| Bob De Niro
Is Sued For Discrimination But Refused
Deposition Questions So 2 More Hours
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 31 – Robert De Niro and
Canal Productions were sued in
2019 for gender discrimination
by Graham Chase Robinson, who
had begun working as De Niro's
executive assistant in 2008,
at 25 years old.
She said
she was discriminated against
- then De Niro sued her, and
she sued him.
On March 10, 2020
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Magistrate Judge Katharine H.
Parker held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it. Inner City
Press had previously checked
in on the case, on January 30,
2020, here.
"in SDNY, Robert
De Niro is being sued by
former employee Graham Chase
Robinson for gender
discrimination, not paying
overtime - and retaliating. De
Niro's lawyers complaint to
SDNY Magistrate Judge Parker
that the plaintiff won't say
to whose salary she's
comparing what she was paid."
Since then
the case was reassigned to
District Judge Lewis J. Liman;
a protective order was filed.
On April
26, 2021 - a full year later
-- Judge Parker said that the
motion to amend the answer and
add counter-claims is due May
10 and replies due June 21,
with another conference set
for June 28.
Inner City
Press called to cover the June
28 conference, and found the
defendants hammering away at
plaintiff Robinson's alleged
misrepresentations.
On December 15,
2021, there was another
conference, that Inner City
live tweeted here:
De Nero's lawyer
wants to do a 14 hour
deposition of the plaintiff.
Judge asks why.
Lawyer: There are
2 defendants here, Mr. de Nero
and Canal Productions.
Judge: I don't
think you are entitled to 14
hours.
De Nero's
lawyer asks to move the
deposition - now whittled down
to 7 hours - from Friday to
Monday. Judge orders it so,
telling Plaintiff take make
herself available absent some
medical emergency.
Judge: I expect
the defense not to engage in
speaking objections
Plaintiff's
lawyer complaints that De Nero
is refusing to make his
personal trainer Dan Harvey
available for a deposition.
Judge: Schedule them out, get
them on the calendar.
Plaintiff
wants to depose "de Niro's
girlfriend Ms. Chen," saying
de Nero ranted at her.
Defense
lawyer cuts in and says, This
is material that hasn't been
filed in this case.
Judge: I'm not
sure it would be entitled to
sealing.
De Nero's
lawyer wants to do discovery
on plaintiff's AOL email
account that she used in high
school, despite it not being
in use for years (other than,
it's said, food delivery
service receipts).
On January 31,
2022 Judge Parker held another
proceeding and Inner City
Press again covered it. Judge
Parker extended discovery,
reluctantly she said, "for the
sole purpose of deposing the
five individuals identified by
Plaintiff: Mr. Robert De Niro,
Mr. Michael Kaplan, Tom
Harvey, Michael Tasch and
Tiffany Chen.
On April 21,
Judge Parker held another
discovery conference. Inner
City Press went to her 17th
floor courtroom. Plaintiff's
counsel appeared by phone and
complained that De Niro had
refused questions at his
deposition, on which 38
minutes remain.
Judge
Parker ordered two additional
hours, stating that objections
need to be limited and the
plaintiff's side is
"prohibited from asking
inappropriate topics." The
next conference is set for May
18. Watch this site.
The case is
Robinson v. De Niro et al.,
19-cv-9156 (Liman / Parker)
***
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