Preview
FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM INDEX NO. E2018005247
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023
MONROE COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS YOUR RECEIPT.
Receipt # 3648858
Book Page CIVIL
Return To: No. Pages: 800
Peter C. Demarco
151 Howell Street Instrument: EXHIBIT(S)
Canadaigua, NY 14424
Control #: 202311270345
Index #: E2018005247
Date: 11/27/2023
DeMarco, Debra A Time: 10:28:43 AM
DeMarco, Peter
MS
NS
JS
Severance, Dominick A
Severance, Ashley M
Total Fees Paid: $0.00
Employee:
State of New York
MONROE COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE
WARNING – THIS SHEET CONSTITUTES THE CLERKS
ENDORSEMENT, REQUIRED BY SECTION 317-a(5) &
SECTION 319 OF THE REAL PROPERTY LAW OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK. DO NOT DETACH OR REMOVE.
JAMIE ROMEO
MONROE COUNTY CLERK
202311270345 Index #
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NO. E2018005247
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EXHIBIT L of 11-24-23 Motion
to Modify an Existing Order
STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF MONROE
SUPREME COURT CIVIL TERM
---------------------------------------------X
PETER C. DE MARCO, : INDEX #
DEBRA A. DE MARCO, : E2018001703
Plaintiffs, :
-against- :
:
DOMINICK A. SEVERANCE, : Trial
ASHLEY M. SEVERANCE, :
Defendants. :
---------------------------------------------X
DEBRA A. DE MARCO, Petitioner, : INDEX #
PETER C. DE MARCO, Plaintiff, :E2018005247
:
-against- :
:
DOMINICK A. SEVERANCE, :
ASHLEY M. SEVERANCE, : Trial
Respondents, :
---------------------------------------------:
Hall of Justice
99 Exchange Boulevard
Rochester, New York 14614
June 15, 2021
BEFORE:
THE HONORABLE RICHARD A. DOLLINGER
Supreme Court Judge
APPEARANCES:
CHRISTINE REDFIELD, ESQ.
Ashley & DominIck Severance
RHIAN JONES, ESQ.
Attorney for Debra DeMarco
PETER C. DE MARCO, PRO SE
REPORTED BY: KAREN A. BIANCHI, NYACR, RPR
Senior Court Reporter
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to Modify an Existing Order
3
SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO
1 THE COURT: I'm going to introduce the --
2 have counsel introduce themselves in this matter. But
3 before we went there, we go there, I, ten minutes ago
4 participated in the zoom deposition of Mr. Paul.
5 I authorized and signed a subpoena
6 requiring Mr. Paul's attendance at a deposition in
7 this matter and I had scheduled it for nine o'clock
8 this morning. And I was hoping that the deposition
9 concur somewhat quickly, and we would then be in a
10 position where we could commence this trial and begin
11 moving this matter forward.
12 It was approximately quarter of
13 eleven when I had had contact with Counsel, because I
14 had sent an email message asking for a status report.
15 And then I had contact, Ms. Redfield
16 called me back and said the deposition was still going
17 on. It was at that point because of the entire staff
18 and all the parties were present at the time, that I
19 concluded the deposition should be suspended.
20 I then jumped on the zoom call with
21 Mr. Paul and his counsel were there. Ms. Redfield was
22 there. Mr. DeMarco, I understand you were briefly off
23 the call on a break, but nonetheless I suspended that
24 deposition and I ordered all parties to appear here on
25 the Teams platform so that we could commence the trial
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1 of this matter.
2 As everybody on this call knows, this
3 trial has been delayed forever. All right, seemingly
4 forever. From the Court's point of view, this matter
5 needs to get to a resolution.
6 It's the Court's intention to get to
7 the trial in the next two or three minutes so we can
8 get some distance established in this already
9 extensive case that's been on my docket for a long
10 time and that needs a final resolution.
11 So that's what I have done here this
12 morning in preparation for this hearing today. Any
13 questions at this point about the Court's posture in
14 this matter?
15 MS. JONES: Judge, I would just like to make
16 a record, please.
17 Judge, I was advised that you
18 appeared on the zoom call for the deposition by
19 Ms. Redfield. Mr. DeMarco -- neither Mr. DeMarco or I
20 were present when this occurred. Therefore, neither
21 of us had an opportunity to be heard prior to the
22 Court suspending the deposition.
23 It was the Court's directive that the
24 deposition occur today prior to the trial. And
25 certainly Mr. DeMarco is now being limited in terms of
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1 time constraints in order to conduct that deposition.
2 I would submit that's not appropriate and it's
3 curtailed Mr. DeMarco's ability to conduct discovery
4 as part of his case.
5 Certainly before we took a break on
6 the depositions, Mr. DeMarco was asking questions that
7 were directly relevant to the standing.
8 Particularly the grandparents efforts
9 to involve a professional in having him assessed in
10 contacting the parents and also assessed in gaining
11 contact with grandchildren and it was suspended at a
12 critical point, in my opinion.
13 Certainly, Mr. DeMarco has the right
14 to obtain that discovery before the trial begins.
15 That discovery would be relevant to any witness,
16 Judge, and the information obtained during it. Even
17 for witnesses that I would call on my direct case.
18 And so I would just make a general
19 objection also based on those specific objections to
20 the Court's act this morning. I understand this case
21 has been pending for quite sometime.
22 Although there's been much litigation
23 involved in Mr. DeMarco's efforts to have Tom Paul
24 become deposed, he did engage in avoidance of
25 deposition subpoenas, which resulted in the necessity
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1 of a contempt motion.
2 Certainly there could have been days
3 prior to today where we could have tried to have a
4 more and complete deposition, but it was the Court's
5 directive that we do this morning. And it was in my
6 recollection, Judge, that you limited Mr. DeMarco in
7 any way.
8 And so that would be my objection and
9 I would ask to be able to continue with the
10 deposition.
11 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, may I just respond
12 briefly to, Ms. Jones, just so we can make sure
13 there's a clear record.
14 The Court sent out an email
15 requesting Counsel and Mr. DeMarco contact him by
16 phone at 10:35 --
17 THE COURT: Hold on, Ms. Redfield.
18 Mr. DeMarco, do you have anything to
19 add to Ms. Jones' comments?
20 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I agree with
21 everything Ms. Jones has said. I think you know the
22 torturous path I've gone through to try to get
23 Mr. Paul to testify. I had frankly scheduled a whole
24 day of deposition with him, because as Ms. Rhian Jones
25 and others know, I have a lot of items to review.
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1 And, in fact, to try to shorten the
2 deposition today, I sent Ms. Vahey the majority of the
3 documents I intended to review with her so she could
4 review them with her client in advance.
5 So I made a good faith effort, Judge,
6 and I don't know what else to do any more.
7 I was worrying about running out the
8 clock, and that's what's happened.
9 THE COURT: Well, Ms. Redfield?
10 MS. REDFIELD: Thank you, Judge. As I was
11 saying I wanted to make sure the record is clear, you
12 had issued, sent out an email asking Counsel and
13 Mr. DeMarco to contact you at 10:35, and provided a
14 phone number that we should all call into.
15 I don't know whether that was seen by
16 anyone else. I did see it and called as quickly as I
17 could. At that point you inquired what the status of
18 the depositions were, and I simply informed you that
19 they were still going on.
20 And then, you know, you led the path
21 from there. Certainly, it's your call, you have the
22 discretion about whether or not and when we actually
23 start. So I just wanted to make sure that was on the
24 record. Thank you.
25 THE COURT: Here's my observation --
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1 Ms. Jones, excuse me, go ahead.
2 MS. JONES: Judge, just very briefly, I
3 didn't see an email because obviously we were involved
4 in virtual depositions, I wasn't checking my emails, I
5 apologize.
6 THE COURT: No, no, no apology necessary.
7 Go ahead.
8 MS. JONES: But I did leave a message with
9 chambers, it was approximately 9:59 a.m. this morning
10 just to advise the Court that we were engaged in
11 depositions and that I anticipated that they would
12 continue past ten a.m.
13 THE COURT: Well, here's my view. I don't
14 know what Mr. Paul's testimony is. That's number one.
15 Number two, there clearly has to be
16 established the testimony of the principals to get to
17 the issue of both standing and best interest before
18 Mr. Paul's analysis would be relevant.
19 Don't we all agree on that?
20 MR. DE MARCO: I agree, Judge.
21 THE COURT: I mean, Mr. DeMarco, you and
22 your wife would have to establish your efforts to
23 relate to your grandchildren over the opposition of
24 their parents.
25 That's the test. I mean, the test is
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1 relatively simple. In order to establish standing and
2 use the equity power that I described earlier in the
3 opinion that I wrote on this question, the question is
4 having been denied visitation, and your allegation
5 that it's the parents who have interfered with that,
6 that's your obligation to show to meet the standing
7 test and show, get to the best interest analysis
8 requires that you show that you have made diligent
9 efforts to establish a relationship with your
10 grandchildren.
11 Now I know that there are allegations
12 and prior affidavits that you or your spouse or both
13 of you together have attempted to do that. Those
14 affidavits are not proof at this time because they
15 weren't subject to cross examination.
16 Whatever Mr. Paul may add to your
17 efforts, sir, and your wife's efforts could easily be
18 considered in a further continuation of this hearing.
19 But it took us so long to get to the first date, it
20 seems to me that we need to begin to establish the
21 underlying ground for establishing confirming standing
22 before we get to the issue of whether it's in the best
23 interest of your grandchildren to have time with their
24 grandparents.
25 So my concern was Mr. Paul may have
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SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 10
1 something to add to your testimony but without
2 establishing it through your testimony, or your
3 wife's, now as the start of this, we don't go
4 anywhere.
5 MR. DE MARCO: I understand, Judge.
6 THE COURT: That's why my point was you
7 subpoenaed, and I signed subpoenas allowing you to
8 depose third party witnesses, but the fundamental part
9 of this case rests on the efforts by you and your
10 spouse. And if we don't get that proof, at least my
11 view of the law, we don't get to anything else.
12 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I agree. And I'm
13 going to let Ms. Jones lead the process for my wife
14 and me. However, I just want to make the point that I
15 avoided a contempt hearing. I tried to do this in
16 good faith through all the proper measures. I just
17 want it noted that I made those efforts and that's
18 all.
19 THE COURT: Mr. DeMarco, let me be clear
20 about one thing. I draw no adverse inference from the
21 fact that we were jammed into having the deposition
22 today before the trial.
23 My goal was to try to get this thing
24 heard as expeditiously as I could. I may have been
25 overly optimistic in trying to schedule both the trial
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1 and scheduling the deposition.
2 What I did not want to do is lose
3 this trial date, and the date -- we've got another day
4 tomorrow, right?
5 MS. REDFIELD: Correct.
6 THE COURT: I don't want to lose those days.
7 I want to get this process started.
8 What I need to let everybody
9 understand, if you or Ms. Jones make a motion at the
10 end of what would otherwise be your proof, to allow
11 the proof of Mr. Paul to testify, I will grant that
12 without question.
13 Or if you wish to bring Mr. Paul
14 forward for impeachment purposes on any other party, I
15 will allow that.
16 But my point is -- and I say this
17 with great respect to everyone -- we don't get to
18 Mr. Paul until the grandparents establish a prima
19 facie case of their efforts to establish a
20 relationship with their grandchildren. Subject, of
21 course, to cross examination, we don't get there.
22 So that was what was driving my
23 attempt to hold this trial and to allow the deposition
24 on the same date.
25 Everybody understand that context?
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1 MS. REDFIELD: Yes, Judge.
2 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge.
3 THE COURT: Are we ready to start this
4 hearing?
5 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge.
6 THE COURT: Could we have appearances for
7 the record then.
8 MS. REDFIELD: Christine Redfield on behalf
9 of and with Dominick and Ashley Severance, who are
10 present on the video call.
11 THE COURT: Welcome to the Severances.
12 MS. JONES: Rhian Jones with Debra DeMarco,
13 she's present with me in my office, Judge.
14 THE COURT: Welcome, Mrs. DeMarco.
15 MR. DE MARCO: Peter DeMarco here
16 representing myself.
17 THE COURT: Welcome, Mr. DeMarco.
18 Okay, do we have any opening
19 statements -- well, there's just one thing I want to
20 do for everyone, for the Severances and both the
21 DeMarco's.
22 See this? Everybody take a look at
23 it I and note Mr. DeMarco whether or not you can see
24 it, I'm holding it right on the screen.
25 Do you see what it is?
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1 MR. DE MARCO: Yes.
2 THE COURT: It's a blank pad.
3 During the course of the two years,
4 year and a half that I dealt with this case I've heard
5 a lot about this case, and the people involved, and I
6 read affidavits, I read memorandums, I wrote an
7 opinion.
8 The reason why I hold up that pad, is
9 because of my oath, as a member of this trial bench, I
10 want to give you an absolute assurance this is what I
11 know about this case.
12 The only thing I can rely on going
13 forward is the oral testimony that I hear from
14 witnesses, that I find to be credible under all the
15 circumstances. And documents that are admitted under
16 the rules of evidence in this state.
17 That's all that I put down on this
18 pad. That's all I will learn about this case is what
19 people tell me and that I find truthful, and documents
20 that are admitted under the rules of evidence that I
21 find to be credible.
22 I give everyone that assurance at the
23 start of this matter. That's where we start. It's a
24 clean slate.
25 Do we have opening statements?
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1 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, before we start
2 openings, I do need to bring two procedural issues to
3 the Court's determination.
4 I requested order of sequestrations.
5 There are at least four witnesses on this call right
6 now who should not be present at any time during this
7 video. There is not free access like as if we were in
8 person. And these people have not testified. I would
9 ask that they be immediately removed.
10 THE COURT: Who are they?
11 MS. REDFIELD: Danielle, I don't see the
12 last name.
13 THE COURT: Danielle Mancini is the intern
14 from my office who is a student at the State
15 University of Geneseo. She will not be a witness, she
16 will not be testifying.
17 Neither will Mr. Zach Schuler who is
18 a student at the University of Buffalo law school,
19 they are interns with me. They are observing trial
20 protocol and the dispute over issues involving family
21 law.
22 MS. REDFIELD: It appears that one of my
23 clients siblings Noelle is on the phone.
24 THE COURT: I don't know who that person is.
25 MS. REDFIELD: She is the NK that shows up.
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1 Their video is not on.
2 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, Ms. Redfield's right,
3 that's my other daughter Lt. Commander Noelle Kitenko.
4 So she was scheduled as a witness. So I will let
5 Ms. Jones handle that as her witness.
6 MS. KITENKO: I can drop off.
7 THE COURT: No, hold on. Here's the thing.
8 This is still a public proceeding and anyone can
9 participate and observe.
10 What everybody needs to know that if
11 you sit and observe under the sequestration order, you
12 cannot testify at any future time. We can't allow a
13 witness, a third-party witness to listen to the
14 testimony and then testify. I will not allow that.
15 To the extent, Ms. Kitenko, I hope I
16 pronounced that correctly, if anyone seeks that you
17 serve as a witness in this proceeding, you cannot
18 participate in this Teams platform until such time as
19 you are called as a witness.
20 Ms. Jones, is Ms. Kitenko going to
21 testify?
22 MS. JONES: She is, Judge. I think she
23 mistakenly logged on. I sent her the link for her
24 testimony. So I would ask that she log off, please.
25 THE COURT: Under those circumstances,
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1 Ms. Kitenko, I would ask you to log off. I thank you
2 for participating. You are a member of this family.
3 I understand the importance of family. And I'd simply
4 ask that you sign off until notified by either
5 Ms. Jones or by your father that you would be needed
6 as a witness.
7 Ms. Redfield, any other questions
8 about a sequestration order?
9 MS. REDFIELD: There's somebody else by the
10 name of Karen A. who's with last name starts with a B.
11 THE COURT: Ms. Bianchi is the court
12 reporter. She is indispensable.
13 MS. REDFIELD: No, you are absolutely right.
14 The whole name it doesn't always show up, so I wasn't
15 sure who it was.
16 THE COURT: That's fine. I think that's
17 appropriate under all the circumstances.
18 MS. REDFIELD: There are twenty-five people
19 listed on the witness list so it was difficult to
20 assess who was who. When all there are is circles and
21 first names.
22 THE COURT: That's fine. We've got that
23 taken care. Do you have any other motions before we
24 start?
25 MS. REDFIELD: Well, no note of issue has
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1 been filed in this case, Judge.
2 THE COURT: We'll rectify that by having
3 Mr. DeMarco or Ms. Jones file it as soon as possible.
4 MS. REDFIELD: The problem with that of
5 course is that part of the readiness for trial
6 statement is that all discovery has been done. That's
7 not the case.
8 THE COURT: Well, I understand that, but I'm
9 going to waive that provision to allow this trial to
10 go forward based on where we are today.
11 MS. REDFIELD: Okay. So one of them will
12 file the note of issue?
13 THE COURT: Yes.
14 MS. REDFIELD: Okay. Those were the two
15 issues I had, Judge.
16 THE COURT: All right. With all that, do we
17 have any other preliminary matters, Ms. Jones?
18 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge, I do. I just want
19 to make sure I reviewed the evidence room that the
20 Court provided, I didn't see a witness list uploaded
21 by Ms. Redfield or any exhibits, I just want to make
22 sure I didn't miss anything.
23 MS. REDFIELD: You did not.
24 My clients will be testifying, as
25 would be expected, and I did not upload anything, I
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1 have no burden of proof in the standing issue between
2 Mr. DeMarco and Ms. Jones, they uploaded three hundred
3 thirty-five documents. If I need any of those, I will
4 refer to their numbering system.
5 THE COURT: I'm okay with that for the time
6 being. Ms. Jones, do you have anything else to add?
7 MS. JONES: I do.
8 I understand that Ms. Redfield
9 continues to represent a plaintiff witness, Rita
10 Dorothy, who is my client's mother. She was served
11 with a trial subpoena yesterday. I just want to make
12 sure that there are no issues so they can be dealt
13 with now. I subpoena her to testify tomorrow at ten
14 a.m., Judge.
15 THE COURT: Ms. Redfield?
16 MS. REDFIELD: I don't have any issue with
17 it, Judge.
18 THE COURT: Well, but does that create a
19 conflict between your representing the Severances as
20 well?
21 MS. REDFIELD: I don't represent Miss
22 Dorothy in this proceeding.
23 THE COURT: You represent her in a
24 collateral proceeding?
25 MS. REDFIELD: Yes. In the civil suit that
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1 the DeMarcos filed against my clients and
2 Mrs. DeMarco's mother. Not in this proceeding. And
3 my understanding is that the DeMarcos are about to
4 withdraw that, so I don't think it is an issue at all.
5 THE COURT: Ms. Jones, is that still an
6 issue on the civil suit?
7 Let me just repeat that, so we are
8 clear.
9 Ms. Jones is there an issue if the
10 civil action is withdrawn or will be withdrawn? Has
11 it been withdrawn? What's its status?
12 MS. JONES: Judge, I don't represent either
13 of the DeMarcos in the civil action, but my
14 understanding is it's in the process of being
15 withdrawn.
16 THE COURT: Mr. DeMarco, you have to unmute,
17 sir.
18 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I can comment on this.
19 Last week we gave direction to our
20 attorney's Jeffrey Wickes and Chuck Steinman to
21 withdraw the civil suit. They sent the notice to
22 Ms. Redfield.
23 Ms. Redfield refused to sign it, even
24 though it's following the rules. So there is --
25 Ms. Redfield wants signatures from us. So it's just
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1 an administrative step is what I understand.
2 It would have been completed, but
3 Ms. Redfield's requiring additional signatures is what
4 I understand is the issue.
5 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, with all due respect
6 on Friday afternoon Mr. Steinman forwarded to me a
7 stipulation of discontinuance that had not been signed
8 by anyone. And it did not contain a space for the
9 parties to sign it.
10 I simply told him that they should
11 sign it in front of a notary. The attorneys will sign
12 it afterwards. But that they also needed to give me a
13 decision with respect to Miss Dorothy, which I have
14 not received.
15 I presumed that they are withdrawing
16 against this ninety-year-old woman as well. So it's
17 in the works, but they have not gotten the signatures,
18 Mr. Steinman hasn't gotten the signature yet.
19 THE COURT: Here's the deal, I'm going to
20 rule that there's no conflict at this point of
21 Ms. Redfield or with the appearance of, in this case
22 it would be the great-grandmother, correct, Ms. Jones?
23 MS. JONES: Correct.
24 THE COURT: I don't see a conflict there.
25 I'm not going to deal with that question now. Let's
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1 see if we can get the civil action resolved and then
2 figure it out from there.
3 MS. JONES: Judge, one last thing. It's
4 just a timing issue. I have to be, I have to be
5 somewhere to pick up children at five p.m. twenty
6 minutes away. I want to make sure everyone
7 understands that. I wasn't able to get alternative
8 child care arrangements.
9 THE COURT: Just so everyone knows, hold on
10 a second. We will discontinue this proceeding at 4:30
11 for sure.
12 Ms. Jones, does that give you
13 sufficient time to do your child care issues?
14 MS. JONES: Yes. I appreciate that very
15 much, Judge.
16 THE COURT: Well, I'm not going to keep the
17 staff after 4:30 either. So we will discontinue this
18 proceeding at 4:30.
19 Here's our plan going forward, since
20 we are just starting now my intention would be, we are
21 going to work until 12:45. Then we are going to take
22 an hour and fifteen minute break, come back at two
23 o'clock. We will work from two until about 3:30.
24 We'll take a five minute break and then we'll work
25 from 3:35 through until 4:30.
202311270345 IndexNO.
INDEX #: E2018005247
E2018005247
FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023
SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 22
1 MS. REDFIELD: That's fine, Judge.
2 THE COURT: Everybody understand that
3 schedule?
4 MS. REDFIELD: Yes, Judge, that's good.
5 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, can I ask a quick
6 question. I'm assuming that the deposition of
7 Mr. Paul can continue after you've determined
8 standing, correct?
9 THE COURT: I would -- let me put it this
10 way: All I did was suspend Mr. Paul's deposition. I
11 told Mr. Paul and it's on the court reporter, Miss
12 Fillger who was taking the deposition, I told him that
13 I was simply suspending the deposition, that he
14 remained under subpoena and that at a convenient time
15 that we would agree at some time in the future, he
16 would continue his deposition, all right?
17 MR. DE MARCO: All right.
18 THE COURT: That was my determination, my
19 advice to him and my direction.
20 All right, do we have any other
21 preliminary matters that we need to deal with?
22 MS. REDFIELD: Nothing from me, Judge.
23 THE COURT: All
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IN THE MATTER OF: KRISTIN TIANA KABOUREK
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Case Number:
24STCP01521
Hearing Date:
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Dept:
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#W317936055 and #W960254166
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IN THE MATTER OF: MICHEAL HARRIS, JR
Jul 15, 2024 |
24STCP01522
Case Number:
24STCP01522
Hearing Date:
July 15, 2024
Dept:
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Petitioner must double check the spelling and legibility of the new name on the proposed decree.
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2024CUPT025209 IN THE MATTER OF: CARMEN LOPEZ
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF VENTURA
Tentative Ruling
2024CUPT025209: IN THE MATTER OF: CARMEN LOPEZ
07/19/2024 in Department 21
OSC - Name Change
The morning calendar in courtroom 21 will normally begin between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m. Please
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called.
The Court allows appearances by CourtCall but is not equipped for Zoom. If appearing by
CourtCall, call in no later than 8:15 a.m. If you intend to appear by CourtCall, you must make
arrangements with CourtCall by 4:00 p.m. the day before your scheduled hearing. Requests for
approval of a CourtCall appearance made on the morning of the hearing will not be granted. No
exceptions will be made.
With respect to the tentative ruling below, no notice of intent to appear is required. If you wish to
submit on the tentative ruling you can fax notice to Judge Riley's secretary, Ms. Sedillos at
805-289-8705, stating that you submit on the tentative. You may also email the Court at:
Courtroom21@ventura.courts.ca.gov with all counsel copied on the email. Do not call in lieu of
sending a fax or email. If you submit on the tentative without appearing and the opposing party
appears, the hearing will be conducted in your absence. If you are the moving party and do not
communicate to the Court that you submit on the tentative or you do not appear at the hearing,
the Court may deny your motion irrespective of the tentative.
Unless stated otherwise at the hearing, if a formal order is not signed at the hearing, the
prevailing party shall prepare a proposed order and comply with CRC 3.1312 subdivisions (a),
(b), (d) and (e). The signed order shall be served on all parties and a proof of service filed with
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Tentative Ruling
The Court GRANTS the petition for name change.
Analysis
The Petition appears to be properly filled out and is otherwise sufficient.
On July 5, 2024, Petitioner filed proof of publication of the Court’s Order to Show Cause in the
TRI-COUNTY SENTRY for four consecutive weeks, as required by Code of Civil Procedure
section 1277, subd. (a) and the Court’s May 28, 2024, Order to Show Cause. No objections
have been filed.
The Court has reviewed the CLETS information and found that it is not disqualifying.
Preview
FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM INDEX NO. E2018005247 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 MONROE COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS YOUR RECEIPT. Receipt # 3648858 Book Page CIVIL Return To: No. Pages: 800 Peter C. Demarco 151 Howell Street Instrument: EXHIBIT(S) Canadaigua, NY 14424 Control #: 202311270345 Index #: E2018005247 Date: 11/27/2023 DeMarco, Debra A Time: 10:28:43 AM DeMarco, Peter MS NS JS Severance, Dominick A Severance, Ashley M Total Fees Paid: $0.00 Employee: State of New York MONROE COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE WARNING – THIS SHEET CONSTITUTES THE CLERKS ENDORSEMENT, REQUIRED BY SECTION 317-a(5) & SECTION 319 OF THE REAL PROPERTY LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. DO NOT DETACH OR REMOVE. JAMIE ROMEO MONROE COUNTY CLERK 202311270345 Index # INDEX : E2018005247 NO. E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 EXHIBIT L of 11-24-23 Motion to Modify an Existing Order STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF MONROE SUPREME COURT CIVIL TERM ---------------------------------------------X PETER C. DE MARCO, : INDEX # DEBRA A. DE MARCO, : E2018001703 Plaintiffs, : -against- : : DOMINICK A. SEVERANCE, : Trial ASHLEY M. SEVERANCE, : Defendants. : ---------------------------------------------X DEBRA A. DE MARCO, Petitioner, : INDEX # PETER C. DE MARCO, Plaintiff, :E2018005247 : -against- : : DOMINICK A. SEVERANCE, : ASHLEY M. SEVERANCE, : Trial Respondents, : ---------------------------------------------: Hall of Justice 99 Exchange Boulevard Rochester, New York 14614 June 15, 2021 BEFORE: THE HONORABLE RICHARD A. DOLLINGER Supreme Court Judge APPEARANCES: CHRISTINE REDFIELD, ESQ. Ashley & DominIck Severance RHIAN JONES, ESQ. Attorney for Debra DeMarco PETER C. DE MARCO, PRO SE REPORTED BY: KAREN A. BIANCHI, NYACR, RPR Senior Court Reporter 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 2 1 I N D E X T O W I T N E S S E S 2 For the plaintiff Direct Cross Redirect Recross 3 Debra DeMarco 27 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 EXHIBIT L of 11-24-23 MotionRECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 to Modify an Existing Order 3 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 1 THE COURT: I'm going to introduce the -- 2 have counsel introduce themselves in this matter. But 3 before we went there, we go there, I, ten minutes ago 4 participated in the zoom deposition of Mr. Paul. 5 I authorized and signed a subpoena 6 requiring Mr. Paul's attendance at a deposition in 7 this matter and I had scheduled it for nine o'clock 8 this morning. And I was hoping that the deposition 9 concur somewhat quickly, and we would then be in a 10 position where we could commence this trial and begin 11 moving this matter forward. 12 It was approximately quarter of 13 eleven when I had had contact with Counsel, because I 14 had sent an email message asking for a status report. 15 And then I had contact, Ms. Redfield 16 called me back and said the deposition was still going 17 on. It was at that point because of the entire staff 18 and all the parties were present at the time, that I 19 concluded the deposition should be suspended. 20 I then jumped on the zoom call with 21 Mr. Paul and his counsel were there. Ms. Redfield was 22 there. Mr. DeMarco, I understand you were briefly off 23 the call on a break, but nonetheless I suspended that 24 deposition and I ordered all parties to appear here on 25 the Teams platform so that we could commence the trial 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 4 1 of this matter. 2 As everybody on this call knows, this 3 trial has been delayed forever. All right, seemingly 4 forever. From the Court's point of view, this matter 5 needs to get to a resolution. 6 It's the Court's intention to get to 7 the trial in the next two or three minutes so we can 8 get some distance established in this already 9 extensive case that's been on my docket for a long 10 time and that needs a final resolution. 11 So that's what I have done here this 12 morning in preparation for this hearing today. Any 13 questions at this point about the Court's posture in 14 this matter? 15 MS. JONES: Judge, I would just like to make 16 a record, please. 17 Judge, I was advised that you 18 appeared on the zoom call for the deposition by 19 Ms. Redfield. Mr. DeMarco -- neither Mr. DeMarco or I 20 were present when this occurred. Therefore, neither 21 of us had an opportunity to be heard prior to the 22 Court suspending the deposition. 23 It was the Court's directive that the 24 deposition occur today prior to the trial. And 25 certainly Mr. DeMarco is now being limited in terms of 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 5 1 time constraints in order to conduct that deposition. 2 I would submit that's not appropriate and it's 3 curtailed Mr. DeMarco's ability to conduct discovery 4 as part of his case. 5 Certainly before we took a break on 6 the depositions, Mr. DeMarco was asking questions that 7 were directly relevant to the standing. 8 Particularly the grandparents efforts 9 to involve a professional in having him assessed in 10 contacting the parents and also assessed in gaining 11 contact with grandchildren and it was suspended at a 12 critical point, in my opinion. 13 Certainly, Mr. DeMarco has the right 14 to obtain that discovery before the trial begins. 15 That discovery would be relevant to any witness, 16 Judge, and the information obtained during it. Even 17 for witnesses that I would call on my direct case. 18 And so I would just make a general 19 objection also based on those specific objections to 20 the Court's act this morning. I understand this case 21 has been pending for quite sometime. 22 Although there's been much litigation 23 involved in Mr. DeMarco's efforts to have Tom Paul 24 become deposed, he did engage in avoidance of 25 deposition subpoenas, which resulted in the necessity 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 6 1 of a contempt motion. 2 Certainly there could have been days 3 prior to today where we could have tried to have a 4 more and complete deposition, but it was the Court's 5 directive that we do this morning. And it was in my 6 recollection, Judge, that you limited Mr. DeMarco in 7 any way. 8 And so that would be my objection and 9 I would ask to be able to continue with the 10 deposition. 11 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, may I just respond 12 briefly to, Ms. Jones, just so we can make sure 13 there's a clear record. 14 The Court sent out an email 15 requesting Counsel and Mr. DeMarco contact him by 16 phone at 10:35 -- 17 THE COURT: Hold on, Ms. Redfield. 18 Mr. DeMarco, do you have anything to 19 add to Ms. Jones' comments? 20 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I agree with 21 everything Ms. Jones has said. I think you know the 22 torturous path I've gone through to try to get 23 Mr. Paul to testify. I had frankly scheduled a whole 24 day of deposition with him, because as Ms. Rhian Jones 25 and others know, I have a lot of items to review. 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 7 1 And, in fact, to try to shorten the 2 deposition today, I sent Ms. Vahey the majority of the 3 documents I intended to review with her so she could 4 review them with her client in advance. 5 So I made a good faith effort, Judge, 6 and I don't know what else to do any more. 7 I was worrying about running out the 8 clock, and that's what's happened. 9 THE COURT: Well, Ms. Redfield? 10 MS. REDFIELD: Thank you, Judge. As I was 11 saying I wanted to make sure the record is clear, you 12 had issued, sent out an email asking Counsel and 13 Mr. DeMarco to contact you at 10:35, and provided a 14 phone number that we should all call into. 15 I don't know whether that was seen by 16 anyone else. I did see it and called as quickly as I 17 could. At that point you inquired what the status of 18 the depositions were, and I simply informed you that 19 they were still going on. 20 And then, you know, you led the path 21 from there. Certainly, it's your call, you have the 22 discretion about whether or not and when we actually 23 start. So I just wanted to make sure that was on the 24 record. Thank you. 25 THE COURT: Here's my observation -- 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 8 1 Ms. Jones, excuse me, go ahead. 2 MS. JONES: Judge, just very briefly, I 3 didn't see an email because obviously we were involved 4 in virtual depositions, I wasn't checking my emails, I 5 apologize. 6 THE COURT: No, no, no apology necessary. 7 Go ahead. 8 MS. JONES: But I did leave a message with 9 chambers, it was approximately 9:59 a.m. this morning 10 just to advise the Court that we were engaged in 11 depositions and that I anticipated that they would 12 continue past ten a.m. 13 THE COURT: Well, here's my view. I don't 14 know what Mr. Paul's testimony is. That's number one. 15 Number two, there clearly has to be 16 established the testimony of the principals to get to 17 the issue of both standing and best interest before 18 Mr. Paul's analysis would be relevant. 19 Don't we all agree on that? 20 MR. DE MARCO: I agree, Judge. 21 THE COURT: I mean, Mr. DeMarco, you and 22 your wife would have to establish your efforts to 23 relate to your grandchildren over the opposition of 24 their parents. 25 That's the test. I mean, the test is 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 9 1 relatively simple. In order to establish standing and 2 use the equity power that I described earlier in the 3 opinion that I wrote on this question, the question is 4 having been denied visitation, and your allegation 5 that it's the parents who have interfered with that, 6 that's your obligation to show to meet the standing 7 test and show, get to the best interest analysis 8 requires that you show that you have made diligent 9 efforts to establish a relationship with your 10 grandchildren. 11 Now I know that there are allegations 12 and prior affidavits that you or your spouse or both 13 of you together have attempted to do that. Those 14 affidavits are not proof at this time because they 15 weren't subject to cross examination. 16 Whatever Mr. Paul may add to your 17 efforts, sir, and your wife's efforts could easily be 18 considered in a further continuation of this hearing. 19 But it took us so long to get to the first date, it 20 seems to me that we need to begin to establish the 21 underlying ground for establishing confirming standing 22 before we get to the issue of whether it's in the best 23 interest of your grandchildren to have time with their 24 grandparents. 25 So my concern was Mr. Paul may have 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 10 1 something to add to your testimony but without 2 establishing it through your testimony, or your 3 wife's, now as the start of this, we don't go 4 anywhere. 5 MR. DE MARCO: I understand, Judge. 6 THE COURT: That's why my point was you 7 subpoenaed, and I signed subpoenas allowing you to 8 depose third party witnesses, but the fundamental part 9 of this case rests on the efforts by you and your 10 spouse. And if we don't get that proof, at least my 11 view of the law, we don't get to anything else. 12 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I agree. And I'm 13 going to let Ms. Jones lead the process for my wife 14 and me. However, I just want to make the point that I 15 avoided a contempt hearing. I tried to do this in 16 good faith through all the proper measures. I just 17 want it noted that I made those efforts and that's 18 all. 19 THE COURT: Mr. DeMarco, let me be clear 20 about one thing. I draw no adverse inference from the 21 fact that we were jammed into having the deposition 22 today before the trial. 23 My goal was to try to get this thing 24 heard as expeditiously as I could. I may have been 25 overly optimistic in trying to schedule both the trial 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 11 1 and scheduling the deposition. 2 What I did not want to do is lose 3 this trial date, and the date -- we've got another day 4 tomorrow, right? 5 MS. REDFIELD: Correct. 6 THE COURT: I don't want to lose those days. 7 I want to get this process started. 8 What I need to let everybody 9 understand, if you or Ms. Jones make a motion at the 10 end of what would otherwise be your proof, to allow 11 the proof of Mr. Paul to testify, I will grant that 12 without question. 13 Or if you wish to bring Mr. Paul 14 forward for impeachment purposes on any other party, I 15 will allow that. 16 But my point is -- and I say this 17 with great respect to everyone -- we don't get to 18 Mr. Paul until the grandparents establish a prima 19 facie case of their efforts to establish a 20 relationship with their grandchildren. Subject, of 21 course, to cross examination, we don't get there. 22 So that was what was driving my 23 attempt to hold this trial and to allow the deposition 24 on the same date. 25 Everybody understand that context? 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 12 1 MS. REDFIELD: Yes, Judge. 2 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge. 3 THE COURT: Are we ready to start this 4 hearing? 5 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge. 6 THE COURT: Could we have appearances for 7 the record then. 8 MS. REDFIELD: Christine Redfield on behalf 9 of and with Dominick and Ashley Severance, who are 10 present on the video call. 11 THE COURT: Welcome to the Severances. 12 MS. JONES: Rhian Jones with Debra DeMarco, 13 she's present with me in my office, Judge. 14 THE COURT: Welcome, Mrs. DeMarco. 15 MR. DE MARCO: Peter DeMarco here 16 representing myself. 17 THE COURT: Welcome, Mr. DeMarco. 18 Okay, do we have any opening 19 statements -- well, there's just one thing I want to 20 do for everyone, for the Severances and both the 21 DeMarco's. 22 See this? Everybody take a look at 23 it I and note Mr. DeMarco whether or not you can see 24 it, I'm holding it right on the screen. 25 Do you see what it is? 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 13 1 MR. DE MARCO: Yes. 2 THE COURT: It's a blank pad. 3 During the course of the two years, 4 year and a half that I dealt with this case I've heard 5 a lot about this case, and the people involved, and I 6 read affidavits, I read memorandums, I wrote an 7 opinion. 8 The reason why I hold up that pad, is 9 because of my oath, as a member of this trial bench, I 10 want to give you an absolute assurance this is what I 11 know about this case. 12 The only thing I can rely on going 13 forward is the oral testimony that I hear from 14 witnesses, that I find to be credible under all the 15 circumstances. And documents that are admitted under 16 the rules of evidence in this state. 17 That's all that I put down on this 18 pad. That's all I will learn about this case is what 19 people tell me and that I find truthful, and documents 20 that are admitted under the rules of evidence that I 21 find to be credible. 22 I give everyone that assurance at the 23 start of this matter. That's where we start. It's a 24 clean slate. 25 Do we have opening statements? 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 14 1 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, before we start 2 openings, I do need to bring two procedural issues to 3 the Court's determination. 4 I requested order of sequestrations. 5 There are at least four witnesses on this call right 6 now who should not be present at any time during this 7 video. There is not free access like as if we were in 8 person. And these people have not testified. I would 9 ask that they be immediately removed. 10 THE COURT: Who are they? 11 MS. REDFIELD: Danielle, I don't see the 12 last name. 13 THE COURT: Danielle Mancini is the intern 14 from my office who is a student at the State 15 University of Geneseo. She will not be a witness, she 16 will not be testifying. 17 Neither will Mr. Zach Schuler who is 18 a student at the University of Buffalo law school, 19 they are interns with me. They are observing trial 20 protocol and the dispute over issues involving family 21 law. 22 MS. REDFIELD: It appears that one of my 23 clients siblings Noelle is on the phone. 24 THE COURT: I don't know who that person is. 25 MS. REDFIELD: She is the NK that shows up. 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 15 1 Their video is not on. 2 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, Ms. Redfield's right, 3 that's my other daughter Lt. Commander Noelle Kitenko. 4 So she was scheduled as a witness. So I will let 5 Ms. Jones handle that as her witness. 6 MS. KITENKO: I can drop off. 7 THE COURT: No, hold on. Here's the thing. 8 This is still a public proceeding and anyone can 9 participate and observe. 10 What everybody needs to know that if 11 you sit and observe under the sequestration order, you 12 cannot testify at any future time. We can't allow a 13 witness, a third-party witness to listen to the 14 testimony and then testify. I will not allow that. 15 To the extent, Ms. Kitenko, I hope I 16 pronounced that correctly, if anyone seeks that you 17 serve as a witness in this proceeding, you cannot 18 participate in this Teams platform until such time as 19 you are called as a witness. 20 Ms. Jones, is Ms. Kitenko going to 21 testify? 22 MS. JONES: She is, Judge. I think she 23 mistakenly logged on. I sent her the link for her 24 testimony. So I would ask that she log off, please. 25 THE COURT: Under those circumstances, 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 16 1 Ms. Kitenko, I would ask you to log off. I thank you 2 for participating. You are a member of this family. 3 I understand the importance of family. And I'd simply 4 ask that you sign off until notified by either 5 Ms. Jones or by your father that you would be needed 6 as a witness. 7 Ms. Redfield, any other questions 8 about a sequestration order? 9 MS. REDFIELD: There's somebody else by the 10 name of Karen A. who's with last name starts with a B. 11 THE COURT: Ms. Bianchi is the court 12 reporter. She is indispensable. 13 MS. REDFIELD: No, you are absolutely right. 14 The whole name it doesn't always show up, so I wasn't 15 sure who it was. 16 THE COURT: That's fine. I think that's 17 appropriate under all the circumstances. 18 MS. REDFIELD: There are twenty-five people 19 listed on the witness list so it was difficult to 20 assess who was who. When all there are is circles and 21 first names. 22 THE COURT: That's fine. We've got that 23 taken care. Do you have any other motions before we 24 start? 25 MS. REDFIELD: Well, no note of issue has 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 17 1 been filed in this case, Judge. 2 THE COURT: We'll rectify that by having 3 Mr. DeMarco or Ms. Jones file it as soon as possible. 4 MS. REDFIELD: The problem with that of 5 course is that part of the readiness for trial 6 statement is that all discovery has been done. That's 7 not the case. 8 THE COURT: Well, I understand that, but I'm 9 going to waive that provision to allow this trial to 10 go forward based on where we are today. 11 MS. REDFIELD: Okay. So one of them will 12 file the note of issue? 13 THE COURT: Yes. 14 MS. REDFIELD: Okay. Those were the two 15 issues I had, Judge. 16 THE COURT: All right. With all that, do we 17 have any other preliminary matters, Ms. Jones? 18 MS. JONES: Yes, Judge, I do. I just want 19 to make sure I reviewed the evidence room that the 20 Court provided, I didn't see a witness list uploaded 21 by Ms. Redfield or any exhibits, I just want to make 22 sure I didn't miss anything. 23 MS. REDFIELD: You did not. 24 My clients will be testifying, as 25 would be expected, and I did not upload anything, I 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 18 1 have no burden of proof in the standing issue between 2 Mr. DeMarco and Ms. Jones, they uploaded three hundred 3 thirty-five documents. If I need any of those, I will 4 refer to their numbering system. 5 THE COURT: I'm okay with that for the time 6 being. Ms. Jones, do you have anything else to add? 7 MS. JONES: I do. 8 I understand that Ms. Redfield 9 continues to represent a plaintiff witness, Rita 10 Dorothy, who is my client's mother. She was served 11 with a trial subpoena yesterday. I just want to make 12 sure that there are no issues so they can be dealt 13 with now. I subpoena her to testify tomorrow at ten 14 a.m., Judge. 15 THE COURT: Ms. Redfield? 16 MS. REDFIELD: I don't have any issue with 17 it, Judge. 18 THE COURT: Well, but does that create a 19 conflict between your representing the Severances as 20 well? 21 MS. REDFIELD: I don't represent Miss 22 Dorothy in this proceeding. 23 THE COURT: You represent her in a 24 collateral proceeding? 25 MS. REDFIELD: Yes. In the civil suit that 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 19 1 the DeMarcos filed against my clients and 2 Mrs. DeMarco's mother. Not in this proceeding. And 3 my understanding is that the DeMarcos are about to 4 withdraw that, so I don't think it is an issue at all. 5 THE COURT: Ms. Jones, is that still an 6 issue on the civil suit? 7 Let me just repeat that, so we are 8 clear. 9 Ms. Jones is there an issue if the 10 civil action is withdrawn or will be withdrawn? Has 11 it been withdrawn? What's its status? 12 MS. JONES: Judge, I don't represent either 13 of the DeMarcos in the civil action, but my 14 understanding is it's in the process of being 15 withdrawn. 16 THE COURT: Mr. DeMarco, you have to unmute, 17 sir. 18 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, I can comment on this. 19 Last week we gave direction to our 20 attorney's Jeffrey Wickes and Chuck Steinman to 21 withdraw the civil suit. They sent the notice to 22 Ms. Redfield. 23 Ms. Redfield refused to sign it, even 24 though it's following the rules. So there is -- 25 Ms. Redfield wants signatures from us. So it's just 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 20 1 an administrative step is what I understand. 2 It would have been completed, but 3 Ms. Redfield's requiring additional signatures is what 4 I understand is the issue. 5 MS. REDFIELD: Judge, with all due respect 6 on Friday afternoon Mr. Steinman forwarded to me a 7 stipulation of discontinuance that had not been signed 8 by anyone. And it did not contain a space for the 9 parties to sign it. 10 I simply told him that they should 11 sign it in front of a notary. The attorneys will sign 12 it afterwards. But that they also needed to give me a 13 decision with respect to Miss Dorothy, which I have 14 not received. 15 I presumed that they are withdrawing 16 against this ninety-year-old woman as well. So it's 17 in the works, but they have not gotten the signatures, 18 Mr. Steinman hasn't gotten the signature yet. 19 THE COURT: Here's the deal, I'm going to 20 rule that there's no conflict at this point of 21 Ms. Redfield or with the appearance of, in this case 22 it would be the great-grandmother, correct, Ms. Jones? 23 MS. JONES: Correct. 24 THE COURT: I don't see a conflict there. 25 I'm not going to deal with that question now. Let's 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 21 1 see if we can get the civil action resolved and then 2 figure it out from there. 3 MS. JONES: Judge, one last thing. It's 4 just a timing issue. I have to be, I have to be 5 somewhere to pick up children at five p.m. twenty 6 minutes away. I want to make sure everyone 7 understands that. I wasn't able to get alternative 8 child care arrangements. 9 THE COURT: Just so everyone knows, hold on 10 a second. We will discontinue this proceeding at 4:30 11 for sure. 12 Ms. Jones, does that give you 13 sufficient time to do your child care issues? 14 MS. JONES: Yes. I appreciate that very 15 much, Judge. 16 THE COURT: Well, I'm not going to keep the 17 staff after 4:30 either. So we will discontinue this 18 proceeding at 4:30. 19 Here's our plan going forward, since 20 we are just starting now my intention would be, we are 21 going to work until 12:45. Then we are going to take 22 an hour and fifteen minute break, come back at two 23 o'clock. We will work from two until about 3:30. 24 We'll take a five minute break and then we'll work 25 from 3:35 through until 4:30. 202311270345 IndexNO. INDEX #: E2018005247 E2018005247 FILED: MONROE COUNTY CLERK 11/24/2023 05:08 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 210 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/24/2023 SEVERANCE vs DE MARCO 22 1 MS. REDFIELD: That's fine, Judge. 2 THE COURT: Everybody understand that 3 schedule? 4 MS. REDFIELD: Yes, Judge, that's good. 5 MR. DE MARCO: Judge, can I ask a quick 6 question. I'm assuming that the deposition of 7 Mr. Paul can continue after you've determined 8 standing, correct? 9 THE COURT: I would -- let me put it this 10 way: All I did was suspend Mr. Paul's deposition. I 11 told Mr. Paul and it's on the court reporter, Miss 12 Fillger who was taking the deposition, I told him that 13 I was simply suspending the deposition, that he 14 remained under subpoena and that at a convenient time 15 that we would agree at some time in the future, he 16 would continue his deposition, all right? 17 MR. DE MARCO: All right. 18 THE COURT: That was my determination, my 19 advice to him and my direction. 20 All right, do we have any other 21 preliminary matters that we need to deal with? 22 MS. REDFIELD: Nothing from me, Judge. 23 THE COURT: All