Opinion
Case No.: CV-99-0412-P-L.
September 29, 2000
AFFIDAVIT OF CHARLES BLACK
I, Charles Black, was married to Melissa Black in 1997 during the time that she was receiving calls from Rocky Ford, a collection agent for Aegis. I personally spoke to Ford on three different occasions that I can recall. He identified himself and asked where Melissa was and when he could expect to receive a payment. I was also, however, on the telephone on at least one occasion when he was speaking to Melissa. His tone was much different with her. This was a call that she received late at night. While I was on the telephone, Ford stated that he was going to get his money and that he would do so by selling everything in our home starting with our "fucking" kids' clothing and working his way all the way through the house. His tone was very harsh and he was slurring his words like he was drunk. I recall that Ford called Melissa quite a bit and I could tell when it was him by the way she acted. I also recall that Ford talked to our babysitter, Amy Hinton, while we were out one night. Ford apparently scared her.
At the time that Ford's calls started coming, we were having some, but not major marriage problems. The situation with Ford, however, pushed the situation over the edge. It was a very dramatic crisis for Melissa. It caused her to be emotional, withdrawn from the family, distant to me and to essentially have a nervous breakdown. Melissa would have moments of uncontrollable crying and could often not be able to take care of the kids. It was as if she were boxing herself in and obsessively focusing her attention on whether Ford would call and what he might do. During these times, Melissa could not stand anyone to be around her. I have the impression that she felt like she would not make any more mistakes if she did not have the opportunity to do so by interacting with others.
Melissa would often simply stay in one of the bedrooms with the door closed and would not come out to join the family. She spent a lot of her time sleeping during this period and would even miss work to sleep.
Basically, the Ford situation had a snowball effect on her relationship with me, her kids and her work. She would miss time from work because she did not feel well enough to go in, especially when Ford was calling her at work. Melissa was a key employee. This put the company in a bind and put even more stress on Melissa. The situation also put more responsibility on my shoulders. Because Melissa would go through periods of seclusion, I would have to take over sole responsibility for the care of our kids. My activities were also limited because Melissa was scared to be left alone and I sometimes did not want to leave the kids alone with her. I could not pursue my hobbies like golf anymore. This caused stress to build for me. I am sure that I reflected this stress to Melissa.
Melissa finally checked herself in to Charter Hospital for treatment. I feel that the Ford situation played a large role in her need for treatment. My insurance paid for the treatment, but we still had to pay 25% of the charges. These extra bills added to our financial strain at the time. Melissa's emotional change and distance, for which I believe Ford's conduct was largely responsible for at the time, eventually led me to file for divorce from Melissa. We were subsequently divorced.
CLAIM SUMMARY DISPLAY AS OF 01/08/01 091043.06 CARS12O PRINT REQUESTED BY: WVF — Wendy V Fouquet Claim Number: 98008 5224-0 Last Activity Date: 09/09/98 User-Id: ZZZ Group Number: S2289 Submission Clerk: Examiner: 012 Employee Name: BLACK JR CHARLES L SSN: 4162556450 Claimant Name: BLACK MELISSA T Dep Seq No: 01 Relation to member: S Claim Status: I Pending Code: Mail Handling Code: ACCOUNT Number: 1 Claim from date: 07/14/97 thru. date: 07/20/97 Pay Sub Service Dates B CD I No Total Not Covered/ Covered Deductible Total Coins Rmk Cds/ RVS No. Bt Cat From Thru S No 0 SV Charges Carve Out Expenses Applied Benefit % Tooth # Number 01 RB P 07/14/97 07/19/97 P I 6 7800.00 .00 MM 1 7800.00 .00 1098.45 070 00000 01 HM P 07/14/97 07/20/97 P I 923.10 .00 MM 1 923.10 .00 646.17. 070 00000 Sub totals: 6 8,723.10 .00 8,723.10 .00 1,744.62 Claim totals: 6 8,723.10 .00 8,723.10 .00 1,744.62 Pay Provider Name/ C Paid/Check P C Provider Employee Amt Payable/ Other Ins. MCL Out-Pocket Overpayment Class/ No. Tax Id/ Patient # A Date S T Ck Amt/No. Ck AMt/No. Offset Amt Cov/Paid Applied Applied Recovered Location 1 CHARTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Y 01/08/98 I I 1744.62 .00 1744.62 8723.10 4361.55 1011 TIN: 0721360704 10200667 01/14/98 2733 Diag: 2963 DRG: