Justice Lebovits of the Supreme Court, New York County, just decided that a cooperative shareholder who is facing an award of legal fees against him, must appear at a virtual hearing on the amount of the legal fee award.  The cooperative at One West 64th Street in Manhattan won the case and the Court decided that the shareholder’s continued seeking books and records in the lawsuit was in bad faith and warranted an award of legal fees to the coop under the proprietary lease.

After Covid-19, an in person hearing was not possible.  The coop pressed on and wanted a virtual hearing on the attorney fees award. The motion practice proceeded, resulting in Justice Lebovits’ decision on September 4, 2020.  The Court recognized that:

This court is aware of only one New York case addressing the issue of virtual hearings since the beginning of the pandemic. In A.S. v N.S., Justice Tandra L. Dawson of Supreme Court, New York County, carefully considered the issue and held that under the circumstances of the case before her (a contentious custody dispute), holding a virtual hearing was feasible, fair, and preferable to further postponing trial. (See 2020 NY Slip Op 20161 [Sup Ct, NY County July 1, 2020].)

Justice Lebovits agreed with that conclusion and ordered a virtual hearing.  According to the Court:

Judiciary Law § 2-b (3) confers power on this court “to devise and make new process and [*3]forms of proceedings, necessary to carry into effect the powers and jurisdiction possessed by it.” This statutory provision “explicitly authorize[s] the courts’ use of innovative procedures where “necessary to carry into effect the powers and jurisdiction possessed by” the court. (People v Wrotten, 14 NY3d 33, 37 [2009] [internal quotation marks omitted].)

Read the decision here.