Free Response to Discovery - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:07-cv-00244-JJF

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE HENRY R. TAYLOR, JR., Plaintiff, v. KATHLEEN D. FELDMAN, et al., Defendants. : : : : : : : : :

C.A.No. 07-244-JJF

DEFENDANT KATHLEEN FELDMAN'S RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S FIRST COMBINED SET OF INTERROGATORIES AND REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS 1. Do you agree my recently discovering the names of the original Court Reporters

responsible for reporting the April 8, 1985 proceeding making it possible for me to file a supplemental motion adding them on as defendants' to this civil action are Joel Leibow and Roland Volzone? Response: Objection, as to the form of the inquiry as it seeks legal advice. Without

waiving the objection, the documents already produced by defendants and those attached to plaintiff's complaint make it clear that the court reporters do not and did not destroy steno notes of the proceedings taken in 1985. The records are destroyed by archives personnel in accordance with the retention schedule. Joel Leibow retired as court reporter in December 1998. Roland Volzone was not a court reporter. 2. With respect to the destruction of Court records do you know whether Joel

Leibow and Roland Volzone are insured against liability and/or malpractice? If so, please provide any and all documents in your possession or control identifying the name and address of their insurance carrier with a description of the policy.

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ANSWER: inquiry. 3.

I have no information or documents that would be responsive to this

Please state whether Leibow and Volzone were on contract with the state at the

time of reporting the April 8, 1985 Court Proceedings. If you are in possession or control of any documents verifying the nature of contract or certification please provide plaintiff with this information. ANSWER: Joel Leibow was an employee of the State of Delaware in 1985. I do not

have information on Volzone nor do I have any documents responsive to this inquiry. 4. Please identify and state whether defendant Kathleen Feldman, Jeanne Cahill and

Patrick J. O'Hare are insured against liability and/or malpractice when performing their duties as Court Reporters or on contract with the state. If you are in possession or control of any documents clarifying this information please provide plaintiff with copies of same. ANSWER: insurance. 5. Do you contend the April 8, 1985 Court records were destroyed based on a policy As to the answering defendant, there is no liability or malpractice

with archives? If so, please produce any and all documents making it clear as to exact dated for employing the policy in connection with the archives retention schedule resulting in destruction of the court records at issue in this civil action. ANSWER: The documents responsive to this inquiry have already been provided. The

answering defendant's response is that court reporters did not destroy the records that plaintiff is seeking. 6. Please state the request for payment submitted to the Public Defenders Office by

the initial court reporter responsible for reporting plaintiff's criminal case under (Cr. A, Nos. In

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84-09-0298 and In 84-09-0300. If you are in poss. or control of any documents clarifying this information produce the document. ANSWER: 7. I have no knowledge or documents responsive to this request.

State the procedure in effect during the periods between April 8, 1985 through

April, 8, 2005 for the stenographic notes of all felony cases. If the procedure is set forth in any job description or other document, produce the document. Response: Please refer to defendants' January 14, 2008 responses to plaintiff's

Request for Production. 8. State the names, titles and duties of all court reporters or other individuals at the

superior court in and for New Castle County during the periods between April 8, 1985 through April 8, 2005 designated for stenographic notes of class A felonies. If this information is set forth in any job description or other document, produce the document. ANSWER: Objection, the 1985 proceedings for which plaintiff seeks a transcript did

not involve a Class A felony. Without waiving this objection, court reporters were not specially assigned to Class A felonies. 9. State the procedure in effect during the periods between April 8, 1985 through

April 8, 2005 at the Superior Court in and for New Castle County for responding to and investigating requests by indigent and non-indigent parties for transcripts of criminal proceedings. If those procedures are set forth in any policy, directive, or other document, produce the document. Response: The task of answering requests from indigent and non-indigent parties is

delegated to the secretary in the office as an administrative responsibility. A form letter is sent to the party if additional information is required.

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10.

State whether each session of the Superior Court in and for New Castle County in

criminal trials and every other criminal proceeding designated by rule or order of the court or by one of the judges during periods between April 1985 through April 2005 shall be recorded verbatim by shorthand, mechanical means electronic sound recording, or any other method subject to regulations and whether said reporter shall attach his official certificate to the original stenographic notes and transcripts. Response: 11. Objection, this question is unintelligible.

State whether the reporter or other individual designated to produce the record

shall transcribe and certify such parts of the record or the proceedings and may be required by rule or order of the Superior Court New Castle during the periods between April 1985 through April 2005, including all arraignments, pleas and proceedings in connection with the imposition of sentence in criminal cases so taken have been certified by said reporter or other individual designated and filed with the Clerk as provided by law. Response: 12. Objection, this question is unintelligible.

State whether the stenographic notes of the original court reporters responsible

for reporting the April 8, 1985 court records were destroyed over the ten year period together with the stenographic notes of David G. Meddings in October of 1995 by staff of Delaware Public Archives. So as not to confuse this matter with my initially being told the records were destroyed based on a twenty year policy please produce any and all documents or other data making it clear when the April 8, 1985 court records were destroyed in connection with the archives retention schedule. Response: Please refer to defendants' January 14, 2008 responses to plaintiff's

Request for Production. By way of further answer, regardless of whether the stenographic notes

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should have been preserved for twenty years, not ten years, plaintiff waited for more than twenty years to properly request and provide for payment of the transcript from such notes. 13. Please identify and state the current job description and titles of defendant's

Kathleen Feldman, Jeanne Cahill and Patrick J. O'Hare as court reporters. If any of these defendants' are no longer court reporting for any reason please produce any and all documents in your poss. or control identifying their last known job description and all reasons for no longer court reporting. ANSWER: Answering defendant recently retired from employment with State of

Delaware. Defendants Jeanne Cahill and Patrick J. O'Hare are still employed as court reporters with the State of Delaware. 14. Please state and identify by name and job description or other title judge, board

of commissioners, court reporters, state agency, public official, custodian, or other persons responsible for employing the policy after advising archives of their mature and obtained its consent resulting in destruction of the April 8. 1985 court records. If this information being requested is set forth in any document in your poss. or control produce any and all documents. Response: Objection, this question is unintelligible.

/s/ Marc P. Niedzielski Marc P. Niedzielski, Bar I.D. 2616 Deputy Attorney General 820 N. French Street, 6th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 577-8324 [email protected] Attorney for Defendants

DATE: July 14, 2008

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VERIFICATION I, Kathleen D. Feldman, have reviewed the response to Plaintiff's 1st Set of Interrogatories Directed to Defendant Kathleen Feldman and verify under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 USC § 1746 that the factual information contained in the responses are true and correct to the best of my information and belief.

/s/ Kathleen D. Feldman Kathleen D. Feldman