Supreme Court granted the cross-motions of the City of New York and the New York City Department of Education [City] to quash subpoenas issued by the New York City School Construction Authority and Admiral Construction LLC [Defendants] in an effort to depose two former employees of City subpoenaed by Defendants for deposition.*
Defendants appealed the Supreme Court's action but the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court's decision, without costs, observing that Supreme Court had "providently exercised its discretion" in granting City's cross-motion to quash the subpoenas.
City, opined the Court, had demonstrated the futility of uncovering anything legitimate via depositions of the subpoenaed former school principals as to the "individual plaintiff's claims of an injurious trip and fall on the scaffold in a fenced-off, locked area that was restricted to construction workers".
In addition, the Appellate Division noted that "[there] was no evidence the former principals had personal knowledge of the circumstances of the individual plaintiff's fall or of the alleged tripping hazards on the scaffold". In the words of the Appellate Division: "Defendants failed to demonstrate that the deposition testimony of the principals was material and necessary to assist in addressing the premises liability issues".
* The Appellate Division noted that Defendants' subpoenas to compel the deposition testimony of two former New York City Department of Education employees were properly served as Defendants' subpoenas were addressed to them individually, as nonparties, and afforded them proper notice of the claims at issue.
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.