Summary Judgment Inappropriate Where Conflicting Inferences Can be Drawn from Evidence and Issues of Credibility Exist

On May 16, 2018, the Second Department issued a decision in UB Distributors, LLC v. S.K.I. Wholesale Beer Corp., 2018 NY Slip Op. 03559, holding that summary judgment is inappropriate where conflicting inferences can be drawn from the evidence and issues of credibility exist, explaining:

Here, the defendants failed to establish their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. While the defendants submitted the deposition transcripts of their two principals and warehouse manager in which those witnesses denied that the defendants engaged in a double-redemption scheme, those witnesses also testified that the defendants kept no records of their container redemption transactions or records of a "cashbox" they used to pay some of their redemption expenses. Those witnesses offered vague and conflicting testimony as to why the defendants' redemption volume fell so drastically around the time prosecutors acted on the double-redemption scheme on Long Island. Where, as here, conflicting inferences can be drawn from the evidence and issues of credibility exist, summary judgment is inappropriate.

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Cases in the Commercial Division of the New York courts usually involve a motion to dismiss at the outset and then a motion for summary judgment at the close of discovery, so such motions are a big part of our practice. Contact Schlam Stone & Dolan partner John Lundin at jlundin@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions about seeking or opposing a motion for pre-trial dismissal of a commercial lawsuit.