Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022
EXHIBIT 34
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022
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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
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E. E. CRUZ & COMPANY, INC.,
Plaintiff,
vs. Index No.
652321/
STARR SURPLUS LINES INSURANCE 2020
COMPANY,
Defendant.
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DEPOSITION OF JEANNINE ANERELLA
New York, New York
Friday, March 18, 2022
Reported by:
Jeremy Frank, MPM
JOB NO. 808377
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1
2 March 18, 2022
3 10:09 a.m.
4
5 Deposition of JEANNINE ANERELLA, held
6 via Zoom, New York, New York, pursuant to
7 Notice, before Jeremy Frank, a Stenographic
8 Court Reporter and Notary Public of the State
9 of New York.
10
11
12
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15
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2 A P P E A R A N C E S:
3
4 SAXE DOERNBERGER & VITA, P.C.
5 Attorneys for Plaintiff
6 35 Nutmeg Drive, Suite 140
7 Trumbull, CT 06611
8 BY: STACY MANOBIANCA, ESQ.
9 SManobianca@sdvlaw.com
10 (203) 287-2100
11
12 FORAN GLENNON PALANDECH PONZI & RUDLOFF,
13 P.C.
14 Attorneys for Defendant
15 40 Wall Street, 54th Floor
16 New York, NY 10005
17 BY: ASHLEY VICERE, ESQ.
18 Avicere@fgppr.com
19 (212) 257-7100
20
21 ALSO PRESENT:
22 JACKSON VOGEL
23
24
25
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1
2 IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by and
3 between the attorneys for the respective
4 parties herein, and in compliance with Rule
5 221 of the Uniform Rules for the Trial Courts.
6 THAT the parties recognize the provision
7 of Rule 3115 subdivisions (b), (c) and/or (d).
8 All objections made at a deposition shall be
9 noted by the officer before whom the
10 deposition is taken, and the answer shall be
11 given and the deposition shall proceed subject
12 to the objections and to the right of a person
13 to apply for appropriate relief pursuant to
14 Article 31 of the CPLR.
15 THAT every objection raised during a
16 deposition shall be stated succinctly and
17 framed so as not to suggest an answer to the
18 deponent and, at the request of the
19 questioning attorney, shall include a clear
20 statement as to any defect in form or other
21 basis of error or irregularity. Except to the
22 extent permitted by CPLR Rule 3115 or by this
23 rule, during the course of the examination
24 persons in attendance shall not make
25 statements or comments that interfere with the
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1
2 questions.
3 THAT a deponent shall answer all
4 questions at a deposition, except (1) to
5 preserve a privilege or right of
6 confidentiality, (ii) to enforce a limitation
7 set forth in an order of a court, or (iii)
8 when the question is plainly improper and
9 would, if answered, cause significant
10 prejudice to any person. An attorney shall
11 not direct a deponent not to answer except as
12 provided in CPLR Rule 3115 or this
13 subdivision. Any refusal to answer or
14 direction not to answer shall be accompanied
15 by a succinct and clear statement of the basis
16 therefore. If the deponent does not answer a
17 question, the examining party shall have the
18 right to complete the remainder of the
19 deposition.
20 THAT an attorney shall not interrupt the
21 deposition for the purpose of communicating
22 with the deponent unless all parties consent
23 or the communication is made for the purpose
24 of determining whether the question should not
25 be answered on the grounds set forth in
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1
2 Section 221.2 of these rules and, in such
3 event, the reason for the communication shall
4 be stated for the record succinctly and
5 clearly.
6 THAT failure to object to any question
7 or to move to strike any testimony at this
8 examination shall not be a bar or waiver to
9 make such objection or motion at the time of
10 the trial of this action, and is hereby
11 reserved and
12 THAT this examination may be signed and
13 sworn to by the witness examined herein before
14 any Notary Public, but failure to do so or to
15 return the original of the examination to the
16 attorney on whose behalf the examination is
17 taken shall not be deemed a waiver of the
18 rights provided by Rules 3116 and 3117 of the
19 CPLR, and shall be controlled thereby, and
20 THAT certification and filing of the
21 original of this examination are waived; and
22 THAT the questioning attorney shall
23 provide counsel for the witness examined
24 herein with a copy of this examination at no
25 charge.
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1 Anerella
2 THE COURT REPORTER: Before we
3 proceed, I will ask counsel to agree on
4 the record that under the current
5 National Emergency pursuant to Section
6 319 of the Public Health Service Act,
7 there is no objection to this deposition
8 officer administering a binding oath to
9 the witness by videoconference. Please
10 state your agreement on the record.
11 MR. PODOLAK: Agreed.
12 MR. ROCCO: Agreed.
13 J E A N N I N E A N E R E L L A, called as
14 a witness, having been duly sworn by a Notary
15 Public, was examined and testified as follows:
16 EXAMINATION BY
17 MS. VICERE:
18 Q. Good morning, Ms. Anerella.
19 A. Good morning.
20 MS. MANOBIANCA: Before we start
21 can I please make a brief statement for
22 the record?
23 MS. VICERE: Sure.
24 MS. MANOBIANCA: Yesterday at Mr.
25 Ozbek's deposition at the very end of the
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2 deposition Ms. Vicere expressed an
3 interest in keeping Mr. Ozbek's
4 deposition open, and I told her that she
5 would have to get a court order, it is
6 all on the record.
7 With respect to today's deposition
8 of Ms. Anerella I will also advise we are
9 not agreeable to keeping the deposition
10 open. So by taking this deposition, Ms.
11 Vicere recognizes and acknowledges that
12 she'll have to get a court order if she
13 seeks to ask any questions after today.
14 You may begin, Ms. Vicere.
15 MS. VICERE: I will just represent
16 for the record that Starr reserves all of
17 its rights.
18 BY MS. VICERE:
19 Q. Good morning, Ms. Anerella, how
20 are you?
21 A. I'm well, thank you.
22 Q. Would you please state your name
23 for the record.
24 A. Jeannine Anerella.
25 Q. Do you live in New York?
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2 A. No.
3 Q. What state do you live in?
4 A. New Jersey.
5 Q. Okay.
6 Good morning, Ms. Anerella, my
7 name is Ashley Vicere, I'm an attorney with
8 Foran Glennon and I represent Starr Surplus
9 Lines Insurance Company in this action. Today
10 I'm going to be asking you questions, and if
11 you understand the question then you can
12 answer them, but if you don't understand any
13 question, please let me know and I'll clarify
14 or rephrase. If you answer a question I'm
15 going to assume that you understood the
16 question.
17 Does that make sense?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. As you can see we have a court
20 reporter here taking down my questions and
21 your answers. So if he can't hear you or
22 can't understand you or if we are talking at
23 the same time, he's going to have trouble
24 taking down some of the things that are said,
25 so please don't answer a question until I
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1 Anerella
2 finished asking it. Also, please try to
3 answer verbally, try to avoid responding with
4 nods, gestures or words like uh-huh, okay?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Lastly, if at any time you need a
7 break, you're welcome to. I only ask that you
8 do not request a break while a question is
9 pending, please answer the pending question
10 and then I'll take a break.
11 Does that make sense?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Do you understand that you are
14 giving sworn testimony today even though
15 you're not in a courtroom?
16 A. I do.
17 Q. Are you taking any medications or
18 any other substance that would prevent you
19 from testifying accurately here today?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Have you ever been deposed before?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you ever given testimony
24 before?
25 A. Yes.
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2 Q. Where was that testimony given?
3 A. In Virginia a very long time ago.
4 Q. What matter was that in regard to?
5 A. It was a personal matter.
6 Q. The testimony that you gave, was
7 that at trial?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Did that personal matter involve
10 an insurance company?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Okay.
13 Did it involve construction?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Other than that testimony that you
16 just described at trial have you given any
17 other testimony ever?
18 A. Not that I can recall, no.
19 Q. What, if anything, did you do to
20 prepare for this deposition?
21 A. I spoke with my attorney.
22 Q. Did you speak with anyone else?
23 A. Other than work-related matters, I
24 mean I have spoken with people I work with
25 regarding this matter, but not exactly with
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2 this testimony.
3 Q. Okay.
4 How many times did you meet with
5 your attorney to prepare for this deposition?
6 I don't want to know anything that was
7 discussed, just how many times you met.
8 A. Twice.
9 Q. Twice.
10 The first time, when was that
11 meeting?
12 A. It was a couple days prior to this
13 initial date I was supposed to be disposed
14 (sic), I am not exactly sure of the date.
15 Q. How long did that meeting last?
16 A. I don't recall exactly, an hour or
17 two.
18 Q. Was anyone else present?
19 A. No.
20 Q. The second meeting that you said
21 you had with counsel, when did that take
22 place?
23 A. Yesterday. No, not yesterday, the
24 day before.
25 Q. How long did that meeting take
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2 place?
3 A. 15 to 20 minutes.
4 Q. Was anyone else present?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Did you review any documents to
7 prepare for this deposition?
8 A. Other than my e-mails, no.
9 Q. Have you reviewed some e-mails to
10 prepare for this deposition?
11 A. Some of my e-mails, yes, I looked
12 through them.
13 Q. Which e-mails did you look at?
14 A. There were countless e-mails just
15 to see what might be relevant or not.
16 Q. Approximately how many e-mails did
17 you look through?
18 A. Did I actually read?
19 Q. Sure.
20 A. Probably 15.
21 Q. How many do you think that you
22 might have flipped through?
23 A. A lot.
24 Q. Understood.
25 Other than -- withdrawn.
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1 Anerella
2 Those e-mails you were just
3 discussing, were those all sent from you or
4 did you review e-mails that were also sent
5 from others?
6 A. Both.
7 Q. Other than e-mails did you review
8 any other documents?
9 A. No.
10 Q. If there were any did you review
11 any attachments to e-mails?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Okay.
14 Which attachments did you review?
15 A. I reviewed the application for
16 extension of the policy.
17 Q. Anything else?
18 A. Not that I can recall.
19 Q. Why did you review the application
20 for extension?
21 MS. MANOBIANCA: Objection, calls
22 for contents of conversation which I may
23 or may not have had with my clients.
24 Q. I don't want to hear about any
25 conversations you had with your attorney.
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2 DI
3 MS. MANOBIANCA: If you don't want
4 to hear about the conversation I may have
5 had with her then you should withdraw
6 your question because the rationale or
7 basis for the reasons for the reviewing
8 of documents is very dangerously close to
9 the line of seeking information regarding
10 our discussion. You don't have to answer
11 that, Jeannine.
12 Q. What was the highest level of
13 education that you have completed?
14 A. I have bachelor's degree.
15 Q. In what subject area?
16 A. Law.
17 Q. Where did you earn that degree?
18 A. St. John's University.
19 Q. What state is that in?
20 A. New York.
21 Q. What year did you graduate?
22 A. Oh, I would really have to think
23 about that, '92.
24 Q. What degree did you earn?
25 A. A bachelor's degree, Bachelor of
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1 Anerella
2 Science.
3 Q. Do you have any --
4 A. I believe, I'm not, I'm not sure
5 actually.
6 Q. Understood.
7 Do you have any certifications or
8 licenses?
9 A. No, aside from a driver's license.
10 Q. Okay.
11 Are you currently employed?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Who is your current employer?
14 A. E. E. Cruz and Company, Inc.
15 Q. That is the plaintiff of the
16 lawsuit that brings us here today?
17 A. Correct.
18 Q. For the rest of this deposition
19 I'm going to refer to plaintiff E. E. Cruz and
20 Company, Inc as either E. E. Cruz or plaintiff
21 or the company.
22 Does that make sense?
23 A. Sure.
24 Q. Okay.
25 How long have you been working for
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2 E. E. Cruz?
3 A. 15 years.
4 Q. What is your current role at E. E.
5 Cruz?
6 A. My current role is procurement
7 manager.
8 Q. How long have you held that role?
9 A. Almost two years.
10 Q. Okay.
11 What are your job responsibilities
12 in your role as procurement manager?
13 A. In my role as procurement manager
14 my job responsibilities are to solicit
15 quotations for projects that we are bidding,
16 and to negotiate contracts with the apparent
17 low bidder.
18 Q. When you say solicit quotes for
19 projects, who would you solicit those quotes
20 to or from?
21 A. Subcontractors or vendors that we
22 deal with.
23 Q. Does this role involve insurance
24 companies?
25 A. My procurement manager role does
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2 not.
3 Q. You said you have been working as
4 a procurement manager for about two years,
5 what was your role before that?
6 A. Before that I didn't actually have
7 a title. I guess you would have said on
8 record it would have been administrative
9 assistant executive.
10 Q. How long did you hold that general
11 role?
12 A. That title, 13 years.
13 Q. When you began working for E. E.
14 Cruz you began in that title?
15 A. Administration and HR.
16 Q. What were your job responsibi-
17 lities in that role?
18 A. There were a lot, many different
19 hats.
20 Q. Okay.
21 Did you have any job responsi-
22 bilities related to insurance?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. What were those?
25 A. I handled all of our Workers'
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2 Compensation claims which I still
Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 EXHIBIT 34 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 1 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK ------------------------------------ E. E. CRUZ & COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff, vs. Index No. 652321/ STARR SURPLUS LINES INSURANCE 2020 COMPANY, Defendant. ------------------------------------ DEPOSITION OF JEANNINE ANERELLA New York, New York Friday, March 18, 2022 Reported by: Jeremy Frank, MPM JOB NO. 808377 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 2 1 2 March 18, 2022 3 10:09 a.m. 4 5 Deposition of JEANNINE ANERELLA, held 6 via Zoom, New York, New York, pursuant to 7 Notice, before Jeremy Frank, a Stenographic 8 Court Reporter and Notary Public of the State 9 of New York. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 3 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S: 3 4 SAXE DOERNBERGER & VITA, P.C. 5 Attorneys for Plaintiff 6 35 Nutmeg Drive, Suite 140 7 Trumbull, CT 06611 8 BY: STACY MANOBIANCA, ESQ. 9 SManobianca@sdvlaw.com 10 (203) 287-2100 11 12 FORAN GLENNON PALANDECH PONZI & RUDLOFF, 13 P.C. 14 Attorneys for Defendant 15 40 Wall Street, 54th Floor 16 New York, NY 10005 17 BY: ASHLEY VICERE, ESQ. 18 Avicere@fgppr.com 19 (212) 257-7100 20 21 ALSO PRESENT: 22 JACKSON VOGEL 23 24 25 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 4 1 2 IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by and 3 between the attorneys for the respective 4 parties herein, and in compliance with Rule 5 221 of the Uniform Rules for the Trial Courts. 6 THAT the parties recognize the provision 7 of Rule 3115 subdivisions (b), (c) and/or (d). 8 All objections made at a deposition shall be 9 noted by the officer before whom the 10 deposition is taken, and the answer shall be 11 given and the deposition shall proceed subject 12 to the objections and to the right of a person 13 to apply for appropriate relief pursuant to 14 Article 31 of the CPLR. 15 THAT every objection raised during a 16 deposition shall be stated succinctly and 17 framed so as not to suggest an answer to the 18 deponent and, at the request of the 19 questioning attorney, shall include a clear 20 statement as to any defect in form or other 21 basis of error or irregularity. Except to the 22 extent permitted by CPLR Rule 3115 or by this 23 rule, during the course of the examination 24 persons in attendance shall not make 25 statements or comments that interfere with the FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 5 1 2 questions. 3 THAT a deponent shall answer all 4 questions at a deposition, except (1) to 5 preserve a privilege or right of 6 confidentiality, (ii) to enforce a limitation 7 set forth in an order of a court, or (iii) 8 when the question is plainly improper and 9 would, if answered, cause significant 10 prejudice to any person. An attorney shall 11 not direct a deponent not to answer except as 12 provided in CPLR Rule 3115 or this 13 subdivision. Any refusal to answer or 14 direction not to answer shall be accompanied 15 by a succinct and clear statement of the basis 16 therefore. If the deponent does not answer a 17 question, the examining party shall have the 18 right to complete the remainder of the 19 deposition. 20 THAT an attorney shall not interrupt the 21 deposition for the purpose of communicating 22 with the deponent unless all parties consent 23 or the communication is made for the purpose 24 of determining whether the question should not 25 be answered on the grounds set forth in FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 6 1 2 Section 221.2 of these rules and, in such 3 event, the reason for the communication shall 4 be stated for the record succinctly and 5 clearly. 6 THAT failure to object to any question 7 or to move to strike any testimony at this 8 examination shall not be a bar or waiver to 9 make such objection or motion at the time of 10 the trial of this action, and is hereby 11 reserved and 12 THAT this examination may be signed and 13 sworn to by the witness examined herein before 14 any Notary Public, but failure to do so or to 15 return the original of the examination to the 16 attorney on whose behalf the examination is 17 taken shall not be deemed a waiver of the 18 rights provided by Rules 3116 and 3117 of the 19 CPLR, and shall be controlled thereby, and 20 THAT certification and filing of the 21 original of this examination are waived; and 22 THAT the questioning attorney shall 23 provide counsel for the witness examined 24 herein with a copy of this examination at no 25 charge. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 7 1 Anerella 2 THE COURT REPORTER: Before we 3 proceed, I will ask counsel to agree on 4 the record that under the current 5 National Emergency pursuant to Section 6 319 of the Public Health Service Act, 7 there is no objection to this deposition 8 officer administering a binding oath to 9 the witness by videoconference. Please 10 state your agreement on the record. 11 MR. PODOLAK: Agreed. 12 MR. ROCCO: Agreed. 13 J E A N N I N E A N E R E L L A, called as 14 a witness, having been duly sworn by a Notary 15 Public, was examined and testified as follows: 16 EXAMINATION BY 17 MS. VICERE: 18 Q. Good morning, Ms. Anerella. 19 A. Good morning. 20 MS. MANOBIANCA: Before we start 21 can I please make a brief statement for 22 the record? 23 MS. VICERE: Sure. 24 MS. MANOBIANCA: Yesterday at Mr. 25 Ozbek's deposition at the very end of the FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 8 1 Anerella 2 deposition Ms. Vicere expressed an 3 interest in keeping Mr. Ozbek's 4 deposition open, and I told her that she 5 would have to get a court order, it is 6 all on the record. 7 With respect to today's deposition 8 of Ms. Anerella I will also advise we are 9 not agreeable to keeping the deposition 10 open. So by taking this deposition, Ms. 11 Vicere recognizes and acknowledges that 12 she'll have to get a court order if she 13 seeks to ask any questions after today. 14 You may begin, Ms. Vicere. 15 MS. VICERE: I will just represent 16 for the record that Starr reserves all of 17 its rights. 18 BY MS. VICERE: 19 Q. Good morning, Ms. Anerella, how 20 are you? 21 A. I'm well, thank you. 22 Q. Would you please state your name 23 for the record. 24 A. Jeannine Anerella. 25 Q. Do you live in New York? FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 9 1 Anerella 2 A. No. 3 Q. What state do you live in? 4 A. New Jersey. 5 Q. Okay. 6 Good morning, Ms. Anerella, my 7 name is Ashley Vicere, I'm an attorney with 8 Foran Glennon and I represent Starr Surplus 9 Lines Insurance Company in this action. Today 10 I'm going to be asking you questions, and if 11 you understand the question then you can 12 answer them, but if you don't understand any 13 question, please let me know and I'll clarify 14 or rephrase. If you answer a question I'm 15 going to assume that you understood the 16 question. 17 Does that make sense? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. As you can see we have a court 20 reporter here taking down my questions and 21 your answers. So if he can't hear you or 22 can't understand you or if we are talking at 23 the same time, he's going to have trouble 24 taking down some of the things that are said, 25 so please don't answer a question until I FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 10 1 Anerella 2 finished asking it. Also, please try to 3 answer verbally, try to avoid responding with 4 nods, gestures or words like uh-huh, okay? 5 A. Yes. 6 Q. Lastly, if at any time you need a 7 break, you're welcome to. I only ask that you 8 do not request a break while a question is 9 pending, please answer the pending question 10 and then I'll take a break. 11 Does that make sense? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. Do you understand that you are 14 giving sworn testimony today even though 15 you're not in a courtroom? 16 A. I do. 17 Q. Are you taking any medications or 18 any other substance that would prevent you 19 from testifying accurately here today? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Have you ever been deposed before? 22 A. No. 23 Q. Have you ever given testimony 24 before? 25 A. Yes. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 11 1 Anerella 2 Q. Where was that testimony given? 3 A. In Virginia a very long time ago. 4 Q. What matter was that in regard to? 5 A. It was a personal matter. 6 Q. The testimony that you gave, was 7 that at trial? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Did that personal matter involve 10 an insurance company? 11 A. No. 12 Q. Okay. 13 Did it involve construction? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Other than that testimony that you 16 just described at trial have you given any 17 other testimony ever? 18 A. Not that I can recall, no. 19 Q. What, if anything, did you do to 20 prepare for this deposition? 21 A. I spoke with my attorney. 22 Q. Did you speak with anyone else? 23 A. Other than work-related matters, I 24 mean I have spoken with people I work with 25 regarding this matter, but not exactly with FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 12 1 Anerella 2 this testimony. 3 Q. Okay. 4 How many times did you meet with 5 your attorney to prepare for this deposition? 6 I don't want to know anything that was 7 discussed, just how many times you met. 8 A. Twice. 9 Q. Twice. 10 The first time, when was that 11 meeting? 12 A. It was a couple days prior to this 13 initial date I was supposed to be disposed 14 (sic), I am not exactly sure of the date. 15 Q. How long did that meeting last? 16 A. I don't recall exactly, an hour or 17 two. 18 Q. Was anyone else present? 19 A. No. 20 Q. The second meeting that you said 21 you had with counsel, when did that take 22 place? 23 A. Yesterday. No, not yesterday, the 24 day before. 25 Q. How long did that meeting take FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 13 1 Anerella 2 place? 3 A. 15 to 20 minutes. 4 Q. Was anyone else present? 5 A. No. 6 Q. Did you review any documents to 7 prepare for this deposition? 8 A. Other than my e-mails, no. 9 Q. Have you reviewed some e-mails to 10 prepare for this deposition? 11 A. Some of my e-mails, yes, I looked 12 through them. 13 Q. Which e-mails did you look at? 14 A. There were countless e-mails just 15 to see what might be relevant or not. 16 Q. Approximately how many e-mails did 17 you look through? 18 A. Did I actually read? 19 Q. Sure. 20 A. Probably 15. 21 Q. How many do you think that you 22 might have flipped through? 23 A. A lot. 24 Q. Understood. 25 Other than -- withdrawn. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 14 1 Anerella 2 Those e-mails you were just 3 discussing, were those all sent from you or 4 did you review e-mails that were also sent 5 from others? 6 A. Both. 7 Q. Other than e-mails did you review 8 any other documents? 9 A. No. 10 Q. If there were any did you review 11 any attachments to e-mails? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. Okay. 14 Which attachments did you review? 15 A. I reviewed the application for 16 extension of the policy. 17 Q. Anything else? 18 A. Not that I can recall. 19 Q. Why did you review the application 20 for extension? 21 MS. MANOBIANCA: Objection, calls 22 for contents of conversation which I may 23 or may not have had with my clients. 24 Q. I don't want to hear about any 25 conversations you had with your attorney. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 15 1 Anerella 2 DI 3 MS. MANOBIANCA: If you don't want 4 to hear about the conversation I may have 5 had with her then you should withdraw 6 your question because the rationale or 7 basis for the reasons for the reviewing 8 of documents is very dangerously close to 9 the line of seeking information regarding 10 our discussion. You don't have to answer 11 that, Jeannine. 12 Q. What was the highest level of 13 education that you have completed? 14 A. I have bachelor's degree. 15 Q. In what subject area? 16 A. Law. 17 Q. Where did you earn that degree? 18 A. St. John's University. 19 Q. What state is that in? 20 A. New York. 21 Q. What year did you graduate? 22 A. Oh, I would really have to think 23 about that, '92. 24 Q. What degree did you earn? 25 A. A bachelor's degree, Bachelor of FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 16 1 Anerella 2 Science. 3 Q. Do you have any -- 4 A. I believe, I'm not, I'm not sure 5 actually. 6 Q. Understood. 7 Do you have any certifications or 8 licenses? 9 A. No, aside from a driver's license. 10 Q. Okay. 11 Are you currently employed? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. Who is your current employer? 14 A. E. E. Cruz and Company, Inc. 15 Q. That is the plaintiff of the 16 lawsuit that brings us here today? 17 A. Correct. 18 Q. For the rest of this deposition 19 I'm going to refer to plaintiff E. E. Cruz and 20 Company, Inc as either E. E. Cruz or plaintiff 21 or the company. 22 Does that make sense? 23 A. Sure. 24 Q. Okay. 25 How long have you been working for FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 17 1 Anerella 2 E. E. Cruz? 3 A. 15 years. 4 Q. What is your current role at E. E. 5 Cruz? 6 A. My current role is procurement 7 manager. 8 Q. How long have you held that role? 9 A. Almost two years. 10 Q. Okay. 11 What are your job responsibilities 12 in your role as procurement manager? 13 A. In my role as procurement manager 14 my job responsibilities are to solicit 15 quotations for projects that we are bidding, 16 and to negotiate contracts with the apparent 17 low bidder. 18 Q. When you say solicit quotes for 19 projects, who would you solicit those quotes 20 to or from? 21 A. Subcontractors or vendors that we 22 deal with. 23 Q. Does this role involve insurance 24 companies? 25 A. My procurement manager role does FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 18 1 Anerella 2 not. 3 Q. You said you have been working as 4 a procurement manager for about two years, 5 what was your role before that? 6 A. Before that I didn't actually have 7 a title. I guess you would have said on 8 record it would have been administrative 9 assistant executive. 10 Q. How long did you hold that general 11 role? 12 A. That title, 13 years. 13 Q. When you began working for E. E. 14 Cruz you began in that title? 15 A. Administration and HR. 16 Q. What were your job responsibi- 17 lities in that role? 18 A. There were a lot, many different 19 hats. 20 Q. Okay. 21 Did you have any job responsi- 22 bilities related to insurance? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. What were those? 25 A. I handled all of our Workers' FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/28/2022 05:53 PM INDEX NO. 652321/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 99 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/28/2022 Page 19 1 Anerella 2 Compensation claims which I still