Preview
CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 1 Trans ID: LCV2024654887
K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY
v. LAW DIVISION
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION,
DANIEL GUTIERREZ,
ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or ORDER
Persons), and
JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities
and/or Persons)
Defendants.
This matter having come before the Court on the application by Plaintiff K.C., for a
Protective Order, pursuant to N.J.R. 4:10-3, that Daniel Gutierrez Not Submit to a Deposition, it
is on this day of 2024, ORDERED and DECREED that Plaintiff’s
motion is granted, as follows:
IT IS further ORDERED and DECREED that Daniel Gutierrez shall not be compelled
to submit to a deposition.
BY THE COURT:
________________________________
, J.S.C.
Oral Argument not requested unless opposition is filed.
_____ Opposed
_____ Unopposed
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SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire
Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996
(856) 406-2242
Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C.
K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY
v. LAW DIVISION
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION,
DANIEL GUTIERREZ,
ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or CERTIFICATION OF JEFFREY P.
Persons), and FRITZ, ESQUIRE IN SUPPORT OF
JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER
and/or Persons)
Defendants.
I, JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE, of full age, sworn according to law deposes and states
the following:
1. I am an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New Jersey with the law firm
of Soloff & Zervanos.
2. I am counsel for Plaintiff K.C. in the above-captioned matter, and I am fully
familiar with the facts and circumstances contained herein.
3. Attached hereto as Exhibit A, is a true and correct copy of this Court’s December
14, 2023 Transcript of Motion Hearing.
4. Attached hereto as Exhibit B, is a true and correct copy of this Court’s December
15, 2023 case management order.
5. Attached hereto as Exhibit C, is a true and correct copy of Defendants Cherry Hill
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School District and Cherry Hill Board of Education’s March 11, 2024 Deposition Notice.
5. The current discovery end date is March 26, 2024. Arbitration is currently
scheduled for April 10, 2024.
I certify that the foregoing statements by me are true. I am aware that if any of the
foregoing statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment.
Respectfully submitted by:
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
/s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq.
BY:____________________________________
JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE
Attorneys for Plaintiff
DATE: March 12, 2024
CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire
Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996
(856) 406-2242
Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C.
K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY
v. LAW DIVISION
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION,
DANIEL GUTIERREZ,
ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT
Persons), and OF PROTECTIVE ORDER
JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities
and/or Persons)
Defendants.
I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Plaintiff K.C. requests that this Court enter a Protective Order, pursuant to R. 4:10-3(a),
to prevent Defendants Cherry Hill School District and Cherry Hill Board of Education
(“Defendants”) from deposing Daniel Gutierrez in violation of this Court’s December 15, 2023
case management order. Defendants unreasonably delayed in seeking Mr. Gutierrez’s deposition
and have demonstrated a pattern of dilatory behavior throughout the pendency of this litigation.
Plaintiff continues to be prejudiced by Defendants’ dilatory behavior, and this Court should no
longer excuse their conduct by allowing Defendants to disregard this Court’s case management
deadlines.
II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This matter arises from the sexual abuse that Plaintiff K.C. endured in 2004 and
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Defendants’ failure to protect Plaintiff K.C. from this abuse. This matter commenced with the
filing of Plaintiff K.C.’s complaint more than two years ago, on November 29, 2021. During this
litigation, Defendants requested five discovery extensions. Plaintiff either joined or consented to
the first three of these requests.
On November 29, 2023 Defendants sought a fourth extension of case management
deadlines, largely based upon their need to depose co-defendant Daniel Gutierrez. Plaintiff
objected to this request on the grounds that Defendants failed to demonstrate that “extraordinary
circumstances” compelled the further extension of discovery deadlines. Plaintiff noted that she
would be prejudiced if discovery were extended as Plaintiff had already provided Defendant with
her expert reports. Plaintiff further explained that Defendants significantly misrepresented the
status of discovery and failed to explain why additional time was needed to depose Mr. Gutierrez
even though they knew of his identity, address, and relevance to this litigation upon being served
with Plaintiff’s Complaint on December 2, 2021. Additionally, Plaintiff asked this Court to
consider Plaintiff’s status as a victim of sexual abuse and need for resolution.
This Court granted Defendant’s Motion on December 15, 2023 after finding that
Defendants demonstrated “extraordinary circumstances” that necessitated the extension of case
management deadlines. See Transcript of Motion Hearing, attached hereto as “Exhibit A.” But
while Defendants asked this Court to extend the discovery deadline by 120 days, this Court
decided to extend the discovery deadline by 90 days. This Court’s December 15, 2023 case
management order set forth the following schedule:
(a) The depositions of all fact witnesses are to be completed by January 1, 2024;
(b) Plaintiff’s expert reports are to be completed by February 1, 2024;
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(c) Defendant’s expert reports are to be completed by March 1, 2024;
(d) Expert depositions are to be completed by March 26, 2024;
(e) Discovery end date of March 26, 2024; and
(f) Arbitration to be held on April 10, 2024.
This Court’s December 15, 2023 Case Management Order is attached hereto as “Exhibit B.”
Thereafter, Defendants failed to take any action to secure Mr. Gutierrez’s attendance at a
deposition. Rather, on March 7, 2024 Defendants filed their Fifth Motion to Extend Case
Management Deadlines. Tellingly, Defendants’ Fifth Motion to Extend Case Management
Deadlines neglects to inform the Court that it still has not deposed Mr. Gutierrez. Defendants’
Fifth Motion to Extend Case Management Deadlines is returnable before this Court on March
15, 2024.
Defendants took no action to secure Mr. Gutierrez’s attendance at a deposition until
March 11, 2024. On March 11, 2024 Defendants served Mr. Gutierrez with a notice that
scheduled his deposition for March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Defendants’ March 11, 2024
Deposition Notice is attached hereto as “Exhibit C.”
III. LEGAL ARGUMENT
a. DEFENDANTS SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO DEPOSE
GUTIERREZ IN VIOLATION OF THIS COURT’S DECEMBER
15, 2023 CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
This Court should not permit Defendants to depose Mr. Gutierrez eighty-six days after
the expiration of the January 1, 2024 deadline for the completion of fact discovery depositions,
where it took no steps in the 763 days of discovery (from 11/29/21 to 1/1/24). A movant resisting
the deposition ordinarily has burden of proving “good cause” for a protective order – that is, the
movant must establish that a protective order is necessary. Horon Holsding Corp v. McKenzie,
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341 N.J. Super. 117, 129 (App. Div. 2001) (quoting Kerr v. Able Sanitary and Environmental
Services, Inc., 295 N.J. Super. 147, 155 (App. Div. 1996). In considering whether a movant has
shown good cause for a protective order restricting discovery, a court should “balance[e] the
beneficial effects of discovery against its disadvantages.” State ex rel W.C., 85 N.J. 218, 224
(1981). “[T]he court should weigh whether the evidence being sought would meaningfully
contribute to prosecution or defense of the cause of action, or whether it would likely lead to
unnecessary burdens, annoyance, harassment, or embarrassment.” Elizabeth City v. Hartz
Elizabeth, 2016 N.J. Tax. Unpub. LEXIS 60 at * 21 (Dec. 9, 2016). State v. Gilchrist, 381 N.J.
Super. 138, 146 (App. Div. 2005) (“A defendant should not be allowed to transform the
discovery process into an unfocused, haphazard search for evidence.”)). Accordingly, Rule 4:10-
3 provides, in pertinent part:
On motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, the court,
for good cause shown or by stipulation of the parties, may make any order that
justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,
oppression or undue burden or expense, including, but not limited to, one or more
of the following:
(a) That the discovery not be had [.]
Id.
Defendants have demonstrated a consistent disregard for this Court’s efforts to establish
meaningful case management deadlines. As noted above, Defendants moved for a fourth
extension of case management deadlines on November 29, 2023. In support of this application,
Defendants contended that the reopening of fact discovery was warranted because they had not
yet deposed Mr. Gutierrez. While Plaintiff joined or consented to Defendants’ three prior
motions to extend case management deadlines, Plaintiff objected to this fourth request. Plaintiff
objected because Defendants failed to demonstrate that “extraordinary circumstances” warranted
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the extension of case management deadlines because Defendants knew of Mr. Gutierrez’s
existence since the commencement of litigation and yet failed to take any action to secure his
deposition until after the scheduling of arbitration. Plaintiff also explained that the extension of
case management deadlines would prejudice Plaintiff because she had already produced her
expert reports in accordance with the dates set forth by the previously issued case management
order. Additionally, Plaintiff informed the Court that Defendants significantly misrepresented the
status of discovery by falsely stating that Plaintiff also planned to conduct additional fact
discovery.
Nevertheless, the Court granted Defendants’ motion and ordered that fact depositions be
completed by January 1, 2024. But even though this Court granted Defendants a fourth extension
of case management deadlines, Defendant again failed to take any action to schedule Mr.
Gutierrez’s deposition. In fact, Defendants did not notice Mr. Gutierrez to be deposed until
March 11, 2024 – which was over two months after the January 1, 2024 fact deposition deadline.
Shockingly, when Defendants moved for a fifth extension of case management deadlines
on March 9, 2024 they failed to inform this Court that they intended to depose Mr. Gutierrez.
Rather, Defendants represented to the Court that case management deadlines should be extended
to allow for Defendants to serve their untimely expert reports and to complete Plaintiff’s
independent medical examination. Because Defendants previously represented to this Court that
an extension of case management deadlines was necessary to arrange for Mr. Gutierrez’s
deposition, Defendants failure to inform the Court that it had not yet deposed Mr. Gutierrez –
and in fact, intended to depose him eighty-six days after the deadline established by this Court –
is especially glaring. As explained in Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendants’ Fifth Motion to
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Extend Case Management Deadlines, Defendants are obligated to demonstrate that
“extraordinary circumstances” warrant the reopening and extension of case management
deadlines. Defendants cannot meet this burden when they still have not deposed Mr. Gutierrez
despite being granted a fact discovery extension by this Court. Defendants are thus attempting to
obtain untimely fact discovery without providing this Court with any justification for its failure
to obtain this discovery within the established timetable.
Defendants’ actions violate the Best Practices of New Jersey courts. The "Best Practices"
Practices" rule amendments were intended and designed to improve not only the efficiency but
also the expedition of civil proceedings by ratcheting down on the needless delays in the
completion of discovery, by eliminating the easy availability of discovery extensions, and by
rendering meaningful the arbitration and trial dates scheduled by the courts. Vargas v. Camilo,
354 N.J. Super. 422, 425 n.1, (App. Div. 2002). Defendants have violated these principals by
repeatedly failing to complete discovery in a timely fashion, and by seeking the extension of case
management deadlines that have already expired. Anderson v. K. Hovnanian at Port Imperial
Urban Renewal II, LLC. 2018 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 830 at * 14 (App. Div. Apr. 11, 2018)
(denying motion to extend case management deadlines where party seeking extension conducted
depositions after deadline had passed); Tynes v. St. Peter’s Univ. Med. Ctr., 408 N.J. Super. 159,
173 (App. Div. 2009) (denying motion to extend discovery deadlines where party had ample
time to conduct necessary depositions and failed to justify the necessity of additional time).
Conversely, Plaintiff consistently acted in reliance of the case management orders that
were established by this Court. For instance, Plaintiff provided Defendants with her expert
reports on December 1, 2023 in compliance with this Court’s September 22, 2023 case
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management order. Thus, while Plaintiff has effectively completed fact and expert discovery,
Defendants have been permitted to conduct additional fact discovery with the benefit of being
able to rebut the opinions contained in these reports. In contrast, Defendants are still attempting
to engage in untimely fact and expert discovery.
Accordingly, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court grant a Protective Order
pursuant to R. 4:10-3(a), that prevents Defendants from deposing Daniel Guttierez in violation of
this Court’s December 15, 2023 Case Management Order.
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
/s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq.
BY:____________________________________
JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE
Attorneys for Plaintiff
DATE: March 12, 2024
CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 2 Trans ID: LCV2024654887
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire
Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996
(856) 406-2242
Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C.
K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY
v. LAW DIVISION
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION,
DANIEL GUTIERREZ,
ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or NOTICE OF MOTION FOR
Persons), and PROTECTIVE ORDER
JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities
and/or Persons)
Defendants.
TO:
Jessica M. Anderson, Esquire Daniel Gutierrez
John Regina, Esquire 37714 Rachel Drive
Anderson & Shah, LLC Sandy, OR 97055
1040 Broad Street, Suite 304
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the undersigned will apply to the Superior Court of New
Jersey - Camden County, at the Camden County Superior Court 101 South Fifth Street, Camden,
NJ 08103 on March 28, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard for a
Protective Order, pursuant to N.J.R. 4:10-3, that Daniel Guttierez not submit to a deposition.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that in support of this Motion, Plaintiff will rely
on the accompanying Certification of Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire. A proposed form of order is
submitted herewith.
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PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the undersigned does not request oral
argument at this time unless timely opposition is received.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, as detailed in the Certification of Jeffrey P.
Fritz, Esquire, Plaintiff has complied with the requirements of R. 1:6-2.
Submitted by:
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
/s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq.
BY:____________________________________
JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE
Attorneys for Plaintiff
DATE: March 12, 2024
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SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire
Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996
(856) 406-2242
Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C.
K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY
v. LAW DIVISION
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION,
DANIEL GUTIERREZ,
ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Persons), and
JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities
and/or Persons)
Defendants.
I, Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire do hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Motion for
Protective Order was served upon the following via electronic filing and/or regular and certified
mail:
Jessica M. Anderson, Esquire Daniel Gutierrez
John Regina, Esquire 37714 Rachel Drive
Anderson & Shah, LLC Sandy, OR 97055
1040 Broad Street, Suite 304
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
SOLOFF & ZERVANOS
Jeffrey P. Fritz
BY:
JEFFREY P. FRITZ
Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C.
Dated:March 12, 2024
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EXHIBIT A
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SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
LAW DIVISION, CIVIL PART
CAMDEN COUNTY
DOCKET NO.: CAM-L-3753-21
APP. DIV. NO.: ____________
K.C., :
: TRANSCRIPT
Plaintiff, :
vs. : OF
:
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL : MOTION HEARING
DISTRICT, et al., :
:
Defendant. :
Place: Camden County Hall of Justice
101 South 5th Street
Camden, NJ 08103-4001
Date: December 14, 2023
BEFORE:
HONORABLE JOHN S. KENNEDY, J.S.C.
TRANSCRIPT ORDERED BY:
JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQ.
(Soloff & Zervanos, PC)
APPEARANCES:
(NONE)
Agency: Gina M. Cermak, AD/T 508
RedDoor Legal Services, LLC
www.reddoorlegalservices.com
973-985-3668
44 Valley Forge Road
Bordentown, NJ 08505
Digitally Recorded
Operator – Lydia E. Parker
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2
1 I N D E X
2 12/14/23
3 PAGE
4 THE COURT
5 Decision 3
6
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3
1 THE COURT: This is K.C. v. Cherry Hill
2 School District, Docket Number L-3753-21. This is a
3 motion to extend discovery.
4 The motion was filed by the defendant, Cherry
5 Hill Board of Education. The current discovery end
6 date is January 27, ’23. There’s an arbitration
7 scheduled for February 14th of ’24. Discovery was --
8 previously been extended four times. Opposition has
9 been filed to this.
10 Defendant is seeking 120 days additional
11 discovery. The Court will consider exceptional
12 circumstances. It has been asserted that the matter
13 arises from an alleged sexual assault by an out-of-
14 state defendant nearly 20 years ago while the plaintiff
15 was in high school. The discovery is complete. As far
16 as the written discovery, the written was delayed to --
17 due to the necessity of entertaining the
18 confidentiality order to go in discovery, which was
19 submitted in August of ’22.
20 The movant asserts that discovery should be
21 extended to permit the parties to finish their expert
22 reports and complete the expert depositions.
23 Significant progress has been on the fact discovery,
24 but it became difficult because of all of the out-of-
25 state witnesses that are involved in this matter. The
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4
1 primary reason for the discovery extension is because
2 the parties intend to exchange expert reports on
3 damages, treatment and liability.
4 The plaintiff’s opposition is that the
5 defendant failed to advise the Court of the exceptional
6 circumstances that are here. And the plaintiff asserts
7 there is no exceptional circumstances. The movant
8 replies that they don’t need to have exceptional
9 circumstances, they need to show good cause under
10 Hollywood Café. And movant disputes that opposing
11 counsel’s assertion that the motion is to reopen
12 discovery as the discovery end date is currently due to
13 close on December 27th.
14 The motion is going to be granted for 90
15 days, not 120 days since the discovery end date in this
16 case has already been extended four times and there has
17 been 720 days of discovery already. The movant argues
18 Hollywood Café should control and that good cause
19 should be applied. However, Hollywood Café does not
20 apply in this matter which has been extended by motion
21 three previous times because the matter has been
22 extended by order of the Court and an arbitration date
23 has been affixed to the previous order after the
24 original discovery end date.
25 The Court finds exceptional circumstances
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5
1 because the alleged incident occurred roughly 20 years
2 ago during a school trip to California. The defendants
3 are from out-of-state and many of the witnesses have
4 long since retired from the school district and proved
5 hard to locate. Despite this, counsel has shown that
6 both parties have been diligent in locating and
7 deposing key witnesses and defendants. The outstanding
8 discovery is essential, therefore the motion is granted
9 as indicated, but only for 90 days not 120 days. So
10 the new discovery end date is March 26, 2024. And the
11 new arbitration date is April 10, 2024.
12 (Proceeding Concludes at Timestamp 2:25:12 p.m.)
13
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6
1 CERTIFICATION
2 I, GINA M. CERMAK, the assigned transcriber, do
3 hereby certify the foregoing transcript of proceedings
4 on CourtSmart, Index No. from 2:20:39 p.m. to 2:25:12
5 p.m., is prepared to the best of my ability and in
6 full compliance with the current Transcript Format for
7 Judicial Proceedings and is a true and accurate non-
8 compressed transcript of the proceedings, as recorded.
9
10 BY: /s/ Gina M. Cermak _AD/T 508___
11 Gina M. Cermak AOC Number
12 RedDoor Legal Services, LLC December 21, 2023
13 Agency Name Date
14
15
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EXHIBIT B
CAM-L-003753-21
CAM-L-003753-21
03/12/2024
12/15/2023
4:30:59Pg
PM1 ofPg
2 2Trans
of 3 ID:
Trans
LCV20233642886
ID: LCV2024654887
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12/15/2023
4:30:59Pg
PM2 ofPg
2 3Trans
of 3 ID:
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ID: LCV2024654887
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EXHIBIT C
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Jessica M. Anderson, Esq.
(856) 393-2345
Janderson@andersonshahlaw.com
Fax: (856) 528-1700
March 11, 2024
Via Regular Mail & E-Mail selahdaniel@gmail.com
Mr. Daniel Gutierrez
37714 Rachel Drive
Sandy, OR 97055
Re: K.C. v. Cherry Hill School District, et als.
Docket No. CAM-L-3753-21
Dear Mr. Gutierrez:
Enclosed please find a Notice to Take Your Oral Deposition with reference to the above-
captioned cases. Kindly confirm receipt and that you will be appearing on the date listed herein.
If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Very truly yours,
ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC
Jessica Anderson
Jessica M. Anderson, Esq.
JMA
Enclosure
cc: Jeffrey Fritz, Esq.
Veritext (via e-mail)
457 Haddonfield Road, Suite 610, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 | P: (856) 393-2345 | F: (856) 528-1700 | andersonshahlaw.com
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Jessica M. Anderson, Esq. (000112010)
ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC
457 Haddonfield Road, Suite 610
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002
Attorneys for Defendant
Cherry Hill Board of Education
K.C., : SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
: LAW DIVISION - CAMDEN COUNTY
Plaintiff, : DOCKET NO. CAM-L-3753-21
v. :
:
CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, :
CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, :
: Civil Action
DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC INC. 1-10
:
(Fictitious Entities and/or Persons), and JOHN NOTICE TO TAKE ORAL
:
& JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or : DEPOSITION OF
Persons), : DANIEL GUTIERREZ
:
Defendants.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that in accordance with the Rules of Civil Practice
and Procedure, testimony will be taken by deposition upon oral examination before a
person authorized by the laws of the State of New Jersey to administer oaths on
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., via zoom, with respect to all matters
relevant to the subject matter involved in this action, at which time and place you will
please produce the following person whose testimony is to be taken:
DEFENDANT, DANIEL GUTIERREZ
ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC
By: Jessica Anderson
Dated: March 11, 2024 Jessica M. Anderson, Esq.
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CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 1 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY v. LAW DIVISION CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21 CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or ORDER Persons), and JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or Persons) Defendants. This matter having come before the Court on the application by Plaintiff K.C., for a Protective Order, pursuant to N.J.R. 4:10-3, that Daniel Gutierrez Not Submit to a Deposition, it is on this day of 2024, ORDERED and DECREED that Plaintiff’s motion is granted, as follows: IT IS further ORDERED and DECREED that Daniel Gutierrez shall not be compelled to submit to a deposition. BY THE COURT: ________________________________ , J.S.C. Oral Argument not requested unless opposition is filed. _____ Opposed _____ Unopposed CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 2 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 SOLOFF & ZERVANOS 457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996 (856) 406-2242 Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C. K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY v. LAW DIVISION CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21 CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or CERTIFICATION OF JEFFREY P. Persons), and FRITZ, ESQUIRE IN SUPPORT OF JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER and/or Persons) Defendants. I, JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE, of full age, sworn according to law deposes and states the following: 1. I am an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New Jersey with the law firm of Soloff & Zervanos. 2. I am counsel for Plaintiff K.C. in the above-captioned matter, and I am fully familiar with the facts and circumstances contained herein. 3. Attached hereto as Exhibit A, is a true and correct copy of this Court’s December 14, 2023 Transcript of Motion Hearing. 4. Attached hereto as Exhibit B, is a true and correct copy of this Court’s December 15, 2023 case management order. 5. Attached hereto as Exhibit C, is a true and correct copy of Defendants Cherry Hill CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 2 of 2 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 School District and Cherry Hill Board of Education’s March 11, 2024 Deposition Notice. 5. The current discovery end date is March 26, 2024. Arbitration is currently scheduled for April 10, 2024. I certify that the foregoing statements by me are true. I am aware that if any of the foregoing statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment. Respectfully submitted by: SOLOFF & ZERVANOS /s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq. BY:____________________________________ JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE Attorneys for Plaintiff DATE: March 12, 2024 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 SOLOFF & ZERVANOS 457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996 (856) 406-2242 Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C. K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY v. LAW DIVISION CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21 CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT Persons), and OF PROTECTIVE ORDER JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or Persons) Defendants. I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT Plaintiff K.C. requests that this Court enter a Protective Order, pursuant to R. 4:10-3(a), to prevent Defendants Cherry Hill School District and Cherry Hill Board of Education (“Defendants”) from deposing Daniel Gutierrez in violation of this Court’s December 15, 2023 case management order. Defendants unreasonably delayed in seeking Mr. Gutierrez’s deposition and have demonstrated a pattern of dilatory behavior throughout the pendency of this litigation. Plaintiff continues to be prejudiced by Defendants’ dilatory behavior, and this Court should no longer excuse their conduct by allowing Defendants to disregard this Court’s case management deadlines. II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This matter arises from the sexual abuse that Plaintiff K.C. endured in 2004 and CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 2 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 Defendants’ failure to protect Plaintiff K.C. from this abuse. This matter commenced with the filing of Plaintiff K.C.’s complaint more than two years ago, on November 29, 2021. During this litigation, Defendants requested five discovery extensions. Plaintiff either joined or consented to the first three of these requests. On November 29, 2023 Defendants sought a fourth extension of case management deadlines, largely based upon their need to depose co-defendant Daniel Gutierrez. Plaintiff objected to this request on the grounds that Defendants failed to demonstrate that “extraordinary circumstances” compelled the further extension of discovery deadlines. Plaintiff noted that she would be prejudiced if discovery were extended as Plaintiff had already provided Defendant with her expert reports. Plaintiff further explained that Defendants significantly misrepresented the status of discovery and failed to explain why additional time was needed to depose Mr. Gutierrez even though they knew of his identity, address, and relevance to this litigation upon being served with Plaintiff’s Complaint on December 2, 2021. Additionally, Plaintiff asked this Court to consider Plaintiff’s status as a victim of sexual abuse and need for resolution. This Court granted Defendant’s Motion on December 15, 2023 after finding that Defendants demonstrated “extraordinary circumstances” that necessitated the extension of case management deadlines. See Transcript of Motion Hearing, attached hereto as “Exhibit A.” But while Defendants asked this Court to extend the discovery deadline by 120 days, this Court decided to extend the discovery deadline by 90 days. This Court’s December 15, 2023 case management order set forth the following schedule: (a) The depositions of all fact witnesses are to be completed by January 1, 2024; (b) Plaintiff’s expert reports are to be completed by February 1, 2024; CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 3 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 (c) Defendant’s expert reports are to be completed by March 1, 2024; (d) Expert depositions are to be completed by March 26, 2024; (e) Discovery end date of March 26, 2024; and (f) Arbitration to be held on April 10, 2024. This Court’s December 15, 2023 Case Management Order is attached hereto as “Exhibit B.” Thereafter, Defendants failed to take any action to secure Mr. Gutierrez’s attendance at a deposition. Rather, on March 7, 2024 Defendants filed their Fifth Motion to Extend Case Management Deadlines. Tellingly, Defendants’ Fifth Motion to Extend Case Management Deadlines neglects to inform the Court that it still has not deposed Mr. Gutierrez. Defendants’ Fifth Motion to Extend Case Management Deadlines is returnable before this Court on March 15, 2024. Defendants took no action to secure Mr. Gutierrez’s attendance at a deposition until March 11, 2024. On March 11, 2024 Defendants served Mr. Gutierrez with a notice that scheduled his deposition for March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Defendants’ March 11, 2024 Deposition Notice is attached hereto as “Exhibit C.” III. LEGAL ARGUMENT a. DEFENDANTS SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO DEPOSE GUTIERREZ IN VIOLATION OF THIS COURT’S DECEMBER 15, 2023 CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER This Court should not permit Defendants to depose Mr. Gutierrez eighty-six days after the expiration of the January 1, 2024 deadline for the completion of fact discovery depositions, where it took no steps in the 763 days of discovery (from 11/29/21 to 1/1/24). A movant resisting the deposition ordinarily has burden of proving “good cause” for a protective order – that is, the movant must establish that a protective order is necessary. Horon Holsding Corp v. McKenzie, CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 4 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 341 N.J. Super. 117, 129 (App. Div. 2001) (quoting Kerr v. Able Sanitary and Environmental Services, Inc., 295 N.J. Super. 147, 155 (App. Div. 1996). In considering whether a movant has shown good cause for a protective order restricting discovery, a court should “balance[e] the beneficial effects of discovery against its disadvantages.” State ex rel W.C., 85 N.J. 218, 224 (1981). “[T]he court should weigh whether the evidence being sought would meaningfully contribute to prosecution or defense of the cause of action, or whether it would likely lead to unnecessary burdens, annoyance, harassment, or embarrassment.” Elizabeth City v. Hartz Elizabeth, 2016 N.J. Tax. Unpub. LEXIS 60 at * 21 (Dec. 9, 2016). State v. Gilchrist, 381 N.J. Super. 138, 146 (App. Div. 2005) (“A defendant should not be allowed to transform the discovery process into an unfocused, haphazard search for evidence.”)). Accordingly, Rule 4:10- 3 provides, in pertinent part: On motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, the court, for good cause shown or by stipulation of the parties, may make any order that justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: (a) That the discovery not be had [.] Id. Defendants have demonstrated a consistent disregard for this Court’s efforts to establish meaningful case management deadlines. As noted above, Defendants moved for a fourth extension of case management deadlines on November 29, 2023. In support of this application, Defendants contended that the reopening of fact discovery was warranted because they had not yet deposed Mr. Gutierrez. While Plaintiff joined or consented to Defendants’ three prior motions to extend case management deadlines, Plaintiff objected to this fourth request. Plaintiff objected because Defendants failed to demonstrate that “extraordinary circumstances” warranted CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 5 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 the extension of case management deadlines because Defendants knew of Mr. Gutierrez’s existence since the commencement of litigation and yet failed to take any action to secure his deposition until after the scheduling of arbitration. Plaintiff also explained that the extension of case management deadlines would prejudice Plaintiff because she had already produced her expert reports in accordance with the dates set forth by the previously issued case management order. Additionally, Plaintiff informed the Court that Defendants significantly misrepresented the status of discovery by falsely stating that Plaintiff also planned to conduct additional fact discovery. Nevertheless, the Court granted Defendants’ motion and ordered that fact depositions be completed by January 1, 2024. But even though this Court granted Defendants a fourth extension of case management deadlines, Defendant again failed to take any action to schedule Mr. Gutierrez’s deposition. In fact, Defendants did not notice Mr. Gutierrez to be deposed until March 11, 2024 – which was over two months after the January 1, 2024 fact deposition deadline. Shockingly, when Defendants moved for a fifth extension of case management deadlines on March 9, 2024 they failed to inform this Court that they intended to depose Mr. Gutierrez. Rather, Defendants represented to the Court that case management deadlines should be extended to allow for Defendants to serve their untimely expert reports and to complete Plaintiff’s independent medical examination. Because Defendants previously represented to this Court that an extension of case management deadlines was necessary to arrange for Mr. Gutierrez’s deposition, Defendants failure to inform the Court that it had not yet deposed Mr. Gutierrez – and in fact, intended to depose him eighty-six days after the deadline established by this Court – is especially glaring. As explained in Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendants’ Fifth Motion to CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 6 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 Extend Case Management Deadlines, Defendants are obligated to demonstrate that “extraordinary circumstances” warrant the reopening and extension of case management deadlines. Defendants cannot meet this burden when they still have not deposed Mr. Gutierrez despite being granted a fact discovery extension by this Court. Defendants are thus attempting to obtain untimely fact discovery without providing this Court with any justification for its failure to obtain this discovery within the established timetable. Defendants’ actions violate the Best Practices of New Jersey courts. The "Best Practices" Practices" rule amendments were intended and designed to improve not only the efficiency but also the expedition of civil proceedings by ratcheting down on the needless delays in the completion of discovery, by eliminating the easy availability of discovery extensions, and by rendering meaningful the arbitration and trial dates scheduled by the courts. Vargas v. Camilo, 354 N.J. Super. 422, 425 n.1, (App. Div. 2002). Defendants have violated these principals by repeatedly failing to complete discovery in a timely fashion, and by seeking the extension of case management deadlines that have already expired. Anderson v. K. Hovnanian at Port Imperial Urban Renewal II, LLC. 2018 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 830 at * 14 (App. Div. Apr. 11, 2018) (denying motion to extend case management deadlines where party seeking extension conducted depositions after deadline had passed); Tynes v. St. Peter’s Univ. Med. Ctr., 408 N.J. Super. 159, 173 (App. Div. 2009) (denying motion to extend discovery deadlines where party had ample time to conduct necessary depositions and failed to justify the necessity of additional time). Conversely, Plaintiff consistently acted in reliance of the case management orders that were established by this Court. For instance, Plaintiff provided Defendants with her expert reports on December 1, 2023 in compliance with this Court’s September 22, 2023 case CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 7 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 management order. Thus, while Plaintiff has effectively completed fact and expert discovery, Defendants have been permitted to conduct additional fact discovery with the benefit of being able to rebut the opinions contained in these reports. In contrast, Defendants are still attempting to engage in untimely fact and expert discovery. Accordingly, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court grant a Protective Order pursuant to R. 4:10-3(a), that prevents Defendants from deposing Daniel Guttierez in violation of this Court’s December 15, 2023 Case Management Order. SOLOFF & ZERVANOS /s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq. BY:____________________________________ JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE Attorneys for Plaintiff DATE: March 12, 2024 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 2 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 SOLOFF & ZERVANOS 457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996 (856) 406-2242 Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C. K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY v. LAW DIVISION CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21 CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or NOTICE OF MOTION FOR Persons), and PROTECTIVE ORDER JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or Persons) Defendants. TO: Jessica M. Anderson, Esquire Daniel Gutierrez John Regina, Esquire 37714 Rachel Drive Anderson & Shah, LLC Sandy, OR 97055 1040 Broad Street, Suite 304 Shrewsbury, NJ 07702 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the undersigned will apply to the Superior Court of New Jersey - Camden County, at the Camden County Superior Court 101 South Fifth Street, Camden, NJ 08103 on March 28, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard for a Protective Order, pursuant to N.J.R. 4:10-3, that Daniel Guttierez not submit to a deposition. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that in support of this Motion, Plaintiff will rely on the accompanying Certification of Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire. A proposed form of order is submitted herewith. CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 2 of 2 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the undersigned does not request oral argument at this time unless timely opposition is received. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, as detailed in the Certification of Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire, Plaintiff has complied with the requirements of R. 1:6-2. Submitted by: SOLOFF & ZERVANOS /s/ Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq. BY:____________________________________ JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQUIRE Attorneys for Plaintiff DATE: March 12, 2024 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 1 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 SOLOFF & ZERVANOS 457 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 500B Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 BY: Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire Attorney ID Number: No. 03261-1996 (856) 406-2242 Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C. K.C., SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY Plaintiff, CAMDEN COUNTY v. LAW DIVISION CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, DOCKET NO.: L-3753-21 CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC, INC. 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Persons), and JOHN & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or Persons) Defendants. I, Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esquire do hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Motion for Protective Order was served upon the following via electronic filing and/or regular and certified mail: Jessica M. Anderson, Esquire Daniel Gutierrez John Regina, Esquire 37714 Rachel Drive Anderson & Shah, LLC Sandy, OR 97055 1040 Broad Street, Suite 304 Shrewsbury, NJ 07702 SOLOFF & ZERVANOS Jeffrey P. Fritz BY: JEFFREY P. FRITZ Counsel for Plaintiff, K.C. Dated:March 12, 2024 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 EXHIBIT A CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 2 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY LAW DIVISION, CIVIL PART CAMDEN COUNTY DOCKET NO.: CAM-L-3753-21 APP. DIV. NO.: ____________ K.C., : : TRANSCRIPT Plaintiff, : vs. : OF : CHERRY HILL SCHOOL : MOTION HEARING DISTRICT, et al., : : Defendant. : Place: Camden County Hall of Justice 101 South 5th Street Camden, NJ 08103-4001 Date: December 14, 2023 BEFORE: HONORABLE JOHN S. KENNEDY, J.S.C. TRANSCRIPT ORDERED BY: JEFFREY P. FRITZ, ESQ. (Soloff & Zervanos, PC) APPEARANCES: (NONE) Agency: Gina M. Cermak, AD/T 508 RedDoor Legal Services, LLC www.reddoorlegalservices.com 973-985-3668 44 Valley Forge Road Bordentown, NJ 08505 Digitally Recorded Operator – Lydia E. Parker CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 3 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 2 1 I N D E X 2 12/14/23 3 PAGE 4 THE COURT 5 Decision 3 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 4 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 3 1 THE COURT: This is K.C. v. Cherry Hill 2 School District, Docket Number L-3753-21. This is a 3 motion to extend discovery. 4 The motion was filed by the defendant, Cherry 5 Hill Board of Education. The current discovery end 6 date is January 27, ’23. There’s an arbitration 7 scheduled for February 14th of ’24. Discovery was -- 8 previously been extended four times. Opposition has 9 been filed to this. 10 Defendant is seeking 120 days additional 11 discovery. The Court will consider exceptional 12 circumstances. It has been asserted that the matter 13 arises from an alleged sexual assault by an out-of- 14 state defendant nearly 20 years ago while the plaintiff 15 was in high school. The discovery is complete. As far 16 as the written discovery, the written was delayed to -- 17 due to the necessity of entertaining the 18 confidentiality order to go in discovery, which was 19 submitted in August of ’22. 20 The movant asserts that discovery should be 21 extended to permit the parties to finish their expert 22 reports and complete the expert depositions. 23 Significant progress has been on the fact discovery, 24 but it became difficult because of all of the out-of- 25 state witnesses that are involved in this matter. The CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 5 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 4 1 primary reason for the discovery extension is because 2 the parties intend to exchange expert reports on 3 damages, treatment and liability. 4 The plaintiff’s opposition is that the 5 defendant failed to advise the Court of the exceptional 6 circumstances that are here. And the plaintiff asserts 7 there is no exceptional circumstances. The movant 8 replies that they don’t need to have exceptional 9 circumstances, they need to show good cause under 10 Hollywood Café. And movant disputes that opposing 11 counsel’s assertion that the motion is to reopen 12 discovery as the discovery end date is currently due to 13 close on December 27th. 14 The motion is going to be granted for 90 15 days, not 120 days since the discovery end date in this 16 case has already been extended four times and there has 17 been 720 days of discovery already. The movant argues 18 Hollywood Café should control and that good cause 19 should be applied. However, Hollywood Café does not 20 apply in this matter which has been extended by motion 21 three previous times because the matter has been 22 extended by order of the Court and an arbitration date 23 has been affixed to the previous order after the 24 original discovery end date. 25 The Court finds exceptional circumstances CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 6 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 5 1 because the alleged incident occurred roughly 20 years 2 ago during a school trip to California. The defendants 3 are from out-of-state and many of the witnesses have 4 long since retired from the school district and proved 5 hard to locate. Despite this, counsel has shown that 6 both parties have been diligent in locating and 7 deposing key witnesses and defendants. The outstanding 8 discovery is essential, therefore the motion is granted 9 as indicated, but only for 90 days not 120 days. So 10 the new discovery end date is March 26, 2024. And the 11 new arbitration date is April 10, 2024. 12 (Proceeding Concludes at Timestamp 2:25:12 p.m.) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 7 of 7 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 6 1 CERTIFICATION 2 I, GINA M. CERMAK, the assigned transcriber, do 3 hereby certify the foregoing transcript of proceedings 4 on CourtSmart, Index No. from 2:20:39 p.m. to 2:25:12 5 p.m., is prepared to the best of my ability and in 6 full compliance with the current Transcript Format for 7 Judicial Proceedings and is a true and accurate non- 8 compressed transcript of the proceedings, as recorded. 9 10 BY: /s/ Gina M. Cermak _AD/T 508___ 11 Gina M. Cermak AOC Number 12 RedDoor Legal Services, LLC December 21, 2023 13 Agency Name Date 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 3 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 EXHIBIT B CAM-L-003753-21 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 12/15/2023 4:30:59Pg PM1 ofPg 2 2Trans of 3 ID: Trans LCV20233642886 ID: LCV2024654887 CAM-L-003753-21 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 12/15/2023 4:30:59Pg PM2 ofPg 2 3Trans of 3 ID: Trans LCV20233642886 ID: LCV2024654887 CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 1 of 3 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 EXHIBIT C CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 2 of 3 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 Jessica M. Anderson, Esq. (856) 393-2345 Janderson@andersonshahlaw.com Fax: (856) 528-1700 March 11, 2024 Via Regular Mail & E-Mail selahdaniel@gmail.com Mr. Daniel Gutierrez 37714 Rachel Drive Sandy, OR 97055 Re: K.C. v. Cherry Hill School District, et als. Docket No. CAM-L-3753-21 Dear Mr. Gutierrez: Enclosed please find a Notice to Take Your Oral Deposition with reference to the above- captioned cases. Kindly confirm receipt and that you will be appearing on the date listed herein. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Very truly yours, ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC Jessica Anderson Jessica M. Anderson, Esq. JMA Enclosure cc: Jeffrey Fritz, Esq. Veritext (via e-mail) 457 Haddonfield Road, Suite 610, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 | P: (856) 393-2345 | F: (856) 528-1700 | andersonshahlaw.com CAM-L-003753-21 03/12/2024 4:30:59 PM Pg 3 of 3 Trans ID: LCV2024654887 Jessica M. Anderson, Esq. (000112010) ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC 457 Haddonfield Road, Suite 610 Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002 Attorneys for Defendant Cherry Hill Board of Education K.C., : SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY : LAW DIVISION - CAMDEN COUNTY Plaintiff, : DOCKET NO. CAM-L-3753-21 v. : : CHERRY HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT, : CHERRY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION, : : Civil Action DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ABC INC. 1-10 : (Fictitious Entities and/or Persons), and JOHN NOTICE TO TAKE ORAL : & JANE DOES 1-10 (Fictitious Entities and/or : DEPOSITION OF Persons), : DANIEL GUTIERREZ : Defendants. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that in accordance with the Rules of Civil Practice and Procedure, testimony will be taken by deposition upon oral examination before a person authorized by the laws of the State of New Jersey to administer oaths on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., via zoom, with respect to all matters relevant to the subject matter involved in this action, at which time and place you will please produce the following person whose testimony is to be taken: DEFENDANT, DANIEL GUTIERREZ ANDERSON & SHAH, LLC By: Jessica Anderson Dated: March 11, 2024 Jessica M. Anderson, Esq.