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FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
EXHIBIT K
FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
[Page 1]
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK
xxxxxx xxxxxxxx on behalf of CW S Wh, an
infant under the age of 18, and xxxxxx xxxxxxxx,
Individually,
PLAINTIFFS,
- against - INDEX NO.: 026910/12
RONALD J. TADEO, M.D., RICHARD PITCH, M.D.,
SCOTT BERLIN, M.D., SHORE PSYCHIATRIC CENTER,
FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND, BERLIN OBGYN
ASSOCIATES, JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. k/n/a
ORTHO-MCNEIL-JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. and
ZYDUS PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC.,
DEFENDANTS.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -y
DATE: October 22, 2014
TIME: 10:48 A.M.
EXAMINATION BEFORE TRIAL of a
Defendant, RICHARD J. PITCH, M.D., taken by the
Plaintiff, pursuant to a Court Order, held at the
LAW OFFICES of MITCHELL J. ANGEL, PLLC, 170 Old
Country Road, Mineola, New York 11501, before a
Notary Public of the State of New York.
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FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1
2 A P P E A R A N C E S:
3
4 NAPOLI BERN RIPKA SHKOLNIK, LLP
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
5 Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7413
6 New York, New York 10118
BY: DANIELLE L. BRENNER, ESQ.
7
8
BOWER LAW P.C.
9 Attorneys for Defendants
RONALD J. TADDEO, M.D. s/h/a
10 RONALD J. TADEO, M.D. and
SHORE PSYCHIATRIC CENTER
11 1220 RXR Plaza
Uniondale, New York 11556
12 BY: ANINA H. MONTE, ESQ.
FILE #: 199.124
13
14
LAW OFFICES OF MITCHELL J. ANGEL, PLLC
15 Attorneys for Defendant
RICHARD PITCH, M.D.
16 170 Old Country Road, Suite 210
Mineola, New York 11501
17 BY: ANGELA FABIANO, ESQ.
FILE #: MLM 37682
18
19
BARTLETT, McDONOUGH & MONAGHAN, LLP
20 Attorneys for Defendants
SCOTT BERLIN, M.D. and
21 BERLIN OB/GYN ASSOCIATES
170 Old Country Road, 4th Floor
22 Mineola, New York 11501
BY: GLEN T. PEWARSKI, ESQ.
23 FILE #: PRI 2440555
24
25
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NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1
2 A P P E A R A N C E S (Cont'd.):
3
4 KAUFMAN BORGEEST & RYAN LLP
Attorneys for Defendant
5 FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF LONG
ISLAND, P.C.
6 1205 Franklin Avenue, Suite 200
Garden City, New York 11530
7 BY: PATRICK A. DOLAN, ESQ.
FILE #: 508.166
8
9
PATTERSON BELKNAP WEBB & TYLER, LLP
10 Attorneys for Defendant
JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
11 1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
12 BY: MATTHEW W.J. WEBB, ESQ.
FILE #: J54102576
13
14
SILLS CUMMINS & GROSS, P.C.
15 Attorneys for Defendant
ZYDUS PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC.
16 30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112
17 BY: ANDREW W. SCHWARTZ, ESQ.
FILE #: 02520075-000001
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1
2 221. UNIFORM RULES FOR THE
CONDUCT OF DEPOSITIONS
3
221.1 Objections at Depositions
4 (a) Objections in general. No objections
shall be made at a deposition except those
5 which, pursuant to subdivision (b), (c) or (d)
of Rule 3115 of the Civil Practice Law and
6 Rules, would be waived if not interposed, and
except in compliance with subdivision (e) of
7 such rule. All objections made at a
deposition shall be noted by the officer
8 before whom the deposition is taken, and the
answer shall be given and the deposition shall
9 proceed subject to the objections and to the
right of a person to apply for appropriate
10 relief pursuant to Article 31 of the CPLR.
(b) Speaking objections restricted.
11 Every objection raised during a deposition
shall be stated succinctly and framed so as
12 not to suggest an answer to the deponent and,
at the request of the questioning attorney,
13 shall include a clear statement as to any
defect in form or other basis of error or
14 irregularity. Except to the extent permitted
by CPLR Rule 3115 or by this rule, during the
15 course of the examination persons in
attendance shall not make statements or
16 comments that interfere with the questioning.
17 221.2 Refusal to answer when objection is made.
A deponent shall answer all questions at
18 a deposition, except (i) to preserve a
privilege or right of confidentiality, (ii) to
19 enforce a linitation set forth in an order of
the court, or (iii) when the question is
20 plainly improper and would, if answered, cause
significant prejudice to any person. An
21 attorney shall not direct a deponent not to
answer except as provided in CPLR Rule 3115 or
22 this subdivision. Any refusal to answer or
direction not to answer shall be accompanied
23 by a succinct and clear statement of the basis
therefor. If the deponent does not answer a
24 question, the examining party shall have the
right to complete the remainder of the
25 deposition.
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FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1
I 2 221. UNIFORM RULES FOR THE
CONDUCT OF DEPOSITIONS
3
221.3 Com-munication with the deponent.
4 An attorney shall not interrupt the
deposition for the purpose of communicating
5 with the deponent unless all parties consent
or the communication is made for the purpose
6 of determining whether the question should not
be answered on the grounds set forth in
7 section 221.2 of these rules and, in such
event, the reason for the communication shall
8 be stated for the record succinctly and
clearly.
9
10
11 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED that
the transcript may be signed before any Notary
12 Public with the same force and effect as if
signed before a clerk or a Judge of the court.
13
14 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED that
the examination before trial may be utilized
15 for all purposes as provided by the CPLR.
16
IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED that
17 all rights provided to all parties by the CPLR
cannot be deemed waived and the appropriate
18 sections of the CPLR shall be controlling with
respect hereto.
19
20 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED by
and between the attorneys for the respective
21 parties hereto that a copy of this examination
shall be furnished, without charge, to the
22 attorneys representing the witness testifying
herein.
23
24
25
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NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1
2 R I C H A R D P I T C H, M.D., called as a
3 witness, having been first duly sworn by a Notary
4 Public of the State of New York, was examined and
5 testified as follows:
6 MS. BRENNER: We're just going to
7 mark this Plaintiff's Exhibit 1 for today.
8 I'll mark the CV Plaintiff's Exhibit 1, and
9 you have the original chart?
10 MS. FABIANO: Oh, yes. Right here.
11 MS. BRENNER: So we'll just mark
12 this in advance, too.
13 (Whereupon, the aforementioned
14 CV was marked as Plaintiff's Mrh-ibit No. 1
15 for identification as of this date by the
16 Reporter.)
17 (Whereupon, the aforementioned
18 original chart was marked as Plaintiff's
19 Rwhibit No. 2 for identification as of this
20 date by the Reporter.)
21 MS. FABIANO: Service at his office,
22 service of subpoenas?
23 MS. BRENNER: Yes.
24 EXAMINATION BY
25 MS. BRENNER:
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FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 Q. Please state your full name for the
3 record.
4 A. Richard J. Pitch, M.D.
5 Q. Where do you reside?
6 A. 11 Bondsburry Lane, Melville, New
7 York 11747.
8 Q. Good morning, Dr. Pitch.
9 A. Good morning.
10 Q. M:y name, as I said before, is
11 Danielle Brenner. I'm an attorney with the law
12 firm of Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik. Today I'm
13 going to be asking you some questions about some
14 care and treatment that you may have rendered to
15 my client, Mrs. xxxxxxxx.
16 Before I get started with those
17 guestions, I'm going to go over some instructions
18 for today's deposition. The first instruction I
19 have is to please make sure to keep your responses
20 verbal. We have the court reporter here today,
21 and she's going to need to hear your response in
22 order to take it down into the record.
23 The second instruction I have is to
24 please allow me to finish asking my questions
25 before you start giving me your response. You
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FILED: SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK 01/09/2019 02:38 PM INDEX NO. 026910/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 might be able to anticipate some of the questions
3 that I'm going to ask, but it will be difficult
4 for the court reporter to take down both of our
5 voices at the same time.
6 Third, if you do not understand a
7 question I'm asking, please let me know, I will
8 gladly rephrase it for you. Or if at any time
9 during the deposition that you would like to take
10 a break, I have no problem with that. The only
11 thing that I request is if I've asked a question,
12 you give me a response to the question before we
13 take the break.
14 And fifth, I understand that you're
15 a physician; and if at any point during the
16 deposition that you need to take a page or a call
17 regarding a patient, we can obviously go off the
18 record and you can handle that and then we'll get
19 back to the deposition. Do you have any questions
20 about the instructions that I've given you?
21 A. No.
22 Q. We've marked as Plaintiff's Exhibit
23 1 today a copy of your CV. When was your CV last
24 updated?
25 A. I think this was updated this year.
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 Q. And --
3 A. Actually, I could tell you for sure
4 in a sec --
5 Q. Okay.
6 A. -- because it was a -- it was
yes,
7 updated this year.
8 Q. And how is it that you're able to
9 tell that it was updated this year?
10 A. Because I presented a couple of
11 papers at a conference this year; and so on
12 Page 3, there's a couple of presentations from
13 May 2014, so it was updated for that.
14 Q. Now, I see that you're licensed to
15 practice medicine in the State of New York. What
16 year did you become licensed in?
17 A. 1991, yeah.
18 Q. Since obtaining your license to
19 practice medicine in the State of New York in
20 1991, has it ever been suspended?
21 A. No.
22 Q. And since obtaining your license to
23 practice medicine in the State of New York, has it
24 ever been revoked?
25 A. No.
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NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 Q. Are you licensed to practice
3 medicine in any state, outside of the State of
4 New York?
5 A. No; only New York.
6 Q. Have you ever been licensed to
7 practice medicine in any state, other than the
8 State of New York?
9 A. No.
10 Q. Are you Board Certified in any
11 specialty of medicine?
12 A. Psychiartry.
13 Q. And when did you first become Board
14 Certified in psychiartry?
15 A. 1997.
16 Q. Have you had to recertify, since
17 1997?
18 A. Yes, in 2007.
19 Q. Upon the completion of your
20 residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center,
21 did you take part in any fellowships?
22 A. No.
23 Q. During the course of your residency
24 at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, did you
25 perform any research related to the practice of
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 psychiartry?
3 A. During residency?
4 Q. Yes.
5 A. I don't r====ber. No, I didn't.
6 That where it says "research psychiatrist"
thing
7 was right after residency, if that's what you're
8 asking me about, yeah.
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. So that was from '95 to '97.
11 Q. Have you ever been employed by any
12 pharmaceutical agency or company?
13 A. No.
14 Q. Have you ever consulted for any
15 pharmaceutical company?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And what pharmaceutical companies
18 have you consulted for?
19 A. I actually don't remember the name
20 of the company. They're makers of Viibryd. I
21 can't remember the name of the company. I think
22 it's Forest.
23 Q. And during what years did you
24 consult for the makers of Viibryd?
25 A. Last year.
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NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 Q. And what was the nature of your
3 consultation?
4 A. I went speaking to a physician
5 practice, on one occasion.
6 Q. And what is Viibryd?
7 A. It's an antidepressant drug.
8 Q. Have you ever given any lectures
9 related to any pharmaceuticals throughout the
10 course of your career, other than the Viibryd that
11 we've already discussed?
12 A. I've given lectures about treatment,
13 but not about a specific drug; but the drugs would
14 certainly come up during the course of a lecture
15 on panic or depression or schizophrenia or other
16 disorders.
17 Q. And in what settings have you given
18 those lectures; have those been at conferences, in
19 an educational setting or something else?
20 A. There were a few conferences at the
21 hospital I worked at for a few years, at
22 Brookhaven Memorial hospital. Also, in speaking
23 about transcranial magnetic stimulation, which I
24 did for a while, we would include medication
25 treatments as part of the presentation.
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NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/09/2019
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 Q. During what years did you give
3 lectures relating to transcranial magnetic
4 stimulation?
5 A. 2010 to present.
6 Q. And the lectures relating to
7 transcranial magnetic stimulation, were those
8 solely at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital or at some
9 other location?
10 A. It was after. Yeah, it was after
11 Brookhaven.
12 Q. And where had those lectures been
13 given?
14 A. Some were at -- and this is also
15 originally for Neuronetics, which is a medical
16 device company, so those would be sometimes at
17 dinner conferences at restaurants. I've also
18 given informal lectures at my practice, inviting
19 other practitioners to it. And most recently, at
20 the National Association for Social Work, I think
21 that's the name, at Adelphi.
22 MR. PEWARSKI: What was the name of
23 the company?
24 A. Neuronetics. Although the last
25 lecture was not for Neuronetics, it was just about
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 TMS, which is transcranial magnetic stimulation.
3 So I think the lectures for consulting for
4 Neuronetics was probably 2010, 2011. I think that
5 stopped after that.
6 Q. Relating to those lectures that you
7 had given on TMS, have you created any written
8 materials?
9 A. Yeah; not for those lectures. At
10 the last from the TM -- the Clinical
conference,
11 TMS Society in New York, this year I presented two
12 posters with manuscripts attached to those
13 posters. And I'm involved in the society's
14 writing of some White Papers, but those are not
15 published yet.
16 I also participated in symposia at
17 that conference, but none of those were about
18 medications, per se; they were about EMS.
19 Q. The lectures that you had previously
20 given at Brookhaven Memorial hospital, did those
21 relate to a particular psychiatric condition?
22 A. I actually have to look at my CV to
23 remember which ones they were.
24 Q. Of course, refer to your CV at any
25 point.
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1 R. PITCH, M.D.
2 A. Okay, if I have them all there. Oh,
3 okay. I presented on panic and other anxiety
4 disorders, on psychological aspects of addiction,
5 on agitation and aggression in dementia and on
6 bipolar disorder.
7 Q. And is this a complete list of all
8 of the presentations that you gave, while at
9 Brookhaven Memorial Hospital?
10 A. I think so, yeah. I don't remember
11 any others.
12 Q. Did you create any written
13 materials, regarding the presentation on bipolar
14 disorder --
15 A. No.
16 Q. -- from October of 2003?
17 A. No.
18 Q. During the years 2009 and 2010, were
19 you participating in any research related to the
20 field of psychiartry?
21 A. I don't think so, no. I can't
22 remember any.
23 Q. During the years 2009 and 2010, you
24 were employed by Family Psychology of Long Island?
25 A. No, I'm not employed by them.
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