THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200402
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
A handwriting analyst who was expected to testify that Paula Coughlin signed a party poster at the 1991 Tailhook convention was disqualified Wednesday, dealing a blow to defense efforts to show Coughlin participated in raucous convention activities.
U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro also refused to allow Hilton Hotel Corp. to call a second analyst.
A handwriting expert called by Coughlin's attorneys has already testified that the signature on the poster isn't hers.
Coughlin is suing the Hilton for unspecified damages, saying the hotel failed to provide adequate security at the convention where she and more than 80 other women say drunken Navy and Marine aviators assaulted them.
Pro barred handwriting analyst Diana Clayton from testifying after Coughlin's attorneys questioned her credentials and Clayton acknowledged that she had helped Hilton lawyer Eugene Wait analyze the handwriting of potential Tailhook jurors.
KEYWORDS: TAILHOOK LAWSUIT by CNB