On August 30, 2012 a
Letter,Correspondence
was filed
involving a dispute between
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx,
and
Berlin Obgyn Associates,
Family Psychology Of Long Island,
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. K N A Ortho-Mcneil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
Richard Pitch,
Ronald J Tadeo,
Scott Berlin,
Shore Psychiatric Center,
Zydus Pharmaceuticals Usa, Inc.,
for Tort
in the District Court of Suffolk County.
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xxxxxx L. xxxxxxx
Partner
JCiaccio@napolilaw.com
May 24, 2023
Via E-Mail and NYSCEF
The Honorable Christopher Modelewski, J.S.C.
Suffolk County Supreme Court
Re: xxxxxxxx v. Taddeo, M.D. Trial
Index No.: 026910/2012
Dear Justice Modelewski:
I represent the Plaintiff in this matter. I write with regard to the issues discussed in the OSC
submitted to this Court and request an adjournment of this matter on behalf of the Plaintiff, for the
reasons discussed in the Order to Show Cause and the reasons outlined below. This request is not
made with consent of defense counsel.
First, as discussed in the Order to Show Cause filed, Plaintiff’s expert Dr. Reid is only
available to testify remotely due to changes in his surgery schedule. Defense counsel has consented
to remote testimony, however it appears as though this Court will not permit remote testimony. Dr.
Reid is a material and important expert witness to Plaintiff’s case, and as such, Plaintiff will be
materially prejudiced without his testimony. As discussed in the Order to Show Cause, the parties
were not able to raise this issue to this Court until May 23rd, when Your Honor was assigned as trial
judge.
Second, this morning I learned that our psychiatry expert, Dr. Geetha Jayaram, would no
longer be willing to testify, apparently due to her close relationship with the defense expert. I was not
aware of this issue until Dr. Jayaram e-mailed my office late last night, and had otherwise confirmed
with Dr. Jayaram that she would be available to testify on June 5th. We immediately served a
3101(d) for a replacement psychiatry expert, which was uploaded to NYSCEF this morning, which is
identical to the previously served 3101(d), other than substituting the expert. I have discussed this
issue with Ms. Monte, who has advised me that due to proximity of this substitution to trial, plans on
objecting to this disclosure. If this Court wishes, I can share the e-mail with our expert ex parte.
Due to the uncertainty of this issue, I also request an adjournment of the trial. I exchanged the
identity of our substitution expert immediately upon learning of this issue and this is not a willful
delay of this case. However if we are not going to be permitted to substitute this expert for trial
starting next week, Plaintiff will obviously be significantly prejudiced, making this adjournment
request necessary.
I apologize to the Court for the need for this application. Regardless of our various positions,
the parties jointly respectfully request either the opportunity to discuss this matter with Your Honor
NAPOLILAW.COM
400 Broadhollow Road – Suite 305, Melville, New York, 11747 | (212) 397-1000
or resolution of our request prior to the weekend. Both parties have made various arrangements for
the trial to start on Tuesday, including the defendant planning on flying to New York on Sunday.
I thank Your Honor for your attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
xxxxxx L. xxxxxxx
NAPOLILAW.COM
400 Broadhollow Road – Suite 305, Melville, New York, 11747 | (212) 397-1000
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xxxxxx L. xxxxxxx Partner JCiaccio@napolilaw.com May 24, 2023 Via E-Mail and NYSCEF The Honorable Christopher Modelewski, J.S.C. Suffolk County Supreme Court Re: xxxxxxxx v. Taddeo, M.D. Trial Index No.: 026910/2012 Dear Justice Modelewski: I represent the Plaintiff in this matter. I write with regard to the issues discussed in the OSC submitted to this Court and request an adjournment of this matter on behalf of the Plaintiff, for the reasons discussed in the Order to Show Cause and the reasons outlined below. This request is not made with consent of defense counsel. First, as discussed in the Order to Show Cause filed, Plaintiff’s expert Dr. Reid is only available to testify remotely due to changes in his surgery schedule. Defense counsel has consented to remote testimony, however it appears as though this Court will not permit remote testimony. Dr. Reid is a material and important expert witness to Plaintiff’s case, and as such, Plaintiff will be materially prejudiced without his testimony. As discussed in the Order to Show Cause, the parties were not able to raise this issue to this Court until May 23rd, when Your Honor was assigned as trial judge. Second, this morning I learned that our psychiatry expert, Dr. Geetha Jayaram, would no longer be willing to testify, apparently due to her close relationship with the defense expert. I was not aware of this issue until Dr. Jayaram e-mailed my office late last night, and had otherwise confirmed with Dr. Jayaram that she would be available to testify on June 5th. We immediately served a 3101(d) for a replacement psychiatry expert, which was uploaded to NYSCEF this morning, which is identical to the previously served 3101(d), other than substituting the expert. I have discussed this issue with Ms. Monte, who has advised me that due to proximity of this substitution to trial, plans on objecting to this disclosure. If this Court wishes, I can share the e-mail with our expert ex parte. Due to the uncertainty of this issue, I also request an adjournment of the trial. I exchanged the identity of our substitution expert immediately upon learning of this issue and this is not a willful delay of this case. However if we are not going to be permitted to substitute this expert for trial starting next week, Plaintiff will obviously be significantly prejudiced, making this adjournment request necessary. I apologize to the Court for the need for this application. Regardless of our various positions, the parties jointly respectfully request either the opportunity to discuss this matter with Your Honor NAPOLILAW.COM 400 Broadhollow Road – Suite 305, Melville, New York, 11747 | (212) 397-1000 or resolution of our request prior to the weekend. Both parties have made various arrangements for the trial to start on Tuesday, including the defendant planning on flying to New York on Sunday. I thank Your Honor for your attention to this matter. Respectfully, xxxxxx L. xxxxxxx NAPOLILAW.COM 400 Broadhollow Road – Suite 305, Melville, New York, 11747 | (212) 397-1000