The Litigation, The lawsuit Options

[Sunderer]

I haven't posted here in a long time (if ever).

At the risk of duplicating a topic, you can access the litigation between the other members and Ed. (We lawyers find these things).

I do not believe I am allowed to link to the direct site, but the lawsuit is filed in the State Supreme Court in New York. Your GoogleFoo skillz should get you there!

Their records are free so long as you agree to the terms. You can view the various pleadings.

Then you can say you are PRIVY to something !

[Sunderer]

Sorry about duplication.

The complaint was two-fold: (1) failure to pay $300,000 (he apparently paid $75,000 on an advance); and (2) the bootleg.

There is absolutely nothing since August of last year. Now discovery in civil cases is conducted outside the purview of the court (unless a discovery dispute arises). So you might not hear about discovery.

BUT, a year is a LONG time without hearing anything. No trial settings requested, no hearings requested, nothing.

Perhaps New York dockets are ten times worse than where I practice (Texas), but a year with nothing reported on the docket is CRAZY.

I previously offered (probably on FB) to mediate this dispute. This mediation would occur in Vegas. I would NOT charge for travel or hotel, as I can get those - just my time during the mediation. And since I'm a specialized divorce attorney, this dispute is right up my alley. Just another breakup. Unfortunately, the "parents" left millions of heart-broken "kids" in this case.

And to digress on to other topics ... I don't care if you make Jesus Christ the lead singer of your new re-tooled band, it WON'T WORK 9 times out of 10. Ask Fuel (Brett had that cool voice). Ask Creed (and they lost their mo). Heck, even Journey stinks after all these years. [Van Halen is the one and only exception].

LIVE needs to start over. They need to write a new agreement. If Ed is doing 99% of the writing as he claims, then re-tool the '05 Agreement. Write an agreement where Ed can work on solo projects as well (it seemed to work for Sting and the Police).

But I turn 50 in March, and I'm planning on spending my birthday making extremely poor choices in Vegas. As least SOME good could come out of my trip.

[dangum]

BUT, a year is a LONG time without hearing anything. No trial settings requested, no hearings requested, nothing.

Is there a statute of limitations for this sort of case?

What's your opinion on the bootleg CDs that Ed's selling on his site? Ed would need to make some sort of payment to the rest of the band for any income he receives from them, right?

[Bremang]

Is there a statute of limitations for this sort of case?

I tried going over the New York Rules of Civ Pro almost a year ago....but honestly, I don't think I was inclined to understand the rules at the time. But I couldn't find anything specifically prescribed as far as time limits once an action begins.

[mfitz804]

I tried going over the New York Rules of Civ Pro almost a year ago....but honestly, I don't think I was inclined to understand the rules at the time. But I couldn't find anything specifically prescribed as far as time limits once an action begins.

After an action is filed, the Court will set a "Standards and Goals" date, which is a date by which they would like the matter to be resolved, at some point. If there is no action in the case after one year, the Defendant could make a motion to dismiss the case as being abandoned, but it doesn't happen automatically, they actually have to make that effort. And the usual response to that would be the wheels start turning again rather than an actual dismissal.

So no, there technically is no time limit once its filed. The discovery process in a New York Supreme Court case can easily take over a year, or three, or five depending on its complexity.

Also, discovery documents and depositions are NOT filed with the Court in New York, so the fact that no additional documents have appeared on that website means nothing. You could have three years worth of discovery without action on the docket, other that Orders of the Court.

The fact that no RJI has been filed, as I stated above, is the interesting part to me. This means that there is no assigned judge, no discovery schedule, basically its in limbo until someone acts. And neither side is acting.

The Stipulation that is referred to was probably to permit extra time for the Defendants to answer, which is a common Stipulation that is made in nearly every case.

[Bremang]

After an action is filed, the Court will set a "Standards and Goals" date, which is a date by which they would like the matter to be resolved, at some point. If there is no action in the case after one year, the Defendant could make a motion to dismiss the case as being abandoned, but it doesn't happen automatically, they actually have to make that effort. And the usual response to that would be the wheels start turning again rather than an actual dismissal.

So no, there technically is no time limit once its filed. The discovery process in a New York Supreme Court case can easily take over a year, or three, or five depending on its complexity.

Also, discovery documents and depositions are NOT filed with the Court in New York, so the fact that no additional documents have appeared on that website means nothing. You could have three years worth of discovery without action on the docket, other that Orders of the Court.

The fact that no RJI has been filed, as I stated above, is the interesting part to me. This means that there is no assigned judge, no discovery schedule, basically its in limbo until someone acts. And neither side is acting.

The Stipulation that is referred to was probably to permit extra time for the Defendants to answer, which is a common Stipulation that is made in nearly every case.

Thank you...

Do you believe that CCP made this claim in good faith? Or that they changed their minds? Is it typical for discovery items and depositions to not be on the docket in other courts?

[mfitz804]

Thank you...

Do you believe that CCP made this claim in good faith? Or that they changed their minds? Is it typical for discovery items and depositions to not be on the docket in other courts?

THAT is impossible to know without hearing both sides of the story, and as much as you would like to think so, the Complaint and Answer do NOT give you the complete description of the underlying facts, pretty much by design.

I am not really sure how other states handle the docketing of discovery, I only work in New York. But here, the Court does not become involved in discovery issues other than 1) setting a schedule, which in the Live case doesn't seem to have happened, and 2) resolving disputes between the parties when their attorneys can't agree. Other than that, the discovery process is basically up to the parties to complete.

Based on all that I see, this was a filing made to preserve the claim for Statute of Limitations purposes, and it may never be pursued to its completion.

[Bremang]

THAT is impossible to know without hearing both sides of the story, and as much as you would like to think so, the Complaint and Answer do NOT give you the complete description of the underlying facts, pretty much by design.

I am not really sure how other states handle the docketing of discovery, I only work in New York. But here, the Court does not become involved in discovery issues other than 1) setting a schedule, which in the Live case doesn't seem to have happened, and 2) resolving disputes between the parties when their attorneys can't agree. Other than that, the discovery process is basically up to the parties to complete.

Based on all that I see, this was a filing made to preserve the claim for Statute of Limitations purposes, and it may never be pursued to its completion.

I apologize if this question is non-nonsensical, I'm still learning this stuff, but are you saying that neither party can make a motion to compel production of documents in New York? Is that not part of the discovery process?

This post has been edited by Bremang: Oct 3 2011, 2:33 pm

[mfitz804]

I apologize if this question is non-nonsensical, I'm still learning this stuff, but are you saying that neither party can make a motion to compel production of documents in New York? Is that not part of the discovery process?

You don't make a motion to compel discovery until AFTER you have served a demand for discovery that the other side doesn't respond to. Such demands do not get filed with the Court, you work on them on your own.

If a party doesn't respond, yes, you can make a Motion to compel discovery. However, that assumes that there was a discovery schedule set by the Court, which in this case there hasn't been. It would also require the case to be assigned to a judge by filing of an RJI which also hasn't happened. In fact, many (if not most) judges require a party to ask permission of the Court prior to making such a Motion, typically by letter or telephone.

So is a motion to compel discovery part of the discovery process? It can be, but only if the parties aren't working well together. So, unless there is a disagreement, no such motion would appear on the Court's docket.

[Bremang]

You don't make a motion to compel discovery until AFTER you have served a demand for discovery that the other side doesn't respond to. Such demands do not get filed with the Court, you work on them on your own.

If a party doesn't respond, yes, you can make a Motion to compel discovery. However, that assumes that there was a discovery schedule set by the Court, which in this case there hasn't been. It would also require the case to be assigned to a judge by filing of an RJI which also hasn't happened. In fact, many (if not most) judges require a party to ask permission of the Court prior to making such a Motion, typically by letter or telephone.

So is a motion to compel discovery part of the discovery process? It can be, but only if the parties aren't working well together. So, unless there is a disagreement, no such motion would appear on the Court's docket.

Would prior existing agreements appear on the docket as evidence in any way?
thanks again

This post has been edited by Bremang: Oct 3 2011, 5:14 pm

[mfitz804]

Would prior existing agreements appear on the docket as evidence in any way?
thanks again

No they would not appear on the docket in any way. Agreements such as that are not filed with the Court.

[Bremang]

No they would not appear on the docket in any way. Agreements such as that are not filed with the Court.

Thanks again....

I apologize again if these questions are way off the mark...

When the NY SC is determining a breach, how is evidence such as a contract introduced to the court? Will the court try to make these determinations pre-trial when Ed's camp is asking for judgment in their favor?

This post has been edited by Bremang: Oct 3 2011, 6:19 pm