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FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022
EXHIBIT E
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022
Date of Notice: Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Case Title: Flanders, Rebecca vs. Goodfellow, Stephen
Deponent: Stephen M. Goodfellow
Taken on: 11/18/2020
Justin Harmon, Esq.
Santacrose & Frary
Columbia Circle Office Pk, 1 Columbia Cir.
Albany, NY 12203
Dear Mr. Harmon:
Enclosed you will find a copy of the above-captioned deposition, the Errata Sheet.
Advise the deponent to review the transcript, and sign and date the Errata Sheet under penalty of
perjury. The deponent may note any corrections on the Errata Sheet that must also be signed and
dated. Please do not obliterate the answer as originally transcribed.
The deponent has 30 days from the date of this notice within which to read the transcript. Return
the signed documents to our office at:
Litigation Services
3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700
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or via email- transcripts@litgationservices.com
Thank you for your anticipated prompt and courteous attention to this matter.
Best Regards,
Fredrick Deforest
LITIGATION SERVICES
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022
In the Matter Of:
Flanders, Rebecca vs Goodfellow, Stephen
STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW
November 18, 2020
Job Number: 683517-B
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FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022
1 STATE OF NEW YORK
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF ONONDAGA
2
3 REBECCA M. FLANDERS,
4 Plaintiff, Index No:
002769/20E
5 -against-
6 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW and MICHELLE GOODFELLOW,
7 Defendants.
8
Deposition of: STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW
9
10
11 DATE: November 18, 2020
12 TIME: 12:25 p.m. - 1:25 p.m.
13 HELD: Via Videoconference
14
15
16 BEFORE: Stephanie Picozzi, CRR, RPR
Certified Realtime Reporter and
17 Notary Public in and for the
State of New York
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 Job No. 683517-B
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1 A P P E A R A N C E S:
2 APPEARING FOR THE PLAINTIFF:
3 WILLIAM MATTAR, P.C.
6720 Main Street, Suite 100
4 Williamsville, New York 14221
(716) 633-3535
5 BY: DUANE D. SCHOONMAKER, ESQ.
dschoonmaker@williammattar.com
6
7
APPEARING FOR THE DEFENDANTS:
8
SANTACROSE & FRARY
9 One Columbia Circle
Albany, New York 12203
10 (518) 452-0802
BY: JUSTIN HARMON, ESQ.
11 justin.harmon@libertymutual.com
12
13 Also Present:
14 Rebecca M. Flanders
Michelle Goodfellow
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1
S T I P U L A T I O N S
2
3 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the
attorneys for the respective parties hereto,
4 that:
5
6 All rights provided by the C.P.L.R., and
Part 221 of the Uniform Rules for the Conduct of
7 Depositions, including the right to object to
any question, except as to form, or to move to
8 strike any testimony at this examination is
reserved; and in addition, the failure to object
9 to any question or to move to strike any
testimony at this examination shall not be a bar
10 or waiver to make such motion at, and is
reserved to, the trial of this action.
11
12
This deposition may be sworn to by the
13 witness being examined before a Notary Public
other than the Notary Public before whom this
14 examination was begun, but the failure to do so
or to return the original of this deposition to
15 counsel, shall not be deemed a waiver of the
rights provided by Rule 3116 of the C.P.L.R.,
16 and shall be controlled thereby.
17
18 The filing of the original of this
deposition is waived.
19
20
IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED, that a copy of
21 this examination shall be furnished to the
attorney for the witness being examined without
22 charge.
23
24
25
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1 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW,
2 called as the witness, hereinbefore named, being
3 first duly cautioned and sworn or affirmed by
4 STEPHANIE PICOZZI, a Certified Shorthand Reporter and
5 Notary Public in and for the State of New York,
6 qualified in Saratoga County, herein to tell the
7 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
8 was examined and testified as follows:
9 EXAMINATION BY
10 MR. SCHOONMAKER:
11 Q. Good afternoon. My name is Duane Schoonmaker
12 and I represent Becki Flanders.
13 Much like your attorney indicated to Ms.
14 Flanders when her deposition began, I'm going to
15 be asking you some questions. If you don't
16 understand a question that I ask you, please let
17 me know and I will ask it again so, hopefully,
18 it makes more sense to you. Okay?
19 A. Okay.
20 Q. My intent is not to confuse you or trick you.
21 I'm just trying to get some information from
22 you. Fair enough?
23 A. Sure.
24 Q. If you could wait until I'm done asking a
25 question before you answer it, for the ease of
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1 our court reporter so she can get everything
2 down accurately. Okay?
3 A. Okay.
4 Q. And I will try and wait for you to finish an
5 answer before I ask the next question.
6 A. Okay.
7 Q. Fair enough?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Mr. Goodfellow, what is your home address?
10 A. 4260 Henneberry Road, Manlius, New York 13104.
11 Q. I'm sorry, I did not ask this before: Is your
12 wife in the room with you?
13 A. Yes, she is.
14 Q. Is there anybody else in the room with you?
15 A. No, no one here.
16 Q. The Henneberry Lane address that you gave us,
17 how long have you lived there?
18 A. A little over 19 years.
19 Q. Prior to December 8 of 2018, had you ever met my
20 client, Ms. Flanders?
21 A. No.
22 Q. We are here to discuss an incident that occurred
23 on December 8, 2018. Do you recall that
24 incident involving a dog and Ms. Flanders?
25 A. Yes.
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Q. Do you recall the day of the week that that
2 occurred?
3 A. Actually, I do. It was a Saturday because we
4 were getting ready to go to a basketball game.
5 Q. SU game?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Who is "we"?
8 A. My wife and I.
9 Q. On that date, was there anybody else who resided
10 in the house with you?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Who?
13 A. Our son Nicholas; he was not home at the time.
14 Q. Anybody else reside with you on that date?
15 A. Actually, our other son Jack. We have three
16 children, Jack, Carolyn and Nicholas. 2018,
17 Carolyn was -- yeah, she was still here. All
18 three actually resided. Since that time Jack
19 and Carolyn have their own places.
20 Q. Can you give me Carolyn's age?
21 A. She is 25. She will be 25 in two weeks.
22 Q. I will ask you, as well as Mrs. Goodfellow, if
23 you don't know an answer, don't look to her for
24 an answer or vice versa; give me your best
25 estimate and we can try and clear it up when the
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1 other testifies. Okay?
2 A. Sure.
3 Q. How old is Jack?
4 A. He is a twin with Carolyn.
5 Q. Nicholas?
6 A. Nicholas is 22.
7 Q. You mentioned that Carolyn and Jack have moved
8 out of the house. How about Nicholas? Does he
9 still reside with you?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. So on December 8 at the time of this attack, was
12 your wife the only other person in the house
13 with you at that time?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. On that date, how many dogs did you, your
16 family, own?
17 A. Two.
18 Q. What were their names?
19 A. Murdock and Dexter.
20 Q. What kind of dog was Murdock?
21 A. He is a hound and some other mix.
22 Q. And Dexter, what kind of dog was Dexter?
23 A. He is a retriever mix.
24 Q. How long had you owned Murdock as of December 8
25 of 2018?
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1 A. Probably, I'm guessing, two to three years. My
2 wife is better with that.
3 Q. How was it that you came to own Murdock? Did
4 you purchase him as a puppy? Did you get him
5 from a rescue?
6 A. We got him as a puppy from the SPCA.
7 Q. And Dexter, how long had you owned Dexter?
8 A. Going by memory here, probably a year prior to
9 Murdock, that's a guess.
10 Q. I don't want you to guess but if you have a best
11 estimate, that's fine.
12 How was it that you came to own Dexter?
13 A. The same, through the SPCA. We have done that
14 several times over the years.
15 Q. When you got Dexter, was Dexter also a puppy?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Did you own any other pets at that time?
18 A. At that time, no. We had dogs prior to that but
19 at that time, that was our only pets.
20 Q. Am I correct you would have first obtained
21 Murdock some time in 2015 or 2016?
22 A. Approximately. I mean, I can go back and look
23 at some records that we have but that's a guess.
24 Q. Which SPCA did you get Murdock from?
25 A. The one on Taft Road in Syracuse. I don't know
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1 if that's North Syracuse.
2 Q. Am I correct Murdock was the dog involved in
3 this attack?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. As of the date of the attack, was Murdock
6 considered full grown?
7 A. More or less I would say so.
8 Q. Sorry; you broke up a little bit on me. Can you
9 repeat that?
10 A. Yes. I believe he -- I would consider him full
11 grown. I don't think he has grown since.
12 Q. Can you estimate for us what his weight was as
13 of that date?
14 A. Again, purely an estimate but I would say 70
15 pounds, maybe 75, something like that.
16 Q. How tall from ground to head was Murdock?
17 A. If he is standing on his hind legs?
18 Q. If he is standing on all fours.
19 A. I don't know. A foot and a half, two feet,
20 something like that.
21 Q. If he is on his hind legs?
22 A. Probably four and a half, five feet. I don't
23 know if you measure him if he puts his legs out
24 straight or from his legs to his head.
25 Q. Did you have a vet that you would typically use
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1 for care of the dogs?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. What was the name of that veterinarian?
4 A. Rock Acres.
5 Q. Where is that located?
6 A. It's on Salt Springs Road. I believe it's a
7 Fayetteville address is where it is.
8 Q. Prior to the date of this attack, when was the
9 last time Murdock had been to the vet?
10 A. I don't recall offhand.
11 Q. Did you take Murdock there on a regular basis or
12 was it only on an as-needed basis?
13 A. He gets the vaccinations and he also gets -- I
14 don't know what it's actually called but tick
15 preventive medicine so we take him there as
16 needed and to get those other medicines.
17 Q. The home that you live at, how large a lot of
18 land do you have?
19 A. The house sits on about six and a half acres.
20 Q. Do you let the dogs run loose on your land?
21 A. No, we don't. Main reason is we had a previous
22 dog when we lived at our house before this that
23 was hit by a car and it was -- caused a lot of
24 pain so we don't let the dogs run free. And we
25 also have a lot of deer because we are kind of
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1 out in the country a little bit so every morning
2 there is deer in our backyard so we don't let
3 the dogs run free.
4 Q. Do you have a pen? Do you chain them? How do
5 you let them out?
6 A. On a leash.
7 Q. Do you walk them on the leash?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Do you have any type of fencing around your
10 property?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Prior to owning Murdock and Dexter, I think you
13 mentioned you owned previous dogs?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. For how long have you owned dogs?
16 A. Well, we have been married over 30 years and we
17 had dogs even prior to that so... Then growing
18 up, my family always had dogs.
19 Q. Say in the last 20 years, can you describe the
20 types of dogs that you have owned?
21 A. They were Labrador Retrievers mainly we had. 20
22 years. Prior to the current two dogs, we had
23 two black Labs and then prior to that we had a
24 yellow lab.
25 Q. Is there a reason why you from the time that you
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1 first purchased Murdock and Dexter, why you
2 didn't continue purchasing Labs?
3 A. Well, we went to the SPCA and as soon as we saw
4 Dexter and Murdock at the different times, we
5 just fell in love with them. Murdock, we have
6 numerous pictures of him when our son went with
7 us to the SPCA, he ran to our son and at that
8 time we considered it a no-brainer to go with
9 him.
10 Q. Is Murdock considered somebody's dog in the
11 house or is he a family pet?
12 A. I guess it depends who you ask. Everyone loves
13 him. At nighttime he does sleep in Nicholas'
14 room most of the time. Other times he sleeps in
15 our room.
16 Q. Would Nicholas consider Murdock his dog?
17 A. I guess I would have to ask him. He never
18 expressed that but I would say he tends to --
19 Nicholas tends to lean towards Murdock as his
20 favorite.
21 Q. Do you still own Murdock?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Was there a time that you or your family had
24 Murdock go to off-site training of some sort?
25 A. Yes.
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1 Q. When was that?
2 A. Spring/summer of 2018, summer.
3 Q. How long was Murdock at this training?
4 A. I don't recall offhand but it was -- he went --
5 the person took him and they also did training
6 here at our house.
7 Q. Who was this person?
8 A. It was a friend of someone that my wife knows
9 from work; Greg. I don't recall his last name
10 offhand.
11 Q. What was the purpose for this training?
12 A. Main reason, we have a very large backyard and
13 we wanted to be able to let him and Dexter, you
14 know, run free back there. And, you know, as I
15 mentioned, we have a lot of deer that are out
16 there and we were afraid he is going to run
17 away.
18 Q. Had Murdock been outside running free before
19 this at various points in time, before the
20 training at various points in time?
21 A. No.
22 Q. He had never been outside?
23 A. Well, not running free. You asked if he was
24 running free.
25 Q. So every time he had been outside before this,
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1 he would have been leashed?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. The leash, was it a stationary peg in the
4 ground, was it a line that he ran on or was it
5 something that you just held in your hand?
6 A. Something we held in our hand; those retractable
7 leashes.
8 Q. So if I understand correctly, every time Murdock
9 would have been outside before this, he would
10 have been leashed with somebody holding him?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And the leash was retractable?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Had Murdock ever run after squirrels, chipmunks,
15 deer before the date of this incident in
16 December?
17 A. He would have -- yes. As he is on the leash, he
18 would see a squirrel or whatever and just
19 naturally want to chase the squirrel or deer or
20 whatever.
21 Q. Had you witnessed this yourself?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Had you ever been with Murdock holding the leash
24 as he is doing that?
25 A. Yes.
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1 Q. Would it be fair to state that as Murdock grew
2 to be full size, close to 70 pounds or more,
3 that if he were to run after one of these
4 animals, wild animals, that he would pull you?
5 A. He would try. I'm a large guy so...
6 Q. Certainly you would have to offer some physical
7 resistance, otherwise, he would pull you to the
8 ground or pull the leash out of your hand?
9 MR. HARMON: Form.
10 Q. You can answer.
11 A. If he was going after a squirrel or a deer or
12 something like that, you know, if you didn't
13 have him on the leash he, would probably chase
14 after him.
15 Q. As he attempted to chase after these animals
16 while he was on the leash, would he bark?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Would he ever growl at any of these animals?
19 A. I never witnessed him growl.
20 Q. Would he ever bear his teeth at any of these
21 animals?
22 A. I have never witnessed him do it.
23 Q. You have never witnessed him bear his teeth?
24 A. No.
25 Q. To anything?
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1 A. To anything.
2 MR. HARMON: Form. You can answer.
3 A. No; not that I recall.
4 Q. So this person Greg who you gave Murdock or who
5 you sent Murdock off to be trained by, was this
6 a full-time job for this Greg person?
7 A. No. His business is power washing and he works
8 on farms. He has a main business.
9 Q. What do you mean he works on farms? He owns a
10 farm or power washes the farm?
11 A. I know that power washing is his main business
12 and he mentioned that he worked on farms too.
13 That's all I know. I don't know anything about
14 him other than that.
15 Q. Had you ever met him before he began to train
16 Murdock?
17 A. I haven't, no.
18 Q. Do you have any idea of his qualifications as a
19 dog trainer?
20 A. I personally do not. My wife was the one that
21 handled that.
22 Q. Did you pay Greg for this training?
23 A. More than likely I would say yes.
24 Q. Did you receive any type of documentation from
25 Greg with respect to the services he was
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1 providing or the training that he did provide?
2 A. No, nothing.
3 Q. Any e-mails, any text messages, any sort of
4 anything in writing?
5 A. No, I didn't receive anything.
6 Q. Did you ever speak to Greg?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Was this before or after the training or both?
9 A. During the training and after.
10 Q. How long did the training last?
11 A. I do not recall offhand two and a half years ago
12 but -- I don't recall offhand.
13 Q. You mentioned some of the training was done at
14 your house?
15 A. Yeah. I know that, you know, when he brought
16 him here, we wanted to try to keep him in the
17 yard so he was in the backyard.
18 Q. Were you a witness to any of that training?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. What did you observe with respect to that
21 training?
22 A. Well, he was throwing a toy and Murdock was
23 retrieving and bringing it back.
24 Q. Anything else?
25 A. Not that I recall. It was just basically
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1 throwing an object and showing us the results, I
2 guess, of the training.
3 Q. We can mark it later, if I can essentially
4 accomplish I'm trying to share a document that
5 your attorney provided to us. Let me see if I
6 can find it here.
7 Can you see the document that I have put on
8 the screen?
9 A. No, I can't. It just shows PDF.
10 Q. Your attorney provided what is labeled as a dog
11 warning card.
12 MR. HARMON: Duane, we can't see it.
13 MR. SCHOONMAKER: I understand that.
14 Q. Your attorney provided to me a copy, a
15 photograph, of a dog warning card for your
16 address.
17 A. Yup.
18 Q. Did you ever receive a dog warning card from the
19 U.S. Postal Service?
20 A. Never. I think the document that you are
21 referring to is that (indicating).
22 Q. Yes.
23 A. That was delivered on the same day that we were
24 served the papers and it is -- we checked with
25 the Post Office and they say it's not an
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1 official Post Office document so someone put
2 that in our mailbox.
3 Q. You don't know who put that in your mailbox?
4 A. I have a strong suspicion.
5 Q. What is your suspicion as to who put it in your
6 mailbox?
7 A. Someone known to Ms. Flanders since it happened
8 on the exact same day that we were served
9 papers.
10 Q. Who is it that you believe put it in your
11 mailbox?
12 A. Like I said, in my opinion it's someone that
13 Mrs. Flanders is aware of.
14 Q. That's fine. I want a name.
15 A. I don't have a name.
16 Q. What makes you think it's somebody that Mrs.
17 Flanders is aware of?
18 A. Considering our dog has never jumped or attacked
19 anyone using your terminology and it happened on
20 the same day we were served and her, as she
21 stated prior, that the Post Office has no flag
22 or no warning about us having a vicious dog, it
23 makes me believe that it was someone that she is
24 aware of.
25 Q. So let me be clear about this and I'm asking you
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1 to give me as much explicit information as you
2 believe you have. Do you think Mrs. Flanders
3 put this in your mailbox?
4 A. I don't know if she put it in the mailbox
5 herself.
6 Q. So you think either she or somebody that she
7 engaged put it in your mailbox?
8 A. In my opinion, yes.
9 Q. You said you contacted the Postal Service to
10 find out about this dog warning card?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Who did you contact at the Post Office?
13 A. Whoever the woman was at the front desk.
14 Q. Which Post Office did you go to?
15 A. Manlius.
16 Q. Do you recall the approximate date you would
17 have gone to the Manlius Post Office to inquire
18 about this dog warning card?
19 A. I don't recall offhand.
20 Q. The information in my file indicates that a
21 document commencing the lawsuit was served on
22 your house on March 25 of this year. Does that
23 sound about right to you?
24 A. That's in the range; yes.
25 Q. So it would have been on that day that you found
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1 this document, this dog warning card, in your
2 mailbox?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Has anybody ever complained to you prior to
5 December 8 of 2018 about the behavior of
6 Murdock?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Or the behavior of Dexter?
9 A. No.
10 Q. Or the behavior of any of the dogs that you have
11 owned in the last 20 years?
12 A. Not that I recall. We have never had any of our
13 dogs bite an individual, I know that for a fact.
14 Q. You had a Nest camera mounted on your porch?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Have you viewed the video of the attack?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. When was it that you realized that you had that
19 video?
20 A. It was probably -- that was a new camera so it
21 was probably some time in early January.
22 Q. So January of 2019 is when you realized that you
23 had that video?
24 A. Yes; as best as I recall.
25 Q. Has that video ever been altered?
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1 A. No.
2 Q. When is the last time you watched the video?
3 A. Probably a month or so ago we looked at it the
4 first time since.
5 Q. On that date, before Ms. Flanders got out of her
6 Postal Service vehicle, LLV I think is what they
7 referred to it as, did you realize that she had
8 pulled into your driveway?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Is that because you heard one or more of your
11 dogs barking?
12 A. We heard the dogs barking and her vehicle come
13 in the driveway so both those cases.
14 Q. Did you walk out your front door to greet her or
15 to take the packages and mail from her?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You broke up on me.
18 A. Yes, I did.
19 Q. On that date, did you realize before she pulled
20 into your driveway that your mailbox was down?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. How long had your mailbox been down for?
23 A. It was taken down that morning. It snowed that
24 morning.
25 Q. Is that the first time you ever had a mailbox
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1 taken down at that address?
2 A. No. Unfortunately, it's happened probably four
3 or five times since we have been here.
4 Q. When you went to, if I can say, greet Ms.
5 Flanders at the front door, did you leave the
6 door open?
7 A. I pulled the door behind me because Dexter, our
8 small dog, was right at my feet when I came to
9 the door but I didn't latch the door.
10 Q. Was Dexter outside or in the doorway with you?
11 A. He was behind me, behind the door.
12 Q. Where was Murdock?
13 A. He was in our -- what we call the dining room
14 which was adjacent to the front hallway. We
15 have large windows there and he sits in a chair
16 and that's where he is a good portion of the
17 day.
18 Q. So when Ms. Flanders handed you the mail, could
19 you hear Dexter running towards the front door?
20 A. Dexter was at my feet.
21 Q. Sorry; I misspoke.
22 Could you hear Murdock running towards the
23 front door?
24 A. I didn't hear him but you could sense at that
25 time he was in the living room barking.
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1 Q. Where is the living room in relation to the
2 front door?
3 A. I misspoke there. It was the dining room I
4 meant to say, not living room.
5 Q. So you are at the front door. He is barking?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Would that be typical for him to bark if anybody
8 came to the front door?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. As you are at the front door, you said you
11 pulled the door behind you but didn't completely
12 latch it. How much space was there between the
13 door opening and the door?
14 A. Couple of inches. I don't recall offhand.
15 Q. Well, is that the space that Murdock got through
16 to get outside?
17 A. Once he stuck his nose in the doorway, it pushed
18 the door open.
19 Q. How long had he been at the doorway to push the
20 doorway?
21 A. He came to the door. It wasn't like he was
22 sitting at the door.
23 Q. So he came to the door and he opened the door
24 with his nose?
25 A. I had my back to it so I'm assuming it was
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1 either Murdock or Dexter. I can't be a hundred
2 percent sure which one opened the door but at
3 the time Dexter was at my feet. I know that for
4 sure.
5 Q. What I'm trying to figure out is how long was it
6 that you realized Murdock was at the front door
7 before he lunged at Ms. Flanders?
8 A. It was instantaneous. I did not realize he was
9 at the door -- he was not at the door when I
10 first opened it to step out. So he ran to the
11 door from the dining room.
12 Q. As he ran to the door from the dining room, he
13 either opened the door or there was eno
Preview
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 EXHIBIT E FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 Date of Notice: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 Case Title: Flanders, Rebecca vs. Goodfellow, Stephen Deponent: Stephen M. Goodfellow Taken on: 11/18/2020 Justin Harmon, Esq. Santacrose & Frary Columbia Circle Office Pk, 1 Columbia Cir. Albany, NY 12203 Dear Mr. Harmon: Enclosed you will find a copy of the above-captioned deposition, the Errata Sheet. Advise the deponent to review the transcript, and sign and date the Errata Sheet under penalty of perjury. The deponent may note any corrections on the Errata Sheet that must also be signed and dated. Please do not obliterate the answer as originally transcribed. The deponent has 30 days from the date of this notice within which to read the transcript. Return the signed documents to our office at: Litigation Services 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700 Las Vegas, Nevada 89169 or via email- transcripts@litgationservices.com Thank you for your anticipated prompt and courteous attention to this matter. Best Regards, Fredrick Deforest LITIGATION SERVICES FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 In the Matter Of: Flanders, Rebecca vs Goodfellow, Stephen STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW November 18, 2020 Job Number: 683517-B Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 1 STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF ONONDAGA 2 3 REBECCA M. FLANDERS, 4 Plaintiff, Index No: 002769/20E 5 -against- 6 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW and MICHELLE GOODFELLOW, 7 Defendants. 8 Deposition of: STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW 9 10 11 DATE: November 18, 2020 12 TIME: 12:25 p.m. - 1:25 p.m. 13 HELD: Via Videoconference 14 15 16 BEFORE: Stephanie Picozzi, CRR, RPR Certified Realtime Reporter and 17 Notary Public in and for the State of New York 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Job No. 683517-B FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 2 1 A P P E A R A N C E S: 2 APPEARING FOR THE PLAINTIFF: 3 WILLIAM MATTAR, P.C. 6720 Main Street, Suite 100 4 Williamsville, New York 14221 (716) 633-3535 5 BY: DUANE D. SCHOONMAKER, ESQ. dschoonmaker@williammattar.com 6 7 APPEARING FOR THE DEFENDANTS: 8 SANTACROSE & FRARY 9 One Columbia Circle Albany, New York 12203 10 (518) 452-0802 BY: JUSTIN HARMON, ESQ. 11 justin.harmon@libertymutual.com 12 13 Also Present: 14 Rebecca M. Flanders Michelle Goodfellow 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 3 1 S T I P U L A T I O N S 2 3 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the attorneys for the respective parties hereto, 4 that: 5 6 All rights provided by the C.P.L.R., and Part 221 of the Uniform Rules for the Conduct of 7 Depositions, including the right to object to any question, except as to form, or to move to 8 strike any testimony at this examination is reserved; and in addition, the failure to object 9 to any question or to move to strike any testimony at this examination shall not be a bar 10 or waiver to make such motion at, and is reserved to, the trial of this action. 11 12 This deposition may be sworn to by the 13 witness being examined before a Notary Public other than the Notary Public before whom this 14 examination was begun, but the failure to do so or to return the original of this deposition to 15 counsel, shall not be deemed a waiver of the rights provided by Rule 3116 of the C.P.L.R., 16 and shall be controlled thereby. 17 18 The filing of the original of this deposition is waived. 19 20 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED, that a copy of 21 this examination shall be furnished to the attorney for the witness being examined without 22 charge. 23 24 25 Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 4 1 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW, 2 called as the witness, hereinbefore named, being 3 first duly cautioned and sworn or affirmed by 4 STEPHANIE PICOZZI, a Certified Shorthand Reporter and 5 Notary Public in and for the State of New York, 6 qualified in Saratoga County, herein to tell the 7 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 8 was examined and testified as follows: 9 EXAMINATION BY 10 MR. SCHOONMAKER: 11 Q. Good afternoon. My name is Duane Schoonmaker 12 and I represent Becki Flanders. 13 Much like your attorney indicated to Ms. 14 Flanders when her deposition began, I'm going to 15 be asking you some questions. If you don't 16 understand a question that I ask you, please let 17 me know and I will ask it again so, hopefully, 18 it makes more sense to you. Okay? 19 A. Okay. 20 Q. My intent is not to confuse you or trick you. 21 I'm just trying to get some information from 22 you. Fair enough? 23 A. Sure. 24 Q. If you could wait until I'm done asking a 25 question before you answer it, for the ease of Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 5 1 our court reporter so she can get everything 2 down accurately. Okay? 3 A. Okay. 4 Q. And I will try and wait for you to finish an 5 answer before I ask the next question. 6 A. Okay. 7 Q. Fair enough? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Mr. Goodfellow, what is your home address? 10 A. 4260 Henneberry Road, Manlius, New York 13104. 11 Q. I'm sorry, I did not ask this before: Is your 12 wife in the room with you? 13 A. Yes, she is. 14 Q. Is there anybody else in the room with you? 15 A. No, no one here. 16 Q. The Henneberry Lane address that you gave us, 17 how long have you lived there? 18 A. A little over 19 years. 19 Q. Prior to December 8 of 2018, had you ever met my 20 client, Ms. Flanders? 21 A. No. 22 Q. We are here to discuss an incident that occurred 23 on December 8, 2018. Do you recall that 24 incident involving a dog and Ms. Flanders? 25 A. Yes. Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 1 Page 6 Q. Do you recall the day of the week that that 2 occurred? 3 A. Actually, I do. It was a Saturday because we 4 were getting ready to go to a basketball game. 5 Q. SU game? 6 A. Yes. 7 Q. Who is "we"? 8 A. My wife and I. 9 Q. On that date, was there anybody else who resided 10 in the house with you? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. Who? 13 A. Our son Nicholas; he was not home at the time. 14 Q. Anybody else reside with you on that date? 15 A. Actually, our other son Jack. We have three 16 children, Jack, Carolyn and Nicholas. 2018, 17 Carolyn was -- yeah, she was still here. All 18 three actually resided. Since that time Jack 19 and Carolyn have their own places. 20 Q. Can you give me Carolyn's age? 21 A. She is 25. She will be 25 in two weeks. 22 Q. I will ask you, as well as Mrs. Goodfellow, if 23 you don't know an answer, don't look to her for 24 an answer or vice versa; give me your best 25 estimate and we can try and clear it up when the Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 7 1 other testifies. Okay? 2 A. Sure. 3 Q. How old is Jack? 4 A. He is a twin with Carolyn. 5 Q. Nicholas? 6 A. Nicholas is 22. 7 Q. You mentioned that Carolyn and Jack have moved 8 out of the house. How about Nicholas? Does he 9 still reside with you? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. So on December 8 at the time of this attack, was 12 your wife the only other person in the house 13 with you at that time? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. On that date, how many dogs did you, your 16 family, own? 17 A. Two. 18 Q. What were their names? 19 A. Murdock and Dexter. 20 Q. What kind of dog was Murdock? 21 A. He is a hound and some other mix. 22 Q. And Dexter, what kind of dog was Dexter? 23 A. He is a retriever mix. 24 Q. How long had you owned Murdock as of December 8 25 of 2018? Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 8 1 A. Probably, I'm guessing, two to three years. My 2 wife is better with that. 3 Q. How was it that you came to own Murdock? Did 4 you purchase him as a puppy? Did you get him 5 from a rescue? 6 A. We got him as a puppy from the SPCA. 7 Q. And Dexter, how long had you owned Dexter? 8 A. Going by memory here, probably a year prior to 9 Murdock, that's a guess. 10 Q. I don't want you to guess but if you have a best 11 estimate, that's fine. 12 How was it that you came to own Dexter? 13 A. The same, through the SPCA. We have done that 14 several times over the years. 15 Q. When you got Dexter, was Dexter also a puppy? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. Did you own any other pets at that time? 18 A. At that time, no. We had dogs prior to that but 19 at that time, that was our only pets. 20 Q. Am I correct you would have first obtained 21 Murdock some time in 2015 or 2016? 22 A. Approximately. I mean, I can go back and look 23 at some records that we have but that's a guess. 24 Q. Which SPCA did you get Murdock from? 25 A. The one on Taft Road in Syracuse. I don't know Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 9 1 if that's North Syracuse. 2 Q. Am I correct Murdock was the dog involved in 3 this attack? 4 A. Yes. 5 Q. As of the date of the attack, was Murdock 6 considered full grown? 7 A. More or less I would say so. 8 Q. Sorry; you broke up a little bit on me. Can you 9 repeat that? 10 A. Yes. I believe he -- I would consider him full 11 grown. I don't think he has grown since. 12 Q. Can you estimate for us what his weight was as 13 of that date? 14 A. Again, purely an estimate but I would say 70 15 pounds, maybe 75, something like that. 16 Q. How tall from ground to head was Murdock? 17 A. If he is standing on his hind legs? 18 Q. If he is standing on all fours. 19 A. I don't know. A foot and a half, two feet, 20 something like that. 21 Q. If he is on his hind legs? 22 A. Probably four and a half, five feet. I don't 23 know if you measure him if he puts his legs out 24 straight or from his legs to his head. 25 Q. Did you have a vet that you would typically use Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 10 1 for care of the dogs? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. What was the name of that veterinarian? 4 A. Rock Acres. 5 Q. Where is that located? 6 A. It's on Salt Springs Road. I believe it's a 7 Fayetteville address is where it is. 8 Q. Prior to the date of this attack, when was the 9 last time Murdock had been to the vet? 10 A. I don't recall offhand. 11 Q. Did you take Murdock there on a regular basis or 12 was it only on an as-needed basis? 13 A. He gets the vaccinations and he also gets -- I 14 don't know what it's actually called but tick 15 preventive medicine so we take him there as 16 needed and to get those other medicines. 17 Q. The home that you live at, how large a lot of 18 land do you have? 19 A. The house sits on about six and a half acres. 20 Q. Do you let the dogs run loose on your land? 21 A. No, we don't. Main reason is we had a previous 22 dog when we lived at our house before this that 23 was hit by a car and it was -- caused a lot of 24 pain so we don't let the dogs run free. And we 25 also have a lot of deer because we are kind of Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 11 1 out in the country a little bit so every morning 2 there is deer in our backyard so we don't let 3 the dogs run free. 4 Q. Do you have a pen? Do you chain them? How do 5 you let them out? 6 A. On a leash. 7 Q. Do you walk them on the leash? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Do you have any type of fencing around your 10 property? 11 A. No. 12 Q. Prior to owning Murdock and Dexter, I think you 13 mentioned you owned previous dogs? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. For how long have you owned dogs? 16 A. Well, we have been married over 30 years and we 17 had dogs even prior to that so... Then growing 18 up, my family always had dogs. 19 Q. Say in the last 20 years, can you describe the 20 types of dogs that you have owned? 21 A. They were Labrador Retrievers mainly we had. 20 22 years. Prior to the current two dogs, we had 23 two black Labs and then prior to that we had a 24 yellow lab. 25 Q. Is there a reason why you from the time that you Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 12 1 first purchased Murdock and Dexter, why you 2 didn't continue purchasing Labs? 3 A. Well, we went to the SPCA and as soon as we saw 4 Dexter and Murdock at the different times, we 5 just fell in love with them. Murdock, we have 6 numerous pictures of him when our son went with 7 us to the SPCA, he ran to our son and at that 8 time we considered it a no-brainer to go with 9 him. 10 Q. Is Murdock considered somebody's dog in the 11 house or is he a family pet? 12 A. I guess it depends who you ask. Everyone loves 13 him. At nighttime he does sleep in Nicholas' 14 room most of the time. Other times he sleeps in 15 our room. 16 Q. Would Nicholas consider Murdock his dog? 17 A. I guess I would have to ask him. He never 18 expressed that but I would say he tends to -- 19 Nicholas tends to lean towards Murdock as his 20 favorite. 21 Q. Do you still own Murdock? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Was there a time that you or your family had 24 Murdock go to off-site training of some sort? 25 A. Yes. Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 13 1 Q. When was that? 2 A. Spring/summer of 2018, summer. 3 Q. How long was Murdock at this training? 4 A. I don't recall offhand but it was -- he went -- 5 the person took him and they also did training 6 here at our house. 7 Q. Who was this person? 8 A. It was a friend of someone that my wife knows 9 from work; Greg. I don't recall his last name 10 offhand. 11 Q. What was the purpose for this training? 12 A. Main reason, we have a very large backyard and 13 we wanted to be able to let him and Dexter, you 14 know, run free back there. And, you know, as I 15 mentioned, we have a lot of deer that are out 16 there and we were afraid he is going to run 17 away. 18 Q. Had Murdock been outside running free before 19 this at various points in time, before the 20 training at various points in time? 21 A. No. 22 Q. He had never been outside? 23 A. Well, not running free. You asked if he was 24 running free. 25 Q. So every time he had been outside before this, Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 14 1 he would have been leashed? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. The leash, was it a stationary peg in the 4 ground, was it a line that he ran on or was it 5 something that you just held in your hand? 6 A. Something we held in our hand; those retractable 7 leashes. 8 Q. So if I understand correctly, every time Murdock 9 would have been outside before this, he would 10 have been leashed with somebody holding him? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. And the leash was retractable? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. Had Murdock ever run after squirrels, chipmunks, 15 deer before the date of this incident in 16 December? 17 A. He would have -- yes. As he is on the leash, he 18 would see a squirrel or whatever and just 19 naturally want to chase the squirrel or deer or 20 whatever. 21 Q. Had you witnessed this yourself? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Had you ever been with Murdock holding the leash 24 as he is doing that? 25 A. Yes. Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 15 1 Q. Would it be fair to state that as Murdock grew 2 to be full size, close to 70 pounds or more, 3 that if he were to run after one of these 4 animals, wild animals, that he would pull you? 5 A. He would try. I'm a large guy so... 6 Q. Certainly you would have to offer some physical 7 resistance, otherwise, he would pull you to the 8 ground or pull the leash out of your hand? 9 MR. HARMON: Form. 10 Q. You can answer. 11 A. If he was going after a squirrel or a deer or 12 something like that, you know, if you didn't 13 have him on the leash he, would probably chase 14 after him. 15 Q. As he attempted to chase after these animals 16 while he was on the leash, would he bark? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. Would he ever growl at any of these animals? 19 A. I never witnessed him growl. 20 Q. Would he ever bear his teeth at any of these 21 animals? 22 A. I have never witnessed him do it. 23 Q. You have never witnessed him bear his teeth? 24 A. No. 25 Q. To anything? Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 16 1 A. To anything. 2 MR. HARMON: Form. You can answer. 3 A. No; not that I recall. 4 Q. So this person Greg who you gave Murdock or who 5 you sent Murdock off to be trained by, was this 6 a full-time job for this Greg person? 7 A. No. His business is power washing and he works 8 on farms. He has a main business. 9 Q. What do you mean he works on farms? He owns a 10 farm or power washes the farm? 11 A. I know that power washing is his main business 12 and he mentioned that he worked on farms too. 13 That's all I know. I don't know anything about 14 him other than that. 15 Q. Had you ever met him before he began to train 16 Murdock? 17 A. I haven't, no. 18 Q. Do you have any idea of his qualifications as a 19 dog trainer? 20 A. I personally do not. My wife was the one that 21 handled that. 22 Q. Did you pay Greg for this training? 23 A. More than likely I would say yes. 24 Q. Did you receive any type of documentation from 25 Greg with respect to the services he was Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 17 1 providing or the training that he did provide? 2 A. No, nothing. 3 Q. Any e-mails, any text messages, any sort of 4 anything in writing? 5 A. No, I didn't receive anything. 6 Q. Did you ever speak to Greg? 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. Was this before or after the training or both? 9 A. During the training and after. 10 Q. How long did the training last? 11 A. I do not recall offhand two and a half years ago 12 but -- I don't recall offhand. 13 Q. You mentioned some of the training was done at 14 your house? 15 A. Yeah. I know that, you know, when he brought 16 him here, we wanted to try to keep him in the 17 yard so he was in the backyard. 18 Q. Were you a witness to any of that training? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. What did you observe with respect to that 21 training? 22 A. Well, he was throwing a toy and Murdock was 23 retrieving and bringing it back. 24 Q. Anything else? 25 A. Not that I recall. It was just basically Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 18 1 throwing an object and showing us the results, I 2 guess, of the training. 3 Q. We can mark it later, if I can essentially 4 accomplish I'm trying to share a document that 5 your attorney provided to us. Let me see if I 6 can find it here. 7 Can you see the document that I have put on 8 the screen? 9 A. No, I can't. It just shows PDF. 10 Q. Your attorney provided what is labeled as a dog 11 warning card. 12 MR. HARMON: Duane, we can't see it. 13 MR. SCHOONMAKER: I understand that. 14 Q. Your attorney provided to me a copy, a 15 photograph, of a dog warning card for your 16 address. 17 A. Yup. 18 Q. Did you ever receive a dog warning card from the 19 U.S. Postal Service? 20 A. Never. I think the document that you are 21 referring to is that (indicating). 22 Q. Yes. 23 A. That was delivered on the same day that we were 24 served the papers and it is -- we checked with 25 the Post Office and they say it's not an Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 19 1 official Post Office document so someone put 2 that in our mailbox. 3 Q. You don't know who put that in your mailbox? 4 A. I have a strong suspicion. 5 Q. What is your suspicion as to who put it in your 6 mailbox? 7 A. Someone known to Ms. Flanders since it happened 8 on the exact same day that we were served 9 papers. 10 Q. Who is it that you believe put it in your 11 mailbox? 12 A. Like I said, in my opinion it's someone that 13 Mrs. Flanders is aware of. 14 Q. That's fine. I want a name. 15 A. I don't have a name. 16 Q. What makes you think it's somebody that Mrs. 17 Flanders is aware of? 18 A. Considering our dog has never jumped or attacked 19 anyone using your terminology and it happened on 20 the same day we were served and her, as she 21 stated prior, that the Post Office has no flag 22 or no warning about us having a vicious dog, it 23 makes me believe that it was someone that she is 24 aware of. 25 Q. So let me be clear about this and I'm asking you Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 20 1 to give me as much explicit information as you 2 believe you have. Do you think Mrs. Flanders 3 put this in your mailbox? 4 A. I don't know if she put it in the mailbox 5 herself. 6 Q. So you think either she or somebody that she 7 engaged put it in your mailbox? 8 A. In my opinion, yes. 9 Q. You said you contacted the Postal Service to 10 find out about this dog warning card? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. Who did you contact at the Post Office? 13 A. Whoever the woman was at the front desk. 14 Q. Which Post Office did you go to? 15 A. Manlius. 16 Q. Do you recall the approximate date you would 17 have gone to the Manlius Post Office to inquire 18 about this dog warning card? 19 A. I don't recall offhand. 20 Q. The information in my file indicates that a 21 document commencing the lawsuit was served on 22 your house on March 25 of this year. Does that 23 sound about right to you? 24 A. That's in the range; yes. 25 Q. So it would have been on that day that you found Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 21 1 this document, this dog warning card, in your 2 mailbox? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. Has anybody ever complained to you prior to 5 December 8 of 2018 about the behavior of 6 Murdock? 7 A. No. 8 Q. Or the behavior of Dexter? 9 A. No. 10 Q. Or the behavior of any of the dogs that you have 11 owned in the last 20 years? 12 A. Not that I recall. We have never had any of our 13 dogs bite an individual, I know that for a fact. 14 Q. You had a Nest camera mounted on your porch? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. Have you viewed the video of the attack? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. When was it that you realized that you had that 19 video? 20 A. It was probably -- that was a new camera so it 21 was probably some time in early January. 22 Q. So January of 2019 is when you realized that you 23 had that video? 24 A. Yes; as best as I recall. 25 Q. Has that video ever been altered? Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 22 1 A. No. 2 Q. When is the last time you watched the video? 3 A. Probably a month or so ago we looked at it the 4 first time since. 5 Q. On that date, before Ms. Flanders got out of her 6 Postal Service vehicle, LLV I think is what they 7 referred to it as, did you realize that she had 8 pulled into your driveway? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. Is that because you heard one or more of your 11 dogs barking? 12 A. We heard the dogs barking and her vehicle come 13 in the driveway so both those cases. 14 Q. Did you walk out your front door to greet her or 15 to take the packages and mail from her? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. You broke up on me. 18 A. Yes, I did. 19 Q. On that date, did you realize before she pulled 20 into your driveway that your mailbox was down? 21 A. Yes. 22 Q. How long had your mailbox been down for? 23 A. It was taken down that morning. It snowed that 24 morning. 25 Q. Is that the first time you ever had a mailbox Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 23 1 taken down at that address? 2 A. No. Unfortunately, it's happened probably four 3 or five times since we have been here. 4 Q. When you went to, if I can say, greet Ms. 5 Flanders at the front door, did you leave the 6 door open? 7 A. I pulled the door behind me because Dexter, our 8 small dog, was right at my feet when I came to 9 the door but I didn't latch the door. 10 Q. Was Dexter outside or in the doorway with you? 11 A. He was behind me, behind the door. 12 Q. Where was Murdock? 13 A. He was in our -- what we call the dining room 14 which was adjacent to the front hallway. We 15 have large windows there and he sits in a chair 16 and that's where he is a good portion of the 17 day. 18 Q. So when Ms. Flanders handed you the mail, could 19 you hear Dexter running towards the front door? 20 A. Dexter was at my feet. 21 Q. Sorry; I misspoke. 22 Could you hear Murdock running towards the 23 front door? 24 A. I didn't hear him but you could sense at that 25 time he was in the living room barking. Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 24 1 Q. Where is the living room in relation to the 2 front door? 3 A. I misspoke there. It was the dining room I 4 meant to say, not living room. 5 Q. So you are at the front door. He is barking? 6 A. Yes. 7 Q. Would that be typical for him to bark if anybody 8 came to the front door? 9 A. Yes. 10 Q. As you are at the front door, you said you 11 pulled the door behind you but didn't completely 12 latch it. How much space was there between the 13 door opening and the door? 14 A. Couple of inches. I don't recall offhand. 15 Q. Well, is that the space that Murdock got through 16 to get outside? 17 A. Once he stuck his nose in the doorway, it pushed 18 the door open. 19 Q. How long had he been at the doorway to push the 20 doorway? 21 A. He came to the door. It wasn't like he was 22 sitting at the door. 23 Q. So he came to the door and he opened the door 24 with his nose? 25 A. I had my back to it so I'm assuming it was Litigation Services | 800-330-1112 www.litigationservices.com FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 04/27/2022 11:04 AM INDEX NO. 002769/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 47 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/27/2022 STEPHEN F. GOODFELLOW - 11/18/2020 Page 25 1 either Murdock or Dexter. I can't be a hundred 2 percent sure which one opened the door but at 3 the time Dexter was at my feet. I know that for 4 sure. 5 Q. What I'm trying to figure out is how long was it 6 that you realized Murdock was at the front door 7 before he lunged at Ms. Flanders? 8 A. It was instantaneous. I did not realize he was 9 at the door -- he was not at the door when I 10 first opened it to step out. So he ran to the 11 door from the dining room. 12 Q. As he ran to the door from the dining room, he 13 either opened the door or there was eno