Here at New York Commercial Division Practice, we make a point of highlighting the advantages of practicing in the Commercial Division. For example, in Have Commercial Dispute, Will Travel (to New York) | New York Commercial Division Practice, we discussed the reasons why practitioners and their clients are (or should be) willing to
I think it’s fair to say that Commercial Division judges have little time for discovery disputes. If one peruses the individual practice rules of many of the ComDiv judges, one typically finds language all but prohibiting discovery motions. And ComDiv Rule 14, which itself provides that “[d]iscovery disputes are preferred to be resolved through court conference as opposed to motion practice,” expressly gives the judges the discretion to do so (“If the court’s Part Rules address discovery disputes, those Part Rules will govern discovery disputes in a pending case”). If a particular ComDiv judge’s individual rules are silent on the matter, then the default rule in Rule 14 applies. In which case, counsel are restricted to (i) making a good-faith attempt to resolve the dispute(s) amongst themselves; and (ii) if unsuccessful on their own, submitting competing letters outlining their respective positions and asking for the opportunity to conference the dispute(s) with the court.
Commercial Division judges also have little time for attorney gamesmanship. Again, the ComDiv Rules expressly support this sentiment, as one need look no further than the Preamble to the Rules, which was amended some five years ago to insist on, among other things, “that the practicing bar be held rigorously to a standard of commitment and professionalism of the highest caliber.” This includes conduct at depositions. Continue Reading Playing Nice in the Litigation Sandbox
It’s been a minute since our last installment of our “Check the Rules” series here on New York Commercial Division Practice, in which we occasionally highlight decisions from Commercial Division judges holding litigants and practitioners to account for noncompliance with either the Rules of the Commercial Division or the individual practice rules
As one might gather from the title of this blog, we here at New York Commercial Division Practice try to make a more-than-occasional point of extolling the virtues of the Commercial Division. From its well-established reputation as a sophisticated, cost-effective, predictable, and expeditious forum to its related ability to attract businesses nationwide to litigate their disputes in New York State, when it comes to litigating commercial cases in New York, the Commercial Division is the place to be.
Every year around this time, New York’s Chief Administrative Judge publishes an annual report, which “collect[s], compile[s] and publish[es] statistics and other data with respect to the unified court system and submit[s] annually, on or before the fifteenth day of March, to the legislature and governor a report of activities and the state of the unified court system during the preceding year.” The New York State Unified Court System’s 2023 Annual Report, which was just published last week, devoted a section to the Commercial Division under the heading “A Commitment to Society,” in which the Chief Administrator praised the work of the Commercial Division Advisory Council, which, under the leadership of Robert L. Haig, Esq., has helped develop the Commerical Division into becoming “a recognized leader in court system innovation, … demonstrating an unparalleled creativity and flexibility in [the] development of rules and practices.” Continue Reading The Chief Administrative Judge’s 2023 Annual Report, the State of the Commercial Division, and Other ComDiv Goings-On
As frequent readers of this blog are no doubt aware, the ten-volume practice treatise entitled Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts and edited by distinguished commercial practitioner Robert L. Haig (the “Haig Treatise”) – now in its 5th edition – is an invaluable guide for litigators navigating the inner workings of
A few years back, in a post entitled What the Commercial Division Has Done for Us Lately, we commented on a 2019 report from the Commercial Division Advisory Council, which extolled “The Benefits of the Commercial Division to the State of New York” since its inception in 1995, including how it “has made the
The Commercial Division in Bronx County hasn’t been around all that long, opening its doors for adjudication in September 2019 with its very first case, Manhattan Beer Distributers LLC v Biagio Cru and Estate Wines, LLC. Justice Eddie McShan was the first to preside over the ComDiv in Bronx County and remained in that
It’s no secret to anyone litigating in the Commercial Division over the past couple years during the COVID era that the judges of the Commercial Division have been particularly keen on lightening their dockets by encouraging, and even participating in, the settlement of cases that come before them. That trend is sure to continue in
Much ink has been spilled over the last couple of years, including here at New York Commercial Division Practice, on the topic of practicing law remotely in the COVID (and likely post-COVID) era. As we all brace for the coming wave of Omicron, which may well be the fastest spreading virus in human history,
Aficionados of Commercial Division practice know that the ComDiv rules originally were — and, as evidenced by an Administrative Order earlier this month, continue to be — modeled after the federal rules. Efficiency begets efficiency.
Earlier this month, on October 4, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks promulgated new ComDiv Rule 35, which, as of