Accely v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

Background

The court issued this order after a discovery conference. Plaintiff Welby Accely sought sanctions—an order imposing a consequence for alleged discovery noncompliance—in the form of $550 in legal fees connected to the canceled and later rescheduled virtual continuation of Defendant Darren Brindisi’s deposition. Brindisi’s counsel notified Accely about 15 minutes after the scheduled start that Brindisi could not proceed because of ill health, and the deposition was quickly rescheduled.

Accely also asked the court to order Defendants to provide discovery described in categories one through eleven of his August 17, 2020 letter. The deadline for serving document requests was January 6, 2020.

Analysis and Rulings

The court explained that it has broad discretion to decide what sanction, if any, is appropriate. It considered the circumstances of the cancellation, including the lack of a pattern of misconduct, the absence of a prior warning about missed deadlines, and the lack of prejudice to Accely. The court found that the last-minute cancellation was inconvenient but did not justify monetary sanctions. Plaintiff’s request for $550 in legal fees was DENIED. The ruling did not affect Defendants’ agreement to reimburse the court reporter’s costs for the canceled deposition.

The court also DENIED Accely’s request to order production of the documents listed in categories one through eleven because the request was untimely. However, if Brindisi had testified or later testified about specifically identifiable individual documents that had not been produced, Accely could make a supplemental request for those particular documents.

Remaining Discovery

The parties were encouraged to continue meeting and conferring about scheduling two remaining non-party depositions before fact discovery closed on September 30, 2020. If they could not schedule those depositions by that date, they could request a limited extension of time to complete them.

Disposition

Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave denied both Accely’s request for deposition-related legal fees and his request for the broader, late document production. The order permitted a possible targeted supplemental document request tied to Brindisi’s deposition testimony and did not alter Defendants’ agreement to pay the canceled deposition’s court-reporter costs.