Action Transferred to Civil Court After Summary Judgment Limits Damages

On April 23, 2014, Justice Kornreich of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Saxon Technologies, LLC v. Wesley Clover Solutions-North America, Inc., 2014 NY Slip Op. 31056(U), transferring an action to Civil Court after determining on a motion for summary judgment that the plaintiff's damages were limited to less than $3,000.

In Saxon Technologies, the plaintiff asserted claims for breach of a non-solicitation agreement. In deciding the defendant's motion for summary judgment, the court found that while the plaintiff had suffered damages for breach of the agreement, they were no more than $2,651.11. The court went on to rule that "[a]t best, this is a Civil Court matter. The action, thus, is transferred to Civil Court pursuant to CPLR 325(d) and 22 NYCRR 202.13(a)."

This decision illustrates the power of a Commercial Division justice to transfer a matter out of the Commercial Division if it is not a significant commercial dispute that should be adjudicated there.