his description of his symptoms. And according to him,

he's just this side of the pearly gates.

All I have to do is to prove that he's... That shouldn't be too difficult.

Someone just broke into your store.

Oh, well, you better call the sheriff. I mean, you know, there's not a lot I can

do in my condition.

Dorothy, see what you've done?

Customers are checking out of my hotel.

You are ruining my business.

Why? Why are they doing that?

Because of your lies.

They're afraid of me.

All I did was report the truth. That you hit Horace and that you had to pay

damages for it. I didn't hit him. His face connected with my fist.

Even Michaela didn't say I hit him. Ain't that right?

Well, not exactly, but I... It's a lie.

And I'm going to sue you for it. Hank.

You can't do that.

Yes, I can.

I got the idea from your own paper.

What? Remember that story you wrote about that mine owner?

Sued the Denver paper for slandering him?

Won $2 ,000?

Well, that's what you've been. False and malicious.

And you're going to have to pay up.

Ain't you, Michaela?

Well, I have no idea, but... Well, you better get an idea, because you've got

judge it.

I got the same right as everybody else.

Can you do that, Michaela?

Well, I don't know.

Anybody can sue anybody.

But he can't win, can he? I don't know until I have a chance to look at all the

evidence. You're going to actually judge this?

Well, I have to.

Well, I have rights, too.

Yes, of course you do. You better get ready to judge my deed as well.

Dorothy? I'll go see if I can talk some sense into Hank.

Thanks, Matthew.

Now you want to be my lawyer, huh?

What?

Well, now you see some money coming in and you want a piece of it.

Let me give you some free advice.

You ain't got a case.

That was the mine owner in Denver.

He wasn't found liable. You were.

By Michaela.

She ain't a real judge.

Besides, even if Dorothy's story is false, it's still malicious. Not

Listen, I ain't got an axe to grind, all right?

I'm telling you the truth.

If you go forward with this case, you will lose.

Found Hank Lawson negligent and instructed him to pay... Hey, Hank.

See the Gazette?

You look kind of mad, Hank.

What are you going to do?

Hit me?

And I was worth a buck fifty.

Horace, you shouldn't have provoked him. He's going to pay for this.

Oh, actually, he already did.

When Matthew was helping you and... I mean, he's really going to pay for this.

Horace, this has gone far enough.

I mean, you're a better man than he is. You can rise above it.

Are you done with me?

Oh, yes.

But be careful and try not to hit it again.

You need to examine Loren.

He's hurt again?

He wasn't hurt in the first place. That's why you need to examine him to

that he's lying.

Preston, if I'm to judge this case, I can't examine him personally.

Why ever not?

I think that's exactly what you'd want to do. I need to remain neutral and go

with Andrew's testimony.

Or is it that you just don't want to take sides?

How can you say that?

I mean, that's exactly what I'm being forced to do as a judge.

Of course.

I just hope you can remain truly neutral, Michaela.

Brian!

Hey, Billard.

How would you like to earn a little extra spending money?

Doing what?

Well, I'll tell you.

You wanted me to go into the store and yell fire.

I can't believe it.

Me neither.

He offered me 50 cents to do it.

Well, you did the right thing turning him down, Brian.

Especially since Mr. Bray gave me a quarter when I told him.

I gave it back.

Is Mr. Bray pretending to be hurt?

I don't know.

I guess there's something I ought to tell you.

What's that?

I don't like snitching on Mr. Bray.

Brian, testifying, if you know something important, isn't snitching.

Did Mr. Bray tell you something?

Well, yeah.

I was hoping we could settle this informally.

No problem, if he agrees to withdraw his suit.

No problem, if he can give me back the use of my body.

And I'll tell you another thing.

I'm always going to be afraid of water.

The rest of my life.

Well, think how that's going to affect my business.

I'm trying to.

Well, my customers ain't going to like it if I can't take a bath.

This has gone far enough.

Pratt, you attempting to bribe Brian to do your dirty work.

Shocking. The poor child.

And you know better, Lauren.

Brian told me that you said that you were going to get back at Preston for

taking advantage of your money -back guarantee.

Oh, you little Benedict Arnold.

Lauren, would you drop your suit?

If Preston agrees to give you back the money you gave him for returning the

bottles. I would not. I have no intention of paying back money. That was

legitimately due me.

There's someone I'd like both of you to meet.

Mr. Copley.

Benjamin Copley, Esquire, Attorney.

Attorney? At your service. Mr. Copley has a very successful practice in Denver

and has agreed to represent me in this case.

Preston, do you really think this is necessary?

It's going to cost you a fortune.

Actually, the judge normally rules my fee to be paid by the plaintiff if he

loses.

So, if Mr. Bray loses, he has to pay for Mr. Lodge's lawyer?

Apparently, that's up to me.

Does this stuff make any sense?

Yes, it does.

Says me and Robert E. own the land fair and square.

But if Mr.

Granger had it written out legal when he stole the land to Robert E.

I'm sorry, Doctor. It says the whole corral.

See, Dr. Mack, it's the deed Mr.

Granger sold to Robert E. It says he owns the land.

But my deed says I own the land, and it's dated ten years earlier than Robert

E.'s. It is?

We both can't own the same land. It just doesn't make sense.

Well, why don't you compromise?

We split the land in question 50 -50.

Six or seven feet isn't going to do me any good.

I've never heard anything so greedy in all my life.

Grace, I only meant that if I'm going to go to the expense of expanding the

Gazette, I need more space than that.

And what am I supposed to do?

Chop a table in half?

No.

Dr. Mike, you're going to have to decide.

You're going to regret this.

I didn't want to use the handcuffs, but he put up a struggle. Oh, you ain't seen

a struggle.

What happened?

Well, Horace made a complaint against Hank.

Assault and battery.

Now, those are criminal charges.

Better think long and hard before you rule on this one, Michaela. I can't do

As you said, these are criminal charges. You have to wire the circuit judge. I

already did that.

Be here in two months. I ain't sitting in jail for two months. There ought to

a law that says I can get a trial before I rot.

Actually, there is.

Yeah.

It's called a writ of habeas corpus.

It says a man's got a right to his pre -trial.

All right, I'll do it.

Lauren?

I never knew you were so handy with a ribbon.

I'd like to purchase this vase.

That'll be five dollars.

Fine. And I'd like to purchase some ribbon, too.

That's an extra buck.

Fine.

And I'd like you to tie it.

Or is that another dollar?

They sure do seem to say they're both on the same land.

Did that happen, Al?

Well, sure.

Sometimes people think they own more than they do and they beat it off.

Boundaries and landmarks change.

Well, then how do they result?

Survey the land can help.

I'd be happy to do one.

You would?

Oh, that would be very helpful, Danny.

Sure thing.

Where are you headed?

Preston's Hotel.

See if I can find anyone that saw Lauren's slip.

Michaela!

This is for you.

The clinic could use a little cheering up. Dr. Mike, here, I brought this for

you. While you've been working so hard lately, I thought maybe you hadn't been

eating right.

And fruit and lemon drops are your idea of a balanced meal.

What you need is a relaxing, nutritious meal. I insist you come to the chateau

for dinner.

My treat for your whole family.

Well, that's very generous of both of you.

Unless, of course, these gifts are meant to influence my ruling on your case.

Because that would be against the law.

No, no, I that's not what I meant by at all How

is the middle of the day the hotel is completely booked and yet no one's so

Lauren slip at least that's what they say I suppose most people don't want to

get involved exactly And I can understand Preston's employees not

testify against him, but there were other people here Well, some may not

testify because they don't like the idea of people suing each other Well, you're

willing to testify aren't you?

After Lauren's injury?

Quite frankly, Michaela, I'm not sure that I can.

Because of Preston? No.

Because I'm not exactly sure what Lauren's injuries are. There's nothing

surface. But there could be damage that I can't see, and what if I'm wrong?

That could leave me open to being sued for malpractice.

As you were last year.

So you're choosing not to testify?

Regrettably.

I'm sorry.

The only thing is, Andrew, if everyone made your choice, how would anything

get settled?

Look, I'm sorry about what I said to you at the Golden Nugget.

I think I don't care what you think about me.

What you did to Horace was wrong, and as far as I'm concerned, you ought to be

prosecuted for it. I got a right to defense, don't I? Sure.

Not for me.

Matthew, listen.

Then give me some of them law books.

You at least got to make it a fair fight.

All right, Hank.

I'll bring some over.

Mr.

Copley. Mr. Copley.

I'm told you're interested in becoming an attorney.

Oh, thinking about it.

Looks like a good way to help folks. That it is.

And folks are always in need of our kind of help.

It's what you might call a growth industry.

Right.

Listen, about this case between Lauren and Preston. Are you representing Mr.

Bright? No.

He doesn't even know I'm talking to you about this.

Oh, yes.

Of course, of course.

Well, isn't there some way they could compromise an out -of -court settlement?

Let me give you a friendly word of advice, Mr. Cooper.

You just told me your case is weak.

Well, it ain't my case. Which eliminates any need on my part to settle with you.

Bad tactic, I'm afraid.

Like I said, I ain't representing Lawrence.

Of course not.

Of course I did. The fall didn't hurt my eyesight.

Bunch of foolishness.

What's that?

You don't have to agree with it, but don't let this ruin your friendship.

Me who's ruining it?

Grace.

Whose side are you on?

What? You've been defending her all week.

No, I ain't.

I just don't see why you're taking this so personal.

She made it personal.

Grace.

Grace, you know this ain't about Dorothy.

You gotta choose.

I can't go on like this not knowing.

I don't have all you fish I need yet, Grace.

What more do you need?

She's trying to cheat us out of our land.

I'm Dr.

Maxine myself.

Quit making excuses.

Quit.

Quit what?

Quit what? Trying to make everything all right.

It ain't all right.

It will never be.

You've got to choose, Dr. Mike, between Dorothy and me. And that's all there is

to it.

Grace, understand why you're angry. And you have every right to be angry.

So you're saying she's wrong.

I'm saying that you've suffered a terrible loss.

Anthony's death was... You've got to choose, Dr. Mike, between Dorothy and

Grace... Dr. Quinn!

I'm afraid I must demand you rule in my case as well.

As you know, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees my

client... Mr. Copley, I was hoping to hire you to sue Hank.

Well, Hank's already paid for your medical expenses, Horace. Matthew told

about pain and suffering. Taylor, need to speak to you in private?

Yes, of course.

Taylor, just be a minute.

I'm afraid the survey doesn't help.

Both deeds do cover the same land.

Oh, no. What am I going to do? Well, you're going to have to make a decision.

Well, more than one, I'm afraid.

Well, I've got another one to add to the pile.

It seems Hank's been reading Matthew's law books, and now he's suing me.

What for?

False arrest.

Your minute's up, Dr. Mack.

You said you'd judge this became.

Don't go on.

Tomorrow, I'll run all these cases at church.

So these cases support Dorothy's argument that the older deeds prevail.

But there are all these other cases about easements, abandonment, squatters'

rights. Well, how do those apply?

All right, like this.

If Dorothy bought her property, thinking that the cafe belonged to Grace and

Robert E., and knowing how the land was used, then it belongs to them.

Even though she has a deed that says otherwise?

Especially since they have a deed that says so.

So what you're saying is that there's a legal case for both of their positions.

I'm afraid so.

Well, how are judges supposed to make decisions in cases like these?

Well, they look at the laws, and they read the decisions of other judges, just

like you're doing, and choose what seems right to them.

Well, it's especially difficult when you know the people involved.

And your friends.

You know, I feel like I started all this telling Horace how to get Hank to pay.

No, you were right to do that, Matthew. It was Hank's fault.

The stuff going on in town now is not so black and white.

Lawyers like Mr. Copley don't seem to care what's right or wrong.

That's true.

Now, what's legal isn't necessarily what's just.

It makes me wonder whether I even want to be a lawyer.

But you're exactly the kind of person we need to be a lawyer.

Why? Because you care about the truth.

It just seems like the law can be used to hurt people as much as it can to help

people.

Somebody's going to get hurt here.

Grace or Dorothy.

Still, it's better to decide in a court instead of a fight.

Some things are necessary, even if they're not pleasant.

Too hot!

Sorry.

Sorry isn't good enough.

I have a mind to sue you for negligence.

Mr. Copley, do you really think that's necessary?

I'll tell you what's necessary.

If you don't issue a decision in my case today, I'll sue you for negligence.

You can't threaten her like that.

This is what it means to be an attorney, Mr. Cooper.

No.

That's what it means for you, not for me.

Lauren, would you mind coming to the clinic?

What for?

I'd like to examine your injuries.

I thought you were going to be neutral.

That doesn't mean I shouldn't do everything I can to get the information

to make a fair decision.

I told you I was hurt.

Lauren, are you certain you want to go through with this lawsuit?

Of course I do.

I got my rights. Because I'm going to issue my ruling this afternoon.

You just do that.

Well, if

everyone is

present.

Hank, you brought a suit against Daniel for false imprisonment.

Section 50 of the revised statutes of Colorado defines false imprisonment as

unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another.

Well, since Daniel was acting as sheriff when he arrested you and had good cause

to do so, your suit is denied.

Oh, why didn't you just shoot me?

However, I am going to rule that you be released from jail and dismiss Horace's

civil charges against you for pain and suffering.

You can't do that!

I suffered bad.

You know what it's like to be called raccoon face?

Allow me to finish. Hank, if you hit Horace again, you'll sit in jail until

circuit judge has time to get here.

And if I may suggest, I think it would be best if both of you stayed out of

other's way.

Now, Lauren, your suit against Preston is denied because I was unable to find

any bodily damage.

Shut up, Rach. I'll never walk right again.

However, due to mitigating factors, you do not have to pay Preston's attorney's

fees.

Mitigating factors?

I believe that Preston has recently received some money from Lauren that

help pay your fee.

I'm not paying him anything.

He didn't win.

Pay me or I'll sue you. Good luck.

Now, regarding these deeds...

the possession of the plaintiff, that would be Dorothy, shall be considered as

extending to the boundaries embraced by the claim of such plaintiff.

However, section 11 says, a neglect to occupy such claim for the period of six

months shall be considered an abandonment as to preclude the claimant

maintaining the aforesaid actions.

Which means that since you haven't been using the land, and Grace and Robert E.

have,

That the landing question belongs to them

That's

all word Dorothy

Dorothy,

please

Sorry

it didn't turn out the way that you wanted it to

But I did what I thought was fair.

Is that it? Is that all you've got to say?

Well, you asked me to make a decision, so I did.

Hank and Horace each got something.

Lauren and Preston, too. Everybody except me.

But you refused to compromise, Dorothy.

You forced me to make a decision.

Well, I didn't think it was going to go this far. I thought I was going to...

I guess I got carried away.

Everybody did.

You know, ladies, I think I really learned something out of all of this.

Well, that's wonderful, Lauren.

What's that?

No more money -back guarantees.

You did good, Dr. Mike.

Well, thank you, Matthew.

You know, all this time I was afraid to make these decisions.

And now?

It was the right thing to do.

And I hope I never have to do it again.

Contrary to popular belief, the 20th century is not the most litigious period

American history.

In fact, a higher percentage of the American population sued each other in

19th century than do today.