The errata sheet is not a do over

Oh man, how many times do you get an EBT or EUO transcript that has an errata sheet that actually rewrote the examination?  I will one of these days put on here an EUO I did where EIP admitted that he was a ULD (unlisted driver) and then in his errata sheet changed all of the answers.

Here is the case:   Ashford v Tannenhauser, 2013 NY Slip Op 05508 (2d Dept. 2013)

“In his post-deposition errata sheet, the injured plaintiff radically changed much of his earlier testimony, with the vague explanation that he had been “nervous” during his deposition. CPLR 3116(a) provides that a “deposition shall be submitted to the witness for examination and shall be read to or by him or her, and any changes in form or substance which the witness desires to make shall be entered at the end of the deposition with a statement of reasons given by the witness for making them.” Since the injured plaintiff failed to offer an adequate reason for materially altering the substance of his deposition testimony, the altered testimony could not properly be considered in determining the existence of a triable issue of fact as to whether a defect in, or the inadequacy of, the ladder caused his fall (see Garcia-Rosales v Bais Rochel Resort, 100 AD3d 687; Shell v Kone El. Co., 90 AD3d 890; Thompson v Commack Multiplex Cinemas, 83 AD3d 929; Kuzimin v Visiting Nurse Serv. of N.Y., 56 AD3d 438, 439). In the absence of the proposed alterations, the injured plaintiff’s deposition testimony was insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact with respect to the defectiveness or inadequacy of the ladder so as to warrant the denial of summary judgment. Likewise, in opposition to the defendants’ prima facie showing that the trust was an out-of-possession landlord with no duty to repair or maintain the ladder or the floor, the plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact. Therefore, the Supreme Court erred in denying the defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.”

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Legal Update (February 2026): Since this 2013 post, the standards governing errata sheet submissions and acceptable reasons for testimony changes under CPLR 3116(a) may have evolved through subsequent appellate decisions and procedural amendments. Practitioners should verify current judicial interpretations of what constitutes “adequate reason” for material alterations to deposition testimony, as courts have continued to refine the boundaries between permissible corrections and impermissible substantive changes.