ADVISORY/Closing Arguments Will Be at 2:30 PM Today in Gousse v. LAPD-Rampart Lawsuit.

News Editors/Assignment Desks

ADVISORY...for Thursday, November 13

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT:     CLOSING ARGUMENTS WILL BEGIN TODAY AT 2:30 PM (and not
          1:30 PM as originally anticipated) in Dr. Angelo E. Gousse's
          civil lawsuit against the LAPD-Rampart Division, City of
          Los Angeles and Budget Rent-A-Car at Los Angeles Superior
          Court, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA. before the
          Hon. Elizabeth A. Grimes in Department 30, Fourth Floor.
          Browne Greene will summarize the evidence on behalf of the
          Plaintiffs.  The trial began October 20, 2003, and the jury
          will begin its deliberations on November 14, 2003.
          Gousse v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. BC 252804.

WHO:      Dr. Gousse filed suit June 21, 2001 against the Defendants
          for civil rights violations, civil battery, false arrest
          and negligence.  He alleges that Budget Rent-A-Car's
          negligence set the stage for the LAPD's misconduct, which
          has caused him permanent injuries.

          A Miami, FL. urological reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Gousse,
          a 40 year-old black man of Haitian descent, came to Los
          Angeles in February 2001 for a UCLA medical conference.
          He rented a car from Budget's LAX location that bore the
          switched plates of another of its cars that had been
          reported stolen, and which had been rented 43 other times
          to its customers even though the plates on the car did not
          match those in its computer and were allowed to leave its
          lot, against corporate policy.

          On February 11, 2001, Dr. Gousse was driving westbound on
          the Santa Monica Freeway near Arlington Street when he was
          stopped by LAPD-Rampart Division officers.  Back-up units
          and a police helicopter were called to the scene, and with
          their guns aimed at him, the police ordered Dr. Gousse to
          the ground.  He was handcuffed, then pulled up from a prone
          position, placed in a squad car and taken to Rampart
          Division.  He was arrested, but never read his Miranda
          rights.

         At the scene, Dr. Gousse alleges that the police made no
         effort to look at his identification or to retrieve the
         exculpatory car rental documents that were in the glove
         compartment.  He complained that the handcuffs were too
         tight, but they weren't removed until his hands had gone
         numb and he was placed in a jail cell.  Throughout his
         almost 2-hour ordeal, Dr. Gousse was subjected to verbal
         abuse by the police.  At the Rampart Station, they learned
         that the arrest was improper.  Instead of releasing him,
         they began running a tape recorder and tried to ask Dr.
         Gousse leading questions in an attempt to "cover-up"
         the police officers' misconduct, but he did not succumb to
         this ruse.

TIME:    THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 AT 2:30 PM

WHERE:    The Hon. Elizabeth A. Grimes, Department 30, Fourth Floor
          Los Angeles Superior Court
          111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA.  90012

NOTE:     Dr. Gousse and his wife Marie are represented by Browne
          Greene with Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP
          (www.gbpwlaw.com); Tel: [phone]; and Robert W. Kelley
          with the Office of Sheldon J. Schlesinger, PA of Fort
          Lauderdale, FL.

          Defendant City of Los Angeles is represented by Cory Brente
          and Christian Bojorquez with the City Attorney's Office;
          Tel. [phone].  Defendant Budget Rent-A-Car is
          represented by Donald W. Carlson with Carlson, Calladine &
          Peterson, LLP; Tel: [phone].