December 1, 1985

Philip Fleesum, Esq.
Law Offices of Fleesum, Fleesum, and Gitt
49 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100
San Francisco, CA 94104

Dear Mr. Fleesum:

Thank you for your letter of November 16, requesting a formal ruling on the language in your Contract to Deliver Legal Services to the City and County of San Francisco, dated May 14, 1985. I have spoken at length with the City Attorney on this matter, and I regret to inform you that she has corroborated my original judgment in every detail.

As you will no doubt recall, the problem stems from a typographical error in Paragraph 9 of the Contract, to wit: "...the City and County of San Francisco agrees to pay Philip Fleesum at the rate of $84,000 per anum...". It was the City Attorney's opinion that since this contract was duly signed by all parties, properly witnessed and certified, and approved by the Board of Supervisors, the language therein has the full force of contractual law. Thus, we cannot accept your suggestion that the words "per anum" were actually meant to be "per annum".

The Contracts Office sincerely regrets that this error appeared in the final document, but we insist, Mr. Fleesum, that a civilized society must abide by the letter of its laws as well as the spirit.

The City fully recognizes that you are owed $84,000 for your year of contracted services, and desires to make payment to you forthwith. We need only to carry out the (admittedly unusual) requirements written into the Contract.

Therefore, I have arranged the following procedure for you to receive the payment due you. Please set aside the morning of Tuesday, December 16th. You should report at 9:00 AM to Room 101, Building 22, at the San Francisco General Hospital. Upon arrival, you will change into a hospital gown and will be administered a mild tranquilizer. Meredith Palliser, M.D., assisted by Jeanne Hamilton, R.N., will conduct the actual transfer of payment to you. The entire process should require less than three hours. Your remuneration will be in the form of packets of $100 bills, twenty to a packet. Each packet will be tightly rolled, sealed in sterilized plastic, lubricated, and