On March 27, 2025, the New York Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously ruled in favor of Clark Smith Villazor clients Knighthead Capital Management, Certares Opportunities, and investment funds they manage (“Plaintiffs”) on their challenge to a Supreme Court decision granting private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC’s motion to quash a subpoena directed at its co-founder, Wesley Edens. This successful appeal reaffirms the “minimal” nature of CPLR 3101(a)(1)’s notice requirement, as set forth by the New York Court of Appeals in Kapon v. Koch, 23 N.Y.3d 32 (2014), and underscores that corporate executives are not subject to a heightened discovery standard under New York law.
In unanimously reversing the Supreme Court’s decision, the First Department held that Plaintiffs’ subpoena, which was accompanied by the complaint, provided sufficient notice under CPLR 3101(a)(1). The First Department also held that the Supreme Court should have denied Fortress’s motion to quash because Fortress “did not meet its initial burden of demonstrating that Edens’ testimony would have been ‘utterly irrelevant.’”
Christopher J. Clark, Brian T. Burns, and Eremipagamo M. Amabebe filed the appeal on behalf of Knighthead, Certares, and the related funds.
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