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: Read More

On October 3, 2025, Justice Melissa A. Crane granted fee-shifting sanctions after a plaintiff’s attorney engaged in behavior during depositions that included repeated speaking objections and potential coaching of witnesses. In Guggenheim Securities, LLC, v. Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC et al., Index No. 651585/2024, defendants’ counsel had asked the plaintiff’s counsel to stop making speaking objections, prompting the parties to speak to the Court on the phone. The Court instructed plaintiff’s counsel to stop; however, plaintiff’s counsel continued with speaking objections. After reviewing several egregious examples from the transcripts where counsel’s objections appeared to coach the witnesses, the Court granted defendants’ motion for sanctions. The Court explained: Read More

On March 27, 2025, Justice Melissa A. Crane held two non-parties in contempt of court based on their failure to respond to discovery demands concerning a real property transfer. The case is TH Holdco LLC v. Rubin, Index No. 650955/2023. Read More

On April 25, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Landau v. DGital Media LLC, Index No. 654067/2019, granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' fraud claim and awarding attorneys' fees and costs against plaintiffs, because plaintiffs' own contemporaneous communications showed that they did not rely on defendants' alleged misrepresentation, holding: Read More

On September 5, 2024, Justice Melissa A. Crane declined to award plaintiff the full amount of requested attorneys’ fees and reduced the requested amount by 50%. In EXRP 14 Holdings LLC v. LS-15 Ave LLC, Index No. 652698/2022, the Court had previously granted plaintiff’s motion for sanctions, ordered defendant to reimburse plaintiff for the reasonable costs of making a prior motion, and directed plaintiff to submit supporting documentation for its fee request. In making its 50% reduction, the Court explained: Read More

On August 22, 2024, Justice Margaret A. Chan of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in O'Rourke v. Hammerstein Ballroom, Index No. 161427/2019, striking the complaint and dismissing plaintiff's case after plaintiff repeatedly failed to appear for his court-ordered deposition, explaining: Read More

On June 11, 2024, Justice Joel M. Cohen denied Defendants’ motion for sanctions in anticipation of a motion by the individual plaintiff to renew or reargue the Court’s prior dismissal of the action in Zaklady Tytoniowe W. Lubline S.A. v. MS Global Funding LLC, Index No. 652975/2014, on forum non conveniens grounds. The plaintiff indicated he planned to file a motion for renewal or reargument, and Defendants filed a motion for, inter alia, sanctions under 22 NYCRR 1301.1. The Court denied the motion without prejudice as premature, explaining: Read More

On March 6, 2024, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Zuckerbrot v. Gellis Lande, Index No. 655110/2020, rejecting defendant's claim that her production of "screenshots" of electronically stored information (ESI), rather than "native format ESI," from her social media accounts was sufficient, and fashioning a procedure by which recovery of defendant's social media data may be retrieved, explaining: 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 December 22, 2023, Justice Margaret A. Chan both granted the motion by certain defendants to dismiss, but also granted plaintiff’s request for sanctions against them. The decision in SG575 Holdings LLC v. Richard Stuyvesant Holdings et al., Index No. 651246/2019, concerned an alleged Ponzi scheme. Plaintiff had deposited $1 million into the escrow account of defendant Pincus Carlebach, a now disbarred attorney, pursuant to a sale/purchase agreement regarding certain real estate, but when the agreement was cancelled, Carlebach had misappropriated the escrowed money. Defendants were parties who had also deposited funds in Carlebach’s account but received their funds back from plaintiff’s $1 million. As to the motion to dismiss, the Court explained: Read More

On July 10, 2023, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Kaiping Hong-Ri Garment Co. Ltd. v. Goldfarb, 2023 NY Slip Op 32459(U), striking defendants' answer and entering a default judgment because of defendants' failure to comply with the court's discovery orders, explaining: Read More

In an Opinion dated June 20, 2023, in Constantina Bacopoulou DDS PC v. Carnegie Dental PC, Index No. 650010/2022, Justice Andrea Masley granted Plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions against defendants for conduct during a deposition. Justice Masley concluded that defendants’ counsel violated Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(g), which prohibits lawyers from engaging in conduct that constitutes discrimination or harassment on the basis of, inter alia, sex and Commercial Division rules barring speaking objections at depositions. The Court further appointed a special referee and directed the attorneys, who the Court found contributed to the delay and acrimony in the case, and not the clients, to split the referee’s fees 25% (plaintiffs’ counsel)-75% (defendants’ counsel). As to Defendants’ counsel conduct at the deposition, the Court explained: Read More

On May 31, 2023, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Oldcastle Precast v. Steiner Bldg. N.Y. City LLC, 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2675, denying defendants’ motion to vacate the note of issue. In the action, the parties had proceeded in discovery before a special referee, who had decided numerous discovery issues prior to the filing of the note of issue but left certain other issues relating to sanctions and the admissibility of certain expert reports for the Court to decide. The Court rejected defendants’ arguments that the special referee’s failure to decide these issues warranted vacating the note of issue, because those issues could still be addresses on summary judgment or motions in limine or were not preserved. Read More

In an Opinion, dated March 31, 2023, in Kalamotousakis v. Karp, Index No. 655880/2019, Justice Melissa A Crane granted in part plaintiff’s motion in limine precluding defendants from introducing exhibits and witnesses at trial, as well as from objecting to the admissibility of plaintiff’s trial exhibits, but denied the motion to the extent it sought an order striking defendants’ answer and counterclaims. The Court explained: Read More

In a Decision and Order on Motion, dated March 30, 2023, in Zuckerbrot v. Lande, Index No. 655110/2020, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted in part plaintiffs’ motion concerning various discovery violations by defendant. While noting significant violations, the Court declined, at the current juncture, to impose sanctions, explaining: Read More

In a Decision and Order, dated January 17, 2023, in Silverstein v. Borukhin, Index No. 650418/2021, Justice Jennifer Schecter of the New York County Commercial Division ordered plaintiff’s counsel to pay sanctions for advising his expert that it was acceptable to photograph source code for use in his report without first seeking or obtaining defendants’ consent or court approval as required. The Court explained: Read More

On January 12, 2023, Justice Melissa A. Crane of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Lis v. Lancaster, 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 182, permitting the plaintiff to make a motion for sanctions in the form of its reasonable attorneys’ fees in making a discovery motion where the opposing party improperly withheld documents pursuant to the attorney-client privilege without properly logging those documents on a privilege log. The Court denied the motion insofar as it asked the Court to strike the defendants’ pleadings pursuant to CPLR 3126. The Court explained: Read More

On October 4, 2022, Justice Andrew S. Borrok of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in 39 West 23rd Street, LLC v. Pizzarotti, LLC, 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 33356(U), ordering a party to produce its deponents for supplemental depositions, at that party's cost, when that party amended its interrogatory responses concerning its damages after these deponents' depositions already took place, explaining: Read More

In a Decision and Order dated July 29, 2022, in Lotte Hotel New York Palace, LLC v. Anthony J. DiGuiseppe, P.C., 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 32606(U), Justice Andrea Masley held defendants in contempt regarding their failure to place certain funds in a segregated account.  The Court further awarded plaintiff sanctions against the defendants in the amount of plaintiff's costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in prosecuting the action. Read More

On May 7, 2022, Justice Andrea Masley of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Continental Industries Group, Inc. v. Ustuntas, 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 31525(U), awarding attorneys' fees to defendants even when defendants' counsel did not submit hourly or line-item invoices, explaining: Read More