Commercial Division Blog: Current Developments in the Commercial Divisions of the New York State Courts

On October 9, 2026, in Chen Dongwu v. New York City Regional Center LLC, Index No. 652024/2017, Justice Robert R. Reed granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing all of plaintiffs’ remaining claims. Read More

On October 1, 2026, in Abramov v. Capula Investment US LP, Index No. 651251/2026, Justice Joel M. Cohen denied defendants’ motion to dismiss a whistleblower retaliation claim under Labor Law § 740. Read More

On October 5, 2026, in Casita, L.P. v. Maplewood Equity Partners (Offshore) Ltd., Index No. 653122/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division directed defendants to respond to a plaintiff’s document demands and declined to limit or bifurcate discovery at an early stage of the case. Plaintiff, an equity fund investor, sued the fund’s managing members for breach of contract, seeking to enforce the accounting and fund distribution terms of a subscription agreement. Plaintiff sought documents concerning fund distributions, accounting and tax records, non-privileged fee and retainer documents, and account transfers. Defendants opposed production of certain documents on the ground that, at this early stage, discovery should be limited. The Court found that none of those categories fell within the CPLR’s protected categories. It explained: Read More

On October 6, 2026, in Webb v. Infusion Capital Group LLC, Index No. 659826/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division denied defendants’ motion to dismiss an amended complaint brought by an individual appearing pro se, both on his own behalf and as assignee of a limited liability company’s claims. The action arises from an alleged agreement to purchase future receivables from RP Palm Beach LLC, which does business as Roxy’s Pub. Plaintiff John Webb sought declarations that defendants lacked authority to enforce the agreement or, alternatively, that the agreement was a criminally usurious loan. Defendants moved under C.P.L.R. 3211(a)(3) and 321(a), arguing that the LLC lacked capacity because it had not obtained a certificate of authority to do business in New York, and that a corporate entity may not appear without counsel. The Court found that defendants offered no evidence that the LLC was doing business in New York, and it also denied plaintiff’s cross-motion for sanctions. On the pro se issue, the Court explained: Read More

On September 24, 2026, in UBS Securities LLC v. Dondero, Index No. 650744/23, Case No. 2025-02596, the Appellate Division, First Department, largely affirmed an order of Justice Melissa A. Crane of the New York County Commercial Division denying motions to dismiss a turnover petition asserting a veil-piercing claim. UBS, a judgment creditor, alleged that James Dondero dominated the judgment debtors and used that domination to strip them of their assets and render them judgment proof. A veil-piercing plaintiff must show that the owner dominated the entity “in respect to the transaction attacked.” Dondero argued that the transaction attacked was the underlying transaction that gave rise to UBS’s judgments (the Knox Transaction), and that UBS had not alleged that he dominated the judgment debtors with respect to that transaction. The Court disagreed, explaining: Read More

On August 20, 2026, in A & L 444 LLC v. Ankura Trust Co., LLC, Index No. 653212/2023, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division granted plaintiffs’ counsel leave to withdraw and denied counsel’s request for a stay of the proceedings while its clients sought new counsel. Baker Hostetler LLP moved under C.P.L.R. 321(b)(2) to be relieved as counsel for plaintiffs, stating that its clients had failed to satisfy outstanding legal fees and to comply with agreed payment arrangements. Counsel also asked the court to stay the matter so that plaintiffs could find replacement counsel. Defendants opposed the stay, arguing that it would delay resolution and prejudice them, and pointing to plaintiffs’ alleged violations of multiple court-ordered discovery deadlines. Plaintiffs filed no opposition to their attorneys’ motion. Read More

On March 10, 2026, in Gans v. Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl, LLC, 247 AD3d 456, Index No. 152695/24, the Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously affirmed an order of Justice Anar Rathod Patel, which dismissed a legal malpractice complaint and denied leave to amend. Read More

On August 21, 2026, in Anexia, Inc. v. Horizon Data Solutions Ctr., LLC, Index No. 657444/2019, Justice Robert R. Reed granted plaintiff summary judgment dismissing defendant's counterclaim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Read More

On July 27, 2026, in Bourbiaux v. Probst, Index No. 651161/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division granted in part and denied in part the managing members’ motion to dismiss the second amended complaint. Read More

On August 6, 2026, in Gonzalez v. Marte, Index No. 63818/2026, Justice Gretchen Walsh of the Westchester County Commercial Division denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint and dismissed the action without prejudice. Plaintiff alleged that defendant had failed to pay the balance due on a $530,000 promissory note given in connection with the sale of plaintiff’s shares in a restaurant corporation. Defendant never appeared or opposed the motion. The Court held that the motion had nonetheless been short-served, and explained: Read More

On August 6, 2026, in Kelly v Munn Works, LLC, Index No. 64177/2026, Justice Gretchen Walsh of the Westchester County Commercial Division granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint. Read More

On July 27, 2026, in Bourbiaux v. Probst, Index No. 651161/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss. Read More

On July 15, 2026, in Magnetic Parts Trading Limited v National Air Cargo Group, Inc., Index No. 653266/2020, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division denied plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on its breach of lease claim, in part because an issue of fact existed under the doctrine of prevention. Read More

On July 10, 2026, in Schaeffer v GSE Worldwide, Index No. 652676/2021, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division denied the defendants’ motion to quash fourteen nonparty subpoenas. Read More

On July 23, 2026, in CPIF Lending, LLC v Segal, Index No. 652592/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division held that a nonparty assignee had standing to move to substitute as plaintiff in an action for breach of guaranty. Read More

On January 11, 2022, in McCormack v. Kuras, Index No. 656434/2021, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted in part a petition for declaratory relief, declaring that petitioner is and remains the managing member of respondent Triboss Brooklyn, LLC. Respondents had attempted to remove petitioner as managing member by majority vote and to amend the company's articles of organization without petitioner's consent. The Court held that, under the unambiguous terms of the operating agreement, petitioner was appointed managing member and the agreement provided no basis for his removal by majority vote; the only provision addressing a change in the managing member applied where the managing members' aggregate ownership fell below 20 percent, a threshold petitioner had continuously exceeded. The Court also denied respondents' motion to dismiss the petition, denied petitioner's request for preliminary injunctive relief, and denied as premature the branch of the petition seeking judicial dissolution. In rejecting respondents' arguments, the Court explained: Read More

On July 10, 2026, in O’Connor v. Blue Diamond Growers, Index No. 160511/2025, Justice Andrea Masley of the New York County Commercial Division granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. Read More

On July 10, 2026, in Kim v. Radiology Associates of Main Street, P.C., Index No. 715347/2025, Justice Marguerite A. Grays of the Queens County Commercial Division denied defendant’s pre-answer motion to dismiss. Read More

On May 11, 2026, in Jennie Enterprise, et al., v. Michael Shvo, et al., Index No. 653221/2024, Justice Andrea Masley denied plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a second amended complaint adding causes of action for civil RICO violations, RICO conspiracy, fraudulent inducement, aiding and abetting fraudulent inducement, and breach of contract. Read More

On June 13, 2026, in Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd., et al., v. New Tent, LLC, et al., Index No. 850240/2024, Justice Andrea Masley granted defendants’ motion for reargument, vacated the court’s prior summary judgment order, and ruled that the deed in lieu of foreclosure executed under the parties’ Forbearance Agreement must be treated as a mortgage under Real Property Law (“RPL”) § 320, requiring plaintiffs to proceed by foreclosure and sale. Read More