Summary judgment plays an important role in litigation. So important, in fact, that many of our blog posts are devoted to the topic. Last week, my colleague Matthew Donovan discussed the policy against allowing successive summary judgment motions. A few weeks prior to that, in Summary Judgment 101, I discussed the basic, yet
There is a general policy in New York against allowing multiple or successive motions for summary judgment. And it stands to reason. After all, the word “summary,” from the Latin summa (as in Thomas Aquinas), refers to the essence, epitome, or totality of a thing; to a comprehensive statement that captures the whole, often
You have been engaged in extensive motion practice in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. You learn that your adversary, it appears, has taken a position contrary to the one taken in a prior proceeding. These “gotcha” moments don’t happen often, but you savor them when they do. You immediately proceed to
Boy invites Girl on a date for Valentine’s Day. They agree to meet at a restaurant near Boy’s home (rude, but ok). Girl wakes up on Valentine’s Day and cancels the date once she realizes she has to travel a longer distance than she expected. Boy is left wondering what happened because they had agreed
Most litigators are familiar with the requirement that a summary motion be supported with “evidentiary proof in admissible form” establishing the merits of a cause of action or defense. Nevertheless, many practitioners make the common mistake of submitting evidence in support of a summary judgment motion that would not be admissible at trial, resulting in
As readers of this blog have come to appreciate, we here at New York Commercial D
ivision Practice tend to report on — among other things Commercial Division — the procedural particularities of litigating commercial matters before the various judges that have been assigned to the Commercial Division over the years. Such particularities may arise
Perhaps it’s because I’ll be speaking on the topic later this week, or perhaps it’s because of a recent post on another one of our blogs, but shareholder rights of inspection have been on the mind of late.
While researching 2018 New York cases addressing inspection rights, particularly in the Commercial Division, I came across
A general release: the end of a litigation or relinquishment of a right? Every attorney and litigant often breathes a sigh of relief when a litigation comes to a conclusion. But is that always the case? Not when the release covers more than may have been intended.
In a recent decision by Commercial Division Justice
Generally speaking, most people want to avoid becoming entangled in litigation. But what happens when an action is pending and, although your client is not a party, his or her interests may be adversely affected? Move to intervene.
Intervention is a procedure whereby an outsider can become a party to a pending action on its
Over the past year or so, we have made a point of highlighting in the “Check the Rules” series on this blog periodic updates to the individual practice rules of certain Commercial Division Justices, including Justice Eileen Bransten in New York County (twice, in fact), Justices Marguerite A. Grays and Leonard Livote in