MacMAHON, District Judge.
Defendants move (1) to add the names of Mrs. Gladys Kaye and Mrs. Richelle Goldstein to a notice of deposition served earlier on the plaintiffs; (2) to continue the deposition of Temple Beth-El Day School by Mr. Hyman Campeas, Mrs. Esther Schecter, Mrs. Mary Kobell, Mrs. Gladys Kaye, and Mrs. Richelle Goldstein; (3) to change the place of the examination to the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of New York; (4) to compel deponents to answer questions which they refused to answer on a deposition taken September 9, 1965 and any other questions relating to their knowledge, observations, reports, or evaluations of the academic and extracurricular performance of Sherrill J. Shapiro at the Temple Beth-El Day School, including observations and evaluations of her adjustment and relationships with other persons, and knowledge of conversations between said witnesses or other persons and Sherrill J. Shapiro; (5) to be awarded counsel fees of $250.00, plus costs of conducting the examination of September 9, 1965; and (6) to obtain other appropriate relief.1
Plaintiff Sherrill J. Shapiro allegedly suffered injuries, including permanent psychiatric shock, when a private airplane, operated by one David Feder, crashed into the home of her parents on November 10, 1962. In the ensuing negligence actions,2 defendants (Fed-er’s temporary administratrix and the plane’s co-owners) sought to obtain information on Sherrill’s pre-injury adjustment to everyday life by an examination of her school records and teachers, but they were told by the school director that plaintiffs and their attorneys had instructed school personnel not to talk with them without written authorization from plaintiffs’ lawyers. Defendants attempted to obtain such [310]*310permission but failed. They thereupon moved to take depositions on oral examination of school personnel possessing relevant information. This court, after admonishing plaintiffs’ attorneys for their unjustified interference with defendants’ right to unobstructed access to witnesses,3 granted the motion on July 2, 1965. An order, settled on notice and set out in full in the margin, was signed July 12, 1965.4
An examination was subsequently scheduled for September 9, 1965 at the school. Plaintiffs’ attorney arrived before the appointed time and discussed the examination with Mr. Campeas, the headmaster. When the examination commenced, defendants’ attorney pro[311]*311pounded numerous questions designed to elicit relevant and nonprivileged facts on Sherrill Shapiro’s psychological adjustment to school. Plaintiffs’ attorney objected to nearly all of these questions and persistently instructed the deponents not to answer. His reason, he said, was that the court order of July 12, 1965 restricted the scope of the examination to Sherrill’s attendance at school, i. e., the dates she was present and the dates and reasons why she was absent. Again and again, counsel for defendants asserted that plaintiffs’ attorney had no right to instruct the deponents not to answer and called his attention to Rule 30(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which requires that evidence objected to “shall be taken subject to the objections.” (Emphasis added.) Undaunted, plaintiffs’ attorney continued to obstruct and frustrate the depositions by advising, instructing, and beseeching the deponents not to answer perfectly proper questions, going so far at one point “as an officer of the court” to order the witness not to answer, and, at another, to threaten to file a formal complaint against defendants’ attorney with the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He also read a selected excerpt from the July 12 order to one of the deponents and directed her to read the order herself. The upshot was a steady stream of refusals to answer. Mrs. Schecter, for example, refused to answer forty-six questions relating to her observations of Sherrill as a kindergarten student, and Mrs. Kobell, Sherrill’s first grade teacher, refused to answer thirty-nine questions of a similar nature. The net result was all but a complete waste of the time of the two lawyers representing defendants who had made a trip to Rockaway Beach and spent three and one-half hours there in a vain effort to garner relevant evidence.
Both Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the July 12 order clearly permit a liberal examination of Sherrill Shapiro’s teachers.5 In addition, Rule 30 (c) of the Federal Rules unequivocally mandates that during depositions upon oral examination “evidence objected to shall be taken subject to the objections.” Thus, even if the plaintiffs’ attorney believed the questions to be without the scope of the July 12 order, he should have done nothing more than state his objections.6 It is not the prerogative of counsel, but of the court, to rule on objections. Indeed, if counsel were to rule on the propriety of questions, oral examinations would be quickly reduced to an exasperating cycle of answerless inquiries and court orders. Alternatively, if the plaintiffs’ attorney believed that the examination was being conducted in bad faith, that the information sought was privileged, or that [312]*312the deponents were being needlessly annoyed, embarrassed, or oppressed, he should have halted the examination and applied immediately to the ex parte judge for a ruling on the questions,7 or for a protective order,8 pursuant to Rule 30(d). He had no right whatever to impose silence or to instruct the witnesses not to answer, especially so when the witnesses were not even his clients.
We think it obvious that throughout the entire discovery process plaintiffs’ lawyers have been acting in the utmost bad faith. First, without a semblance of right, they told school officials not to talk with defendants’ attorneys without their written authorization; second, they refused to give the authorization when defendants’ lawyers asked for it; third, after being censured for their highhanded actions, they wilfully torpedoed defendants’ attempt to take a deposition ordered by this court.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were designed as an affirmative aid to substantive justice, and those who choose to read them restrictively do so at their peril. It is time that depositions be conducted by members of the bar in a cooperative manner, in accordance with both the letter and spirit of the rules, without petty bickering and without intervention by busy courts with more important matters pressing for attention. It is clear to us that plaintiffs’ attorney has no conception of his obligation to observe the rules “as an officer of the court” or otherwise. Rather, he appears to be bent on concealing vital facts or, at best, waging a war of delay, expense, harassment and frustration. There is no justification for his conduct, no basis at all for his instructing the deponents not to answer. As a result, the cooperative atmosphere envisaged by the federal rules has been poisoned by antagonism.
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MacMAHON, District Judge.
Defendants move (1) to add the names of Mrs. Gladys Kaye and Mrs. Richelle Goldstein to a notice of deposition served earlier on the plaintiffs; (2) to continue the deposition of Temple Beth-El Day School by Mr. Hyman Campeas, Mrs. Esther Schecter, Mrs. Mary Kobell, Mrs. Gladys Kaye, and Mrs. Richelle Goldstein; (3) to change the place of the examination to the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of New York; (4) to compel deponents to answer questions which they refused to answer on a deposition taken September 9, 1965 and any other questions relating to their knowledge, observations, reports, or evaluations of the academic and extracurricular performance of Sherrill J. Shapiro at the Temple Beth-El Day School, including observations and evaluations of her adjustment and relationships with other persons, and knowledge of conversations between said witnesses or other persons and Sherrill J. Shapiro; (5) to be awarded counsel fees of $250.00, plus costs of conducting the examination of September 9, 1965; and (6) to obtain other appropriate relief.1
Plaintiff Sherrill J. Shapiro allegedly suffered injuries, including permanent psychiatric shock, when a private airplane, operated by one David Feder, crashed into the home of her parents on November 10, 1962. In the ensuing negligence actions,2 defendants (Fed-er’s temporary administratrix and the plane’s co-owners) sought to obtain information on Sherrill’s pre-injury adjustment to everyday life by an examination of her school records and teachers, but they were told by the school director that plaintiffs and their attorneys had instructed school personnel not to talk with them without written authorization from plaintiffs’ lawyers. Defendants attempted to obtain such [310]*310permission but failed. They thereupon moved to take depositions on oral examination of school personnel possessing relevant information. This court, after admonishing plaintiffs’ attorneys for their unjustified interference with defendants’ right to unobstructed access to witnesses,3 granted the motion on July 2, 1965. An order, settled on notice and set out in full in the margin, was signed July 12, 1965.4
An examination was subsequently scheduled for September 9, 1965 at the school. Plaintiffs’ attorney arrived before the appointed time and discussed the examination with Mr. Campeas, the headmaster. When the examination commenced, defendants’ attorney pro[311]*311pounded numerous questions designed to elicit relevant and nonprivileged facts on Sherrill Shapiro’s psychological adjustment to school. Plaintiffs’ attorney objected to nearly all of these questions and persistently instructed the deponents not to answer. His reason, he said, was that the court order of July 12, 1965 restricted the scope of the examination to Sherrill’s attendance at school, i. e., the dates she was present and the dates and reasons why she was absent. Again and again, counsel for defendants asserted that plaintiffs’ attorney had no right to instruct the deponents not to answer and called his attention to Rule 30(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which requires that evidence objected to “shall be taken subject to the objections.” (Emphasis added.) Undaunted, plaintiffs’ attorney continued to obstruct and frustrate the depositions by advising, instructing, and beseeching the deponents not to answer perfectly proper questions, going so far at one point “as an officer of the court” to order the witness not to answer, and, at another, to threaten to file a formal complaint against defendants’ attorney with the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He also read a selected excerpt from the July 12 order to one of the deponents and directed her to read the order herself. The upshot was a steady stream of refusals to answer. Mrs. Schecter, for example, refused to answer forty-six questions relating to her observations of Sherrill as a kindergarten student, and Mrs. Kobell, Sherrill’s first grade teacher, refused to answer thirty-nine questions of a similar nature. The net result was all but a complete waste of the time of the two lawyers representing defendants who had made a trip to Rockaway Beach and spent three and one-half hours there in a vain effort to garner relevant evidence.
Both Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the July 12 order clearly permit a liberal examination of Sherrill Shapiro’s teachers.5 In addition, Rule 30 (c) of the Federal Rules unequivocally mandates that during depositions upon oral examination “evidence objected to shall be taken subject to the objections.” Thus, even if the plaintiffs’ attorney believed the questions to be without the scope of the July 12 order, he should have done nothing more than state his objections.6 It is not the prerogative of counsel, but of the court, to rule on objections. Indeed, if counsel were to rule on the propriety of questions, oral examinations would be quickly reduced to an exasperating cycle of answerless inquiries and court orders. Alternatively, if the plaintiffs’ attorney believed that the examination was being conducted in bad faith, that the information sought was privileged, or that [312]*312the deponents were being needlessly annoyed, embarrassed, or oppressed, he should have halted the examination and applied immediately to the ex parte judge for a ruling on the questions,7 or for a protective order,8 pursuant to Rule 30(d). He had no right whatever to impose silence or to instruct the witnesses not to answer, especially so when the witnesses were not even his clients.
We think it obvious that throughout the entire discovery process plaintiffs’ lawyers have been acting in the utmost bad faith. First, without a semblance of right, they told school officials not to talk with defendants’ attorneys without their written authorization; second, they refused to give the authorization when defendants’ lawyers asked for it; third, after being censured for their highhanded actions, they wilfully torpedoed defendants’ attempt to take a deposition ordered by this court.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were designed as an affirmative aid to substantive justice, and those who choose to read them restrictively do so at their peril. It is time that depositions be conducted by members of the bar in a cooperative manner, in accordance with both the letter and spirit of the rules, without petty bickering and without intervention by busy courts with more important matters pressing for attention. It is clear to us that plaintiffs’ attorney has no conception of his obligation to observe the rules “as an officer of the court” or otherwise. Rather, he appears to be bent on concealing vital facts or, at best, waging a war of delay, expense, harassment and frustration. There is no justification for his conduct, no basis at all for his instructing the deponents not to answer. As a result, the cooperative atmosphere envisaged by the federal rules has been poisoned by antagonism.
We think in the light of the history of these discovery proceedings that the particular relief sought by defendants is inadequate. The ends of justice compel the appointment of a special master to preside over all pending and future depositions in this case, lest there be repetition of these obstructive tactics, further delay, waste, expense, and still more needless burdens cast upon this congested court.9 The special master shall be appointed by the court in the order to be entered on this opinion and shall have full power to designate the time and place of all pending and future depositions in this case and to rule on all pending and future objections and on any pending or future motions relating to discovery proceedings. The fees and expenses of the special master shall not be charged as costs of the action; rather, they shall be fixed by the court upon the special master’s report at the conclusion of the deposition and shall be paid by plaintiffs’ attorneys without reimbursement from their clients.10 Furthermore, defendants’ cost and expense of bringing this motion, together with [313]*313reasonable attorneys’ fees, both to be fixed by this court upon affidavits by defense counsel itemizing such expenses and the time spent in preparing the motion, shall be paid by plaintiffs’ attorneys, without recourse to their clients, and shall not be charged as costs of the action11
Settle order on notice within ten (10) days from the date of this opinion.