Argudo v. Rugo, LLC

Background

On December 15, 2023, Benigno Argudo moved to require Defendant Mario Rugova to attend a previously noticed deposition. Argudo also asked the court to order the defendants either to pay the invoice from U.S. Legal Support for a deposition Rugova did not attend or to reimburse Argudo for that expense. Argudo later filed a supplemental declaration with the stenographer’s invoice.

The defendants’ objection was due by January 2, 2024. No objection was filed, so the court treated the motion as fully submitted.

Court’s Analysis

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(d) requires a party who fails to attend a deposition to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by that failure, unless the failure was substantially justified or another circumstance would make an award unfair. The court noted that the defendants’ counsel did not argue at a December 21, 2023 conference that Rugova’s failure was justified or that paying the expenses would be unfair. The defendants also did not make that argument in a written opposition.

Ruling

Because the application was unopposed and Rule 37 applied, the court ordered the defendants to pay Argudo’s counsel the amount due on the U.S. Legal Support invoice for the deposition Rugova failed to attend. Payment was due no later than January 17, 2024. The opinion does not separately state the disposition of Argudo’s request to compel Rugova’s future appearance.