FCC Record, Volume 1, No. 4, Pages 549 to 785, November 10 - November 21, 1986 Page: 639
ii, 549-785, iii p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Federal Communications Commission Record
certification. Tr. 264-65. No written estimates were ever
prepared for the cost of constructing and initially operating
SAVC's proposed station. Counsel Robert Thompson
provided Mary Decker with an oral estimate of $3-4
million as the total cost of these expenses. Nueva Vista
Exh. 14 at 11-12: Nueva Vista Exh. 22 at 16; Tr. 1936. Ms.
Decker testified that she did not speak with any banker
prior to certifying SAVC as financially qualified in November
1984. Tr. 264-265. She did not have a letter of
commitment from any lending institution at that time. Tr.
1934. Nor did Ms. Decker review any financial statements
or other documents concerning the wherewithal of her
fellow shareholders. Tr 266, 1934. Ms. Decker is "sure"
that counsel Robert Thompson told her that all of
SAVC's shareholders could meet their financial obligations.
Tr. 1945-46. The only document ever created in
connection with SAVC's financial qualifications as of
November 1984 was the application itself. Nueva Vista
Exh. 14 at 14: Nueva Vista Exh. 16 at 1.
15. Mary Decker testified in June that the financial
certification on behalf of SAVC was based on "my knowledge
that the money is available. I knew my son was a
multi-millionaire and I knew. if necessary he would find
a way to provide the funds." Tr. 1937. In her January 17,
1986 sworn statement she said that sincee I believed that
my son Oliver Heard, Jr., was willing and able to loan up
to that sum [the $3-4 million estimate] to SAVC himself, I
did not need to see financial statements for any other
investor . . .." Nueva Vista Exh. 14 at 12. However, Ms.
Decker has never seen Mr. Heard's balance sheet and
does not know how much cash he has in the bank at any
one time, although she thinks he is a "very conservative
man." Tr. 1937, 1975-76. In fact, Ms. Decker does not.
know if Mr. Heard intended to use his own personal
assets as the basis of his pro rata contribution. Tr. 1991.
Moreover, she "just took it for granted" in November
1984 that her son had spoken with someone at Frost
Bank about the possibility of borrowing money in connection
with SAVC's application. Tr. 1945.
16. Mary Decker similarly assumed P. Laurence Macon
could come up with his pro rata share of the needed
funds. Tr. 1945. Rather than checking with Mr. Macon
regarding his net liquidity, Ms. Decker relied on her
understanding that Mr. Macon was a prominent attorney
in San Antonio, and on what she had heard about Mr.
Macon from her son. Tr. 267. 1943. With respect to
Heard. Goggan
Tr. 2071,72. However, when Ms. Decker was questioned
at her May 1986 deposition concerning the basis for her
statement in January (Nueva Vista Exh. 14, Appendix A
at 1) that her fellow shareholders could loan money to
the corporation. she made no mention of any plan for
Mr. Heard and Mr. Macon jointly to lend other shareholders
their contributions. When questioned at the June
hearing why she did not refer to the joint loan from Mr.
Heard and Mr. Macon at her deposition, Ms. Decker
answered that "I guess it just didn't occur to me ..." Tr.
1988.
20. The loan agreement between Mr. Heard and Mr.
Macon and the four shareholders they intended to "carry"
was never written down. Tr. 2034, 2071-72. The parties
never discussed any interest rate, repayment schedule or
need for collateral in connection with these joint loans.
Tr. 2035, 2038, 2109-11. Mr. Macon testified that no limit
on the amount he and Mr. Heard jointly will loan each
shareholder has been set: Mr. Macon expects the terms
for these loans will be set at the time he and Mr. Heard
actually make the loans. Tr. 2035. Mr. Macon further
testified that he and Mr. Heard never asked for the
borrowers' financial statements because it "wasn't important"
to them. Tr. 2040. Despite the fact that the agreement
is oral, and lacks terms. Mr. Macon claimed at
hearing that it is legally enforceable. Tr. 2044.
21. Mr. Heard and Mr. Macon represented that they
never intended to rely on their own assets in making
these loans to "carry" other shareholders, or in making
their own pro rata contributions. Instead, they planned to
borrow all of the funds necessary from Frost Bank in San
Antonio. SAVC Exh. 11 at, 2. SAVC Exh. 12 at 2; Tr.
2080, 2084-85. Mr. Heard "never thought for a second"
about relying on his own net liquid assets because he
believed that was "a very foolish way to proceed." Tr.
2084-85. In fact. Mr. Heard does not think he checked to
see if he and Mr. Macon had sufficient net liquid assets
between them to advance two-thirds of the total estimated
expenses. Tr. 2081, 2085.
22. The existence of a specific financial plan involving
pro rata contributions, loans from Mr. Heard and Mr.
Macon, and borrowing by Mr. Heard and Mr. Macon
from Frost Bank, was first revealed at the June hearing.
The following exchange during the hearing in December
1985 indicates that the plan was not in place then:
Q:[BY MR. MARTIN]: Did you make any discussions
yourself about how the station would be financed?639
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 1, No. 4, Pages 549 to 785, November 10 - November 21, 1986, book, November 1986; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1580/m1/96/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.