Non-Party Not Entitled to Attend Superstorm Sandy Deposition, N.J. Federal Magistrate Judge Rules

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge has denied a plaintiff’s request for an order allowing his wife to attend his deposition in a Superstorm Sandy flood coverage dispute, finding the plaintiff failed to show that a non-party witness has a right to be present at a party deposition.

On Sept. 1, Magistrate Judge Steve Mannion of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey further noted that “pretrial depositions are not public components of a civil trial” and that the plaintiff’s wife stands on the same footing as the general public.

Elliot Kaplan’s Ship …