Plaintiff has filed and served their Complaint, and the Defendant has either filed their Answer, or made a motion to dismiss which the Court has denied. At this point, we enter the most involved, costly, and time-consuming stage of litigation: Discovery (“Disclosure” in New York practice). (If this were a cross-country road trip from New…
Read More Anatomy of a Lawsuit, Part 4: Discovery / DisclosureIn Crandall v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 34161(U), Index No. 157373/2018 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Dec. 8, 2022) – arising from an alleged sexual assault in an Equinox steam room – the court, inter alia, denied plaintiff’s motion to vacate the Note of Issue, effectively precluding plaintiff from conducting depositions of…
Read More Failure to Comply With Court Order Results in Waiver of DepositionsIn Bush v. Alliant Content, LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 22199 (NY Sup. Ct. Westchester Cty. July 5, 2022), the court ruled on an issue that became particularly relevant during the COVID pandemic, namely, whether a deposition – a proceeding, part of the “discovery” process in civil litigation, comprising the interposition of real-time questions to…
Read More Unvaccinated Cancer Survivor Must Appear For In-Person Deposition, Court RulesIn Naramore v. Mount Sinai Health Sys. Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 03479 (N.Y. App. Div. 1 Dept. May 31, 2022), a gender discrimination case, the court addressed an issue that frequently arises in litigation, namely, the scope of discovery to which the parties are entitled. In employment discrimination cases, a plaintiff will often attempt…
Read More Court Limits Discovery in Gender Discrimination CaseIn Rosen v. N.Y.C. Department of Education, et al., 18-cv-06670, 2021 WL 5279396 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 12, 2021), an age discrimination case, the court granted plaintiff’s motion to compel a deposition of a non-party witness, namely, plaintiff’s alleged (younger) “comparator.” In sum, plaintiff alleges (among other things) that the majority of her teacher duties were assigned…
Read More Age Discrimination Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Deposition Testimony of Comparator GrantedIn Berry v. Town of Front Royal, Virginia, 21-cv-00001, 2021 WL 4895204 (W.D. Va. Oct. 20, 2021) – a sexual harassment and retaliation case involving allegations of unwanted touching and inappropriate remarks – the court granted plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery. At issue were two document requests: 27. All documents submitted by Defendant to, or…
Read More Court Grants Motion to Compel Discovery Regarding Other Instances of Sexual HarassmentIn Lopez v. Bendell, No. 156292/2017, 2021 WL 4776215 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Oct. 13, 2021), an employment discrimination case (involving allegations of national origin discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and wrongful termination), the court denied defendants’ request to vacate the Note of Issue (on the ground that plaintiff failed to produce “social…
Read More Court Declines to Vacate Note of Issue in Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Case; Requires “Jackson Affidavit” Regarding Social Media PostsDespite what popular culture may imply, the main battles of litigation are not waged in the courtroom, but rather in various pre-trial events that, together, comprise what is known as “discovery.” In this phase, the parties use various methods to obtain (“discover”) information from the other side. Among the various (and most prevalent) discovery methods…
Read More A Cautionary Tale Regarding Attorney Deposition ConductIn Alberto Coronado v. Veolia North America Inc. & Subsidiaries et al, NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. 450319/2019 (April 6, 2021), a motor vehicle accident case, the court held that the defendant was not entitled to obtain discovery of so-called “litigation funding” material from the plaintiff. Despite the liberal construction courts give to the CPLR’s…
Read More Litigation Funding Discovery Denied in Car Accident CaseIn Harris v. Charlie Rose Inc., No. 154172/2018, 2021 WL 1345374 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Apr. 05, 2021) – a lawsuit in which plaintiffs assert that defendant Charlie Rose subjected them to ongoing physical and sexual harassment including sexual touching, comments, and advances – the court granted, in part, plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery. From…
Read More Discovery Compelled, in Part, in Charlie Rose Sexual Harassment Case