礼节美语 152 Lawsuit 2

公司被人状告索赔，同事们在讨论如何应对。

S: So how does this work? What will we have to do?

B: A lawyer will stop by next week and take statements from each of us.

S: What kind of statement are they looking for?

B: It will probably be just a basic statement about what you know about our company's heat sensors. They will want to know if you had any knowledge of a cover-up of defective products.

Barry说，下周律师会来提取证词，看看if you had any knowledge of a cover-up of defective products，员工是否知道公司有掩盖问题产品的行为。cover-up，意思是掩盖。defective， 意思是有缺陷。

S: I don't know anything about sensors! I'm an accountant!

B: Then that's exactly what you tell them. Just stick to the truth.

C: I'll start preparing our test records and compiling data about our products.

S: Why do you need to do that?

B: We need to prove that we are not liable. Let's give Mr. Smith's lawyers access to our internal memos and quality control data. We have nothing to hide.

跟律师谈话，要据实以告, stick to the truth, 因为we have nothing to hide，我们没什么好隐瞒的。 Barry还说，公司会允许原告律师查看公司内部备忘录和质检数据。To give someone access to something，意思是允许某人接触某物。

S: Does this mean I will have to testify in court?

B: That's very possible. We might all be called as witnesses.

S: What should I tell them?

B: Just answer all the questions truthfully. We stand by our products and we're proud of our company.

C: They will probably question me more because I'm the engineer. I'm going to have to do some homework and brush up on my knowledge.

Barry说，大家都有可能要出庭作证。 Chris是工程师，说自己要do some homework，准备一下，and brush up on my knowledge，温习一下相关的业务知识。

S: But what if we lose? If we have to make such a big payout, we might go bankrupt!

B: Hold your horses! First, we won't lose...but if we do, our lawyers will appeal the verdict.

S: But the other side can appeal too!

B: Yes, that's true. But eventually this case will come to a conclusion and no more appeals are allowed. Who knows? We might even counter-sue them for making false allegations.

C: Sounds like a plan.

Susan担心，如果官司打输，就要make a big payout，赔很多钱，导致公司破产。Barry劝她说： Hold your horses! 别着急! 就算输了也可以appeal the verdict，上诉。公司甚至可以counter-sue， 反诉原告，罪名是making false allegations，诬告。