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
In December 2020, the New York Law Journal commented on the measures the New York State court system would enact to handle the recent $300 million budget cut. These measures included “adopting a strict hiring freeze, deferring raises, suspending countless programs, and declining to extend the judicial service of 46 retired trial and appellate judges.”
“Read before you sign”, is what we counsel our clients, since we all know that courts will bind one contractually to a signed agreement even if not read. But, what if you never signed the agreement? Can you still be bound by it? In earlier blogs — here and here — we addressed this very
New York is continuously working to advance the delivery and quality of civil justice in this state. We recently discussed the technological developments in New York State Commercial Division courtrooms and a few months ago we discussed the increasingly-codified perspective of Commercial Division Justices to encourage junior attorneys to play a larger role in the
For those civil practitioners who don’t regularly practice in the Commercial Division – beware. The Unified Court System’s Advisory Committee on Civil Practice (the “Committee”) has proposed that nine (9) Commercial Division Rules be broadly adopted by other, non-commercial civil courts. These nine rules all have one common goal: to promote efficiency in New York
Commercial Division litigators often hope that mediation will lead to a negotiated settlement, but their expectation – based on their prior experience – is that it will not. In this sense, mediation seems to have significant unrealized potential as a settlement tool in the Commercial Division.
A new proposal of the ADR Committee of
Two recent amendments to the Commercial Division Rules, designed to encourage alternative dispute resolution, will go into effect on January 1, 2018.
The amendment to Rule 10 requires counsel to certify that they have discussed with their clients the availability of alternative dispute resolution options in their case. Specifically, counsel will be required to submit
ay a stranger to an arbitration agreement compel arbitration against its signatories? According to the Second Department in Degraw Construction Group v McGowan Builders, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 05580 (2nd Dept July 12, 2017), the answer is “sometimes”: a plaintiff cannot avoid arbitration with a company by substituting the company’s employees as
One aspect of the Commercial Division that makes it a highly desirable forum for litigators and litigants alike is its focus on the efficient administration of justice. The Commercial Division Advisory Council (the “Advisory Council”), established by New York’s Chief Judge to make recommendations to improve and enhance the Commercial Division, recently proposed three amendments