Minutes | Filed: July 29, 2026
| Entered: July 29, 2026
Harris v. Vane Line Bunkering, LLC et al
Marine | New York Eastern
Discovery Hearing 1 - Terminate Deadlines
Minute Entry and Order: A telephonic Discovery Hearing was held on 7/29/2026 before Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl. Appearances by Timothy F. Schweitzer and Scott E. Silbert for Plaintiff and William R. Bennett, III, Carmella Rose O'Hanlon, and Josh Bender for Defendant. Mr. Bender is respectfully advised that if he intends to appear on Plaintiff's behalf going forward, he should file a notice of appearance. See Loc. Civ. R. 1.4(a).
Discussion held regarding the discovery disputes previewed in the parties' motion 19 and subsequent letters, ECF 20 , 21 . For the reasons discussed on the record, Defendants are granted leave to re-open Plaintiff's deposition for one hour, for the limited purpose of obtaining answers to the following lines of inquiry: (1) where Plaintiff was positioned with respect to the Wye River at the time of the incident, and (2) Plaintiff's reaction to the statements of various fact witnesses, including Captain Justin Gatherd. All counsel are respectfully reminded that under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(c)(2): "A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3)." Also, as discussed on the record, the Court notes that repeatedly asking the deponent questions that the deponent has said he is unable to answer is unlikely to yield helpful testimony and may provide grounds to terminate or limit the deposition under Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(d)(3), depending upon the scope of the questions and length of time spent. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(d)(3)(A) ("At any time during a deposition, the deponent or a party may move to terminate or limit it on the ground that it is being conducted in bad faith or in a manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses the deponent or party."). Brief discussion held about the possibility of deposing Captain Gatherd; the Court directed the parties to meet and confer over this issue prior to raising it with the Court, as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 37.
Further discussion held regarding Defendant's requests for production. As to the electronic communications-related dispute, Plaintiff represented that he has provided all existing responsive electronic communications, including Facebook messages, and that the phone in use at the time of the incident was a temporary phone that is no longer in Plaintiff's possession or control. The parties were directed to meet and confer regarding the electronic communications, including the possibility of seeking records from the service provider, or whether an affidavit or some other confirmation that all responsive electronic communications have been produced could resolve this dispute. As to the bank and Venmo statements-related dispute, discussion held about Plaintiff's potential provision of more particularized, granular information regarding his expenses as they are relevant to his maintenance and cure compensation and/or the damages he may seek at trial. The Court also observed that, on the basis of the present record, that the request for the provision of Plaintiff's entire bank records and/or Venmo statements is not proportional to the needs of the case and unduly intrusive, in view of the privacy interests discussed on the record.
Finally, discussion held regarding the parties' discovery schedule set on 4/23/2026. As discussed on the record, the following discovery deadlines are extended. Fact discovery shall be completed on or before 8/31/2026. The parties are directed to file a joint status report certifying the close of fact discovery by 9/8/2026. Exchange of expert disclosures shall be completed by 10/14/2026. Exchange of rebuttal expert reports shall be completed by 11/27/2026. Expert depositions shall be completed by 1/8/2027. All expert discovery shall be completed by 1/15/2027, and certification of the completion of all discovery shall be filed on ECF by 1/22/2027. The last date to take the first step in dispositive motion practice is 2/22/2027, and must be done in accordance with the Individual Rules of the assigned district judge. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl on 7/29/2026. (Cisco Log #2:22-3:30.) (MJM)