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Filing # 113775802 E-Filed 09/22/2020 03:04:16 PM
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
LAMAR MITCHELL, GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION
Plaintiff(s), CASE NO. 19-8931 CA 01 (02)
v.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,
Defendant(s).
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY’S NOTICE OF FILING DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPTS
Miami-Dade County, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby gives notice that it has
filed the deposition transcripts of Barry Smerling, Yusinel Sardinas Hernandez, Virgilio de Arce,
and Alfredo Rivero for consideration by the Court on Defendant's Motion for Summary
Judgment.
Respectfully submitted,
ABIGAIL PRICE-WILLIAMS
Miami-Dade County Attorney
Attorney for Defendant Miami-Dade County
Stephen P. Clark Center, Suite 2810
111 Northwest First Street
Miami, Florida 33128-1993
By: /s/ Daniel Frastai
Daniel Frastai
Assistant County Attorney
Florida Bar Number 0666041
Telephone: (305) 375-5480
Fax: (305) 375-5634
Email: Frastai@miamidade.gov
Jeane.Neal@miamidade.gov
OFFIC E OF COUNTY ATTORNEY, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
TELEPHONE 305.375.5151
L. Mitchell v MDC et al
Case No. 19-008931 CA 01 (2)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that the foregoing document has been e-mailed to all the parties of record on
September 22, 2020 to the e-mail address(es) each has registered with the Florida Courts E-
Filing Portal.
/s/ Daniel Frastai
Assistant County Attorney
Page 2
OFFIC E OF COUNTY ATTORNEY, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
TELEPHONE 305.375.5151
Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 ·
· · · · · · · · · · · · · IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11TH
· · · · · · · · · · · · · JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
· · · · · · · · · · · · · MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
· · · · · · · · · · · · · CASE NO:· 2019-008931-CA-01 (02)
LAMAR MITCHELL,
· · ·Plaintiff,
vs.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,
· · ·Defendant.
_________________________
· · · · · · · · DEPOSITION OF BARRY SMERLING
· · · · · · · · · · · July 10th, 2019
· · · · · · · · · 11:33 a.m. - 12:37 p.m.
· · · · · · · · · 111 Northwest 2nd Avenue
· · · · · · · · · · · · ·Suite 2810
· · · · · · · · · · Miami, Florida 33128
· · · · · · · · Stenographically Reported by
· · · · · · · · · · · LINDA FITZGERALD
· · · · · · · ·Florida Professional Reporter
www.uslegalsupport.com
Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 2
APPEARANCES:
· · · · · ·ANDRES HERMIDA, ESQ.
· · · · · ·Morgan & Morgan
· · · · · ·703 Waterford Way
· · · · · ·Suite 1050
· · · · · ·Miami, Florida 33126
· · · · · ·ahermida@forthepeople.com
· · · · · ·On Behalf of Plaintiff
· · · · · ·DANIEL FRASTAI, ESQ.
· · · · · ·Assistant County Attorney
· · · · · ·Stephen P. Clark Center
· · · · · ·Suite 2810
· · · · · ·111 Northwest First Street
· · · · · ·Miami, Florida 33128
· · · · · ·frastai@miamidade.gov
· · · · · ·On Behalf of Defendant
www.uslegalsupport.com
Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 3
· · · · · · · · · ·INDEX OF PROCEEDINGS
Deposition of BARRY SMERLING
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page
Direct Examination by Mr. Hermida· · · · · · · · · ·4
Cross Examination by· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·--
Certificate of Oath of Witness· · · · · · · · · · ·43
Certificate of Reporter· · · · · · · · · · · · · · 44
Errata Sheet· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·45
Witness Notification Letter· · · · · · · · · · · · 46
· · · · · · · · · · · · EXHIBITS
Plaintiff's· · · · · ·Description
No. 1 Comp· · · · · · Photographs· · · · · · · · · ·4
Nos. 2 through 19· · ·Photographs· · · · · · · · · ·4
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 4
·1· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibits No. 1
·2· · · · through No. 19 were marked for Identification.)
·3· · · · · · ·Deposition taken before Linda Fitzgerald,
·4· · ·Florida Professional Reporter and Notary Public in and
·5· · ·for the State of Florida at large in the above cause.
·6· · · · · · ·THE REPORTER:· Do you swear the testimony
·7· · · · · · ·you are about to give will be the truth, the
·8· · · · · · ·whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
·9· · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I do.
10· · ·Thereupon,
11· · · · · · · · · · · · · BARRY SMERLING
12· · ·having been first duly sworn, was examined and
13· · ·testified as follows:
14· · · · · · · · · · · · DIRECT EXAMINATION
15· ·BY MR. HERMIDA:
16· · · · Q· · Good morning, Mr. Smerling.· My name is Andres
17· ·Hermida.· I'm the Plaintiff's attorney.· I represent
18· ·Lamar Mitchell in the case of Lamar Mitchell versus
19· ·Miami-Dade County.· That case number is 2019-8931.
20· · · · · · ·Have you ever given a deposition before?
21· · · · A· · No.
22· · · · Q· · So I'm just going to go through just some
23· ·general ground rules, so to speak, just to kind of make
24· ·this go smoothly.
25· · · · · · ·A lot of times in conversation people tend to
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 5
·1· ·talk over each other because they can anticipate what a
·2· ·question is going to be.· So I just ask that you allow
·3· ·me to get out my full question so that Madam Court
·4· ·Reporter can get everything down, and then kind of give
·5· ·a second.· That way, if your attorney needs to object,
·6· ·he can object and we're not talking over each other, so
·7· ·we have a nice clean record, it's not choppy for reading
·8· ·the transcript back.
·9· · · · · · ·This is by no means an endurance test.· If you
10· ·need to take a break for water or get a snack -- I know
11· ·this is kind of close to lunchtime -- need to take a
12· ·phonecall, just let me know.· The only thing that I ask
13· ·is if there is a question pending, that we just get a
14· ·response to the question, and then we'll take a break.
15· ·Okay?
16· · · · A· · Okay.
17· · · · Q· · Another thing is, also in a conversation
18· ·people tend to give non-verbal responses.· So they will
19· ·nod their head, shake their head, say uh-huh or uh-uh.
20· ·It's very difficult to take those things down for Madam
21· ·Court Reporter.
22· · · · · · ·So I just ask that you verbalize your answers,
23· ·and I'll remind you.· If you say huh-huh or uh-uh, I'll
24· ·ask is that a yes or is that a no.· Again, just to make
25· ·sure the transcript is nice and clear.· Okay?
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 6
·1· · · · A· · Okay.
·2· · · · Q· · None of the questions I ask are meant to be
·3· ·invasive or harass or offend you in any way.· I'm just
·4· ·here to gather some information and see what you know.
·5· · · · · · ·If you don't know the answer to a question, I
·6· ·don't know is a perfectly okay answer or I don't
·7· ·remember is also a perfectly okay answer.
·8· · · · · · ·I ask you not to guess if you don't have to,
·9· ·but if you are guessing or assuming, I ask that you let
10· ·me know and say, hey, I'm assuming, I'm not sure, I
11· ·don't know, something to let me know that you're not
12· ·certain, because guessing doesn't really help me.· It
13· ·doesn't help you.· It doesn't help your attorney.· It
14· ·doesn't really help anybody.· Okay?
15· · · · A· · Okay.
16· · · · Q· · Also, sometimes I may phrase questions a
17· ·little strangely or in a way that you may not
18· ·understand.· If I ask you a question that you don't
19· ·understand what I'm asking, just let me know and I'll
20· ·rephrase it.· Or if I phrase something in a certain way
21· ·that you don't agree with, just let me know and we'll
22· ·get the correct phrasing.· Does that sound good?
23· · · · A· · Okay.
24· · · · Q· · So we'll go ahead and get started.
25· · · · · · ·Please state your full name.
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 7
·1· · · · A· · My name is Barry Clark Smerling.
·2· · · · Q· · Mr. Smerling, what do you do for a living?
·3· · · · A· · I am a safety supervisor for Miami-Dade
·4· ·Department of Transportation and Public Works.
·5· · · · Q· · How long have you been in that position?
·6· · · · A· · I've been working in the safety field for
·7· ·Miami-Dade Transit -- Department of Transportation and
·8· ·Public Works.· They changed their name.· So for about 15
·9· ·years.
10· · · · Q· · And you mentioned that you are a transit
11· ·safety supervisor.· ·Did I hear that correctly?
12· · · · A· · That's correct, for part of the time and
13· ·transit safety officer, which a lesser title, for part
14· ·of the time as well.
15· · · · Q· · So would it be fair to say that you were
16· ·promoted to transit safety supervisor?
17· · · · A· · Yes.
18· · · · Q· · When did that he promotion occur?· When were
19· ·you made a transit safety supervisor?
20· · · · A· · Approximately eight years ago.
21· · · · Q· · Ballpark is fine.· Okay.
22· · · · · · ·What is your highest level of education?
23· · · · A· · I have a BS in chemistry.
24· · · · Q· · Where did you go to school?
25· · · · A· · SUNY Oneonta.
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 8
·1· · · · Q· · Is that in New York?
·2· · · · A· · Yes.
·3· · · · Q· · Can you spell that for me?· If you can, to
·4· ·best you can.
·5· · · · A· · State University College.· SUNY, S-U-N-Y,
·6· ·State University College of New York at Oneonta,
·7· ·O-n-e-o-n-t-a.
·8· · · · Q· · Thank you very much.
·9· · · · · · ·Tell me a little bit about your job
10· ·description or your responsibilities as the safety
11· ·supervisor for the Department of Transportation and
12· ·Public Works.
13· · · · A· · Currently I'm one of three safety supervisors.
14· ·I do a lot of work with the Office of Emergency
15· ·Management, hurricane planning, also for the emergency
16· ·planning I write some policies and procedures as far as
17· ·safety is concerned.
18· · · · · · ·I overlook a safety officer and do various
19· ·safety responsibilities, both safety to the riding
20· ·public as well as our employees.
21· · · · Q· · You mentioned that you work with the
22· ·Department of Emergency Management.· In what sort of
23· ·capacity do you work with that department?
24· · · · A· · Well, during hurricane activations I would be
25· ·in the Emergency Operations Center, the EOC, and
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 9
·1· ·coordinate evacuations for her hurricanes, nuclear
·2· ·preparedness for Turkey Point, mass migration should any
·3· ·of the Caribbean islands mass migrate to Florida,
·4· ·different various emergency management planning.
·5· · · · Q· · So nothing related to emergency repairs or
·6· ·maintenance, not that kind of emergency planning?
·7· · · · A· · No.
·8· · · · Q· · So we won't have to get into that anymore.
·9· · · · · · ·You mentioned you had drafted a few policies
10· ·and procedures.· What sort of policies and procedures?
11· · · · A· · PPE tech, Personal Protective Equipment tech,
12· ·which is a transit policy, hazardous materials policy,
13· ·HazCom policy, blood borne pathogen policy, things of
14· ·that nature.
15· · · · Q· · Have you drafted any sort of policies and
16· ·procedures pertaining to bus stops for Miami-Dade County
17· ·Transit, the public areas for Miami-Dade Public Transit?
18· · · · A· · Nothing pertaining to bus stops, no.
19· · · · Q· · And then you mentioned that also you overlook
20· ·a safety officer, correct?
21· · · · A· · That's correct.
22· · · · Q· · It's one safety office or is that a
23· ·department?
24· · · · A· · It is one of four safety officers.
25· · · · Q· · One of four safety officer in the department?
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 10
·1· · · · A· · That's correct.
·2· · · · Q· · What are the responsibilities of a safety
·3· ·officer?· What are you overseeing, what are you looking
·4· ·for?
·5· · · · A· · Well, the safety officer, he does, he or she
·6· ·would do -- we have a lot of construction next to your
·7· ·guideways, our rail system, mover system.· So they would
·8· ·make sure that the construction doesn't interfere with
·9· ·our rail system.
10· · · · · · ·They would do DTPW maintenance facility
11· ·inspections, such as our bus yard, our rail yard.· They
12· ·would do procedural inspections of our bus operators or
13· ·rail operators operating in a safe manner and things of
14· ·that nature.
15· · · · Q· · And you mentioned the acronym DTPW.· I'm
16· ·assuming that's the Department --
17· · · · A· · Of Transportation and Public Works.
18· · · · Q· · And you mentioned sometimes there's
19· ·construction near guideways and you mentioned in the
20· ·context of the railways.
21· · · · · · ·Would they also supervise construction in or
22· ·around a bus stop, for example?
23· · · · A· · We would work with major construction of ours
24· ·with bus stops, such as construction of the busway but
25· ·not necessarily anything of anybody else's.
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 11
·1· · · · Q· · So really the only involvement regarding
·2· ·construction near a bus stop would be if Miami-Dade
·3· ·County were the one's doing the construction, correct?
·4· · · · A· · Not necessarily.· There are bus stops that go
·5· ·up all over Miami-Dade County that we do not look at all
·6· ·the time or at all as far as the construction.
·7· · · · Q· · When the bus stops are built, is that the
·8· ·Miami-Dade County building it or is that the Department
·9· ·of Transportation overseeing the construction of a bus
10· ·stop?· Whose responsibility is the building of a bus
11· ·stop?
12· · · · A· · I'm not sure of the contractual responsibility
13· ·of the building of bus stops.
14· · · · Q· · That's fair.
15· · · · · · ·Do you have any sort of professional licenses?
16· · · · A· · I am a Transit Safety and Security
17· ·Professional.· That's TSSP.
18· · · · Q· · Anything else?
19· · · · A· · I'm a Registered Gas Distribution Professional
20· ·from a previous life prior to transit.
21· · · · Q· · Understood.· Anything else besides the TSSP
22· ·and Gas Distribution Professional?
23· · · · A· · That's it.
24· · · · Q· · Do you have to do any sort of continuing legal
25· ·education for the TSSP license?
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 12
·1· · · · A· · No.
·2· · · · Q· · What sort of courses or formal training did
·3· ·you receive or did you have to do in order to receive
·4· ·that TSSP license?
·5· · · · A· · That was a series of classes offered by the
·6· ·Transportation Safety Institute.· It's a part of USFTA.
·7· · · · · · ·It is bus accident investigation, rail
·8· ·accident investigation.· I did industrial hygiene in
·9· ·transit settings.· I don't know the exact course names,
10· ·but that's the basics of the two security classes.· It's
11· ·a series of one-week classes that you have to take
12· ·centered around transit.
13· · · · Q· · What sort privileges or what does the TSSP
14· ·allow you to do?
15· · · · A· · It allows me to write policies and procedures
16· ·within transit.· It is a Federally mandated set of
17· ·courses that you have to take.
18· · · · Q· · Got you, and you mentioned the acronym FTA.
19· ·Can you tell me what FTA stands for?
20· · · · A· · Federal Transit Administration.
21· · · · Q· · You also mentioned industrial transit hygiene
22· ·or something along those lines.
23· · · · A· · Yes.· That is basically workplace hygiene,
24· ·reviewing materials, safety data sheets and safety
25· ·within the workplace.
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 13
·1· · · · Q· · Do you have any sort of license or training or
·2· ·education or even just work experience pertaining
·3· ·specifically to inspections of public transportation
·4· ·stops such as a bus stop or repairing or removing of
·5· ·hazards at bus stops?
·6· · · · A· · Nothing specific to bus stops, but in the
·7· ·broader sense of transit, part of these classes does
·8· ·talk about hazard identification and mitigation.
·9· · · · Q· · What sort of things are covered as far as the
10· ·hazardous education and mitigation that are discussed in
11· ·these classes?
12· · · · A· · They talked about -- and I don't know the
13· ·exact name of the Mil Standard, but it's a Mil Standard.
14· ·It's based around Mil Standard, I think, 822D, which is
15· ·a hazard ranking criteria.
16· · · · Q· · What is the Mil Standard?
17· · · · A· · It's a large standard, but basically it has
18· ·two components to it, severity and frequency, and you
19· ·rank a hazard based on -- there's a chart.
20· · · · Q· · So you kind of look at the severity and the
21· ·frequency and that will kind of give you a pinpoint on
22· ·the chart and it will tell you what level of hazard, I
23· ·presume?
24· · · · A· · Yes.
25· · · · Q· · Would a tripping hazard be something that's
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 14
·1· ·measured by the Mil Standard?
·2· · · · A· · The Mil Standard could be applied.
·3· · · · Q· · To the extent that you know, is the
·4· ·Mil Standard typically applied for tripping hazards?
·5· · · · A· · The Mil Standard can be applied for any
·6· ·hazard.
·7· · · · Q· · Have you yourself ever used the Mil Standard
·8· ·in the context of a tripping hazard?
·9· · · · A· · Professionally, no.· That typically is
10· ·relegated to my manager and my chief.
11· · · · Q· · That's a good segue.· Who is your manager and
12· ·your chief?
13· · · · A· · My manager is Lee Vega.
14· · · · Q· · Can you spell that for me?
15· · · · A· · L-e-e V-e-g-a.· He's the manager of safety.
16· · · · Q· · And I think you mentioned your chief.· What is
17· ·your chief's name?
18· · · · A· · Eric --
19· · · · Q· · Is that E-r-i-c?
20· · · · A· · E-r-i-c.
21· · · · Q· · Last name?
22· · · · A· · M-u-n-t-a-n.
23· · · · Q· · To the extent that you know, what are the
24· ·manager of safety's responsibilities.· What sort of
25· ·things do you report to him?
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 15
·1· · · · A· · He basically assigns me work, and when there
·2· ·needs to be a decision made, he either makes it or helps
·3· ·me make the management decision.
·4· · · · Q· · A manager of safety, is he making decisions
·5· ·regarding hazards or is it broader than that?· What's
·6· ·the scope of his authority, if you know?
·7· · · · A· · I'd rather not speculate on that.
·8· · · · Q· · Sure.· That's not a problem.
·9· · · · · · ·In terms of the chain of command, so to speak,
10· ·where are you in relations to the manager of safety and
11· ·then the chief?
12· · · · A· · I report to the manager.· The manager reports
13· ·to the chief.
14· · · · Q· · Understood.
15· · · · · · ·Have you ever been convicted of a felony or
16· ·crime of dishonesty?
17· · · · A· · No.
18· · · · Q· · Like I said, these aren't meant to harass or
19· ·offend you.
20· · · · A· · No.
21· · · · Q· · Do you know who is responsible for maintaining
22· ·the areas of the bus stops or the areas surrounding the
23· ·bus stops in Miami-Dade County?
24· · · · A· · In general, DTPW.
25· · · · Q· · And you say in general.· Is there something
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Barry Smerling
July 10, 2019 16
·1· ·more specific that may alter the determination or --
·2· · · · A· · Which person, which department, which
·3· ·subcontractor, I don't know.
·4· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, though, would it be fair
·5· ·to say that the Department of Transportation and Public
·6· ·Works generally speaking is in charge of bus stops and
·7· ·the areas surrounding bus stops?
·8· · · · A· · Yes.
·9· · · · Q· · Do you know if that area is County property,
10· ·so to speak, the bus stops and areas surrounding the bus
11· ·stops?
12· · · · A· · It depends on the bus stop.
13· · · · Q· · Do you know whose responsibility it is to
14· ·maintain the bus stops, to inspect for hazards, to
15· ·repair or remove any hazards at bus stops generally
16· ·throughout Miami-Dade County?· Then we'll get into
17· ·specific bus stops.
18· · · · A· · The structure of the bus stops is maintained
19· ·by who in DTPW or what contractor, I don't know, but
20· ·DTPW either maintains or directs people to maintain the
21· ·bus stops.
22· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, the Department of
23· ·Transport
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Filing # 113775802 E-Filed 09/22/2020 03:04:16 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA LAMAR MITCHELL, GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION Plaintiff(s), CASE NO. 19-8931 CA 01 (02) v. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Defendant(s). MIAMI-DADE COUNTY’S NOTICE OF FILING DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPTS Miami-Dade County, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby gives notice that it has filed the deposition transcripts of Barry Smerling, Yusinel Sardinas Hernandez, Virgilio de Arce, and Alfredo Rivero for consideration by the Court on Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. Respectfully submitted, ABIGAIL PRICE-WILLIAMS Miami-Dade County Attorney Attorney for Defendant Miami-Dade County Stephen P. Clark Center, Suite 2810 111 Northwest First Street Miami, Florida 33128-1993 By: /s/ Daniel Frastai Daniel Frastai Assistant County Attorney Florida Bar Number 0666041 Telephone: (305) 375-5480 Fax: (305) 375-5634 Email: Frastai@miamidade.gov Jeane.Neal@miamidade.gov OFFIC E OF COUNTY ATTORNEY, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA TELEPHONE 305.375.5151 L. Mitchell v MDC et al Case No. 19-008931 CA 01 (2) CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that the foregoing document has been e-mailed to all the parties of record on September 22, 2020 to the e-mail address(es) each has registered with the Florida Courts E- Filing Portal. /s/ Daniel Frastai Assistant County Attorney Page 2 OFFIC E OF COUNTY ATTORNEY, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA TELEPHONE 305.375.5151 Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11TH · · · · · · · · · · · · · JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR · · · · · · · · · · · · · MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA · · · · · · · · · · · · · CASE NO:· 2019-008931-CA-01 (02) LAMAR MITCHELL, · · ·Plaintiff, vs. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, · · ·Defendant. _________________________ · · · · · · · · DEPOSITION OF BARRY SMERLING · · · · · · · · · · · July 10th, 2019 · · · · · · · · · 11:33 a.m. - 12:37 p.m. · · · · · · · · · 111 Northwest 2nd Avenue · · · · · · · · · · · · ·Suite 2810 · · · · · · · · · · Miami, Florida 33128 · · · · · · · · Stenographically Reported by · · · · · · · · · · · LINDA FITZGERALD · · · · · · · ·Florida Professional Reporter www.uslegalsupport.com Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 2 APPEARANCES: · · · · · ·ANDRES HERMIDA, ESQ. · · · · · ·Morgan & Morgan · · · · · ·703 Waterford Way · · · · · ·Suite 1050 · · · · · ·Miami, Florida 33126 · · · · · ·ahermida@forthepeople.com · · · · · ·On Behalf of Plaintiff · · · · · ·DANIEL FRASTAI, ESQ. · · · · · ·Assistant County Attorney · · · · · ·Stephen P. Clark Center · · · · · ·Suite 2810 · · · · · ·111 Northwest First Street · · · · · ·Miami, Florida 33128 · · · · · ·frastai@miamidade.gov · · · · · ·On Behalf of Defendant www.uslegalsupport.com Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 3 · · · · · · · · · ·INDEX OF PROCEEDINGS Deposition of BARRY SMERLING · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page Direct Examination by Mr. Hermida· · · · · · · · · ·4 Cross Examination by· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·-- Certificate of Oath of Witness· · · · · · · · · · ·43 Certificate of Reporter· · · · · · · · · · · · · · 44 Errata Sheet· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·45 Witness Notification Letter· · · · · · · · · · · · 46 · · · · · · · · · · · · EXHIBITS Plaintiff's· · · · · ·Description No. 1 Comp· · · · · · Photographs· · · · · · · · · ·4 Nos. 2 through 19· · ·Photographs· · · · · · · · · ·4 www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 4 ·1· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibits No. 1 ·2· · · · through No. 19 were marked for Identification.) ·3· · · · · · ·Deposition taken before Linda Fitzgerald, ·4· · ·Florida Professional Reporter and Notary Public in and ·5· · ·for the State of Florida at large in the above cause. ·6· · · · · · ·THE REPORTER:· Do you swear the testimony ·7· · · · · · ·you are about to give will be the truth, the ·8· · · · · · ·whole truth, and nothing but the truth? ·9· · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· I do. 10· · ·Thereupon, 11· · · · · · · · · · · · · BARRY SMERLING 12· · ·having been first duly sworn, was examined and 13· · ·testified as follows: 14· · · · · · · · · · · · DIRECT EXAMINATION 15· ·BY MR. HERMIDA: 16· · · · Q· · Good morning, Mr. Smerling.· My name is Andres 17· ·Hermida.· I'm the Plaintiff's attorney.· I represent 18· ·Lamar Mitchell in the case of Lamar Mitchell versus 19· ·Miami-Dade County.· That case number is 2019-8931. 20· · · · · · ·Have you ever given a deposition before? 21· · · · A· · No. 22· · · · Q· · So I'm just going to go through just some 23· ·general ground rules, so to speak, just to kind of make 24· ·this go smoothly. 25· · · · · · ·A lot of times in conversation people tend to www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 5 ·1· ·talk over each other because they can anticipate what a ·2· ·question is going to be.· So I just ask that you allow ·3· ·me to get out my full question so that Madam Court ·4· ·Reporter can get everything down, and then kind of give ·5· ·a second.· That way, if your attorney needs to object, ·6· ·he can object and we're not talking over each other, so ·7· ·we have a nice clean record, it's not choppy for reading ·8· ·the transcript back. ·9· · · · · · ·This is by no means an endurance test.· If you 10· ·need to take a break for water or get a snack -- I know 11· ·this is kind of close to lunchtime -- need to take a 12· ·phonecall, just let me know.· The only thing that I ask 13· ·is if there is a question pending, that we just get a 14· ·response to the question, and then we'll take a break. 15· ·Okay? 16· · · · A· · Okay. 17· · · · Q· · Another thing is, also in a conversation 18· ·people tend to give non-verbal responses.· So they will 19· ·nod their head, shake their head, say uh-huh or uh-uh. 20· ·It's very difficult to take those things down for Madam 21· ·Court Reporter. 22· · · · · · ·So I just ask that you verbalize your answers, 23· ·and I'll remind you.· If you say huh-huh or uh-uh, I'll 24· ·ask is that a yes or is that a no.· Again, just to make 25· ·sure the transcript is nice and clear.· Okay? www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 6 ·1· · · · A· · Okay. ·2· · · · Q· · None of the questions I ask are meant to be ·3· ·invasive or harass or offend you in any way.· I'm just ·4· ·here to gather some information and see what you know. ·5· · · · · · ·If you don't know the answer to a question, I ·6· ·don't know is a perfectly okay answer or I don't ·7· ·remember is also a perfectly okay answer. ·8· · · · · · ·I ask you not to guess if you don't have to, ·9· ·but if you are guessing or assuming, I ask that you let 10· ·me know and say, hey, I'm assuming, I'm not sure, I 11· ·don't know, something to let me know that you're not 12· ·certain, because guessing doesn't really help me.· It 13· ·doesn't help you.· It doesn't help your attorney.· It 14· ·doesn't really help anybody.· Okay? 15· · · · A· · Okay. 16· · · · Q· · Also, sometimes I may phrase questions a 17· ·little strangely or in a way that you may not 18· ·understand.· If I ask you a question that you don't 19· ·understand what I'm asking, just let me know and I'll 20· ·rephrase it.· Or if I phrase something in a certain way 21· ·that you don't agree with, just let me know and we'll 22· ·get the correct phrasing.· Does that sound good? 23· · · · A· · Okay. 24· · · · Q· · So we'll go ahead and get started. 25· · · · · · ·Please state your full name. www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 7 ·1· · · · A· · My name is Barry Clark Smerling. ·2· · · · Q· · Mr. Smerling, what do you do for a living? ·3· · · · A· · I am a safety supervisor for Miami-Dade ·4· ·Department of Transportation and Public Works. ·5· · · · Q· · How long have you been in that position? ·6· · · · A· · I've been working in the safety field for ·7· ·Miami-Dade Transit -- Department of Transportation and ·8· ·Public Works.· They changed their name.· So for about 15 ·9· ·years. 10· · · · Q· · And you mentioned that you are a transit 11· ·safety supervisor.· ·Did I hear that correctly? 12· · · · A· · That's correct, for part of the time and 13· ·transit safety officer, which a lesser title, for part 14· ·of the time as well. 15· · · · Q· · So would it be fair to say that you were 16· ·promoted to transit safety supervisor? 17· · · · A· · Yes. 18· · · · Q· · When did that he promotion occur?· When were 19· ·you made a transit safety supervisor? 20· · · · A· · Approximately eight years ago. 21· · · · Q· · Ballpark is fine.· Okay. 22· · · · · · ·What is your highest level of education? 23· · · · A· · I have a BS in chemistry. 24· · · · Q· · Where did you go to school? 25· · · · A· · SUNY Oneonta. www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 8 ·1· · · · Q· · Is that in New York? ·2· · · · A· · Yes. ·3· · · · Q· · Can you spell that for me?· If you can, to ·4· ·best you can. ·5· · · · A· · State University College.· SUNY, S-U-N-Y, ·6· ·State University College of New York at Oneonta, ·7· ·O-n-e-o-n-t-a. ·8· · · · Q· · Thank you very much. ·9· · · · · · ·Tell me a little bit about your job 10· ·description or your responsibilities as the safety 11· ·supervisor for the Department of Transportation and 12· ·Public Works. 13· · · · A· · Currently I'm one of three safety supervisors. 14· ·I do a lot of work with the Office of Emergency 15· ·Management, hurricane planning, also for the emergency 16· ·planning I write some policies and procedures as far as 17· ·safety is concerned. 18· · · · · · ·I overlook a safety officer and do various 19· ·safety responsibilities, both safety to the riding 20· ·public as well as our employees. 21· · · · Q· · You mentioned that you work with the 22· ·Department of Emergency Management.· In what sort of 23· ·capacity do you work with that department? 24· · · · A· · Well, during hurricane activations I would be 25· ·in the Emergency Operations Center, the EOC, and www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 9 ·1· ·coordinate evacuations for her hurricanes, nuclear ·2· ·preparedness for Turkey Point, mass migration should any ·3· ·of the Caribbean islands mass migrate to Florida, ·4· ·different various emergency management planning. ·5· · · · Q· · So nothing related to emergency repairs or ·6· ·maintenance, not that kind of emergency planning? ·7· · · · A· · No. ·8· · · · Q· · So we won't have to get into that anymore. ·9· · · · · · ·You mentioned you had drafted a few policies 10· ·and procedures.· What sort of policies and procedures? 11· · · · A· · PPE tech, Personal Protective Equipment tech, 12· ·which is a transit policy, hazardous materials policy, 13· ·HazCom policy, blood borne pathogen policy, things of 14· ·that nature. 15· · · · Q· · Have you drafted any sort of policies and 16· ·procedures pertaining to bus stops for Miami-Dade County 17· ·Transit, the public areas for Miami-Dade Public Transit? 18· · · · A· · Nothing pertaining to bus stops, no. 19· · · · Q· · And then you mentioned that also you overlook 20· ·a safety officer, correct? 21· · · · A· · That's correct. 22· · · · Q· · It's one safety office or is that a 23· ·department? 24· · · · A· · It is one of four safety officers. 25· · · · Q· · One of four safety officer in the department? www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 10 ·1· · · · A· · That's correct. ·2· · · · Q· · What are the responsibilities of a safety ·3· ·officer?· What are you overseeing, what are you looking ·4· ·for? ·5· · · · A· · Well, the safety officer, he does, he or she ·6· ·would do -- we have a lot of construction next to your ·7· ·guideways, our rail system, mover system.· So they would ·8· ·make sure that the construction doesn't interfere with ·9· ·our rail system. 10· · · · · · ·They would do DTPW maintenance facility 11· ·inspections, such as our bus yard, our rail yard.· They 12· ·would do procedural inspections of our bus operators or 13· ·rail operators operating in a safe manner and things of 14· ·that nature. 15· · · · Q· · And you mentioned the acronym DTPW.· I'm 16· ·assuming that's the Department -- 17· · · · A· · Of Transportation and Public Works. 18· · · · Q· · And you mentioned sometimes there's 19· ·construction near guideways and you mentioned in the 20· ·context of the railways. 21· · · · · · ·Would they also supervise construction in or 22· ·around a bus stop, for example? 23· · · · A· · We would work with major construction of ours 24· ·with bus stops, such as construction of the busway but 25· ·not necessarily anything of anybody else's. www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 11 ·1· · · · Q· · So really the only involvement regarding ·2· ·construction near a bus stop would be if Miami-Dade ·3· ·County were the one's doing the construction, correct? ·4· · · · A· · Not necessarily.· There are bus stops that go ·5· ·up all over Miami-Dade County that we do not look at all ·6· ·the time or at all as far as the construction. ·7· · · · Q· · When the bus stops are built, is that the ·8· ·Miami-Dade County building it or is that the Department ·9· ·of Transportation overseeing the construction of a bus 10· ·stop?· Whose responsibility is the building of a bus 11· ·stop? 12· · · · A· · I'm not sure of the contractual responsibility 13· ·of the building of bus stops. 14· · · · Q· · That's fair. 15· · · · · · ·Do you have any sort of professional licenses? 16· · · · A· · I am a Transit Safety and Security 17· ·Professional.· That's TSSP. 18· · · · Q· · Anything else? 19· · · · A· · I'm a Registered Gas Distribution Professional 20· ·from a previous life prior to transit. 21· · · · Q· · Understood.· Anything else besides the TSSP 22· ·and Gas Distribution Professional? 23· · · · A· · That's it. 24· · · · Q· · Do you have to do any sort of continuing legal 25· ·education for the TSSP license? www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 12 ·1· · · · A· · No. ·2· · · · Q· · What sort of courses or formal training did ·3· ·you receive or did you have to do in order to receive ·4· ·that TSSP license? ·5· · · · A· · That was a series of classes offered by the ·6· ·Transportation Safety Institute.· It's a part of USFTA. ·7· · · · · · ·It is bus accident investigation, rail ·8· ·accident investigation.· I did industrial hygiene in ·9· ·transit settings.· I don't know the exact course names, 10· ·but that's the basics of the two security classes.· It's 11· ·a series of one-week classes that you have to take 12· ·centered around transit. 13· · · · Q· · What sort privileges or what does the TSSP 14· ·allow you to do? 15· · · · A· · It allows me to write policies and procedures 16· ·within transit.· It is a Federally mandated set of 17· ·courses that you have to take. 18· · · · Q· · Got you, and you mentioned the acronym FTA. 19· ·Can you tell me what FTA stands for? 20· · · · A· · Federal Transit Administration. 21· · · · Q· · You also mentioned industrial transit hygiene 22· ·or something along those lines. 23· · · · A· · Yes.· That is basically workplace hygiene, 24· ·reviewing materials, safety data sheets and safety 25· ·within the workplace. www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 13 ·1· · · · Q· · Do you have any sort of license or training or ·2· ·education or even just work experience pertaining ·3· ·specifically to inspections of public transportation ·4· ·stops such as a bus stop or repairing or removing of ·5· ·hazards at bus stops? ·6· · · · A· · Nothing specific to bus stops, but in the ·7· ·broader sense of transit, part of these classes does ·8· ·talk about hazard identification and mitigation. ·9· · · · Q· · What sort of things are covered as far as the 10· ·hazardous education and mitigation that are discussed in 11· ·these classes? 12· · · · A· · They talked about -- and I don't know the 13· ·exact name of the Mil Standard, but it's a Mil Standard. 14· ·It's based around Mil Standard, I think, 822D, which is 15· ·a hazard ranking criteria. 16· · · · Q· · What is the Mil Standard? 17· · · · A· · It's a large standard, but basically it has 18· ·two components to it, severity and frequency, and you 19· ·rank a hazard based on -- there's a chart. 20· · · · Q· · So you kind of look at the severity and the 21· ·frequency and that will kind of give you a pinpoint on 22· ·the chart and it will tell you what level of hazard, I 23· ·presume? 24· · · · A· · Yes. 25· · · · Q· · Would a tripping hazard be something that's www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 14 ·1· ·measured by the Mil Standard? ·2· · · · A· · The Mil Standard could be applied. ·3· · · · Q· · To the extent that you know, is the ·4· ·Mil Standard typically applied for tripping hazards? ·5· · · · A· · The Mil Standard can be applied for any ·6· ·hazard. ·7· · · · Q· · Have you yourself ever used the Mil Standard ·8· ·in the context of a tripping hazard? ·9· · · · A· · Professionally, no.· That typically is 10· ·relegated to my manager and my chief. 11· · · · Q· · That's a good segue.· Who is your manager and 12· ·your chief? 13· · · · A· · My manager is Lee Vega. 14· · · · Q· · Can you spell that for me? 15· · · · A· · L-e-e V-e-g-a.· He's the manager of safety. 16· · · · Q· · And I think you mentioned your chief.· What is 17· ·your chief's name? 18· · · · A· · Eric -- 19· · · · Q· · Is that E-r-i-c? 20· · · · A· · E-r-i-c. 21· · · · Q· · Last name? 22· · · · A· · M-u-n-t-a-n. 23· · · · Q· · To the extent that you know, what are the 24· ·manager of safety's responsibilities.· What sort of 25· ·things do you report to him? www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 15 ·1· · · · A· · He basically assigns me work, and when there ·2· ·needs to be a decision made, he either makes it or helps ·3· ·me make the management decision. ·4· · · · Q· · A manager of safety, is he making decisions ·5· ·regarding hazards or is it broader than that?· What's ·6· ·the scope of his authority, if you know? ·7· · · · A· · I'd rather not speculate on that. ·8· · · · Q· · Sure.· That's not a problem. ·9· · · · · · ·In terms of the chain of command, so to speak, 10· ·where are you in relations to the manager of safety and 11· ·then the chief? 12· · · · A· · I report to the manager.· The manager reports 13· ·to the chief. 14· · · · Q· · Understood. 15· · · · · · ·Have you ever been convicted of a felony or 16· ·crime of dishonesty? 17· · · · A· · No. 18· · · · Q· · Like I said, these aren't meant to harass or 19· ·offend you. 20· · · · A· · No. 21· · · · Q· · Do you know who is responsible for maintaining 22· ·the areas of the bus stops or the areas surrounding the 23· ·bus stops in Miami-Dade County? 24· · · · A· · In general, DTPW. 25· · · · Q· · And you say in general.· Is there something www.uslegalsupport.com YVer1f Barry Smerling July 10, 2019 16 ·1· ·more specific that may alter the determination or -- ·2· · · · A· · Which person, which department, which ·3· ·subcontractor, I don't know. ·4· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, though, would it be fair ·5· ·to say that the Department of Transportation and Public ·6· ·Works generally speaking is in charge of bus stops and ·7· ·the areas surrounding bus stops? ·8· · · · A· · Yes. ·9· · · · Q· · Do you know if that area is County property, 10· ·so to speak, the bus stops and areas surrounding the bus 11· ·stops? 12· · · · A· · It depends on the bus stop. 13· · · · Q· · Do you know whose responsibility it is to 14· ·maintain the bus stops, to inspect for hazards, to 15· ·repair or remove any hazards at bus stops generally 16· ·throughout Miami-Dade County?· Then we'll get into 17· ·specific bus stops. 18· · · · A· · The structure of the bus stops is maintained 19· ·by who in DTPW or what contractor, I don't know, but 20· ·DTPW either maintains or directs people to maintain the 21· ·bus stops. 22· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, the Department of 23· ·Transport