How a First-Time Request Dismantled a $150K Lawsuit
It’s rare to win a case by simply issuing written discovery requests, especially when they are the first discovery requests you’ve ever written. Yet that was the result of CVLS PILI Fellow, and now Kirkland & Ellis associate, Henry Adams’s excellent work product during the summer of 2024. At the same time that Henry was volunteering with CVLS, Dan Quarfoot, CVLS’s Staff Attorney, was referred a former franchise owner and commercial tenant in a breach of contract action from the Law Division. Despite the client having sold his business, assigned his lease to another party, and moved out over a year prior, the plaintiff had decided to sue for over $150,000 in money and liquidated damages, purportedly because of the client’s failure to execute a proper lease assignment. CVLS took the case, and Henry drafted and issued extensive written discovery requests to the plaintiff, the first set Henry had ever drafted.
Months passed, Henry’s fellowship with CVLS ended, and Dan heard nothing from the plaintiff’s attorney with respect to discovery. Deadlines for written and oral discovery came and went, settlement offers received no response, and the trial date loomed. One month before trial, Dan filed a motion asking the trial judge to bar the plaintiff from presenting any evidence or witnesses due to its failure to comply with the discovery rules, and the plaintiff filed a motion asking to reset the trial date. On the day of trial, the plaintiff’s request was denied, and the matter settled within an hour, for less than 2 percent of the plaintiff’s pled damages, spread out over 12 months. Thanks to Henry and Dan’s efforts, the client was able to walk away from his troublesome business without a six-figure debt to hinder his next business endeavor.
