Court Grants Sanctions For Failure To Respond to Discovery Requests But Denies Motion To Strike Defendants’ Answer

Posted: December 31, 2025 / Written by: Jeffrey M. Eilender, Joshua Wurtzel, Channing J. Turner, Samuel L. Butt, Thomas A. Kissane / Categories Commercial, Discovery/Disclosure, Sanctions

Court Grants Sanctions For Failure To Respond to Discovery Requests But Denies Motion To Strike Defendants’ Answer

On November 18, 2025, in McWilliams v. Empire Agricultural Systems, LLC, Index No. 655727/2023, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted plaintiffs’ motion for an order awarding plaintiffs fees and costs for bringing certain discovery-related motions, but declined to strike Defendants’ answer. The Court explained:

Here, while Plaintiffs have made a showing that Defendants have failed to timely comply with discovery deadlines and the Court’s discovery orders, the Court does not find that this conduct warrants the “severe sanction” of striking Defendants’ Answer. “Actions should be resolved on their merits whenever possible, and the drastic remedy of striking a pleading or the alternative remedy of precluding evidence should not be employed without a clear showing that the failure to comply with court-ordered discovery was willful and contumacious” (Rector v City of New York, 174 AD3d 660, 660-61 [2d Dept 2019]). Ultimately, Defendants’ delay in complying with the Court’s June 2025 Order was only a matter of days—and their responses were provided before the deadline for all discovery. Accordingly, in light of the Court’s preference to decide cases on the merits, the motion to strike is denied.

There should, however, be consequences for Defendants’ dilatory behavior, which has led to two otherwise unnecessary and wasteful discovery-related motions. Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation embodied in Section VIII of the Preliminary Conference Order (NYSCEF 73), and in the exercise of the Court’s discretion, Plaintiff is awarded recovery of its reasonable fees and expenses incurred in connection with Motion Sequences 006 and 007.

Contact the Commercial Division Blog Committee at commercialdivisionblog@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions concerning discovery or sanctions.