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Plaintiff,
v.
Defendant.
Before:
15 Civ. 7433 (RWS)
March 24, 2016
4:00 p.m.
District Judge
APPEARANCES
Attorneys for Plaintiff S
BY: SIGRID S. McCAWLEY
Attorneys for Defendant
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(Case called)
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THE DEPUTY CLERK: Counsel, can you please state your
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name for the record for the court reporter? Thank you.
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MS. McCAWLEY: Sigrid McCawley, counsel for the
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plaintiff, Ms. Giuffre, from Boies, Schiller & Flexner.
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Good afternoon, your Honor. Jeffrey
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Pagliuca for the reporter, Ms. Maxwell, and we are present with
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Laura Menninger. We are with the law firm of Haddon, Moore &
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Foreman.
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THE COURT: This is Judge Sweet. Let me just go
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through a few preliminaries with you all.
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First of all, this is being treated as it was
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scheduled, that is as a motion with respect to discovery and
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also the timing of the deposition and maybe there are some
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other matters.
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Because it was a motion it was, of course, set down
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for noon today and in open court and so that prevails
that
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situation exists now. It is another way of saying we are in
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the courtroom and there are members of the public and, for all
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I know, members of the press present so that you all understand
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that.
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The reason we are on the phone is because defense
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counsel had the good judgment to live in Colorado and because
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Colorado has been blessed with frequent snow this season and
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there was, when we last spoke, about the problem of defense
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counsel actually getting here. Now, our research indicates
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that the Denver Airport is now open but obviously there were
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some problems and in an excess of caution and at defense
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counsel's request, I decided that it made more sense to try to
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do this telephonically.
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Let me just say about telephone motions and
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conferences, they're terrible because I can't -- you cannot see
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me frown and it is very hard for me to control counsel by
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telephone. However, we will try to do that if it is necessary.
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What I would ask -- fortunately because we have a
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sexual differentiation between counsel it won't be necessary
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for you to identify yourself as we speak and talk.
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I take it that is sort of the preliminaries and I take
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it that that raises no problems for anybody, correct?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Correct, your Honor. Not on behalf of
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the defendant Ms. Maxwell.
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THE COURT: Okay. That's fine.
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Now, I have read your papers and I think I understand
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the issues. Let me tell you what I think. I think that I am
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going to deny the motion to compel answers to the plaintiff's
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interrogatories except insofar as the plaintiff has indicated
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that she is compliant or is going to comply. However, I
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recognize that this method of making decisions is not quite as
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desirable as it is if we had you physically present here. So,
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I will grant leave to the defense, if there are particular
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interrogatories that you feel are critical to you within the
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time frame which we will discuss in a few moments, I grant
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leave for you to submit any additional materials and I think
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that submission should be on the schedule that we have already
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determined with respect to the privilege issues, that is, by
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March 31st.
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Now, as far as the schedule itself is concerned and
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the deposition, you know, this Colorado gambit is not going to
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work again because it is going to stop snowing sooner or later,
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even in Colorado. So, hopefully we won't have this problem
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again but, obviously, you can't be here tomorrow -- well, I
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suppose you could, there is a red eye, but tomorrow is Good
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Friday and one thing and another.
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So, I am going to grant the request to adjourn the
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deposition and part of the reason for that is it occurs to
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me -- I don't know how the privilege rulings are going to work
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out. Obviously, as you know, that submission will be in camera
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and I don't know how they're going to work out, but it occurs
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to me that it's possible that if some of the privilege rulings
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go against the defense, then there might be additional
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questions at deposition. So, it seems to me it is sensible to
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put that over.
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So, assuming that we can resolve the privilege matters
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and anything else you want to bring up reasonably promptly, I
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was thinking that we would set the deposition at a date that is
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agreeable to the parties sometime in the week of April 18th.
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Now, having said all of that, I would be pleased to
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hear any protests, suggestions, amendments, questions, whatever
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strikes you as a result of my conclusions.
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Your Honor, this is Jeff Pagliuca on
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behalf of Ms. Maxwell.
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I think preliminarily the Court should be aware that
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yesterday counsel discussed, by e-mail, the protective order
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issue relating to Ms. Maxwell's deposition and trying to find a
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convenient date that would work for the parties and
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Ms. Maxwell. We settled in on April 12th which is about six
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days before your Honor's proposed date. We, the defendants,
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are happy to consider a different date but I thought, in
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fairness to plaintiff's counsel, I should alert the Court to
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that series of events and I am not sure how that changes the
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Court's analysis. I do agree and it was part of our papers
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that we wanted to get the privilege issues resolved so that we
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would not be subjecting ourselves, potentially, to a second
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deposition.
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So, I think your Honor's suggestion makes some sense
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but we did agree to the 12th and I am not backing out of that
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agreement, certainly subject to comments by plaintiff's counsel
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and the Court.
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THE COURT: I am getting to the age where somehow
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sometimes I don't trust my memory but I thought at our last
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session the plaintiff agreed to your proposed protective order.
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Am I wrong about that?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: No, you are correct, your Honor. And I
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am sorry because I am referring to the motion that was filed
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captioned Request for Protective Order regarding Ms. Maxwell's
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deposition going forward in which we asked for an adjournment.
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So, I may be confusing your Honor with my use of the word
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"protective order" which is from the rule.
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THE COURT: Oh.
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MR. PAGLIUCA: That's that it was of a request for
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adjournment of that deposition
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THE COURT: So, what are you all going to confer about
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on the 12th? You mean on the date of the deposition?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: No, your Honor. We agreed to that as
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the date so let me back up.
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I think everyone recognized that we would not be able
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to be there today given the airport situation here and the
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backlog of flights and so the parties, by e-mail, agreed to
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reschedule Ms. Maxwell's deposition for April 12th.
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THE COURT: Oh, I see. Okay. All right. I
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understand.
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Well, look. If it is all right with you all I would
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prefer the week of the 18th simply because that gives me a
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little bit more see room on the privilege decision.
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Is that possible?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: It is possible, your Honor, and that's
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fine with counsel for Ms. Maxwell.
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THE COURT: Well how about the plaintiff?
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MS. McCAWLEY: Yes, your Honor. This is Sigrid
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McCawley.
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We are comfortable pushing it another week if that's
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the Court's desire. The only caveat to that that I have is
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that Ms. Menninger wanted to take my client's deposition that
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week and I would ask the Court that of course since we were the
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first to notice and we noticed back in February, that we be
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able to have Ms. Maxwell's deposition that week and then choose
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another week for my client's deposition.
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THE COURT: I think that makes sense. I don't see any
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problem with that. Do you all?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: We agree with that, your Honor. That's
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not a problem.
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THE COURT: Okay. Anything else we should cover this
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afternoon?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Your Honor, just in terms of
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clarification in terms of what is before the Court today and
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potentially before the Court in the next, I would say, two
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weeks or so, the other motion that was filed was the motion to
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compel responses pursuant to Rule 26A. We have not cued up yet
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any issue related to the interrogatories or the requests for
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production of documents because counsel conferred about that
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earlier this week on Monday. There was a supplemental
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production on, I believe, Tuesday, and so we are in the process
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of reviewing the supplemental response and the production and
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so I think any issues related to interrogatories or requests
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for production of documents pursuant to Rules 33 and Rule 34
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are not before the Court at this time.
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THE COURT: Well, that's fine. I think it is great if
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you all can resolve those without confusing me. So, I think
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that's fine. And we will just consider that those motions are
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withdrawn at this point and then, if necessary, they can be
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renewed at a later time. Hopefully it won't be necessary.
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Anything else?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: No. That's fine with counsel for the
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defendant, your Honor.
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THE COURT: Okay.
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One other thought that has occurred to me. These are
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two excellent and prominent law firms and history teaches that
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good lawyers, like the ones in this case, tend to get
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committed -- I mean to trials, not to institutions.
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MR. PAGLIUCA: I am looking at a couple of
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institutions right now, your Honor.
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THE COURT: Okay, but it occurs to me we have our
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schedule which I think is, as far as I know, still makes sense
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and is the one that we entered back in October and I think that
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still makes sense, but it does seem to me that it would also
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make sense perhaps to book a time when counsel would be
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committed so that we don't have the problem of somebody popping
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up and saying, well, I have got another case with Judge
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so-and-so.
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I was thinking late September early October, how does
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that sound to you all?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Your Honor, this is Ms. Maxwell's
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counsel.
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I think this may be a premature discussion, your
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Honor, for two reasons. The first is we have not yet gone
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through the disclosures that we just received with the detail
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that we would like to. I believe, though, having done a fairly
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quick review of the documents produced that it is unlikely, in
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my opinion, that fact discovery will be completed by July 1.
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And I say that, your Honor, because at sort of the tip of the
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iceberg here is that there are a number of witnesses that
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appear to be living in other countries and we are going to need
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to discuss how we are going to be able to conduct discovery
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related to those witnesses.
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There are a lot of witnesses in this case and given
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the recent document production, I think it is going to take
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some time to complete first the fact discovery and then have
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expert discovery completed. So, my guess, your Honor, is that
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we are probably looking at realistically pushing discovery in
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this case until October, I would say, and then setting a trial
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date after that. That's my best guess at this point.
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THE COURT: What's the plaintiff's view of that?
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MS. McCAWLEY: Your Honor, this is Sigrid McCawley for
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the plaintiff.
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We have been obviously trying to push discovery
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forward. We have served our initial requests for production
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back in October of this year and, again, while the Court
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granted our motion to compel in part last week, we haven't
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received any more documents. We are trying to move discovery
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forward, as you know, as quickly as we can. We hoped to be
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done by July, that is our goal. We would like to go to trial
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in late September or early October.
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THE COURT: Well, let's do this. Let's set a trial
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date recognizing that it's not in stone and it certainly can
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be -- can be and may well be pushed back. But, let's keep the
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present schedule. It may be purely hopeful.
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By the way, if we change it and you all do not agree
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as to the change, just let me say if somebody comes forward and
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presumably it would be the defense but I don't know, it could
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also be the plaintiff, but if somebody comes forward with a
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good faith showing as to an effort to comply with the schedule
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and an inability because of Hague Convention problems or other
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problems or whatever, we can change it but just so that nobody
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gets ahead of us in terms of your commitments, how about a
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tentative trial date of October 17th and hold that time? Of
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course we don't know at this juncture how long the trial is but
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I am guessing a week, somewhere in the area of a week. And if
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counsel would just hold that time until it's changed, if it is
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changed, I would be grateful. And then I won't be faced with
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the problem of your commitment somewhere else.
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How does that sound?
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MS. McCAWLEY: This is Sigrid McCawley for the
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plaintiff, your Honor.
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That sounds great. Thank you.
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THE COURT: Okay. All right. Anything else we should
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try to deal with this afternoon?
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MR. PAGLIUCA: No. I think we are fine, your Honor.
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THE COURT: Okay, we are all set?
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MS. McCAWLEY: Thank you, your Honor.
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THE COURT: Well, you have the court reporter, it is
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Pamela Utter, and I am sure you will want to get her
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contribution to all of this.
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Okay. Thanks a lot. I appreciate your courtesy and
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cooperation and I look forward to getting whatever you want to
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give me.
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Thank you.
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MS. McCAWLEY: Thank you.
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MR. PAGLIUCA: Have a good afternoon, your Honor.
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THE COURT: Okay. Bye-bye.
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oOo
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