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

On July 8, 2025, Justice Andrea Masley clarified an earlier decision imposing sanctions for spoliation that included prohibiting a defendant from using the terms “stray” and “handful” during trial to describe the number of allegedly fraudulent telemarketing calls. In Earthlink, LLC v. Charter Communications Operating LLC, Index No. 654332/2020, Charter Communications was found to have destroyed evidence including recordings of calls that its call center employees made to Earthlink customers, allegedly falsely informing those customers that Earthlink was out of business. In response to a motion for reargument, the Court clarified that it would allow Charter Communications to use the terms “stray” and “handful” during closing argument but would not allow it to use them during presentation of evidence to the jury. The Court explained: Read More

On January 18, 2024, Justice Andrea Masley granted sanctions against defendant Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter”) for spoliation of evidence. The decision in Earthlink, LLC v. Charter Communications Operating, LLC, Index No. 654332/2020, rejected Charter’s claim that preserving recordings of millions of calls over several months was impossible. The Court explained: Read More

On October 5, 2017, the First Department issued a decision in Zacharius v. Kensington Publishing Cor… Read More

On June 28, 2016, the First Department issued a decision in Arbor Realty Funding, LLC v. Herrick, Fe… Read More