Trial Court Rejects Attempt by Corporate Counsel to Gain Tactical Advantage Through Unethical Solicitation
Posted by Matthew F. Belanger, Partner, Faraci LangeA central principle that governs pre-trial investigation or discovery in civil litigation is that much of it can be done informally through private interviews rather than through the formal discovery practices outlined in Article 31 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules. In fact, the New York Court of Appeals, in a case called Nieseg v. Team I, 76 NY2d 363 (1990), expressed the public policy preference that such informal discovery be available to all litigants:Â
Costly formal depositions that may deter litigants with limited resources, or even somewhat less formal and costly interviews attended by adversary counsel, are no substitute for such off-the-record private efforts to learn and assemble, rather than perpetuate, information. More…


