Psychology Expert Witness’ Supplemental Report on Complex PTSD Struck as Untimely
Posted on January 21, 2025 by Expert Witness Profiler
Plaintiff Arthur Williams (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against Defendants East Meadow Union Free School District, Matthew Melnick, Scott Eckers, Alisa Baroukh, Eileen Napolitano, Joseph Parisi, Marcee Rubenstein, Melissa Tell, Dr. Kenneth Card, and Dr. Patrick Pizzo (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging discrimination based on race, color, and age, as well as a hostile work environment and retaliatory actions.
The Plaintiff, a former employee of East Meadow Union Free School District, alleged that the Defendants discriminated against him based on his race and age and created a hostile work environment during his employment. In 2016 Defendant Patrick Pizzo, District Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance, encouraged Plaintiff to apply for a position as Assistant to the Superintendent for Administration and Special Projects, for which he was subsequently hired. Despite his superior performance in that role, Plaintiff claimed that he was treated differently than his white counterparts and was subjected to excessive scrutiny and performance evaluations.
Following the Superintendent’s retirement, Pizzo made discriminatory comments on account of Plaintiff’s age and race and such conduct worsened upon Plaintiff attempting to report the conduct. Pizzo placed Plaintiff on a performance improvement plan, and ultimately Pizzo terminated Plaintiff from his position.
Discovery deadlines were extended numerous times for a host of reasons throughout the protracted history of this case. Following a status conference on July 10, 2024, the dates were extended so that expert in chief reports were due no later than July 15, 2024, rebuttal reports were due no later than September 11, 2024, and the end date of all expert discovery was October 2, 2024. The parties were forewarned that “[t]his will be the final extension of discovery dates and deadlines.”
Final Discovery Deadline Violation
Dr. Michael J. Vernarelli, Plaintiff’s forensic economist expert submitted his initial report on August 16, 2022, and, following his deposition, produced his supplemental report on October 14, 2024. Similarly, Dr. Darlene Powell Garlington , a clinical psychologist, submitted her initial report on July 12, 2024, was deposed by Defendants on October 2, 2024, and then submitted a supplemental report on November 6, 2024. It should be noted that both expert reports were served after the final discovery deadline.
Defendants filed a motion to strike both supplemental reports under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, claiming they were not only untimely but also went beyond the permissible scope of supplemental reports. Plaintiff filed timely opposition to the motion on December 23, 2024.
Economics Expert Witness
Michael J. Vernarelli is a forensic economist and a noted academic. He has significant experience consulting with Plaintiff and Defense attorneys, performing appraisals of loss of lifetime earnings and economic value in
cases of wrongful death, personal injury, age discrimination, and equitable distribution in addition to providing expert testimony.
Psychology Expert Witness
Darlene Garlington is a nationally-recognized, licensed clinical psychologist, certified school psychologist, and media psychologist. She is a renowned author of eleven books which focus primarily on building resilience, parenting, family dynamics, spirituality, multiculturalism, co-parenting, male-female relationships and diversity.
Discussion by the Court
The Vernarelli Reports:
Vernarelli’s initial and supplemental reports were prepared to calculate the lost back pay and front pay for Plaintiff as a result of his allegedly wrongful termination.
On October 14, 2024, Vernarelli amended his initial report, which he had submitted on August 16, 2022. In his amended expert disclosure, Vernarelli explained that during his deposition, he realized that he needed to deduct Plaintiff’s Social Security benefits as mitigating income for both lost back pay and lost front pay through Plaintiff’s projected retirement date. He admitted to making a “big oversight” and discovered “an error” in not taking into account these benefits in calculating either back pay or front pay. Vernarelli acknowledged that his calculation method was flawed because he did not account for the fact that this is a civil rights/discrimination case and not a personal injury case where social security benefits ordinarily are not an offset until post-verdict.
Moreover, Vernarelli failed to, but now admits he needed to, account for the higher Social Security benefits Plaintiff would receive upon turning 70—his projected age of retirement. As Vernarelli stated, this meant Plaintiff’s pre-retirement damages should be lower while his post-retirement damages should be higher. Indeed, Vernarelli initially concluded Plaintiff was entitled to lost earnings (back and front pay) of $892,308 and lost pension benefits (front pay) of $296,475. Conversely, in his amended report, after taking into account the Social Security benefits, Vernarelli determined Plaintiff’s lost earnings (back and front pay) should be $702,848 while his lost pension benefits (front pay) should be $545,192, thereby increasing the total damage assessment by $59,257.00.
The Garlington Reports:
Garlington’s initial report, submitted on July 12, 2024, was based on a psychological assessment of Plaintiff’s mental and emotional well-being. In this report, Garlington concluded that Plaintiff suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with co-occurring depression and anxiety, referencing bouts of low confidence and cognitive difficulties like inability to focus or recall events. Garlington added that PTSD is a “disease of non-recovery,” and concluded that symptoms “do not dissipate or become manageable to be able to function as the individual did prior to the trauma.”
On November 6, 2024, Garlington submitted an amended report after reviewing additional medical records provided by Plaintiff. These records included findings from Dr. Abraham Glasman, a neurologist who began treating Plaintiff in 2022, and Dr. Christine Weber, who conducted a neuropsychological consultation with Plaintiff in August 2022. Glasman diagnosed Plaintiff with “mild cognitive impairment,” and eventually updated it to “dementia with unspecified severity without behavioral disturbance, psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance and anxiety.” Weber diagnosed Plaintiff with “unspecified dementia with behavioral disturbance” after noting a slow and continuous progression of cognitive decline and corresponding symptoms.
Garlington concluded that Plaintiff had developed Complex PTSD (CPTSD), which she attributed to the ongoing nature of his traumatic experiences.
The Parties’ Arguments
Argument by Defendant
Defendants argued that both the supplemental reports should be struck due to their untimeliness. This case is in the Daubert and summary judgment briefing stage, thus reopening discovery on these experts’ new information would prejudice Defendants through increased costs and delays. Moreover, Vernarelli had ample opportunity to “update and revise” his initial findings as he had access to Plaintiff’s financial information for calculating damages, specifically Social Security damages, yet has failed to indicate why he did not revise his initial report sooner. Furthermore, Defendants posited that Vernarelli “significantly altered his prior damages assessment” by lowering Plaintiff’s pre-retirement damages while increasing post-retirement damages.
With respect to Garlington, Defendants argued that she “drastically revised” her conclusions after reviewing Plaintiff’s prior medical and psychological treatment records. In other words, her supplemental report introduced entirely new theories on which Defendants have had no discovery at all. With the new diagnosis, Defendants claimed that the scope of the first report expanded and is now inconsistent with the initial report.
Argument by Plaintiff
Plaintiff contended that the supplemental reports were a direct result of information raised at the experts’ respective depositions, ones scheduled for the last and second to last day of expert discovery.
Plaintiff specifically argued that Vernarelli’s supplemental report was in direct response to his realization during his deposition that his Social Security calculation was “not fully accurate.” Moreover, as alleged, his initial report did not account for the higher Social Security benefits Plaintiff would have received upon retirement at 70 years old. Such a drastic change in damages, as Plaintiff contends, “is a reflection of the accurate calculations.” Similarly, as argued, Garlington amended her report to provide a “fair and accurate depiction of Plaintiff’s psychological state” after learning, during her deposition, of prior medical reports diagnosing Plaintiff with dementia.
Analysis
Courts “will not admit supplemental expert evidence following the close of discovery when it expounds a wholly new and complex approach designed to fill a significant and logical gap in the first report.” To allow such new evidence to be presented would undermine the purpose of the discovery rules, circumvent the discovery schedule that was ordered by the Court, and prejudice a Plaintiff.
a. Vernarelli’s Report
Vernarelli, though his amended report sought to clarify an “inaccurate” calculation, nothing in the record indicates that the Social Security damages were “unknown or unavailable” to him. In fact, Vernarelli had access to all of Plaintiff’s financial information, including Social Security damages, when he formed his initial report. Additionally, Plaintiff sought to submit Vernarelli’s supplemental report in order to correct his flawed approach to his damages calculation. At bottom, the Court held that Vernarelli’s inaccurate damages calculation resulted from his utilization of a damages calculation tailored towards personal injury cases, not civil rights or discrimination cases. Having chosen to utilize an incorrect methodology in calculating damages, as Vernarelli has done here, does not warrant admitting a supplemental report aimed at correcting that flawed method.
b. Garlington’s Report
Garlington offered several new diagnoses in her amended report, like CPTSD and dementia, that stretched far beyond the scope of her conclusions enunciated in her initial report. The Court held that Garlington’s supplemental report offers new medical opinions and conclusions, rather than clarifying or elucidating the conclusions in her original report.
In considering whether to preclude supplemental experts reports under Federal Rule 37(c)(1), courts, in exercising their discretion, usually consider the following four factors:
- The Party’s Explanation for the Delay in Advancing the New Evidence
- Importance of the Precluded Evidence
- Prejudice Suffered by the Opposing Party
- Possibility of a Continuance
i. The Party’s Explanation for the Delay in Advancing the New Evidence
In conclusory fashion, Plaintiff stated that Vernarelli realized the Social Security benefits needed to be deducted and that he did not take them into account despite the fact that Vernarelli had access to this financial information when he formed his initial report. As to Garlington, it is argued that she did not know about the other expert’s reports before she was deposed, namely because Plaintiff allegedly withheld medical information from her. The Court noted that Garlington had numerous opportunities to ascertain this information as the discovery schedule was extended at several different points during this almost four-year litigation.
Plaintiff offered nothing to the Court explaining why Garlington could not obtain this new evidence before examining Plaintiff herself, or why Vernarelli did not account for Social Security damages in his initial report before discovery closed.
ii. Importance of the Precluded Evidence
The reports were important as each were crucial to different elements of Plaintiff’s damages. The Court recognized that evidence affecting even a relatively small portion of total damages could be sufficiently important to weigh against preclusion which is why this factor favors admitting Vernarelli’s report. Moreover, relevant to Garlington, previously conducted medical examinations and subsequent findings were important because they formed the basis for a change in diagnosis.
iii. Prejudice Suffered by the Opposing Party
The case was approaching four years since its commencement on June 11, 2021. Allowing these supplemental reports would necessitate reopening expert discovery, potentially leading to further depositions, reports, and motion practice, thereby resulting in increased time and resources to an already lengthy litigation nearing its end. The Court found this factor heavily favored preclusion keeping in mind the purported prejudice Defendants stood to suffer.
iv. Possibility of a Continuance
The Court held that a continuance was not appropriate as the case has been ongoing for almost four years, other discovery motions have been filed in addition to the current motion to strike, and discovery deadlines, particularly as to experts, have been continuously extended.
In sum, the Court excluded the supplemental reports offered by Vernarelli and Garlington.
Held
The Court granted Defendants’ motion to strike the supplemental expert reports of Michael J. Vernarelli and Darlene Powell Garlington.
Key Takeaway:
Vernarelli noted that his calculation method was wrong because he did not account for the fact that this is a civil rights/discrimination case and not a personal injury case where social security benefits ordinarily are not an offset until post-verdict. Similarly, Garlington’s revised report, which introduced new diagnoses of CPTSD and dementia, was deemed improper because it went beyond her initial psychological findings. The Court applied a four-factor test, considering the delay in submitting the reports, their importance to Plaintiff’s damages, the prejudice to Defendants, and the unavailability of a continuance. Ultimately, the Court ruled that allowing the reports would unfairly extend the litigation, increase costs, and introduce new, unvetted theories, thereby prejudicing the Defendants.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Williams vs. East Meadow Union Free School District Et Al |
| Docket Number: | 2:21cv3310 |
| Court: | United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York |
| Order Date: | January 16, 2025 |
