Judge Orders Defendants to Pay Reporter and Videographer Costs for Missed Depositions

MANHATTAN (LN) — U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon on Friday ordered defendants in a civil suit to reimburse the plaintiff for the costs of a court reporter and videographer after defense counsel failed to appear for two court-ordered depositions in February.

The dispute centers on a scheduling order issued by Rochon on Jan. 20, 2026, which set deposition dates for Feb. 6 and Feb. 9 based on representations from defense counsel that those were his only available slots.

Despite emailing the plaintiff on Feb. 3 to say he would not attend and would seek relief from the court, defense counsel Tyrone Blackburn did not actually contact the judge or file a motion to vacate the order.

Blackburn only informed the court of his non-appearance after the plaintiff filed a motion to compel compliance on Feb. 5.

When the court reporter and videographers arrived for the scheduled sessions, defendants did not show up. Plaintiff’s counsel placed the non-appearance on the record.

Rochon held a hearing on Feb. 10, rescheduled the depositions, and ordered the parties to brief the plaintiff’s request for sanctions.

The plaintiff sought contempt sanctions, including an award of attorneys’ fees and costs, a referral of Blackburn to the Southern District of New York’s Committee on Grievances, and an order that Blackburn serve any sanctions determination on his client, Terrance Dixon.

Defendants did not respond to the motion by the Feb. 24 deadline. They filed a response on March 2, after the plaintiff noted the motion was unopposed.

Rochon held that defendants were in contempt for failing to appear. However, she declined to award the attorneys’ fees requested by the plaintiff, reasoning that the time defense counsel spent preparing for the missed depositions would be directed toward the rescheduled sessions. She also cited medical issues cited by the plaintiff in declining broader sanctions.

The plaintiff did, however, incur out-of-pocket expenses for the court reporter and videographer that were wasted due to the non-appearance.

Rochon ordered defendants to pay those reasonable costs. She directed the plaintiff to produce proof of the expenses and gave defendants 10 days from receipt of the invoices to reimburse the plaintiff.

The judge also declined to refer Blackburn to the grievance committee or order him to serve sanctions on his client.

The clerk of the court was requested to terminate the motion for contempt and sanctions.