Donald Davidson -- known as a lawyer who abides by the rules -- has suddenly found himself the poster boy for stonewalling by defense lawyers.
Videotaped remarks Davidson made at a New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education seminar in March -- in which he advocated a "just say no" approach to discovery in nursing home litigation cases -- are being disseminated around the country.
A plaintiffs lawyer in Minnesota is using Davidson's comments -- in frequent lectures for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in Colorado, Minnesota and Florida -- as an example of obstructive defense tactics.
Now Davidson regrets it: "If I knew the maelstrom that this would have created, I obviously would have temporized my comments. I probably was overenthusiastic and said things in a more candid, straightforward way than I should."