Fisher v. Goord

184 F.R.D. 45, 43 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 875, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1323, 1999 WL 42170
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 27, 1999
DocketNo. 96-CV-486A(F)
StatusPublished

This text of 184 F.R.D. 45 (Fisher v. Goord) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fisher v. Goord, 184 F.R.D. 45, 43 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 875, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1323, 1999 WL 42170 (W.D.N.Y. 1999).

Opinion

DECISION and ORDER

FOSCHIO, United States Magistrate Judge.

JURISDICTION

This matter was referred to the undersigned by order of Hon. Richard J. Arcara dated January 29, 1998 for all pretrial matters. It is presently before the court on Defendants’ motion, filed December 11, 1998, to compel Plaintiffs appearance at an oral deposition noticed for February 1, 2, and 3, 1999.

BACKGROUND

In this civil rights action alleging that while incarcerated at Defendants’ correctional facility she was the victim of sexual abuse, Plaintiffs oral deposition notice was served, September 29, 1998, on Plaintiffs attorneys. The deposition was noticed for December 9, 10, and 11,1998.

On December 7,1998, Glenn Edward Murray, Esq., then local counsel to Plaintiff, informed Defendant DeSalvo’s attorney, Mr. Lipkind, that he would not attend the scheduled deposition as he intended to withdraw as one of Plaintiffs counsel for non-payment of his fees. On December 8, 1998, Mr. McVann informed Mr. Lipkind by telephone call that he also would not attend the deposition. In turn, Lipkind advised Plaintiffs attorney Defendants reserved their right to reschedule the Plaintiffs deposition and to seek judicial relief based on his failure to attend the deposition. According to Defendants, when, during the telephone conversation, McVann was asked how they should proceed, Mr. McVann failed to provide any response. Subsequently, Mr. Murray filed a motion to withdraw which was served upon Plaintiff and her retained attorney, Mr. McVann, returnable on January 15, 1999, the same return date established by the court for the instant motion. There being no opposition to Mr. Murray’s motion, the motion was granted on the record. No papers were filed in opposition to Defendants’ instant motion, and there was no appearance by Mr. McVann on behalf of Plaintiff.

DISCUSSION

It is basic that federal law permits discovery of information relevant to claims and defenses and that such discovery includes the taking of oral deposition of the parties to the litigation, including, by stipulation or with court approval, an incarcerated party. Fed. R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1); 30(a)(1), (2). Here, Plaintiff has failed to make any objection to the noticed deposition and therefore the court finds the deposition should be taken. The motion is, therefore, GRANTED. Approval for such deposition pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P 30(a)(2) is also hereby GRANTED, and Plaintiff is directed cooperate fully in the taking of the deposition. The court’s Deposition Guidelines, attached hereto, shall be followed.

Defendants also seek costs of the motion arguing that the refusal to appear at the scheduled deposition by Plaintiffs attorneys unjustifiably prevented Defendants’ attorneys from conducting the deposition as to do so may have constituted a violation of DR 7 - 104, which prohibits communication with a represented adverse party by a lawyer. The [47]*47New York Code of Professional Responsibility applies to attorneys admitted to practice in this court. Local R.Civ.P. 83.3(c) (W.D.N.Y.). Defendants thereby reason that as Plaintiffs attorneys’ conduct required them to bring the instant motion directing the rescheduled deposition, with or without the presence of Plaintiffs attorneys, Defendants are entitled to costs.

While DR 7 - 107 generally prohibits a lawyer from communicating with a represented party, it also provides an exception where the communication is “authorized by law,” or where the attorney for the represented party consents to the communication. DR 7 - 104 A. 1. N.Y. Jud. L. Appendix (McKinney 1992). A duly noticed deposition, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, is a form of communication authorized by law. There is, moreover, nothing in Fed. R.Civ.P. 30, governing the conduct of oral depositions, to suggest that the deposition of a represented party cannot go forward in the absence of such party’s attorney where such counsel have been duly noticed and affirmatively state they will not appear. Athough Rule 30 does not specifically state that such deposition may proceed in the absence of the deponent’s attorney, if an adverse party’s attorney’s failure to participate, without good cause, in a duly noticed deposition were allowed to invoke DR 7 - 104, such would operate as a unilateral “veto” of the deposition contrary to the purposes of liberal pretrial discovery established in the federal rules. As noted, DR 7 - 104 also specifically provides that its prohibition is inapplicable where the represented party’s attorney has consented to the communication. Here, although Plaintiffs attorneys had notice of the deposition and offered no objection to its going forward as scheduled, the record, based on the papers filed, is ambiguous as to whether such failure constituted a consent.

The purpose of the no contact rule of DR 7 - 104 is to “provide protection of the represented person against overreaching by adverse counsel, safeguard the client-lawyer relationship from interference by adverse counsel, and reduce the likelihood that clients will disclose privileged or other information that might harm their interests.” ABA Comm. on Professional Ethics and Grievances, Formal Op. 396 (1995). See also Polycast Technology Corp. v. Uniroyal, Inc., 129 F.R.D. 621, 625 (S.D.N.Y.1990). The rule also facilitates settlement by delegating authority to the lawyers, presumably more skilled in such matters, to conduct settlement discussions. Polycast Technology Corp., supra. Where, however, as here', a party’s attorney voluntarily relinquishes his right to appear at a properly noticed deposition, and raises no objection to the conduct of the scheduled deposition by motion or otherwise, these salutary purposes should not be applied to defeat the orderly progress of discovery pursuant to the applicable rule. EC 7 - 18, N.Y. Jud. L. Appendix (McKinney 1992) (a lawyer shall not communicate with represented party “unless pursuant to law or rule of court____”) (emphasis added). It is the obligation of counsel to advise the client who is to be deposed on their client’s right to assistance of counsel at a deposition and the party noticing the deposition has a corresponding right to expect the witness will cooperate in the deposition regardless of whether counsel elects to be present.

It is undisputed that Plaintiffs attorney had ample notice of the deposition and, significantly, there is no indication in the record that Plaintiffs attorneys in any way signaled they desired to be present. It is also the fact that at the time the deposition was scheduled to take place, Plaintiffs local counsel, Mr. Murray, remained an attorney of record and, therefore, could have appeared at the deposition, not withstanding his stated intention to withdraw. Cf. Elbex Video Kabushiki Kaisha v. Taiwan Regular Electronics Co., Ltd., 1996 WL 87278 *3 (S.D.N.Y.1996) (suggesting DR 7 - 104 may be violated where record ambiguous as to whether deposed foreign witnesses’ attorneys desired counsel to be present at deposition to assist witnesses). Accordingly as the Plaintiffs duly noticed oral deposition constituted a communication “authorized by law,” and Plaintiffs attorneys failed to object to the Plaintiffs unrepresented deposition, DR 7 -104 did not prevent the taking of the deposition.

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Related

Eastman v. Eastman
104 A. 1 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1918)
Polycast Technology Corp. v. Uniroyal, Inc.
129 F.R.D. 621 (S.D. New York, 1990)
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150 F.R.D. 525 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
184 F.R.D. 45, 43 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 875, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1323, 1999 WL 42170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-v-goord-nywd-1999.