
I WANT MY 9 MINUTES! The Esra Hudson saga.
MS. HUDSON: Okay. Let's go off the record.
MS. SHAPIRO: We're not going off the record.
MS. HUDSON: I'm taking a break. Yes, we are.
MS. SHAPIRO: We're not going off the record.
MS. HUDSON: Yes, we are. Yes, we are. It's not up to you. This is my deposition. We're going to go off the record.
MR. BACH: How much time is left?
MS. SHAPIRO: There's six minutes left. Oh, sorry, seven minutes.
MS. HUDSON: Okay. I have seven minutes.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Nine minutes left.
MS. HUDSON: Nine. There you go. We're gonna take a 10-minute break. We'll come back for the last nine.
MR. BACH: Let's make a record before you go. Let's make a record.
(Cross talk.)
MS. HUDSON: Not on the record. Not on my time.
MR. BACH: Can we go on the record?
MS. HUDSON: Absolutely not. Okay. You can go on the record and make any statement you want—
MR. BACH: I'm going to go on the record.
MS. HUDSON: —but you're not taking my nine minutes. I'm not—you are not taking my nine minutes to make a record.
MS. SHAPIRO: So you can ask more questions about a dead former client of one of the lawyers in this case?
MS. HUDSON: If you want to make a—
MS. SHAPIRO: And how is that—how is that proper?
MS. HUDSON: I understand that you are new to this case, and you don't understand everything.
MR. BACH: I want to go on the record. I don't care whether—
(Cross talk.)
MS. SHAPIRO: I'm new to this case, but I'm not new to the practice of law. I've been practicing law for over 30 years. I know the rules, ma'am.
MS. HUDSON: We're going off the record. I have nine minutes left, and I'm going to use them to ask some questions. If you want to make a record, you can add time and make whatever record you want.
MR. BACH: Okay.
MS. HUDSON: Okay? Will you agree that you will—this is not counting against my nine minutes?
MR. BACH: That's fine. But I want it on the record. I want a record of what's happened.
MS. HUDSON: You—you want a record of what's happened?
MR. BACH: Yes.
MS. HUDSON: You can make a record if—if you will—
MR. BACH: I would like to, if you will let me.
MS. HUDSON: If—I will let you if you will agree that it is not going to impact my nine minutes.
MR. BACH: I've already said fine to that. Do I need to say it again?
MS. HUDSON: Okay. You can make whatever record you want. I'm going to take a break.
MR. BACH: Okay. Can we go on the record for this?
MS. HUDSON: You don't need the video for this. You can just do it for the—
MR. BACH: I'll do it on the video. We're—I don't need the video.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We're still on the record.
MR. BACH: Are we on the record?
Yeah, I just want to say, we had a break less than an hour ago. We made clear to counsel that we didn't want another break, that this same witness is being deposed tomorrow. That this process is exhausting. That he's expected to testify for another seven hours plus breaks tomorrow.
She came back from a break and part of her questioning had nothing whatsoever to do with the claims and defenses in this case. She was clearly at the point where the questioning becomes optional and rhetorical, and she engaged in a series of questions aimed to drive a wedge between this deponent and his lawyer, and to tarnish the reputation of the lawyer. That is how she has used her time—
MS. HUDSON: This has nothing—
MR. BACH: Excuse me. I'm making a record.
MS. HUDSON: Then we are going to excuse the witness from the room because you are speaking and coaching the witness right now.
MR. BACH: I am not coaching the witness at all.
MS. HUDSON: This is totally inappropriate. This is totally inappropriate. You are coaching the witness. You are making a very long speaking objection. There is no purpose. There's no judge in the room. Everything that you're saying is—you can make an argument about it. We're not going to do this in front of the witness.
MR. BACH: Technically, a speaking objection is when there's a question pending and you object to the question.
MS. HUDSON: No.
MR. BACH: I'm not objecting to—
(Cross talk.)
MS. HUDSON: Speaking on the record is not permitted like this. You're objecting to the break. Objection noted. We're taking a break.
MR. BACH: All right. This isn't—this is silly.
MS. HUDSON: Okay.
MR. BACH: This is silly.
MS. HUDSON: I do not want you to coach the witness anymore and—
MS. SHAPIRO: We're not coaching the witness.
MS. HUDSON: —make other statements on the record about the witness. If you insist on doing that, the witness should leave the room. Okay?
MR. BACH: I am going to defer to you in every respect. Whatever I need to do to let you make my statement on the record, I'm going to do. Okay?
MS. HUDSON: Then you can excuse the witness from the room if you insist on making this statement.
MR. BACH: Okay. Jamey, go outside. Go outside, as I continue.
After we made clear our concerns about breaks, the witness is—
MS. HUDSON: Yeah. I would like to also note that you are not the—you are not the representative lawyer.
MR. BACH: If you cut me off again, I'm going to call Judge Liman on the phone now.
MS. HUDSON: You want to tell him that you, who are not defending the deposition, are wanting to make a ten-minute speaking objection?
MR. BACH: Can you let me speak and then you can make whatever speech you want about me and you can say whatever you want about me. But you are going to let me—
(Cross talk.)
MS. HUDSON: Yeah, Mr. Bach, you are not defending this deposition. You are a participant here who has decided to make a speech on the record.
MR. BACH: We're not kids on a playground. You just said if Mr. Heath left the room, I could make my statement. Now you're not letting me make my statement. Can I make my statement?
MS. HUDSON: You can make your statement over my objection. Okay? That you—
MR. BACH: Just let me know when I can make my—
MS. HUDSON: —you should—
MR. BACH: —statement. I'm just going to sit here and not say—
MS. HUDSON: —you should not be making any statement on the record.
MR. BACH: —anything until you tell me I can make my statement.
MS. HUDSON: If you—you are disrupting the deposition in order to make a statement as the non-defending lawyer in this deposition.
MR. BACH: Are you done?
MS. HUDSON: And if you—I don't agree. I excused the witness. If you want to continue, I'm just going to let you do this so we can finish this deposition. And then we're going to take a break, and we're going to take our last nine minutes. So if you want to make this statement, for whatever reason, go ahead.
MR. BACH: Are you done?
MS. HUDSON: I am done.
MR. BACH: Okay. Can I talk?
MS. HUDSON: You can talk.
MR. BACH: Okay.
As I've been saying, after we made clear that we're concerned about the breaks, we're concerned about the witness being tired, the next line of questioning had to do—had nothing to do with the case, but simply had to do with the client and his lawyer and trying to drive a wedge. And now, the questioning lawyer wants to take yet another break. It's clear from the content of her questioning that she's no longer focused on the merits of the case, and that she's conducted her substantive questioning.
I don't see another need for a break. I think the deposition is practically over. The client is tired and has to go tomorrow. I think this is abusive. I think it's unnecessary, and I object.
MS. HUDSON: All right. Ten minutes. Off the record. Thank you.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69510553/1477/9/lively-v-wayfarer-studios-llc/