A deposition that Phaedra Parks gave in her own defamation lawsuit against former friend, Angela Stanton, has been uncovered. Stanton says the Real Housewives of Atlanta star is “thwarting” the legal system and making a “mockery” of it.
The Inquisitr reported on Parks’ affiliation with Stanton and the lawsuit that the two are embroiled in. That full story can be read here .
Radaronline reports that the RHOA star refused to answer questions about Apollo Nida and his criminal activities while they were married. News of this emerges after Radaronline obtained public records filed at the Gwinnett County Courthouse.
Apparently, when Parks agreed to sit down for the deposition she’s been dodging, she was only willing to do it with a long list of conditions. Court documents filed by Stanton’s attorneys say that if the deposition was videotaped, Phaedra wanted complete control of the transcript. She didn’t want the media finding out about it, or having it leaked on the attorney’s website.
Filed documents read:
“Parks frequently refused to answer questions and discuss topics that have the strongest relevance to the instant case, thus thwarting truth-finding function of the discovery process and impeding ‘the progress of this case and possible rulings’… Namely, she refused to answer any questions regarding her relationship with and knowledge of the criminal activities of her husband, Apollo Nida, a man with numerous and recent convictions and financial crimes.”
“This is a line of questioning that is very clearly and very obviously relevant to the ultimate question in this case, i.e, whether a reasonable person could believe that Parks herself was involved in the sort of criminal activities described in Stanton’s book.”
“Questions regarding Parks’ knowledge of, benefit from, and participation in her husband’s criminal schemes are very obviously relevant to the issue in this case … This is particularly true given that the schemes described by Stanton in her book (insurance fraud, forgery, VIN fraud) closely resemble the financial crimes for which Mr. Nida has been convicted. Yet throughout her deposition, Parks refused outright to answer any questions regarding her husband or her knowledge of her husband’s involvement in criminal schemes.”
When Phaedra Parks was asked whether her husband, Apollo Nida, “recently pled guilty to a number of federal financial crimes,” her response was, “I will not be discussing my husband.”
The Real Housewives star was criticized for “doodling” during questioning. At one point, Stanton’s attorney said to her, “You appear to be ignoring me.” Phaedra responded, “As I have answered earlier, I will not be having any answers or having any discussion regarding my husband.”
It wasn’t until later in the deposition that Phaedra claimed she wasn’t aware during her marriage to Apollo that his money “was derived from criminal activities.” She shut down any attempts to discuss the matter further.
Documents went on to say that Parks conducted herself in “abusive and “bad faith.” Although she was the one to file a “frivolous lawsuit against Defendant Stanton…” she has “refused the basic obligation of every litigant to fully participate in the discovery process. Parks apparently believes she is above the law, even in her own lawsuit. She must be compelled to fully cooperate in her deposition, and her conduct must be sanctioned.”
Stanton moved forward and filed a motion on August 7th meant to push Phaedra Parks to “fully participate in the discovery process.” Stanton wants Phaedra to “resubmit to deposition” and “fully” answer questions regarding Apollo Nida and provide the knowledge she has of his criminal activity.
According t o TMZ , Phaedra isn’t leaving Real Housewives of Atlanta . She’s taking a little time off to deal with family business. She remains tight-lipped on legal and personal matters, but it’s unknown at this point if fans will see any of this drama play out in season 7.
[Images via nancysdaughter.com – thisisyourconscience.com – Fameolous]