Judge Won’t Allow Plaintiff to Depose Himself

A judge has refused to allow a businessman who says he fears “bodily harm” during Russian business trips to take his own deposition.

Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz of Manhattan said plaintiff Michael Tierney’s concern of murder did not warrant a self-deposition to preserve testimony, the New York Law Journal reports.

"While the Court can take judicial notice of the risk certain businessmen face in Russia, particularly if they pursue a course which is unfavorable to the government or organized crime, Russia is not Iraq, and the murder of foreigners engaged in lawful business activity is a very remote possibility," he wrote.

The judge said Tierney’s request appears to be made for "tactical advantage rather than need."