Commercial Division Blog: Current Developments in the Commercial Divisions of the New York State Courts

On December 4, 2024, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted in part a motion to compel the production of documents in a defendant’s possession regardless of whether the defendant possessed them in a “personal” capacity or from acting as a trustee. In Conca Tekiner Chelsea, et al., v. Yasemin Tekiner, et al., Index No. 154224/2023, Defendant Yasemin Tekiner withheld certain documents and communications on the basis that she sent, received, drafted or executed the documents in a personal capacity rather than while acting as a trustee. The Court ordered production of the documents. It explained: Read More

On December 21, 2024, Justice Andrea Masley granted a motion to compel a Filipino bank to collect and search documents from one of its in-house counsel despite the bank’s claim that the information possessed by its lawyer would be privileged. In Bangladesh Bank v. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, et al., Index No. 652051/2024, the plaintiff sought to compel RCBC, which is based in the Philippines, to collect and search documents held by one of its in-house lawyers who was involved in factual investigation relevant to the case. The Court granted the motion. It explained: Read More

On June 10, 2024, Justice Melissa A. Crane denied defendant’s motion to compel production of emails plaintiff had inadvertently produced and then clawed back, asserting spousal privilege. In Gnann v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Index No. 650104/2023, plaintiff made a production that included the disputed emails between plaintiff and nonparty Robert Oldaker. At plaintiff’s EBT, spousal privilege was asserted as to these emails and plaintiff’s counsel then sought to claw back those emails. Defendant Mannato moved to compel. The Court denied the motion, explaining: Read More

In an April 19, 2024 order, Justice Andrew Borrok addressed whether communications relating to a joint venture were protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege and/or work product protection. Read More

On September 6, 2023, Justice Jennifer G. Schechter of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in PJSC Natl. Bank Trust v Pirogova, Index No. 160130/2020, 2023 NY Slip Op 33050(U) on plaintiff’s motion to compel responses to certain interrogatories and document requests. The Court held in part that, where the defendant claimed to have no documents responsive to certain categories of document requests, that defendant herself must provide a “Jackson Affidavit” attesting to the lack of documents. Specifically, the Court explained: Read More

On July 3, 2023, Justice Andrew Borrok of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Apotex Corp. v. Hospira Healthcare India Private Ltd., 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3340, granting defendants’ motion to compel the plaintiff to produce a specific individual for a deposition. The Court had previously denied a motion seeking the same relief without prejudice as premature. The Court now determined that the defendants had sufficiently shown that the individual possessed unique personal knowledge that other deponents and discovery had not been able to provide, explaining: Read More

On March 28, 2023, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in FFS Data Corp. v. the OLB Group, Inc., 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1377. The Court denied the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration based on a dispute resolution provision contained in an asset purchase agreement between the parties. The Court noted that the provision in question “is a marvel of linguistic misdirection”, but ultimately determined that the defendant “has not carried its burden of establishing that the parties had a clear, explicit and unequivocal agreement mandating that they arbitrate disputes arising out of the APA.” The Court explained: Read More