Trombetta v. Novocin

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ANNAMARIE TROMBETTA, Plaintiff, -v-

NORB NOVOCIN, MARIE NOVOCIN, ESTATE CIVIL ACTION NO.: 18 Civ. 993 (RA) (SLC) AUCTIONS, INC., AND WORTHPOINT

CORPORATION, ORDER Defendants.

SARAH L. CAVE, United States Magistrate Judge:

The Court is in receipt of pro se Plaintiff Annamarie Trombetta’s (“Ms. Trombetta”) letters dated February 23, 2023, (ECF Nos. 376–77), and orders as follows: (1) Patrick Michael O’Leary (“Mr. O’Leary”) shall appear for a deposition by Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Mr. O’Leary is not entitled to advance payment of his fee for the deposition. See Ajasin v. Ortiz, No. 19 Civ. 6814 (RA) (JLC), 2021 WL 1437551, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 16, 2021). As to the reasonableness of Mr. O’Leary’s fee, “it is well- settled that parties seeking court intervention to determine a reasonable fee for an expert deposition should do so after the deposition, not before it has taken place.” Id. at *1. Accordingly, if the parties are unable to reach an agreement on Mr. O’Leary’s fee, they may seek court intervention after the deposition has taken place. The parties should note that, “‘[u]nless manifest injustice would result, the court must require that the party seeking discovery . . . pay the expert a reasonable fee for time spent in responding to discovery under [the discovery rules].’” Smith v. New York Presbyterian Hosp., No. 05 Civ. 7729 (RJS) (DF), 2012 WL 4903256, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 12, 2012) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4)(E)(i)). (2) By Monday, February 27, 2023, Defendants shall file their response to Ms. Trombetta’s request that the Court re-open fact discovery. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to mail a copy of this Order to Ms. Trombetta at the address below.

Dated: New York, New York SO ORDERED. February 24, 2023

( Mau L. ik United States Magistrate Judge

Mail To: Annamarie Trombetta 175 East 96" Street, Apt 12R New York, New York 10128