Commercial Division Rules Amended to Add Rules Regarding Case Assignment and Privilege Logs

The Chief Administrative Judge has signed orders (1) amending the rules regarding the assignment of cases to the Commercial Division and (2) adding a new rule regarding the preparation of privilege logs.

The amended NYCRR § 202.70(d) - (e), which goes into effect on September 2, 2014, provides regarding assignment of cases to the Commercial Division:

Assignment to the Commercial Division

Within 90 davs following service ofthe complaint, any party may seek assignment of a case to the Commercial Division bv filing a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) that attaches a completed Commercial Division RJI Addendum certifying that the case meets the jurisdictional requirements for Commercial Division assignment set forth in subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this section. Except as provided in subdivision (e) below, failure to file an RJI pursuant to this subdivision precludes a party from seeking assignment of the case to the Commercial Division.

(e) Transfer into the Commercial Division

If an RJI is filed within the 90-day period following service of the complaint and the case is assigned to a noncommercial part because the filing party did not designate the case as "commercial" on the RJI, any other party may apply by letter application (with a copy to all parties) to the Administrative Judge, within ten days after receipt of a copy of the RJI, for a transfer of the case into the Commercial Division. Further, notwithstanding the time periods set forth in subdivisions (d) and (e) of this section, for good cause shown for the delay a party may seek the transfer of a case to the Commercial Division by letter application (with a copy to all parties) to the Administrative Judge. In addition, a non-Commercial Division Justice to whom a case is assigned may sua sponte request the Administrative Judge to transfer a case that meets the jurisdictional requirements for Commercial Division assignment set forth in subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this section to the Commercial Division. The determinations of the Administrative Judge with respect to any letter applications or requests under this subdivision shall be final and subject to no further administrative review or appeal.

You can learn more about the background of the rule by reading the request for comment that the Office of Court Administration posted earlier this year on the proposed rule.

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The new Commercial Division Rule 11-b, which went into effect on July 8.2014, provides regarding regarding privilege logs:

Privilege Logs.

(a) Meet and Confer: General. Parties shall meet and confer at the outset of the case, and from time to time thereafter, to discuss the scope of the privilege review, the amount of information to be set out in the privilege log, the use of categories to reduce document-by-document logging, whether any categories of information may be excluded from the logging requirement, and any other issues pertinent to privilege review, including the entry of an appropriate non-waiver order. To the extent that the collection process and parameters are disclosed to the other parties and those parties do not object, that fact may be relevant to the Court when addressing later discovery disputes.

(b) Categorical Approach or Document-By-Document Review.

(1) The preference in the Commercial Division is for the parties to use categorical designations, where appropriate, to reduce the time and costs associated with preparing privilege logs. The parties are expected to address such considerations in good faith as part of the meet and confer process (see paragraph (a) above) and to agree, where possible, to employ a categorical approach to privilege designations. The parties are encouraged to utilize any reasoned method of organizing the documents that will facilitate an orderly assessment as to the appropriateness of withholding documents in the specified category. For each category of documents that may be established, the producing party shall provide a certification, pursuant to 22 NYCRR § 130-1.1a, setting forth with specificity those facts supporting the privileged or protected status of the information included within the category. The certification shall also describe the steps taken to identify the documents so categorized, including but not limited to whether each document was reviewed or some form of sampling was employed, and if the latter, how the sampling was conducted. The certification shall be signed by the Responsible Attorney, as defined below, or by the party, through an authorized and knowledgeable representative.

(2) In the event the requesting party refuses to permit a categorical approach, and instead insists on a document-by-document listing on the privilege log, then unless the Court deems it appropriate to issue a protective order pursuant to CPLR 3103 based upon the facts and circumstances before it, the requirements set forth in CPLR 3122 shall be followed. In that circumstance, however, the producing party, upon a showing of good cause, may apply to the court for the allocation of costs, including attorneys’ fees, incurred with respect to preparing the document-by-document log. Upon good cause shown, the court may allocate the costs to the requesting party.

(3) To the extent that a party insists upon a document-by-document privilege log as contemplated by CPLR 3122, and absent an order to the contrary, each uninterrupted e-mail chain shall constitute a single entry, and the description accompanying the entry shall include the following: (i) an indication that the e-mails represent an uninterrupted dialogue; (ii) the beginning and ending dates and times (as noted on the e-mails) of the dialogue; (iii) the number of e-mails within the dialogue; and (iv) the names of all authors and recipients – together with sufficient identifying information about each person (e.g., name of employer, job title, role in the case) to allow for a considered assessment of privilege issues.

(c) Special Master. In complex matters likely to raise significant issues regarding privileged and protected material, parties are encouraged to hire a Special Master to help the parties efficiently generate privilege logs, with costs to be shared.

(d) Responsible Attorney. The attorney having supervisory responsibility over the privilege review shall be actively involved in establishing and monitoring the procedures used to collect and review documents to determine that reasonable, good faith efforts are undertaken to ensure that responsive, non-privileged documents are timely produced.

(e) Court Order. Agreements and protocols agreed upon by parties should be memorialized in a court order.

You can learn more about the background of the rule by reading the request for comment that the Office of Court Administration posted earlier this year on the proposed rule.