A routine question in a deposition became a flashpoint for a heated dispute over an attorney’s conduct, with one lawyer now seeking a new shot at obtaining testimony from a key party in the case.

The deposition turned contentious from the outset, when the deponent’s attorney, Zachary Grayson of Gerstein Grayson & Cohen, said “no” to the court reporter’s question of whether he agreed to the “usual stipulations.” The move ultimately led opposing counsel, Jonathan Landesman, a partner at Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, to end the proceeding early.