Why is Colin Albert Ducking Deposition?

[00:00:02]Okay. So, Colin Albert has refused to show up. He of course a you know I get confused what role he's playing and what this is in. I believe somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I believe it's in the O'Keefe case, the wrongful death case.

[00:00:19]Okay. Uh I'm not 100% sure of that, but as we go through this we'll find out. Um I think that's the case. So, let's look at he hasn't shown up and there's been some issue about it and now he seems to have found a pretty good get out of jail free card as it were. Uh, which is joining the military, right?

[00:00:39]>> Right.

[00:00:40]>> And I'm assuming that's um legit. I mean, that's a pretty extreme move if if it's not because you really want to join the military, right? Uh, you think he really does? You think this is just like uh I can't I can't deal with this stuff anymore? Well, it's certainly uh maybe it's a little bit of both. You know, maybe >> I looked up >> um this the Service Member Civil Relief Act, >> right? Which is >> I I've actually dealt with that and I know you have too. I've dealt with that a lot. It's a minimum. We request a minimum 90-day stay of any civil procedure, including depositions, if active duty deployment or service obligations >> materially affect their ability to participate. So, he hasn't signed up yet. From what I hear, he's reporting in a week or something like that. And so, >> yeah, it's kind of fuzzy.

[00:01:31]>> Yeah. So, he gave uh the opposition, hey, they he meaning his attorney gave them a week. Here's the week I can do it and then I'm out of it. So they're obviously using that whole 90 days which would cover a big chunk of what Judge Gilda has given them as the discovery period. So they're saying it's either this week or I'm out for the discovery period. So hence this letter to the judge council for Colin Albert, a third party witness in the above caption case has baselessly alleged that I intentionally misrepresented facts or misled the court during the status conference on June 3rd. That of course was uh a week ago tomorrow. uh in this case and has insisted that I clarify the record. I understand that Mr. Albert's council attempted to raise these claims in open court at a hearing on another matter concerning Mr. Albert when I was not present, but your honor did not entertain the discussion because no relevant motion was before the court.

[00:02:24]And you know how Judge Gilda is about stuff that isn't properly before the court. All right. At the June 3rd conference, as part of a lengthy back and forth with the court about the status of many depositions in this case, or the lack thereof, I referenced the six depositions that Mr. Albert's council had unilaterally purported to cancel at 9:20 p.m. the night before the conference. I was listening in on that Zoom. I didn't go to that one and I could have sworn he said 9:35. It's a it's a difference without a distinction, but I thought it was interesting. 9:20 the night before the conference. I then referred in passing to Mr. Albert's deposition and his refusal to comply with the subpoena my office served on him. When I said that he had refused to appear, it was not to suggest that Mr. Albert took the position immediately upon service of the subpoena that he would never appear under any circumstances. That is not what I said.

[00:03:16]Instead, I was referring to the fact that the same council that sent the 9:20 p.m. email had on behalf of Mr. Albert refused to produce documents in response to his subpoena, delayed responding for weeks to propose narrowing of subpoena terms, failed to provide additional reasonable available dates after the deposition was postponed, not cancelled because of the document dispute.

[00:03:39]Emmailed in late May to say that Mr. Albert would only be available for 13 days that followed, after which he would be unavailable indefinitely, and then coordinated with plaintiffs council to schedule a new separate deposition pursuant to a new subpoena from plaintiffs noticed 6 days before such deposition in direct violation of rule 30 B1. Okay, everybody make a note of that on the final.

[00:04:02]>> When I stated in response to your question, >> 30 B1, we know >> 30 B1. Uh, when I stated in response to your question that Mr. Albert refused to appear for deposition. That is what I was referring to. So, I'm so glad that this one page ended on a period because, you know, when it's not a PDF file and I've got to do my song and dance here to bring on the second page, sometimes if it's in the middle of a sentence, right, >> it gets it gets a little weird. So, this one was not uh where is it? There it is.

[00:04:33]Okay. And again, this is a letter from Mr. uh Mr. Rosenberg who's on the team there. Once again, I must stretch it out. Stretch. Stretch.

[00:04:43]>> Okay.

[00:04:43]>> You're good. You're good at this. So, when I do it, for some reason, I can't make it large.

[00:04:47]>> There's just no way to do it fast. It's just so clunky. Uh, okay. Of course, I want to make us large. That's very important. Okay. As I told you at the status conference, the conduct described above is the subject of a pending motion to compel, which we will file promptly once we receive Mr. Albert's opposition.

[00:05:04]But rather than arguing the merits of this dispute, Mr. Albert's council has elected to launch false accusations of intentional misrepresentation at opposing council and demand clarification. I do not think this is the best use of the parties or court's time and resources. However, as Mr. Albert's council Mr. Albert's council's insistence, I am providing this explanation. You know, it's bad when you have to write a letter to the judge trying to explain all of this, you know, back and forth that the court does not want to know about at all. Um, >> right. The court doesn't want to know about this.

[00:05:40]>> No, they hate it when people are bl attorneys are blaming each other for what's going on.

[00:05:45]>> It's and we, you know, if any judge, Judge Gilda has made it clear, I I don't I don't care, council. I don't want to know what's happening. Um, and so he had to know. He had to send this letter. Um, and it's still a question as to whether Colin Albert will be deposed before he ships out or whatever it is that he does. Do you know if he's shipping out?

[00:06:09]You know, it's what's military he's uh he's >> nobody know. Anybody know that? Yeah.

[00:06:15]Anybody know?

[00:06:17]>> Um, and so I'm looking I'm briefly looking at this because I didn't really see it.

[00:06:23]um too care >> and I have to tell you as I'm not in my studios I don't have my microphone all so if you the sound's a little off uh please forgive me and also I was traveling all day so I am reacting to this like I am a judge >> so that's where that's hanging and you know we're using that as a jumping off point for just some of the discovery in this case and the battles uh and we're still in the O'Keefe case this is O'Keefe versus of course uh the two bars and Karen Reed And the uh plaintiffs, the O'Keefe, they feel that Karen Reed hasn't provided information either.

[00:06:59]Everybody is mad that the other side has not provided what they need to provide.

[00:07:05]And these are not uncommon. Discovery disputes are almost expected. But unless there's something really intense, you you better work it out because ultimately it's going to come back to bite you in the ass because the judge is going to start thinking you are the obstreporous one and and if you can't work it out and you need me to keep stepping in, um maybe it's your fault.

[00:07:27]Maybe it's not the other side. It's never good. It's never a good uh a good position to be in. But that's where they are.

[00:07:33]>> What Yeah. And of course what happen is courts will just say I don't care who's at fault. I want this deposition to go forward. What is it going forward? Okay, that's what they'll do. And they'll just say, "Well, then you're going to be doing it Friday night. You only has Friday night. You're doing it Friday night. You're doing it Saturday morning.

[00:07:46]You're doing it Sunday. I don't care what you know, you can go to you can go to temple or church, you know, around, you know, we'll make time around, but the deposition is getting done before he goes to uh whether it is boot camp or before he's assigned or wherever." Yeah, >> this is this is good to point this out.

[00:08:02]Whoops. Where'd he go? There you go. Uh, didn't Diller say Colin was deposed by whom and when? It was in one of the other actions and I wish I knew more about it. I I don't I don't know when it happened, but it was done. Uh but that doesn't mean it's you have a right to depose anybody you want. I don't care if they were deposed in case A, case B, case C, and case D. If you're case E, you can still depose them, >> right? And every case is different.

[00:08:27]>> Different issues, different facts, different issues. Uh with Colin, will there be some overlap? I'm sure there will be. But that doesn't remove the right that you have to take the deposition. So, >> right.

[00:08:38]>> And so that's a lame excuse if if they were using that saying, "But he's already been deposed." I don't care. It doesn't it doesn't matter.