Legal Question in Business Law in New York

The Defendant filed an Order to Show Cause. The judge returned the order and only ordered the parties to come to the noted hearing and to serve the order onto the plaintiff. The section on the order, which notes the answering papers and reply papers was crossed out on the order by the judge. The hearing is scheduled to commence shortly. The plaintiff several days before the hearing forwarded to the defendant by overnight delivery opposing papers to the Order to Show Cause. No letter was attached with the opposition papers defining if the opposing papers where forwarded to the court.

Was this improper for the plaintiff to send these papers overnight because the judge asked for the opposing papers not to be generated but just for the parties to come to the hearing?

Because these papers where forwarded overnight to the defendant and before the hearing date is the plaintiff obligated to forward a copy to the courts prior to the hearing?

Or is it just that when the plaintiff appears in court for the hearing they will then and only then present the opposing documents to the judge/court, but in the interim they are obligated in providing a copy to the defendant, which indicates that they will file the opposing paper the day of the hearing?

Because the Plaintiff forwarded overnight the opposing paper to the defendant is the defendant entitled to generate reply papers before the hearing or should the defendant just notify the courts that the plaintiff provided opposing paper, which was crossed out as an order by the judge in the initial order?

Will the Plaintiff at the time and during the hearing just give this copy to the judge?


Asked on 2/20/15, 2:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marshall Isaacs Marshall R. Isaacs, Attorney At Law

This is why I urge litigants to hire an attorney at all costs. I know that arguing your own case sounds easy; and to some extent it is. However, it's the complex procedures at every turn which derail most pro se litigants. I see it all the time.

In any case, there is a relatively new law which requires the parties to have an immediate hearing if the Order to Show Cause requests a stay (i.e. a request that the litigation be put on hold). It sounds like that is the case here. No additional papers are required for the hearing on the stay. Also, litigants are fully entitled by law to submit opposition and reply papers; that's why I sense that the hearing is only on the issue of a stay.

I could be wrong but you haven't presented sufficient facts for me to be certain. Hope this is helpful.

Marshall R. Isaacs

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Answered on 2/23/15, 10:20 am


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