Document for KOWALSKI, MAYA vs JOHNS HOPKINS ALL CHILDRENS HOSPITAL INC

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                                Filing # 193453798 E-Filed 03/06/2024 03:05:03 PM


             ·1·   · ·IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
             · ·   · · · · · · IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA
             ·2
             · ·   · · · · · · ·CASE NO.:· 2018-CA-005321 DIV. A
             ·3
             · ·   ·JACK KOWALSKI, Individually and on
             ·4·   ·Behalf of his children, MAYA KOWALSKI,
             · ·   ·a minor, and KYLE KOWALSKI, a minor;
             ·5·   ·and as Personal Representative of the
             · ·   ·Estate of BEATA KOWALSKI, Deceased,
             ·6
             · ·   · · · Plaintiffs,
             ·7
             · ·   ·v.
             ·8
             · ·   ·JOHN HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN'S
             ·9·   ·HOSPITAL, INC., SUNCOAST CENTER,
             · ·   ·INC., CATHERINE BEDY, THE
             10·   ·DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND
             · ·   ·FAMILIES AS CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS,
             11·   ·AND SALLY M. SMITH, M.D.,

             12· · · · Defendants.
             · · ·_________________________________/
             13

             14· · ·ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S EMERGENCY MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE
             · · ·ORDER REGARDING UNILATERALLY SET DEPOSITIONS AND REQUEST
             15· · · · · ·FOR EMERGENCY CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

             16·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·DATE TAKEN:· ·JANUARY 22, 2019
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·TIME:· · · · ·11:26 A.M. TO 12:10 P.M.
             17·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·PLACE:· · · · MANATEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · · · · · ·1051 MANATEE AVENUE WEST
             18·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · · · · · ·COURTROOM 5E
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · · · · · ·BRADENTON, FLORIDA 34205
             19
             · ·   · · · · · ·BEFORE:· · · ·THE HONORABLE MARIA RUHL
             20

             21·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·U.S. LEGAL SUPPORT, INC.
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · 1800 SECOND STREET
             22·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · · ·SUITE 875
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·SARASOTA, FLORIDA 34236
             23
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·STENOGRAPHICALLY REPORTED BY:
             24·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · FRANCES CHIPPENDALE, F.P.R.
             · ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL REPORTER
             25·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · · ·JOB NO.:· 1861824




Filed 03/06/2024 04:39 PM - Karen E. Rushing, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Sarasota County, FL
·1· · · · · · · · · · · · · APPEARANCES

·2· ·On Behalf of the PLAINTIFFS

·3·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·ANDERSON GLENN, LLP
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·4400 MARSH LANDING BOULEVARD
·4·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·SUITE 4
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA 32082
·5·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·(904) 273-4734 / fax (904) 273-4712
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·gaanderson@asglaw.com
·6·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·janderson@asglaw.com
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·BY:· GREGORY A. ANDERSON, ESQUIRE
·7·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · JENNIFER C. ANDERSON, ESQUIRE

·8·   ·On behalf of the DEFENDANT, JOHN HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN'S
· ·   ·HOSPITAL, INC.
·9
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·HILL, WARD & HENDERSON
10·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·101 EAST KENNEDY BOULEVARD
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·SUITE 3700
11·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·TAMPA, FLORIDA 33602
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·(813) 221-3900 / fax (813) 221-2900
12·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·hhunter@hwhlaw.com
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·BY:· C. HOWARD HUNTER, III, ESQUIRE
13
· ·   · On behalf of the DEFENDANT, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND
14·   · FAMILIES

15·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·501 EAST KENNEDY BOULEVARD
16·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·SUITE 1100
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·TAMPA, FLORIDA 33602
17·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·(813) 233-2880 / fax (813) 233-2886
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·diana.esposito@myfloridalegal.com
18·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·BY:· DIANA R. ESPOSITO, ESQUIRE

19·   · On behalf of the DEFENDANTS, SUNCOAST CENTER, INC. AND
· ·   · SALLY M. SMITH, M.D.
20
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·CONROY SIMBERG
21·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·201 EAST KENNEDY BOULEVARD
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·SUITE 900
22·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·TAMPA, FLORIDA 33602
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·(813) 273-6464 / fax (813) 273-6465
23·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·bhaskell@conroysimberg.com
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·dnilsen@conroysimberg.com
24·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·BY:· BRIAN P. HASKELL, ESQUIRE
· ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   ·   · · · DAVID W. NILSEN, ESQUIRE
25
·1· · · · · · · · · · ·PROCEEDINGS
·2· · · · THE COURT:· Good morning.
·3· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Good morning.
·4· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Good morning, Your Honor.
·5· · · · THE COURT:· So we're here on Kowalski --
·6· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Yes, Your Honor.
·7· · · · THE Court:· -- vs. Johns Hopkins.
·8· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· No, Your Honor, Diana Esposito
·9· ·from the Attorney General's Office for DCF.
10· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· Will anybody else be
11· ·joining you?
12· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· No one will be joining me, no.
13· · · · THE COURT:· Can you repeat your name for the
14· ·clerk, please?
15· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Sure.· Diana Esposito,
16· ·E-S-P-O-S-I-T-O.
17· · · · THE COURT:· Thank you.
18· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Your Honor, there is a
19· ·Co-Defendant or several of them, but I don't think
20· ·either have appeared yet.
21· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· We'll wait a few minutes --
22· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Okay.
23· · · · THE COURT:· -- because it's set for 11:30.· Is
24· ·that okay?
25· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· That's fine.
·1· · · · THE COURT:· Good morning.
·2· · · · Is everyone here?· Are we expecting anyone
·3· ·else?
·4· · · · MR. HUNTER:· I think we have everyone, Your
·5· ·Honor.
·6· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· Can I have both your names
·7· ·for the clerk, please?
·8· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Howard Hunter, Your Honor, for
·9· ·John Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
10· · · · MR. HASKELL:· And I'm Brian Haskell and David
11· ·Nilsen for Dr. Sally Smith and Suncoast.
12· · · · THE COURT:· What was your name?
13· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Brian Haskell, H-A-S-K-E-L-L.
14· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So we're here on the
15· ·Defendant's Emergency Motion, correct?
16· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· That was not my understanding,
17· ·Your Honor.· The emergency motion that was filed
18· ·last night at 5:15 I don't have a copy of yet and I
19· ·didn't see it.· So it might be a previous emergency
20· ·motion that we're here on.
21· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I was under the impression we
22· ·were here on our case management conference --
23· · · · THE COURT:· Right.
24· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· -- set by the Court last week.
25· · · · THE COURT:· Right, pursuant to the Defendant's
·1· ·Emergency Motion for Prospective Order and Request
·2· ·for Emergency Case Management.
·3· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Okay.
·4· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Correct, Your Honor.· Again,
·5· ·Brian Haskell on behalf of Dr. Smith.
·6· · · · I believe it was my -- I was in trial last
·7· ·week, so Mr. Nilsen and my partner, Nicole Soto,
·8· ·filed that.· There were a couple depos set for
·9· ·today and tomorrow.· The Court actually did cancel
10· ·those, then granted this motion.· The motion was
11· ·directed about -- you know, about the depositions
12· ·themselves because --
13· · · · THE COURT:· Right.· I understand that.
14· · · · MR. HASKELL:· And so, that's what we're here
15· ·about, but there's several other issues that need
16· ·to be addressed, Your Honor.
17· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So why is it an emergency
18· ·to -- for -- to set the case management?· Can you
19· ·explain to me that emergency?
20· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Your Honor, I believe Mr. Nilsen
21· ·and Ms. Soto in my absence, I was in trial in front
22· ·of Judge St. Arnold in Clearwater, I believe it was
23· ·requested because the parties could not agree on
24· ·whether or not the depos would be scheduled and
25· ·rescheduled and I think, in the abundance of
·1· ·caution, we were asking for court intervention.
·2· · · · MR. NILSEN:· Correct, Your Honor.· Originally,
·3· ·the Plaintiff had filed a motion for a case
·4· ·management conference.· We joined in that and the
·5· ·intent was to get all the parties together so we
·6· ·could scheduled a case management conference to
·7· ·schedule this thing out because there's numerous
·8· ·depositions, discovery yet to be done, and I know
·9· ·-- I think that -- Jennifer, I think there's, what,
10· ·nine pending motions that I don't think are going
11· ·to be heard today, but we need to --
12· · · · THE COURT:· Right.
13· · · · MR. NILSEN:· -- get this on the calendar in
14· ·front of Your Honor so that we can schedule a time
15· ·where we can all get together, hear all the
16· ·motions.
17· · · · I think that you asked for a four to five hour
18· ·block.· I mean, it's going to be a long time, Your
19· ·Honor.
20· · · · THE COURT:· Right, I understand that.
21· · · · MR. NILSEN:· Yeah.
22· · · · THE COURT:· I read everything that was
23· ·submitted.· My primary concern, though, was just
24· ·the stating it in the emergency fashion for the
25· ·case management.
·1· · · · MR. NILSEN:· Correct, Your Honor.
·2· · · · THE COURT:· So I didn't see an emergency for
·3· ·it.· I just want to make that clear because we will
·4· ·move heaven and earth to accommodate for
·5· ·emergencies, I just didn't see that.· Correct me if
·6· ·I'm wrong.
·7· · · · MR. NILSEN:· Well, the real emergency was the
·8· ·depositions that were going to be taken.
·9· · · · THE COURT:· Right, and that was taken care of.
10· · · · MR. NILSEN:· And that's -- those are now moot,
11· ·I suppose.
12· · · · THE COURT:· Right.
13· · · · Okay.· So next time you could just either
14· ·withdraw that latter part or -- because it seems
15· ·like you-all could have come to an agreement on a
16· ·case management date in the future, I'm assuming.
17· · · · MR. HASKELL:· I -- there have been few
18· ·agreements, Your Honor, in terms of scheduling.
19· ·And, again, I wasn't part of the decision, I
20· ·apologize if we characterized this as an emergency
21· ·and it should not have been.
22· · · · I do understand that the Court ended up
23· ·canceling the unilaterally scheduled depositions at
24· ·or about the same time that the request for the
25· ·case management was requested, as well.
·1· · · · So how and why that unfolded, I was in trial,
·2· ·so I do apologize for that, Your Honor, but, at the
·3· ·end of the day, I do think we need some Court
·4· ·guidance as to even scheduling the simplest of
·5· ·things, including future motion hearings and some
·6· ·depositions.
·7· · · · THE COURT:· Well, I would hope -- my hope and
·8· ·my expectation is that we don't need Court guidance
·9· ·to schedule the simplest of things.
10· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Agreed, Your Honor.
11· · · · THE COURT:· I think -- I hope that that's not
12· ·the case, but I'm going to print out two more of
13· ·these.· I'm just going to remind everyone, if you
14· ·haven't already reviewed the Twelfth Circuit Court
15· ·Orders, and there's many of them, including the
16· ·Standards of Professionalism, I'm going to make two
17· ·more copies for counsel.
18· · · · If you can give one to each party.
19· · · · I need you-all to review it and adhere to them
20· ·because, thus far, there are certain rules that
21· ·have already not been followed.
22· · · · So let's -- I don't think the case is ready to
23· ·be set for trial.· It's a relatively new -- new
24· ·case and there's a lot of motions that have already
25· ·been filed.· So what would you-all -- what would
·1· ·you-all like the Court to do?
·2· · · · Let's start with Mr. Anderson.
·3· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· May it please the Court.
·4· · · · So the Court is aware, we did review, and we
·5· ·are familiar with, and we have practiced before the
·6· ·Twelfth Judicial Circuit for the past 35 years.· So
·7· ·I am familiar with those rules and I will say that
·8· ·we filed in both the motion for case management and
·9· ·responses a series of over 25 e-mails attempting to
10· ·schedule just the depos that the Court took off on
11· ·their emergency motion.
12· · · · To say that they were unscheduled or -- what
13· ·was the term?
14· · · · MS. ANDERSON:· Unilaterally scheduled.
15· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Unilaterally scheduled I think
16· ·is dissembling.· And I hate to start out in a piece
17· ·of litigation saying something like that.
18· · · · THE COURT:· Well, let me interrupt you for a
19· ·minute because, as you-all know, I -- I don't
20· ·really have the time to review absolutely every
21· ·pleading and every document that's been there.· So
22· ·when an emergency motion is filed, we take it at
23· ·face value.· I believe it.
24· · · · So if somebody is telling me someone is
25· ·scheduling a depo without contacting the other
·1· ·party, that's improper, that's highly improper, and
·2· ·I believe it.· So if it's not true, please don't
·3· ·characterize something in that fashion if it's not
·4· ·true.
·5· · · · I haven't seen all the string of e-mails, but
·6· ·let's start fresh and I think we need to work a
·7· ·little harder in trying to set and trying to agree
·8· ·on some kind of depo time.
·9· · · · If you-all need me to intervene for that, I
10· ·will and I will make time for you, but you may not
11· ·like the time I provide.
12· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· With that in mind, Judge, I
13· ·will hold off, I would just ask the Court, and I
14· ·think you've just solved it for me, that I don't
15· ·unilaterally schedule depositions.· I honor every
16· ·possible opportunity to coordinate.· We're all
17· ·seasoned trial attorneys involved in this case, so
18· ·we don't take these things lightly and we don't --
19· ·and we try to extend every professional courtesy.
20· · · · And if there was any question by any counsel
21· ·in this room about the steps we took and the
22· ·mountain of e-mails and the hours and hours of time
23· ·my support staff spent, I have a summary right here
24· ·I'm happy to show to the Court and to counsel of
25· ·every single attempt.· And it was outrageous, is
·1· ·the only way to put it, to try to get this one
·2· ·thing done.
·3· · · · But the Court I think has dealt with that and
·4· ·if I'm reading the Court correctly it's kind of a,
·5· ·okay, we've had bad history, but let's move on.
·6· · · · THE COURT:· Yes.
·7· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Fair enough.
·8· · · · So my concern in this case is, we have had
·9· ·zero ability to coordinate anything.· We have how
10· ·many motions on discovery --
11· · · · MS. ANDERSON:· Motions to compel.
12· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· -- and motions to compel?     I
13· ·have a list here for the Court.· There are
14· ·currently 16 motions to compel and we haven't even
15· ·gotten out of the box yet.· We've taken exactly
16· ·zero depositions.· We have coordinated zero
17· ·depositions.
18· · · · MS. ANDERSON:· We've got three.
19· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· We finally got three, and
20· ·that's come up in the past couple of weeks, I think
21· ·because this Court was appearing on the docket,
22· ·which is why I say I am so thankful we have a Court
23· ·now.
24· · · · My concern and the reason that I initiated the
25· ·motion for case -- well, case management, but also
·1· ·a special master is, I was not familiar with what
·2· ·the Court's docket would be like as a new judge in
·3· ·the division and my experience has been thus far
·4· ·that there will be a lot of difficulty moving
·5· ·forward.
·6· · · · We have a deposition day after tomorrow of
·7· ·Catherine Bedy, who is one of the key witnesses and
·8· ·a party in the case.· We still haven't received
·9· ·fundamental basic discovery in over three months of
10· ·asking.· Things like the redacted personnel file.
11· ·Things like her e-mails.· Things like stuff that
12· ·gets produced in every case.
13· · · · I'm planning to move forward with that
14· ·deposition day after tomorrow and if they don't
15· ·produce the stuff, fine, we can come back and
16· ·re-depose her, but it's this sort of inefficiencies
17· ·that cause me to ask of the Court the need for, and
18· ·explain the need as I see it for a special master
19· ·or other unusual circumstances.
20· · · · This case is going to be a very, very high
21· ·profile case.· It already is.· This is a very, very
22· ·sensitive and difficult circumstance here.
23· ·Emotions are running high.
24· · · · My experience in these type of cases is that
25· ·often it's very, very difficult to get anything
·1· ·scheduled.· It's very, very difficult to get any
·2· ·discovery out of anybody.· And when you do get the
·3· ·discovery, it's usually filled with lots of
·4· ·objections to be heard.
·5· · · · Now, everybody has got a right to due process,
·6· ·but everyone has a right to due process and that
·7· ·also includes Maya here and her family.
·8· · · · And my concern is, the Supreme Court tells us
·9· ·we're supposed to get these cases to the jury in 18
10· ·months.· I want to -- the Court said it's probably
11· ·not ready to set for trial, Lord knows the Court is
12· ·correct on that, but I like to work backwards, if I
13· ·could.
14· · · · The last case I had in Portland, Oregon the
15· ·judge did that, had a very similar situation to
16· ·this Court, and it worked like a charm saying,
17· ·okay, here's our day, no continuances, no nothing,
18· ·this is our trial date.· I'm giving you people
19· ·plenty of time and now we're going to work
20· ·backwards and you're all going to get your
21· ·discovery done and things done by that time so
22· ·we're not going to have the tactic of objection,
23· ·objection, objection, objection, no depos, no
24· ·depos, no depos, you get to the end of the
25· ·discovery period, nothing is done and that is then
·1· ·a basis for a continuance because nothing has been
·2· ·done.
·3· · · · Then counsel gets the continuance and
·4· ·everything gets taken off and everything is
·5· ·delayed.· And then delay, delay, delay, delay, up
·6· ·until the next, you know, deadline, nothing has
·7· ·been done and now we need a new continuance.· And
·8· ·it's always that I'm too busy, I've got other
·9· ·things.
10· · · · But what I would say is, one set of lawyers'
11· ·duties to one set of clients and their rights to
12· ·due process don't trump the Kowalskis' rights to
13· ·due process.
14· · · · And so what I want to make sure of, I will
15· ·cooperate in every single way, but I want to make
16· ·sure of us not getting into a constant -- I'm
17· ·getting too old to roll around in the mud on
18· ·discovery issues.· I don't want to do it anymore.
19· ·I just want to get my discovery and get my case
20· ·tried.
21· · · · So the more that the Court can help us with
22· ·specific directions, specific deadlines by which
23· ·time depos will be taken and, most important,
24· ·consequences if these things are not done, the
25· ·better that we will like it and I think the more
·1· ·efficient we will be and the less time we'll be
·2· ·spending in front of this Court on endless motions
·3· ·to compel and squabbles over discovery.· To me, it
·4· ·doesn't make any of us look good to do that.
·5· · · · But absent some very strict rules, and the
·6· ·word has it that this Court is very, very concerned
·7· ·with following the rules, the rules are there for a
·8· ·reason, amen, that's what we want in this case and
·9· ·we need specific deadlines and specific
10· ·instructions from the Court.
11· · · · And if those are not followed, we need
12· ·sanctions imposed, attorney fees, costs,
13· ·depositions reset at the courtesy of the counsel
14· ·that's been wronged, if you will.· And if it's us,
15· ·fine.· You know, if we do something wrong, we want
16· ·to be held to the same standard.
17· · · · I want some very specific deadlines.· And the
18· ·reason we asked for a special master is something
19· ·that the Court brought up.· In many instances, this
20· ·is just experience talking, there's this endless
21· ·stream of e-mails back and forth to get something
22· ·done.· The courts really don't have time, usually,
23· ·to sit there and read 50 pages of e-mails, and then
24· ·figure out, you know, who shot John in this
25· ·instance.
·1· · · · But then when it comes in and we're all in
·2· ·front of you, everything is sweetness and nice and
·3· ·we're going to cooperate and, oh, yeah, but they do
·4· ·it, too.· The Court's heard all this.· You've been
·5· ·practicing a long time.
·6· · · · The reason for a special master is my
·7· ·experience has been they're like kryptonite to a
·8· ·defense lawyer because then you can go in and the
·9· ·special master can go in and actually review the
10· ·e-mails and say, well, you say they didn't
11· ·coordinate it, but they coordinated it three times,
12· ·you canceled three times, you gave them those
13· ·dates, they set it, and now you came back and said,
14· ·no, you had conflicts.· And then you required them
15· ·to take it off, and then you argued that they were
16· ·not coordinated.· Well, they did coordinate with
17· ·you three times and they tried to set them, and
18· ·then you created your own conflict.
19· · · · So that's not -- and that's exactly what
20· ·happened this last round, by the way, and I have
21· ·all of the documentation to do it.· So I would be
22· ·interested to hear from defense counsel as to their
23· ·proposal right now.· We have a pending motion for a
24· ·very strict case management order, with a very
25· ·specific deadline, and for the use of a special
·1· ·master where there is -- by either side where there
·2· ·is an issue over whether one side or the other is
·3· ·cooperating or there are motions to compel where
·4· ·the Court -- you know, if you're in trial for a
·5· ·month and a half, we can't do anything about that,
·6· ·but we may need stuff earlier.
·7· · · · But, again, I don't know, Judge.· I don't know
·8· ·how fast your docket is filling up.· I don't know
·9· ·how much time you're going to be able to give this
10· ·case.· We even -- we opposed the -- a --
11· · · · THE COURT:· Magistrate.
12· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Yeah, magistrate.· Sorry, long
13· ·day already.· Simply because we wanted to see how
14· ·much time the Court had before we jump to having a
15· ·special master.
16· · · · THE COURT:· Well, I can tell you the
17· ·Magistrate has much more time than the Court.
18· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· And who's going to be our
19· ·special -- our magistrate?
20· · · · THE COURT:· It's Magistrate Bailey here.
21· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Bailey, okay.· So that's an
22· ·option, too.
23· · · · THE COURT:· Is that something you want to
24· ·consider?
25· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· It is something I'd like to
·1· ·consider.· I want to hear from opposing counsel.
·2· ·Again, I want to stress this, I don't want to roll
·3· ·around in the mud and I don't want to burden this
·4· ·Court, I just want to get my discovery, that's it.
·5· · · · And so, if we can find a way so that I don't
·6· ·have to mess around with this, stuff like this
·7· ·without these -- a combination of a special master
·8· ·and a magistrate, and then with the Court backing
·9· ·those two up, I think maybe that would be the best,
10· ·but an initial order from this Court with very
11· ·specific time tables.
12· · · · And what I'm willing to do, also, my final
13· ·note is, I have enough confidence here that I'm
14· ·willing to let the Court set those times rather
15· ·than worrying about us trying to come up with
16· ·agreed upon times.· Because I think we're going to
17· ·be right back in front of this Court unable to
18· ·agree upon deadlines and times for certain things
19· ·to be done.
20· · · · I hope I'm wrong, but we're on the record
21· ·here, so if I'm right, I guess we'll all hear about
22· ·it again.· So that's my argument.
23· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· Who wants to go first?
24· · · · MR. HUNTER:· I'll reply, Judge.· I won't be as
25· ·lengthy.
·1· · · · I would point out to the Court that this case
·2· ·began with Plaintiff unilaterally noticing a number
·3· ·of depositions, and then advising us that they
·4· ·would reschedule those at our convenience provided
·5· ·theirs were taken first, and they refused to
·6· ·provide their people for deposition until those
·7· ·depositions were taken.
·8· · · · So that was the fuse that started this.· There
·9· ·has been a lot of difficulty with scheduling.· Part
10· ·of that has been the holidays.· Part of that has
11· ·been a good bit of turmoil at my client's
12· ·institution.· Part of it has been a number of other
13· ·factors.
14· · · · We are trying to get a number of depositions
15· ·scheduled.· I understand counsel's frustration with
16· ·the scheduling imbroglio.· I am perfectly willing
17· ·to today or tomorrow circulate to all counsel a
18· ·draft case management order that sets deadlines for
19· ·depositions, for factual depositions, expert
20· ·disclosure, et cetera, and to work toward a
21· ·situation where that is put in place hopefully by
22· ·agreement of counsel, but if not, with this Court's
23· ·intervention to settle such disputes as cannot be
24· ·resolved.
25· · · · I would point out, however, that before we get
·1· ·too far down this road, there is pending before the
·2· ·Court a motion for change of venue to the Sixth
·3· ·Judicial Circuit.
·4· · · · My client is in the Sixth Circuit, Your Honor.
·5· ·I've had requests thus far for 14 witnesses from my
·6· ·institution.· All of those witnesses live and work
·7· ·in Pinellas County.· I believe the other Defendants
·8· ·have a similar situation.
·9· · · · There are certainly witnesses that reside in
10· ·this county and in the Twelfth Circuit, but there
11· ·is a bona fide issue of forum non conveniens that I
12· ·suggest to the Court should be settled as a
13· ·threshold matter before we get too far down the
14· ·road of -- of a case management or that
15· ·contemplates a trial date.
16· · · · Although, we can certainly contemplate a
17· ·discovery schedule notwithstanding venue because
18· ·that's going to be a constant no matter where we
19· ·are, and I recognize that, and I'm willing to work
20· ·with counsel to do that.
21· · · · That is all I would say to the Court today.     I
22· ·did not have a motion pending.· I am producing a
23· ·witness for deposition on Thursday.· There is a
24· ·discovery dispute.· I have objected to certain of
25· ·the -- of the interrogatories and requests to
·1· ·produce that were served on her.
·2· · · · However, she has answered interrogatories and
·3· ·she has responded to the request to produce.· And
·4· ·that's where we are at this point with respect to
·5· ·her deposition.
·6· · · · I have not spoken with counsel regarding his
·7· ·concerns.· I got an e-mail from counsel this
·8· ·morning or yesterday during the day I believe
·9· ·regarding the -- the documents he's concerned
10· ·about.· My staff is working on that as we speak and
11· ·I will be talking with them later today or tomorrow
12· ·regarding what we can do to address that, if
13· ·anything.
14· · · · But that's -- that's where we are, Judge.
15· ·And, once again, I'm perfectly willing to volunteer
16· ·to take the bull by the horns and make a concrete
17· ·proposal for the sort of set of deadlines that
18· ·counsel has made reference to.
19· · · · MR. HASKELL:· If I may just add, Your Honor.
20· ·First, I want to apologize to the Court to the
21· ·extent that this maybe should not have been
22· ·characterized as a request for an emergency case
23· ·management conference.
24· · · · The witnesses that were scheduled for today
25· ·and tomorrow were not my witnesses, Your Honor, but
·1· ·in the abundance of caution, with the numerous
·2· ·parties here, and yesterday being a holiday our
·3· ·office was closed, I think my -- the folks in my
·4· ·office were just trying to make sure we had an
·5· ·understanding as to how to approach this without
·6· ·getting too sloppy, if you will.· And so, I
·7· ·apologize to the Court for that.
·8· · · · Otherwise, I would echo Mr. Hunter's
·9· ·sentiments.· I do believe in terms of discovery and
10· ·the volume of discovery -- my client is Dr. Smith,
11· ·she's already scheduled out for deposition.· There
12· ·is I believe someone they might ask for on behalf
13· ·of Suncoast, the entity itself that I represent, as
14· ·well, and we will work to get that deposition
15· ·scheduled.
16· · · · But I do think Mr. Hunter's clients,
17· ·volume-wise, will be the most entailing, if you
18· ·will, in getting everybody corralled and scheduled.
19· ·So since he's offered up to take the lead in that,
20· ·in terms of at least proposing a case management
21· ·order, I think that would be a good idea.· It will
22· ·be easier for us to then fall into place from
23· ·there.
24· · · · So that's all I have to offer right now, Your
25· ·Honor.
·1· · · · THE COURT:· Ms. Esposito?
·2· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Your Honor, until last night, I
·3· ·didn't have a dog -- you know, a dog in this fight.
·4· ·DCF has via a public records request already turned
·5· ·over its data on five CD's, redacted for the things
·6· ·that are absolutely confidential that we can't
·7· ·disclose, like Social Security numbers, names of
·8· ·other -- of employees of other agencies and so
·9· ·forth.
10· · · · So I really haven't been in this deposition
11· ·scheduling issue until today.
12· · · · THE COURT:· I think Mr. Anderson said that he
13· ·had a proposed -- did you say you already had a
14· ·proposed case management order or some kind of --
15· ·did you already have something put together
16· ·already?
17· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Yes, but it's not in a final
18· ·draft form that I can give it to you right today,
19· ·but I can get it within 24 hours or so.
20· · · · THE COURT:· Well, do you think that's
21· ·something we can accomplish today, is set some kind
22· ·of time table today since everybody is here?
23· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I --
24· · · · THE COURT:· While we're here.
25· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Yes.
·1· · · · THE COURT:· I'm okay with cutting into lunch.
·2· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I've got suggestions.
·3· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Judge, I'm perfectly willing to
·4· ·consult today, but I do have an engagement up in
·5· ·St. Petersburg at 1 today, so I'm a little bit
·6· ·pressed for time when we get done here, but I do
·7· ·have time -- I should have time either late this
·8· ·afternoon or this evening or tomorrow to interact
·9· ·with counsel and see what he's got.
10· · · · I've got a -- I mean, I've got a case
11· ·management order form that I've used, you know, a
12· ·number of times both in this circuit and in others
13· ·that has served us pretty well.· I don't know what
14· ·he's got in mind, but I suspect that the dates will
15· ·be the details where the devil is.
16· · · · But if Your Honor's question is, would I be
17· ·prepared to work in the next 36 hours to at least
18· ·get something -- the begins of something hammered
19· ·out with a view toward by week's end, at the very
20· ·least, having an agreement on those things we can't
21· ·agree to and some parameters outlined for what we
22· ·need your guidance on, I think that's a very doable
23· ·thing and I think that we can accomplish it.
24· · · · THE COURT:· Well, my hope is, since we're here
25· ·on an emergency motion, it would nice to --
·1· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Have something emergent.
·2· · · · THE COURT:· -- have something emerge from it.
·3· ·I'd like you-all to at least speak to see if you
·4· ·can get some kind of anything before I -- before I
·5· ·have to say, hey, you-all can't agree, this is
·6· ·going to be my timetable.
·7· · · · Let's talk about the Magistrate.· Mr.
·8· ·Anderson, you said you may be okay with setting the
·9· ·discovery matters in front of Magistrate Bailey?     I
10· ·don't know how the -- I don't remember who had
11· ·filed the objection, but, I mean, it's your right,
12· ·if you don't want to have the Magistrate hear the
13· ·discovery matters or other matters that the
14· ·Magistrate can hear, but the Magistrate does have
15· ·much more time than the Court.
16· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· From our point of view,
17· ·Magistrate Bailey is a fine jurist, Magistrate as a
18· ·jurist, but I think that we may have some concerns
19· ·with involvement with the guardian ad litem
20· ·program.· I think there's some familial
21· ·relationship with folks involved in that and there
22· ·are a lot of witnesses, obviously, from the
23· ·guardian ad litem program that will be involved
24· ·here.
25· · · · I'm not sure whether under the rules that is a
·1· ·conflict, but I'd like to have -- what I can do is,
·2· ·within 48 hours provide the Court and counsel with
·3· ·any amended -- change of position on the
·4· ·Magistrate.· I just need to do a little bit more
·5· ·due diligence --
·6· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.
·7· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· -- because of that, and I just
·8· ·learned that, because co-counsel -- or referring
·9· ·counsel here, Debra Salisbury, told me about it.
10· · · · So, anyway, here's what I suggest.· I suggest
11· ·a trial in the October/November 2020 time frame,
12· ·depending on --
13· · · · THE COURT:· Well, we don't have 2020 dates
14· ·yet.
15· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Okay.
16· · · · THE COURT:· So the -- we have a -- December 9
17· ·is the latest for this year.· We don't have 2020
18· ·dates yet.
19· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Okay.
20· · · · THE COURT:· So -- and we can't -- obviously,
21· ·the case is not at issue, we can't set it for a
22· ·trial date right now, but we can have a beefy case
23· ·management order I think would be best for the
24· ·moment.
25· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I would suggest that we have a
·1· ·close of discovery around September 15th of 2020.
·2· ·That we have dispositive motion deadline, although
·3· ·you can file at any time up to September 30th, that
·4· ·would then give us the period between then and
·5· ·whenever the trial is in the fall -- late fall of
·6· ·2020.
·7· · · · I suggest that we have all depositions -- fact
·8· ·depositions completed no later than May 30th of
·9· ·2020.· And that expert depositions may be taken at
10· ·any point, but shall be completed no later than
11· ·September 30th.· I suggest that we have an early
12· ·expert witness disclosure of March 15th of 2020,
13· ·and maybe sooner, Judge, maybe by the end of this
14· ·year, and I'll tell you why.
15· · · · Remember that this is a Chapter 766 case, so
16· ·we've all had to submit affidavits from experts,
17· ·we've all had experts reviewing our -- the facts of
18· ·the case, by statute they have to submit them.· So
19· ·everybody here -- it's a little different than the
20· ·typical case where you say, well, we don't know
21· ·what the issues are going to be, we don't know the
22· ·facts.
23· · · · The legislature specifically set forth what
24· ·you have to make yourself aware of before you can
25· ·even assert a defense or file a lawsuit.· So
·1· ·everybody here is familiar with the issues, they're
·2· ·familiar with the basic facts.
·3· · · · An early expert deadline does a couple things
·4· ·for this Court.· First, it allows the Court great
·5· ·time to determine qualifications of experts, hear
·6· ·motions in limine, hear motions to strike, and it
·7· ·gives the parties time with the King vs. -- Binger
·8· ·vs. King Pest Control requirement that if new
·9· ·experts need to be named because somebody has a
10· ·conflict or somebody is stricken, there's plenty of
11· ·time in there so that we don't get into last minute
12· ·gamesmanship, which creates a bad record for
13· ·appeal.
14· · · · The other thing it does is it gets all of the
15· ·expert opinions before the Court early enough so
16· ·that if there's dispositive motions, we're not
17· ·running right up against the trial date for
18· ·dispositive motions.· And so, what we don't want to
19· ·have happen, we want to have our expert witness
20· ·disclosure relatively early in this case, because
21· ·it is a med mal case, and then we want to have
22· ·enough time so the parties can depose all those
23· ·experts and we want to be able to have an enough
24· ·time to get any motions directed to that, plus your
25· ·summary judgments that will undoubtedly be filed,
·1· ·all heard relatively -- not right up against your
·2· ·trial date, essentially.
·3· · · · It doesn't do us any good if the Court is
·4· ·going to narrow the case with summary judgements,
·5· ·which we don't think you will, but, you know, you
·6· ·might, it's better to have that sooner rather than
·7· ·later so there's not a lot of discovery about stuff
·8· ·that's not going to go to the jury.
·9· · · · And to do that, you really need to have the
10· ·expert witnesses disclosed and opinions beforehand.
11· ·Normally, you would wait until the very end of
12· ·discovery.· The way the standard form rule is I
13· ·think here in the Twelfth, as well, you know, it's
14· ·-- what is it, it's six weeks out from the pretrial
15· ·conference I think and four weeks respectively.
16· ·I'd have to check that.
17· · · · But I think in this instance, since we do have
18· ·a 766 discovery period before we even file suit, I
19· ·think we can do that earlier.
20· · · · So I think we should have a depo set date,
21· ·some -- or a depos completed date on May 30th.    I
22· ·think we should have a dispositive motion deadline
23· ·by September 30th.· I think we should have all
24· ·experts disclosed with opinions by March 15th,
25· ·2020.
·1· · · · Remember, that's an awful lot of time already.
·2· ·You know, we're talking over a year to get your act
·3· ·together with discovery and call your experts.
·4· · · · THE COURT:· So let me hear from the Defendants
·5· ·on the dates Mr. Anderson threw out.
·6· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Judge, I'm just a more visual
·7· ·person.· I can't tell you that I have any
·8· ·particular objection to what he's saying in terms
·9· ·of dates, but I would like to look at them in terms
10· ·of my calendar and my trial calendar and kind of
11· ·digest this without, you know, making a commitment
12· ·on my feet without ever seeing it in writing.
13· · · · There was something else I was going to point
14· ·out and now I've lost it.· I apologize, counsel.
15· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Well, I would agree, Your Honor.
16· ·I do generally agree that the dates proposed going
17· ·into 2020 seem like we'd have enough time to do
18· ·what we need to do in this case, but I -- I just
19· ·anticipate there's going to be a multitude of fact
20· ·depositions, especially from Mr. Hunter's clients,
21· ·which if they go into, say, the summer months of
22· ·this year, their opinions, their testimony may
23· ·impact expert -- it's just one of those things.
24· · · · I'd like to look at it and at least talk -- we
25· ·haven't even talked about this amongst counsel yet.
·1· ·So since the Court, I believe, as I understand it,
·2· ·is going to instruct us to at least get together
·3· ·today to put the pen to the paper on some general
·4· ·time tables and carving out weeks or days for
·5· ·depositions, I think we should hopefully have the
·6· ·opportunity to at least discuss that a little.
·7· · · · I also -- Mr. Anderson I believe referenced
·8· ·this is a 766 case, which -- you know, med mal,
·9· ·Chapter 766, Your Honor.· I don't think the
10· ·pleadings are even settled in that regard yet.
11· · · · My client just got out of the pre-suit period
12· ·in mid-November and I know there was -- I recall
13· ·there being e-mails about it because there were
14· ·several other causes of action filed, which were,
15· ·in fact, filed before the Court.· We have a pending
16· ·motion -- both Defendants have pending motions to
17· ·dismiss, so the case is not even at issue.
18· · · · I think it's inappropriate to even agree upon
19· ·a trial date until the case is at issue.
20· · · · THE COURT:· Well, no one is agreeing to a
21· ·trial date.
22· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Okay.
23· · · · THE COURT:· I don't even have trial dates for
24· ·2020, so that's --
25· · · · MR. HASKELL:· That's right.· Your Honor said
·1· ·that and I apologize.
·2· · · · But I will say -- and I think this will become
·3· ·a 766 case, a medical malpractice case, but at the
·4· ·current time, it's not.· There are numerous other
·5· ·causes of action, but I don't believe that has
·6· ·actually been filed yet.· If I'm mistaken about
·7· ·that, I apologize.
·8· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Judge, one thing that did come
·9· ·up.· As far as a magistrate is concerned, I believe
10· ·Plaintiff filed an objection to the Magistrate
11· ·hearing this.
12· · · · THE COURT:· Right, he did.· He said he did.
13· · · · MR. HUNTER:· And I didn't -- I had not joined
14· ·in it yet.· I had intended to do so and,
15· ·respectfully, I would object to that.
16· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So there's that issue.
17· · · · So if we're not going to come to any agreement
18· ·as to anything right now, do you-all want to come
19· ·back at 4 o'clock to hammer something out?
20· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I sure will, if they want to do
21· ·that.· I'm willing to go out into another room
22· ·right now and they can all check their calendars
23· ·and we can come back as soon as the Court would
24· ·like.
25· · · · THE COURT:· I will make time for you at 4.     I
·1· ·think if we can put something down, it will -- I
·2· ·think it will help all parties to move this case
·3· ·forward.
·4· · · · MR. HUNTER:· I'm sorry, Judge, I have the
·5· ·afternoon blocked off to spend with my witness for
·6· ·Thursday in deposition preparation.· And, like I
·7· ·say, that's up in St. Petersburg and I guess I
·8· ·could get back down by 4, but I think it would kind
·9· ·of be a push to do that.
10· · · · THE COURT:· All right.· Do you want to appear
11· ·by phone?
12· · · · MR. HUNTER:· I can try to do that.· My other
13· ·problem is, I don't know that I'll have sufficient
14· ·opportunity to really look at these dates between
15· ·now and then.
16· · · · THE COURT:· We're not setting any hearings.
17· ·This isn't hearing time.· This is just, we're
18· ·trying to be realistic as to deadlines.
19· · · · MR. HUNTER:· I understand, Your Honor, and
20· ·that's -- I guess I can do two things.· Well, I
21· ·really can't do two things at once, but if Your
22· ·Honor wishes us to have that discussion this
23· ·afternoon, if counsel has a draft order that he's
24· ·prepared to share with us this morning, I
25· ·would like to see it.
·1· · · · THE COURT:· I do wish -- it is my wish,
·2· ·because in -- from what I already see, if you-all
·3· ·need intervention, I will intervene, and this is me
·4· ·intervening.· So there's an emergency motion set,
·5· ·something will emerge, and I hope it is some kind
·6· ·of agreement as to deadlines, realistic deadlines.
·7· ·I don't think that's unreasonable.
·8· · · · And if Mr. Anderson can, since he already
·9· ·threw some dates out, I don't know if you-all agree
10· ·with the September 15th discovery cut-off,
11· ·September 30th dispositive motion cut-off, fact
12· ·depos, you-all can address that and see if
13· ·something can -- if you-all can agree on something.
14· · · · But I am more than happy to accommodate you at
15· ·4 and if before 4 you-all resolve it, then call my
16· ·JA to cancel it, but, if not, we will see everybody
17· ·at 4.
18· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Your Honor, may I -- Mr. Nilsen
19· ·or myself, because of prior obligations, may we
20· ·appear by telephone?· We'll recess now, we'll meet,
21· ·we can continue by telephone as necessary, but in
22· ·terms of being back here at the courthouse if it
23· ·appears not to be doable, can we attend that by
24· ·telephone?
25· · · · THE COURT:· Sure, this one time.
·1· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I don't have a problem with all
·2· ·of us calling in if the Judge doesn't.
·3· · · · THE COURT:· I don't -- normally, I wouldn't
·4· ·allow it, but I will make an exception.
·5· · · · MR. HASKELL:· All right.· Thank you, Judge.
·6· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Judge, do you want us to do
·7· ·CourtCall or do you have a particular number we can
·8· ·just call in and let you know yea or nay?
·9· · · · THE COURT:· For?
10· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Just to let you know if we got
11· ·a deal worked out or we don't.
12· · · · THE COURT:· Oh, call my JA.· Let my JA know if
13· ·you-all resolve it.· If not, if you can leave me a
14· ·direct number for each of you where we can reach
15· ·you directly and we'll call you at 4.
16· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Perfect.
17· · · · THE COURT:· Doug, we can conference call,
18· ·right, from here?
19· · · · THE BAILIFF:· Yes.· To have multiple parties,
20· ·there's a specific way to do it, but they can call
21· ·into that phone.
22· · · · THE COURT:· We can do it.· I know normally the
23· ·parties have to arrange it, but we can also arrange
24· ·it, right?
25· · · · THE BAILIFF:· Oh, yeah.· Yeah.
·1· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So just make sure we have a
·2· ·direct number for you both.
·3· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Judge, do you want it now?
·4· · · · THE COURT:· If you can leave it -- if you want
·5· ·to write it down and leave it and give it to the
·6· ·bailiff for Mr. Hunter and Mr. Haskell.
·7· · · · Was there anything else?
·8· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Your Honor, I would like to be
·9· ·excused from that 4 o'clock scheduling because I'm
10· ·not really a party.· DCF is sued as a records
11· ·keeper, a custodian of records.
12· · · · THE COURT:· I have no problem if you don't
13· ·want to be part of it, but you will be waiving --
14· ·as long as you're waiving any objections to any
15· ·deadlines that are imposed today.
16· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· I will not have an objection,
17· ·Your Honor.
18· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.
19· · · · MS. ESPOSITO:· Thank you.
20· · · · THE COURT:· No problem.· Anything else?
21· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· We're going to get you a number
22· ·here, Judge.
23· · · · I'm also -- Judge, if you -- I would like to
24· ·also provide the Court with, if the Court --
25· ·depending on how counsel thinks, I'd like to
·1· ·provide the Court with the names of three different
·2· ·proposed special masters, unless this Court -- I
·3· ·know you're not granting the motion, but for the
·4· ·interest of discussion and if defense counsel is
·5· ·objecting to the Magistrate, then that tells me
·6· ·something.
·7· · · · THE COURT:· I can imagine.
·8· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· So I'd like to submit three
·9· ·names to counsel if that's okay with the Court?
10· · · · THE COURT:· You can submit the names to
11· ·counsel.· You can always try to agree on anything.
12· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· All right.
13· · · · THE COURT:· I just don't need it at this point
14· ·because if -- I don't need the names at this point,
15· ·but you should always communicate with opposing
16· ·counsel.
17· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Judge, I will consider the names,
18· ·but I'd just point out to the Court -- I mean, I'll
19· ·just tell you what my predilection is.· I've had to
20· ·deal with a special master twice in 40 years.   I
21· ·don't think -- I have yet to see that there's a
22· ·necessity for it here.
23· · · · I mean, perhaps Thursday will prove me wrong
24· ·or give me a different attitude about that.
25· · · · THE COURT:· Well, my understanding for the
·1· ·request was if you-all can't agree to things and
·2· ·it's going to be tedious and time consuming for the
·3· ·Court, it may be necessary.· I don't know, but
·4· ·hopefully you-all can agree and that won't be
·5· ·necessary.
·6· · · · I'm not -- I'm not saying I would grant it or
·7· ·not, I'm just saying you-all should communicate
·8· ·about it.
·9· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Very good, Your Honor.
10· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I understand, Your Honor.
11· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So, Mr. Anderson, you'll be
12· ·here at 4?
13· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· I'll be here live at 4 or --
14· ·well, the rest of the parties aren't going to be
15· ·here, but most likely I'll be here live at 4.
16· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.
17· · · · MR. HUNTER:· If I can be here at 4, Your
18· ·Honor, I will be.· If not, I --
19· · · · THE COURT:· If not, we will call you at the
20· ·numbers provided.· Hunter.· Haskell.
21· · · · MR. HASKELL:· I -- Mr. Nilsen I wrote on the
22· ·card, as well, Your Honor.
23· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· So what number do you want
24· ·me to call?
25· · · · MR. HASKELL:· I'm sorry, my cell number, it
·1· ·should be on the card itself.· That's my business
·2· ·card.
·3· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· The little, tiny print?
·4· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Do you want me to highlight it
·5· ·for Your Honor?
·6· · · · THE COURT:· No, that's fine.
·7· · · · MR. HASKELL:· And then Mr. Nilsen's I
·8· ·handwrote on there.
·9· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· And Jennifer Anderson --
10· ·okay, that's --
11· · · · MS. ANDERSON:· That's me, Your Honor.
12· · · · THE COURT:· Okay.· All right.
13· · · · MR. HUNTER:· Thank you, Judge.
14· · · · THE COURT:· If that's it, see you-all or
15· ·listen to you-all at 4.
16· · · · MR. ANDERSON:· Thank you, Judge.
17· · · · MR. HASKELL:· Thank you, Judge.
18· · · · THE COURT:· You welcome.
19· · · · (The hearing adjourned at 12:10 p.m.)
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·1· · · · · · · · · · CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER

·2

·3· ·STATE OF FLORIDA
· · ·COUNTY OF SARASOTA
·4

·5
· ·   · · · · · ·I, FRANCES CHIPPENDALE, Florida Professional
·6·   ·Reporter, do hereby certify that I was authorized to and
· ·   ·did report the foregoing proceedings; and that the
·7·   ·transcript, Pages 1 through 39, is a true record of my
· ·   ·stenographic notes.
·8

·9
· · · · · · · ·DATED this 24th day of January, 2019.
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12· · · · · · ·______________________________
· · · · · · · ·FRANCES CHIPPENDALE, FPR
13· · · · · · ·Florida Professional Reporter

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