In Crandall v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 34161(U), Index No. 157373/2018 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Dec. 8, 2022) – arising from an alleged sexual assault in an Equinox steam room – the court, inter alia, denied plaintiff’s motion to vacate the Note of Issue, effectively precluding plaintiff from conducting depositions of…
Read More Failure to Comply With Court Order Results in Waiver of DepositionsIn Bush v. Alliant Content, LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 22199 (NY Sup. Ct. Westchester Cty. July 5, 2022), the court ruled on an issue that became particularly relevant during the COVID pandemic, namely, whether a deposition – a proceeding, part of the “discovery” process in civil litigation, comprising the interposition of real-time questions to…
Read More Unvaccinated Cancer Survivor Must Appear For In-Person Deposition, Court RulesDespite what popular culture may imply, the main battles of litigation are not waged in the courtroom, but rather in various pre-trial events that, together, comprise what is known as “discovery.” In this phase, the parties use various methods to obtain (“discover”) information from the other side. Among the various (and most prevalent) discovery methods…
Read More A Cautionary Tale Regarding Attorney Deposition ConductIn Guillebeaux v. H.E.L.P. Homeless Services Corporation et al, 2020 WL 4731420 (S.D.N.Y. August 14, 2020) – a sexual harassment/hostile work environment case – the court denied plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of the court’s earlier ruling declining to prevent a representative of defendant from attending the (remote) deposition of plaintiff. The court provides the following…
Read More Sexual Harassment Deposition May be Attended by Defendant Representative, Court RulesDepositions are a part of the pre-trial “discovery” stage of litigation, in which a witness is questioned under oath, while their testimony is transcribed by a court reporter. They often occur outside the presence of a judge. One issue that arises is the alleged “coaching” of a witness by their attorney. In a recent case,…
Read More Court Discusses Deposition Sanctions in Employment Discrimination CaseWe’ve seen one judge warn a lawyer not to call their adversary an “asshole” in private correspondence. Now we have a decision imposing a $4,700 fine/sanction on a lawyer for (e.g.) calling their adversary a “racist” during a deposition. In Scott-Iverson v. Indep. Health Ass’n, Inc., No. 13-CV-451V(F), 2016 WL 7320067 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 15, 2016), the…
Read More Court Imposes $4,700 Fine on Lawyer For (e.g.) Calling Adversary a “Racist” During Employment Discrimination DepositionA recent decision, Martinez v. Lincoln Center (Sup. Ct. Bx. Cty. Apr. 8, 2015), illustrates that attorneys who engage in obstructionist conduct at depositions do so at their peril. In this personal injury action, plaintiff, a laborer, was injured when he slipped and fell on debris in an underground garage at Lincoln Center. The court granted…
Read More Violation of Deposition Rules Results in $250 Sanction Against Defense Attorney in Personal Injury CaseIn Bright v. Coca Cola, 12-cv-234 (EDNY Nov. 3, 2014), an employment discrimination case, the Eastern District of New York granted summary judgment in defendant’s favor. Judge Cogan’s decision is instructive regarding the use of depositions in employment litigation. For non-lawyers/litigators, a “deposition” is (briefly and generally speaking) a witness’s out-of-court testimony that is reduced to…
Read More “Have You Identified All Facts Supporting Your Claims?”