PACELLI v. PETER CEDENO ASSOCIATES (2021)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Margaret A. Chan, J.), entered November 9, 2020, which, to the extent appealed from, denied plaintiffs' motion to compel defendants to respond to certain interrogatories as well as a document request, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The motion court providently exercised its discretion in determining that that the discovery sought by plaintiffs was not material and necessary to the prosecution of their tort claims (see generally CPLR 3101[a];  Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London v. Occidental Gems, Inc., 11 N.Y.3d 843, 845, 873 N.Y.S.2d 239, 901 N.E.2d 732 [2008]).  Plaintiffs were not entitled to discovery regarding prior alleged misconduct because their claim for violation of New York City's Victims of Gender–Motivated Violence Protection Law is premised on rape, and animus is inherent in rape (see Breest v. Haggis, 180 A.D.3d 83, 94, 115 N.Y.S.3d 322 [1st Dept. 2019]).  Contrary to plaintiffs' contention, they are not entitled to information merely because it relates to nonmaterial factual allegations in their complaint, which are unrelated to any element of their claims.  It is the alleged coercive representations that were made in the text messages at issue that are relevant, not the underlying conduct.  Further, plaintiffs have not shown a basis for seeking defendant's travel documents at this time, as plaintiff has not alleged that defendant Cedeno claimed that he was unavailable for a conference due to travel.