Every war begins with a first shot. In the context of litigation, that first shot is the timely filing of a complaint in an appropriate court – i.e., one that has both “subject matter jurisdiction” over the dispute and “personal jurisdiction” over the defendant(s). The one doing the filing is the “plaintiff” (who is comPLAINing…
Read More Anatomy of a Lawsuit, Part 1: The Summons & ComplaintIn 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 Twersky v. Yeshiva University et al, 2022 NY Slip Op 00366 (NY App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 20, 2022), the New York Appellate Division, First Department reversed a lower court decision permitting 33 Child Victims Act (CVA) plaintiffs to proceed under pseudonyms. The court summarized the law as follows: Several New York courts “have…
Read More Child Victims Act (CVA) Plaintiffs May Not Proceed Anonymously, Court HoldsIn Breland v. City of New York, No. 152046/2020, 2020 WL 5644943, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 33099(U), 3–4 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Sep. 22, 2020), an employment discrimination case, the court granted defendants’ motion to extend their time to answer, move, or otherwise respond to plaintiff’s complaint. The court explained: Pursuant to CPLR…
Read More Employment Discrimination Defendant’s Time to Answer ExtendedIn Mascaro v. Brant Publications, Inc., No. 152662/2019, 2020 WL 5229247 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Aug. 28, 2020) – in which plaintiff asserts claims for age and disability discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law – the court denied plaintiff’s motion (pursuant to CPLR 3124 and 3126) to compel responses to…
Read More Pre-Preliminary Conference Discovery Motion Denied in Age/Disability Discrimination CaseIn Guillebeaux v. H.E.L.P. Homeless Services Corporation et al, 2020 WL 4731420 (S.D.N.Y. August 14, 2020) – a sexual harassment/hostile work environment case – the court denied plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of the court’s earlier ruling declining to prevent a representative of defendant from attending the (remote) deposition of plaintiff. The court provides the following…
Read More Sexual Harassment Deposition May be Attended by Defendant Representative, Court RulesLitigation in New York courts is governed by rules set forth in the New York Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR), “Uniform Rules”, local/judges’ rules, and case law. Generally, in the New York Supreme Court – which, contrary to what its name implies, is the lowest trial-level court in the state court system – the…
Read More The “Preliminary Conference” in New York PracticeThe so-called “Jackson Affidavit” – whose name is derived from a First Department case, Jackson v. City of New York, 185 A.D.2d 768, 586 N.Y.S.2d 952 (1st Dept. 1992) – is frequently used in New York state court litigation where one party claims that documents sought in discovery do not exist and/or have not been…
Read More The “Jackson Affidavit” in New York PracticeMotion practice in New York litigation is governed by a variety of overlapping provisions, including those set forth in the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), “Uniform Rules”, local/judges’ rules, and case law. Section 202.7 of the Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme and County Courts, titled “Calendaring of motions; uniform notice of…
Read More 2d Dept.: Affirmation of Good Faith May Be Contained in Primary AffirmationEvery legal case is different. This is because there essentially is an infinite permutation of facts and circumstances that may give rise to a legal claim. Changing even one (seemingly inconsequential) fact, and you might very well get a different result. That said, lawsuits all have the same basic structure. Here I’ll outline the basic…
Read More The Litigation Process