CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVILEGED DATA MAY NOT BE USED
After confidential data was inadvertently provided to its opponent, the plaintiff, PCSOF, moved for a protective order – pursuant to CPLR 3103. And when the New York County Supreme Court granted that request, and awarded legal fees, an appeal followed.
The Appellate Division, First Department, noted that it was incumbent on the defendant to notify its adversary that it had accessed data that was clearly “confidential or privileged.” And that the defendant’s refusal to “sequester” that data needlessly forced the plaintiff to expend considerable fees and costs.
Since the motion court was empowered to fashion appropriate relief to prevent “the abuse of disclosure devices,” the AD1 thought the request for protective relief together with the accompanying award of legal fees, was appropriate under the circumstances and “unanimously affirmed” the outcome.
Look who got abusive there ….
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DECISION