Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Do not give any discovery. Check with an attorney before you do anything. If they were convicted of a crime in which you are the victim it is very likely they are barred from suing you.

If the case was filed in Supreme Court, and there is an Index Number assigned, then it is in the court system. However, a judge will not be assigned until a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) is filed by one of the parties, served on the other, and a fee paid. Yes, a party has the right to serve discovery demands prior to the case being assigned to a judge. However, in many counties, meaningful discovery does not always take place until a party files the RJI and requests a Preliminary Conference. Once that happens, the court can supervise the discovery process. Whether you elect to proceed with discovery prior to having the Preliminary Conference or not, you generally should not be ignoring discovery demands unless you are familiar with the practice in the County. In many counties you can ignore the demands and wait for a Preliminary Conference. But in a few, judges will not tolerate it if you were served with a demand and just completely ignored it. The better practice is to respond with any objections and let the Court resolve them either by conference or by motion. Obviously the safest way to protect yourself and know what objections are available is to consult with a lawyer.