Judge Cites Woody Allen in Assessing Jones Day Request
A federal judge granted Jones Day lawyers’ bid for more deposition time with an unhelpful witness, despite her observation that their request reminded her of an old Woody Allen joke.
The lawyers, who are defending Southern Co. in a dispute with a former subsidiary, said the fact witness for their opponent seemed unprepared for a 14-hour deposition and asked for seven more hours of time, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin of Atlanta granted four more hours of time.
Southern had sought sanctions, saying the proffered witness was not the best person to answer their fact questions and that opposing counsel John Lee of Andrews Kurth constantly interrupted with objections.
Martin refused the request for sanctions, saying Lee was objecting to questions that sought information bordering on attorney work product, according to the story.
She added in a footnote that the request for more time reminded her of this joke from the 1977 movie Annie Hall:
“Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of ‘em says, ‘Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.’ The other one says, ‘Yeah, I know; and such small portions.’ “
