Deejayzoo, LLC v. Kaz Konsulting, LLC
- P. Castel
- 1:19-cv-08688-PKC
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 20
In Deejayzoo v. Kaz Konsulting, Judge Castel paused deposition discovery and extended fact discovery during the COVID-19 emergency.
Deejayzoo, LLC d/b/a Shhhowercap, Kaz Konsulting, LLC, and the other parties involved in the case’s discovery schedule, including Jacquelyn De Jesu’s deposition.
What happened
Deejayzoo, LLC, doing business as Shhhowercap, opposed Kaz Konsulting, LLC’s request to force Jacquelyn De Jesu’s deposition and earlier document production. It said pandemic-related restrictions prevented access to its Manhattan offices and documents, and that De Jesu was managing serious business and personal emergencies.
The court stayed deposition discovery until June 1, 2020, extended fact discovery to July 31, 2020, and vacated all case-management conferences. The parties were directed to contact the court on or after July 18, 2020, to schedule the next conference.
Judge Kevin P. Castel issued the March 30, 2020 order in Deejayzoo, LLC v. Kaz Konsulting, LLC. The opinion text does not expressly state whether the motion to compel was granted or denied, or how the requests for a protective order and attorney fees were resolved.
The detailed version
- Deejayzoo, LLC v. Kaz Konsulting, LLC · No. 1:19-cv-08688-PKC
- P. Castel
- Mar. 30, 2020
Background
The matter arose from Kaz Konsulting, LLC’s motion to compel discovery in the case captioned in the opinion as Deejayzoo LLC d/b/a Shhhowercap v. Kaz Konsulting et al. The motion sought to require Jacquelyn De Jesu, Shhhowercap’s principal and founder, to sit for a deposition by May 8, 2020, and to require Shhhowercap to produce documents 15 days before the deposition.
Shhhowercap opposed the requested schedule. According to its response and De Jesu’s declaration, De Jesu lived in Brooklyn and was subject to New York’s stay-at-home order. Shhhowercap’s headquarters and offices were in Manhattan, and many responsive documents were stored there in paper and electronic form. De Jesu stated that she could not complete production or prepare for the deposition until she could access those offices and documents. She also described the effect of the COVID-19 emergency on Shhhowercap’s supply chains and retail sales, her efforts to seek disaster relief and avoid employee layoffs, and a death in her family during the week of March 23, 2020.
Shhhowercap offered to produce documents by April 28, 2020, and make De Jesu available for deposition on May 28, 2020, remotely or in person depending on circumstances. It also requested a protective order requiring those dates and asked for attorney fees incurred in responding to the motion, with any award donated to the NYC Covid-19 Response and Impact Fund.
Court’s Action
Judge Kevin P. Castel ordered that deposition discovery was stayed until June 1, 2020. The court extended fact discovery to July 31, 2020, vacated all case-management conferences, and directed the parties to contact the court on or after July 18, 2020, to schedule the next case-management conference.
The excerpt does not expressly identify the order as granting or denying Kaz Konsulting, LLC’s motion to compel. It also does not state how the requests for a protective order or attorney fees were resolved. The court’s stated actions are the discovery stay, the extension of fact discovery, and the cancellation and rescheduling procedure for case-management conferences.
Result
The immediate effect was to postpone deposition-related discovery and extend the overall fact-discovery deadline. The order does not decide the underlying claims between the parties. It addresses discovery scheduling and case management during the COVID-19 emergency.
Read the full 20-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.