Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 75 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022
EXHIBIT 10
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 75 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
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E.E. CRUZ & COMPANY, INC.,
Plaintiff,
-against- Index No:
652321/2020
STARR SURPLUS LINES INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.
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DEPOSITION TAKEN VIA ZOOM
July 28, 2022
10:00 a.m.
DEPOSITION of JOE SHEEHAN, held at the
above-mentioned time, before, PAIGE HAYDEN, a Court
Reporter and Notary Public of the State of New York.
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MAGNA LEGAL SERVICES
(866) 624-6221
www.MagnaLS.com
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2 A P P E A R A N C E S:
3 SAXE DOERNBERGER & VITA, P.C.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
4 35 Nutmeg Drive, Suite 140
Trumbul, Connecticut 06611
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BY: STACY M. MANOBIANCA, ESQ.
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8 FORAN GLENNON PALANDECH PONZI & RUDLOFF, PC
Attorneys for Defendant
9 40 Wall Street, 54th Floor
New York, New York 10005
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BY: ASHLEY VICERE, ESQ.
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2 S T I P U L A T I O N S:
3 IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by and between the
4 attorneys for the respective parties herein,
5 and in compliance with Rule 221 of the Uniform
6 Rules for the Trial Courts:
7
8 THAT the parties recognize the provision of
9 Rule 3115 subdivisions (b), (c) and/or (d).
10 All objections made at a deposition shall be
11 noted by the officer before whom the deposition
12 is taken, and the answer shall be given and the
13 deposition shall proceed subject to the
14 objections and to the right of a person to
15 apply for appropriate relief pursuant to
16 Article 31 of the C.P.L.R.;
17
18 THAT every objection raised during a deposition
19 shall be stated succinctly and framed so as not
20 to suggest an answer to the deponent and, at
21 the request of the questioning attorney, shall
22 include a clear statement as to any defect in
23 form or other basis of error or irregularity.
24 Except to the extent permitted by C.P.L.R. Rule
25 3115 or by this Rule, during the course of the
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2 examination persons in attendance shall not
3 make statements or comments that interfere with
4 the questioning.
5
6 THAT a deponent shall answer all questions at a
7 deposition, except (i) to preserve a privilege
8 or right of confidentiality, (ii) to enforce a
9 limitation set forth in an order of a court, or
10 (iii) when the question is plainly improper and
11 would, if answered, cause significant prejudice
12 to any person. An attorney shall not direct a
13 deponent not to answer except as provided in
14 C.P.L.R. Rule 3115 or this subdivision. Any
15 refusal to answer or direction not to answer
16 shall be accompanied by a succinct and clear
17 statement on the basis therefore. If the
18 deponent does not answer a question, the
19 examining party shall have the right to
20 complete the remainder of the deposition.
21
22 THAT an attorney shall not interrupt the
23 deposition for the purpose of communicating
24 with the deponent unless all parties consent or
25 the communication is made for the purpose of
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2 determining whether the question should not be
3 answered on the grounds set forth in Section
4 221.2 of these Rules, and, in such event, the
5 reason for the communication shall be stated
6 for the record succinctly and clearly.
7
8 THAT the failure to object to any question or
9 to move to strike any testimony at this
10 examination shall not be a bar or waiver to
11 make such objection or motion at the time of
12 the trial of this action, and is hereby
13 reserved; and
14
15 THAT this examination may be signed and sworn
16 to by the witness examined herein before any
17 Notary Public, but the failure to do so or to
18 return the original of the examination to the
19 attorney on whose behalf the examination is
20 taken, shall not be deemed a waiver of the
21 rights provided by Rule 3116 and 3117 of the
22 C.P.L.R., and shall be controlled thereby; and
23
24 THAT the certification and filing of the
25 original of this examination are hereby waived;
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2 and
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4 THAT the questioning attorney shall provide
5 counsel for the witness examined herein with a
6 copy of this examination at no charge.
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2 JOSEPH SHEEHAN, the WITNESS herein,
3 having been first duly sworn by a
4 Notary Public of the State of New York,
5 was examined and testified as follows:
6 EXAMINATION BY
7 MS. VICERE:
8 Q. State your name for the
9 record, please.
10 A. Joseph Sheehan.
11 Q. State your address for the
12 record, please.
13 A. 16-16 Whitestone
14 Expressway, 5th floor, Whitestone,
15 New York 11357.
16 Q. Good morning, Mr. Sheehan.
17 My name is Ashley Vicere. I am an
18 attorney with Foran Glennon, and I
19 represent Starr Surplus insurance
20 company in this action.
21 Today I will be asking
22 questions. If you understand the
23 questions, you can answer them. If
24 you don't understand any question,
25 please tell me, and I will clarify
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2 or rephrase. If you answer, I am
3 going to assume that you understood
4 the question.
5 Do you understand?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. As you can see, we have a
8 court reporter here taking down my
9 questions and your answers. So if
10 she doesn't hear you, can't
11 understand you, or if we are talking
12 at the same time, she is going to
13 have trouble taking down the things
14 that are said.
15 Please don't answer a
16 question until I finish asking you,
17 and also, please answer your
18 questions verbally. Try to avoid
19 responding with nods, gestures, or
20 words like uh-huh.
21 Okay?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Lastly, if at any time you
24 need to take a break, you are
25 welcome to do so. I only ask that
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2 you do not request a break while a
3 question is pending. Please just
4 answer any question first, and then
5 we can take a break.
6 Does that make sense?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Do you understand that you
9 are giving sworn testimony today
10 even though you are not in court?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Are you taking any
13 medications that would prevent you
14 from testifying accurately here
15 today?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Prior to testifying here
18 today, have you taken any drugs,
19 alcohol, prescription medications or
20 anything else that would impair your
21 ability to testify accurately?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you ever been deposed
24 before?
25 A. Yes.
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2 Q. How many times?
3 A. Twice.
4 Q. Okay.
5 When is the last time you
6 were deposed?
7 A. I don't remember the exact
8 dates, but I would say it is
9 probably eight or nine years ago.
10 Q. Okay.
11 And then when was the time
12 before that?
13 A. Probably 11 to 12 years
14 ago.
15 Q. Okay.
16 And so the most recent one,
17 what was the nature of that case?
18 A. I was a witness in a sexual
19 harassment case.
20 Q. Okay.
21 And did that case involve
22 an insurance company?
23 A. It did not.
24 Q. Were you a party or a
25 non-party to the litigation?
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2 A. I don't understand that.
3 Q. Okay.
4 Were you involved or were
5 you named in that lawsuit, or were
6 you just testifying as a witness?
7 A. I was just testifying as a
8 witness.
9 Q. And for the time before
10 that, your other deposition, what
11 was the nature of that case?
12 A. That was a -- it involved a
13 surveyor, and they inaccurately laid
14 out some information, and the
15 company that I was working for was
16 suing them.
17 Q. Okay.
18 And did that case involve
19 an insurance company?
20 A. No, not to my recollection.
21 Q. And other than those two
22 times, have you ever been deposed
23 any other times?
24 A. No.
25 Q. Have you ever testified at
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2 trial?
3 A. No.
4 Q. What, if anything, did you
5 do to prepare for this deposition?
6 A. I had a conversation with
7 Stacey. She had sent me some
8 information. I casually reviewed
9 it. I did not in depth, admittedly,
10 review everything. That is about
11 it.
12 Q. Okay.
13 About how many times did
14 you meet with counsel to prepare for
15 the deposition?
16 A. We had a conversation this
17 week. I think it was Tuesday, and
18 then we spoke briefly this morning
19 for about five minutes.
20 Q. So during either of the
21 conversations, was anyone else
22 present?
23 A. No.
24 Q. You said that you reviewed
25 some documents to prepare for the
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2 deposition?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Which documents did you
5 review?
6 A. I don't know all the
7 documents, but they were transmitted
8 to me while I was on vacation. I
9 think they were exhibits to Mr.
10 Ozbek and Ms. Anerella's
11 depositions.
12 MS. VICERE: I am going
13 to call for the production of
14 the documents that were
15 reviewed to prepare for the
16 deposition.
17 A. That is not for me, right?
18 MS. MANOBIANCA: Just
19 follow up in writing. I will
20 tell you it was exhibits from
21 the previous depositions
22 marked in the case.
23 Q. Other than the documents
24 that we just discussed, that were
25 likely exhibits from other
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2 depositions, did you review any
3 other documents to prepare for this
4 deposition?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Okay.
7 What is the highest level
8 of education that you have
9 completed?
10 A. I have a bachelor's of
11 science degree.
12 Q. In what subject?
13 A. Civil engineering.
14 Q. And what year did you
15 graduate?
16 A. University?
17 Q. Yes.
18 A. 1995.
19 Q. Okay.
20 And did you complete
21 additional education after that
22 university?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Okay.
25 Do you have any --
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2 A. Can you be more specific,
3 because as far as like that
4 continuing education as part of a
5 license? But no -- no like master,
6 or PhD or anything like that. I
7 don't know what you were referring
8 to.
9 Q. Thank you.
10 Do you have any
11 certifications or licenses?
12 A. I do. I have a
13 professional licenses for the State
14 of New York and state of
15 Connecticut.
16 Q. And when did you obtain
17 your professional engineers license
18 in New York?
19 A. Can I look?
20 Q. Sure.
21 A. 2013.
22 Q. Alright.
23 And how did you obtain that
24 license?
25 A. In the state -- well, I
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2 filed for what they call reciprocity
3 because previous to that I had my
4 professional engineers license in
5 Connecticut. I filed the proper
6 paperwork, and had to get the
7 endorsements for the State of New
8 York to qualify for my experience
9 and then I was granted the license.
10 Q. When did you obtain your
11 professional engineers license in
12 Connecticut?
13 A. Can I look at the wall
14 behind me?
15 Q. Yes.
16 A. 2001.
17 Q. And how did you obtain that
18 license?
19 A. I was able to obtain that
20 license bypassing the professional
21 engineering exam.
22 Q. Okay.
23 And what, if anything, do
24 you need to do in order to maintain
25 the licenses?
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2 A. You have to -- which -- it
3 is basically continuing education.
4 So every so years you have to have a
5 certain amount of continuing
6 education, basically courses,
7 seminars, study, in order to
8 maintain the license in good
9 standing.
10 Q. Have any of your licenses
11 ever been revoked or suspended?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Have any of your licenses
14 ever lapsed or expired?
15 A. No.
16 Q. Other than the two
17 professional engineers license, do
18 you have any other certifications or
19 licenses?
20 A. I mean, I have OSHA
21 certifications, certain safety
22 certifications, secure worker access
23 certifications. That is all I can
24 think of right now.
25 Q. Okay.
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2 Are you currently employed?
3 A. I am.
4 Q. And who is your employer?
5 A. E.E. Cruz & Company
6 Incorporated.
7 Q. And that is the Plaintiff
8 of this lawsuit, is that your
9 understanding?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. So for the rest of this
12 deposition I am going to refer to
13 Plaintiff E.E. Cruz & Company, Inc.,
14 as just E.E. Cruz, does that make
15 sense?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. How long have you been
18 working with E.E. Cruz?
19 A. It is almost five and a
20 half years.
21 Q. Okay.
22 And what is your role at
23 E.E. Cruz?
24 A. Currently, I am the
25 president.
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2 Q. And for how long have you
3 held that role?
4 A. I don't know exactly. I
5 think it about a year and a half to
6 two years, I could guess.
7 Q. Okay.
8 What was your role before
9 that?
10 A. Immediately prior to that,
11 my title was managing director.
12 Q. And in your role as
13 president, what are your
14 responsibilities?
15 A. I am generally responsible
16 for the P&Ls of the company, the
17 direction, various oversight of all
18 of the different departments and
19 general course of business I guess.
20 Q. And when you say P&L, did
21 you mean profits and losses?
22 A. Yes. Thank you.
23 Q. And what was -- what were
24 your responsibilities as managing
25 director?
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2 A. There were essentially the
3 same. It was an intern title.
4 Q. Okay.
5 And so what was your role
6 or title before you became managing