Direct examination of Richard Rubin (part 1)

📄 Direct examination of Richard Rubin (part 1) — Wednesday, November 6, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\NOV\6\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-RICHARD-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 10 of 57

◀ Sidebar: witness scope and videotape Sidebar: testimony scope and stipulation ▶

Witness: Richard Rubin
Examiner: John Kelly
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 • Utterances: 183

Richard Rubin, former VP and general manager of Aris Isotoner, testified as a glove expert for the plaintiffs. He established that the brown extra-large Aris men's leather light glove was manufactured exclusively for Bloomingdale's, with only about 200-240 pairs sold in 1990, and that the closest Bloomingdale's to Los Angeles was in Chicago. He testified that the crime scene gloves (Exhibits 129 and 204) had shrunk to 9 and 3/8 inches from the standard 10 and 3/8 inches — about 10-11 percent smaller — which he attributed to normal wear, tear, and shrinkage.

# 1 THE CLERK:

Please raise your right hand.

RICHARD RUBIN, called as a witness on behalf of Plaintiffs, was duly sworn and testified as follows:

# 2 THE CLERK:

You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

# 3 RICHARD RUBIN:

I do.

# 4 THE CLERK:

Thank you. Please be seated.

# 5 RICHARD RUBIN:

Good morning,

# 6 THE CLERK:

Sir, would you please state an spell your name for the record.

# 7 RICHARD RUBIN:

Richard Rubin, R-U-B-I-N.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. KELLY:

# 8 Q:

Morning, Mr. Rubin.

# 9 A:

Good morning.

# 10 Q:

Mr. Rubin, are you presently employed?

# 11 A:

Yes, I am.

# 12 Q:

And where are you employed?

# 13 A:

I work for Westport Corporation, a manufacturer of small leather goods, in the New York area.

# 14 Q:

How long have you been employed there?

# 15 A:

Six years.

# 16 Q:

Prior to that, were you employed somewhere else?

# 17 A:

Yes, I was.

# 18 Q:

Where was that?

# 19 A:

At Aris Isotoner, Inc., in New York City.

# 20 Q:

And what type of company is Aris Isotoner?

# 21 A:

It's a glove manufacturer and distribution organization.

# 22 Q:

And approximately what time did you leave Aris' employ?

# 23 A:

In August of 1990.

# 24 Q:

And when you left there in August of 1990, what position did you hold with Aris?

# 25 A:

I was vice-president and general manager.

# 26 Q:

And how long had you worked for Aris up to that point?

# 27 A:

Little over 14 years.

# 28 Q:

And as vice-president/general manager, what basically were your duties and responsibilities at Aris during that time period?

# 29 A:

My primary responsibility was the men's glove division, and my secondary responsibility was leather manufacturing in the raw material and leather manufacturing and the finished product for both men's and ladies'.

# 30 Q:

Were you familiar with basically every aspect in terms of the styling, manufacture, and final production marketing of the gloves made by Aris?

# 31 A:

Yes, I was.

# 32 Q:

Okay. And getting more specific now, are you familiar with the Aris men's leather light glove?

# 33 A:

Yes, I am.

# 34 Q:

Okay. And could you describe that particular glove for me in general terms, first of all?

# 35 A:

In the most general terms, the uniqueness of the glove is the fact that the leather is approximately 30 percent lighter than men's weight leather, ten percent heavier than ladies' weight leather. It's actually about five millimeters in thickness and it has a very unusual stitch pattern that puts the gloves together, known as a Brossar stitch.

# 36 Q:

Before we go any further, how would you describe this glove, once again in general terms, in terms of top of the line, middle-market type item?

# 37 A:

It's a real top-of-the-line product.

# 38 Q:

Would you consider it a dressy glove?

# 39 A:

It is a dress glove.

# 40 Q:

And what colors was this particular glove, the Aris men's leather light, made in, say, 1990?

# 41 A:

Black, brown, medium brown, which was called mink, and gray.

# 42 Q:

Okay. And what sizes?

# 43 A:

Small, medium, large, and extra large.

# 44 Q:

Okay. Now, this Aris men's leather light was manufactured by Aris; is that correct?

# 45 A:

Yes, it was.

# 46 Q:

Okay. And where was that manufactured?

Where was -- where was the manufacturing taking place, actually?

# 47 A:

For that glove, it was Metro Manila.

# 48 Q:

And in what country?

# 49 A:

Philippines.

# 50 Q:

Okay.

Were there any particular years in which this Aris men's leather light glove was manufactured?

# 51 A:

It started in manufacturing in 1983, and commenced manufacturing with that stitch pattern in 1992.

# 52 Q:

Okay. And was there anybody in particular that this glove was manufactured for?

# 53 A:

It was manufactured exclusively for Bloomingdale's Department Stores, New York City-based.

KEY QUOTE

# 54 Q:

When you say "manufactured exclusively," what do you mean by that?

# 55 A:

Bloomingdale's, being a store of its caliber, they wanted to separate themselves from competition, so they wanted a little bit higher quality product that they could advertise that was exclusively theirs. It made them, you know, just really feel that they were more important in that segment of the industry, and they, you know, supported it by buying quite a bit of it.

# 56 Q:

Okay.

Mr. Rubin, before we go on, I want to go back to one thing.

You indicated there was a particular stitch unique to this glove that we're talking about, the Aris men's leather light glove?

# 57 A:

The Brossar stitch.

# 58 Q:

Do you know what year they started utilizing this stitch?

# 59 A:

In this style or in any style?

# 60 Q:

In any style.

# 61 A:

Possibly over 100 years ago it was used in the production of gloves in France. But to my knowledge, at Aris, it had not really been used in a men's glove up until about 1983.

# 62 Q:

Did there come a time that the stitch you're referring to in 1983 was subsequently changed in terms of the manufacture of that particular glove?

# 63 A:

Yes. At the end of '91 beginning of '92.

# 64 Q:

So, I believe earlier, you had stated that that particular stitch started being utilized.

# 65 MR. BAKER:

I move to strike "relative to when that stitch was changed." There is no foundation.

# 66 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 67 Q:

(BY MR. KELLY) You stated earlier, I don't know, that you realized they started utilizing that Brossar stitch in 1992?

# 68 A:

'82.

# 69 Q:

'82. Okay.

And there came a time later on, that stitch -- they started using a different stitch.

In what year was that?

# 70 A:

'92.

# 71 Q:

Okay.

Now, I want to direct your attention to 1990, specifically.

Mr. Rubin, first of all, could you just tell me how many gloves -- how many pairs of gloves, total, across the nation, Aris Isotoner manufactured and shipped for sale that year?

# 72 A:

Over four million pair.

# 73 Q:

Okay.

And in 1990, did Aris still have this exclusive relationship with Bloomingdale's you spoke of?

# 74 A:

Yes, they did.

# 75 Q:

So all the Aris men's light leather gloves made by Aris were only sold in Bloomingdale's; is that right?

# 76 A:

That's right.

# 77 Q:

And focusing on 1990, could you tell me how many pair of the Aris men's leather light gloves were shipped to Bloomingdale's for sale?

# 78 A:

It was approximately 10,000 pair.

# 79 Q:

Okay.

And could you tell me, staying with 1990 still, approximately how many of those 10,000 pair were in the brown color?

# 80 A:

Approximately 3600.

# 81 Q:

And taking this one step farther still, how many of those brown Aris men's leather light gloves were in an extra-large size, shipped to Bloomingdale's?

# 82 A:

Approximately 300.

# 83 Q:

And from, you know, out of those approximately 300 brown extra large pair of gloves shipped to Bloomingdale's for sale in 1990, approximately how many of those pairs were actually sold?

# 84 A:

Between 200 and 240 pairs.

KEY QUOTE

# 85 Q:

Okay.

Can you tell me what was the largest size Aris men's leather light glove that was sold in 1990?

# 86 A:

Extra large.

# 87 Q:

Didn't come bigger than that, did it?

# 88 A:

No, it did not.

# 89 Q:

Okay.

Now, in talking about this exclusive arrangement, Bloomingdale's --

# 90 MR. KELLY:

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

# 91 Q:

(BY MR. KELLY) In speaking of this exclusive arrangement Bloomingdale's had with Aris, you mentioned it were only sold in the Bloomingdale's Department Stores?

# 92 A:

That's correct.

# 93 Q:

In 1990, do you recall where those Bloomingdale's Department Stores were generally located?

# 94 A:

There were 13 of them, the majority being in the metro New York/New Jersey area.

There was one store that opened up in Chicago that year.

# 95 Q:

And could you tell me in 1990 where the closest Bloomingdale's was relative to Los Angeles?

# 96 A:

Chicago.

# 97 Q:

None in between?

# 98 A:

No.

# 99 Q:

Okay.

And there wasn't any in Los Angeles?

# 100 A:

Not at that point in time.

# 101 Q:

Do you know if Bloomingdale's ever opened in Los Angeles?

# 102 A:

I think they opened a store last week here.

KEY QUOTE

# 103 Q:

Okay.

Now, before, when we were discussing your familiarity with the Aris men's leather light glove, we talked about the colors and sizes that it comes in, correct?

# 104 A:

Yes.

# 105 Q:

And you also indicated a familiarity with the specific design and manufacture of that glove, also?

# 106 A:

Yes.

# 107 Q:

Okay.

Now, could you, in more detail if possible, describe in 1990 the style and manufacture of the men's Aris leather light glove?

# 108 A:

Well, the two most distinctive features were the Brossar stitches, which were extremely tight and close, approximately 22 to 24 stitches to the inch.

And the second most visible characteristic was the blind hem, which was very much in vogue, and still is in vogue in ladies' gloves, but very rare in men's gloves.

And once you go past those two, you get a little more traditional. You have three needle points on the back, and you have a palm vent on the palm side to help pull it on.

And then another very unique characteristic was the lining being extra lightweight. It was a -- one single thread of cashmere yarn knitted on a ten-gauge machine, which made the entire glove very thin and very slender looking.

# 109 Q:

What about the gauge of the leather itself?

# 110 A:

And the very lightweight leather, being 5.5 millimeters.

# 111 Q:

And most of these characteristics, are these things that you would be able to identify by looking at the glove?

# 112 A:

Yes.

# 113 Q:

And could you tell me whether these particular gloves were designed to fit in a specific way?

# 114 A:

They were designed to fit skin tight, be very slender.

# 115 Q:

And the gloves that were being sold in 1990 in the Bloomingdale's Department Stores, when would they have been manufactured?

# 116 A:

In the late fall: November, December of 1989; in the spring, once, of 1990.

# 117 Q:

And the characteristics that you just attributed to these gloves, that held true for all those gloves manufactured in 1990, correct?

# 118 A:

That's correct.

# 119 Q:

Did there come a time that any of these characteristics that you just mentioned previously did change?

# 120 A:

They changed the stitching from a Brossar stitching to a -- what is called a half pique stitch in 1992.

# 121 Q:

Is the half PK stitch something you're able to visibly identify by looking at the glove?

# 122 A:

It's very distinctive.

# 123 Q:

Would it be fair to say you would be able to, in effect, date the manufacture of the glove, at least by examining that stitch?

# 124 A:

Yes, I would.

# 125 Q:

Okay.

Now, with regard to the extra large gloves, is there a standard approximate length of these gloves when they're manufactured?

# 126 MR. BAKER:

Your Honor, I think that's a contradiction of terms. In those two questions there are two words, "standard" and "approximate." It's vague and ambiguous.

# 127 THE COURT:

You understand the question?

# 128 MR. KELLY:

I'll rephrase it, Judge.

# 129 Q:

(BY MR. KELLY) Is there -- with the extra large Aris gloves, is there a standard length of that glove for the extra large?

# 130 A:

In the manufacturing process, there is a pattern; and if it came out perfectly, it would be around ten and three-eighths inches long.

# 131 Q:

Is there usually some variation on that length?

# 132 A:

Every piece of leather will have a little bit different flexibility and elasticity to it, so there can be a variance. But the standard would be ten and three-eighths in a finished product.

# 133 MR. KELLY:

Your Honor, if I might hand these to the witness.

# 134 THE COURT:

Okay.

# 135 Q:

(BY MR. KELLY) I'm going to ask you to look at these two items. And one of them is 129 and one of them is 204.

# 136 (Witness reviews exhibits.)

# 137 RICHARD RUBIN:

Do you want me to look at them through the bag, or do you want me to take them out of the bag?

# 138 MR. KELLY:

Is it all right if opens the bag and takes them out, Your Honor?

# 139 THE COURT:

It's all right with me.

# 140 (Witness opens bag and removes glove.)

# 141 THE REPORTER:

Excuse me. Is there a number?

May I have that number?

# 142 MR. BAKER:

May we ask the witness not to pull the gloves.

# 143 THE COURT:

Don't pull the gloves.

# 144 RICHARD RUBIN:

The number on the right hand is 164-A.

# 145 MR. PETROCELLI:

Those are the wrong numbers. Those are the exhibit numbers from the criminal trial. The two --

# 146 MR. KELLY:

The exhibit number in this matter is on the plastic itself.

# 147 RICHARD RUBIN:

The number on this, number 9 --

# 148 MR. KELLY:

It should be in the upper right-hand corner, 129.

# 149 RICHARD RUBIN:

204 or 1464-E.

# 150 MR. PETROCELLI:

And this?

# 151 RICHARD RUBIN:

And this one is 129. And the right hand was 204 and the left hand was 129.

# 152 (Witness removed both gloves from their packaging.)

# 153 Q:

(BY MR. KELLY) Have you seen those gloves prior to today, Mr. Rubin?

# 154 A:

Yes, I have.

# 155 Q:

And you saw them over a year ago, actually, in Mr. Simpson's criminal trial; is that correct?

# 156 A:

Yes, I did.

# 157 Q:

Did you have an opportunity at that time to measure the length of those gloves?

# 158 A:

Yes, I did.

# 159 Q:

You measured those gloves at this time.

What was the length of the gloves when you measured them, if you recall?

# 160 A:

Nine and three-eighths inches long.

# 161 Q:

Approximately an inch less than the standard length?

# 162 A:

Approximately.

# 163 Q:

What percent is smaller than the standard extra large would that have made them at this time?

# 164 A:

Between 10 and 11 percent.

# 165 Q:

And what would you attribute, or could you attribute that differential of the 10 or 11 percent to anything?

# 166 MR. BAKER:

I'm going to object. Foundation; calls for speculation.

# 167 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 168 RICHARD RUBIN:

Combination of normal wear and tear, time, and shrinkage.

KEY QUOTE

# 169 Q:

MR. KELLY: Are you familiar with the sales receipts of Bloomingdale's?

# 170 A:

I've seen them.

# 171 Q:

Okay.

You familiar with the different descriptions on them in viewing them?

# 172 A:

Yes, I am.

# 173 Q:

Okay.

# 174 MR. KELLY:

If we can see 390, Steve.

# 175 (Mr. Foster displays Exhibit 390.)

# 176 Q:

MR. KELLY: Are you able to see that where you're sitting, Mr. Rubin, or would you like to step over?

# 177 A:

I can see it. I'm familiar with it.

# 178 Q:

Okay.

Can you describe --

# 179 MR. BAKER:

Your Honor, I'm going to object. This is beyond the scope of this criminal testimony, trial testimony.

# 180 THE COURT:

Overruled.

You want him to look at that? Go ahead.

# 181 MR. KELLY:

Yes.

# 182 MR. BAKER:

Your Honor, may we be heard on this?

We had a stipulation relative to these witnesses, that they wouldn't go beyond their criminal trial testimony. And that's what they're attempting to do here. Plus, this is cumulative, Your Honor.

# 183 MR. KELLY:

There was some testimony from the criminal trial --

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (5)

Richard Rubin

It was manufactured exclusively for Bloomingdale's Department Stores, New York City-based.

Establishes the narrow provenance of the glove, limiting who could have owned a pair in 1990.

Richard Rubin

Between 200 and 240 pairs.

The tiny number of brown extra-large pairs actually sold reinforces how rare the gloves were — supporting the inference that OJ owned the pair found at the crime scene.

Richard Rubin

Chicago.

The closest Bloomingdale's to Los Angeles in 1990 was Chicago — yet OJ Simpson, a frequent traveler to New York, could have purchased them there.

Richard Rubin

Combination of normal wear and tear, time, and shrinkage.

Explains why the gloves measured 10-11% shorter than standard — countering the criminal trial narrative that they were simply too small to fit OJ.

Richard Rubin

I think they opened a store last week here.

Light moment — Rubin noting a new Bloomingdale's had just opened in LA, contrasting with the 1990 situation where there were none.

Evidence (3)

Exhibit 129

Left-hand Aris men's leather light glove (crime scene glove), previously marked 1464-E in criminal trial

Introduced, physically examined and measured by witness

Exhibit 204

Right-hand Aris men's leather light glove (crime scene glove), previously marked 164-A in criminal trial

Introduced, physically examined by witness

Exhibit 390

Bloomingdale's sales receipt

Displayed on screen; testimony cut off before full discussion due to Baker's scope objection

Notable Exchanges (2)

Robert Baker•Hiroshi Fujisaki

Baker raised a stipulation argument — claiming the parties had agreed that witnesses would not go beyond their criminal trial testimony — as Exhibit 390 (a Bloomingdale's receipt) was about to be discussed. The transcript ends mid-objection.

strategic

Richard Rubin•John Kelly•Daniel Petrocelli

Brief confusion over exhibit numbers when the witness opened the glove bags — the gloves still bore their criminal trial exhibit numbers internally, different from the civil trial numbers on the packaging.

procedural

Light Moments (1)

Richard Rubin

When asked if there was a Bloomingdale's in Los Angeles in 1990, Rubin noted 'I think they opened a store last week here' — drawing an implicit contrast with the trial's relevance window.

Witness Demeanor

(Witness reviews exhibits.)

(Witness opens bag and removes glove.)

(Witness removed both gloves from their packaging.)

Objections

4 objections (0 sustained, 3 overruled)

Proceeding 8168 • 183 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103