Gardiner v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co.

Full title: LISA GARDINER, Plaintiff, v. GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.

Court: SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Date published: May 11, 2020

C.A. No. N20C-01-213 JRJ (Del. Super. Ct. May. 11, 2020)

Opinion

C.A. No. N20C-01-213 JRJ

05-11-2020

LISA GARDINER, Plaintiff, v. GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.

Jan R. Jurden, President Judge

ORDER

AND NOW TO WIT, this 11th day of May, 2020, upon consideration of the GEICO General Insurance Company's ("GEICO") Motion for a Protective Order to Stay Deposition of GEICO Representatives Until Resolution of GEICO's Pending Motion to Disqualify Attorney Roseman and the Current COVID-19 Crisis ("Motion"), and Plaintiff's response thereto, IT APPEARS THAT:

1. The United States of America and the State of Delaware have declared states of emergency due to COVID-19.

2. On April 30, 2020, Defendant GEICO filed a Motion to Disqualify Attorney Roseman as Counsel for Plaintiff. The Court has yet to rule on that motion.

3. Plaintiff Lisa Gardiner has noticed the deposition of GEICO's claim professional, Robin Morton,¹ to proceed on May 13, 2020 in Attorney Roseman's law office in Wilmington, Delaware. Plaintiff also seeks to schedule the depositions of other GEICO employees.

1 According to GEICO, Ms. Morton currently resides in Virginia.

4. In the instant Motion, GEICO seeks to stay these depositions until the Court rules on the pending Motion to Disqualify, the COVID-19 crisis has ended, and accompanying stay-at-home orders and relevant applicable restrictions related to COVID-19 have been eased.

5. The Plaintiff does not oppose this Motion, however, she asks that GEICO immediately provide Plaintiff's Counsel with dates for the depositions of GEICO's representatives so that they can take place between June 15 and June 30, 2020 in order to ensure compliance with the deadlines contained in the Expedited Trial Scheduling Order.²

2 Under the Expedited Trial Scheduling Order, the Discovery Cut-Off is July 31, 2020 and Plaintiff's Expert Report Disclosure is August 15, 2020. Trans. ID 65550604. --------

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant GEICO's Motion for Protective Order is GRANTED, and that by no later than Friday, May 15, 2020, GEICO shall provide dates and times between June 15 and June 30, 2020 for the depositions of GEICO's representatives.

/s/_________

Jan R. Jurden, President Judge cc: Prothonotary