On May 01, 2018 a
Letter,Correspondence
was filed
involving a dispute between
Darryl Nowak,
and
Sea Wolf Marine Transportation, Llc,
Weeks Marine,Inc.,
Wittich Brothers Marine, Inc,
for Torts - Other (Slip and fall)
in the District Court of New York County.
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New Jersey 151 Bodman Place, Suite 200, Red Bank, NJ 07701
Telephone: 732.530.4646 Telefax: 732.530.9536
New York 75 South Broadway, 4th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601
Telephone: 914.997.1100 Telefax: 914.997.1101
October 19, 2022
By NYSCEF
Hon. Shlomo Hagler
New York Supreme Court
New York County, Part 17
60 Center Street, Room 690
New York, NY 10007
Re: Nowak v. Sea Wolf Marine Transportation, LLC, et al.
Index No. 154000/2018
Dear Judge Hagler,
We represent defendant Weeks Marine, Inc. (“Weeks”) in this case. Presently
pending before Your Honor is defendants Sea Wolf Marine Transportation, LLC’s and
Wittich Brothers Marine, Inc.’s (collectively, “Wittich”) motion for an order permitting the
de bene esse deposition of non-party witness Louis Reyes (Motion #010). Reyes was
previously employed as a deckhand on Wittich’s tug, which plaintiff was attempting to
board at the time of his reported fall. We write to join in Wittich’s motion for the reasons
stated in Wittich’s motion and supporting affirmation.
Reyes is a critical witness given none of plaintiff’s co-workers who have been
deposed have been able to testify about plaintiff’s fall. Upon information and believe,
however, Reyes was in the best position to witness plaintiff’s incident and can testify about
the circumstances surrounding plaintiff’s incident.
www.bvgklaw.com
Given the nature of Reyes’ seafaring work, among other reasons, it has been difficult
and will remain difficult to obtain his testimony. Weeks has been taking its own steps to
secure Reyes’ deposition in his home state, and recently obtained a subpoena for that
purpose from the court in Delaware. (A copy of the subpoena issued for service on Reyes
is attached hereto as Exhibit A.) The witness’ recent cooperation with Wittich’s counsel to
appear voluntarily may make service of that subpoena unnecessary.
Given the significant importance of Reyes’ testimony, the difficulty in scheduling his
deposition, and the fact that the deposition will still fall within the current discovery period
for the completion of fact discovery, as more fully discussed in Wittich’s motion, we
respectfully request that Wittich’s motion be granted.
Any contention that Reyes’ October 31, 2022 deposition will delay this case is false.
Plaintiff’s counsel is solely responsible for the delays in this case, as is well documented in
defendants’ many motions to obtain simple discovery. Plaintiff’s counsel’s deliberate
efforts to thwart basic discovery with groundless objections should not be tolerated and
should be rejected out of hand by Your Honor.
Respectfully submitted,
BETANCOURT , VAN HEMMEN , GRECO & KENYON LLC
By: s/ Alton J. Evans, Jr.
AE/jc
cc Counsel of Record By NYSCEF
-2-
Document Filed Date
October 19, 2022
Case Filing Date
May 01, 2018
Category
Torts - Other (Slip and fall)
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New Jersey 151 Bodman Place, Suite 200, Red Bank, NJ 07701 Telephone: 732.530.4646 Telefax: 732.530.9536 New York 75 South Broadway, 4th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601 Telephone: 914.997.1100 Telefax: 914.997.1101 October 19, 2022 By NYSCEF Hon. Shlomo Hagler New York Supreme Court New York County, Part 17 60 Center Street, Room 690 New York, NY 10007 Re: Nowak v. Sea Wolf Marine Transportation, LLC, et al. Index No. 154000/2018 Dear Judge Hagler, We represent defendant Weeks Marine, Inc. (“Weeks”) in this case. Presently pending before Your Honor is defendants Sea Wolf Marine Transportation, LLC’s and Wittich Brothers Marine, Inc.’s (collectively, “Wittich”) motion for an order permitting the de bene esse deposition of non-party witness Louis Reyes (Motion #010). Reyes was previously employed as a deckhand on Wittich’s tug, which plaintiff was attempting to board at the time of his reported fall. We write to join in Wittich’s motion for the reasons stated in Wittich’s motion and supporting affirmation. Reyes is a critical witness given none of plaintiff’s co-workers who have been deposed have been able to testify about plaintiff’s fall. Upon information and believe, however, Reyes was in the best position to witness plaintiff’s incident and can testify about the circumstances surrounding plaintiff’s incident. www.bvgklaw.com Given the nature of Reyes’ seafaring work, among other reasons, it has been difficult and will remain difficult to obtain his testimony. Weeks has been taking its own steps to secure Reyes’ deposition in his home state, and recently obtained a subpoena for that purpose from the court in Delaware. (A copy of the subpoena issued for service on Reyes is attached hereto as Exhibit A.) The witness’ recent cooperation with Wittich’s counsel to appear voluntarily may make service of that subpoena unnecessary. Given the significant importance of Reyes’ testimony, the difficulty in scheduling his deposition, and the fact that the deposition will still fall within the current discovery period for the completion of fact discovery, as more fully discussed in Wittich’s motion, we respectfully request that Wittich’s motion be granted. Any contention that Reyes’ October 31, 2022 deposition will delay this case is false. Plaintiff’s counsel is solely responsible for the delays in this case, as is well documented in defendants’ many motions to obtain simple discovery. Plaintiff’s counsel’s deliberate efforts to thwart basic discovery with groundless objections should not be tolerated and should be rejected out of hand by Your Honor. Respectfully submitted, BETANCOURT , VAN HEMMEN , GRECO & KENYON LLC By: s/ Alton J. Evans, Jr. AE/jc cc Counsel of Record By NYSCEF -2-