The District Court in the Southern District of New York has ordered that the process of discovery in Leadenhall Capital Partners (LCP)’s lawsuit against 777 Partners and other entities can begin, excepting in the case of individual defendants Josh Wander and Steven Pasko.
The defendants in the case moved to stay discovery against them, pending a decision on whether numerous allegations made against them will be dismissed.
The motions to dismiss are scheduled to be briefed on 12 December.
The ruling this week said defendants’ objections that requests for production of documents were overly burdensome were insufficient.
Discovery will now proceed against defendants 777 Partners, 600 Partners, Advantage Capital Holdings (A-CAP) and Kenneth King, and other defendant entities.
In the case of individual defendants Wander and Pasko, the ruling said document production could be conducted more expeditiously after a decision has been taken on their motions to dismiss.
The ruling this week also indicated not all the motions to dismiss are likely to be granted.
“Given the findings that the court has already made in granting the motion for a preliminary injunction, it is unlikely that all the claims will be dismissed,” District Judge John Koeltl said.
“Moreover, given 777 Parties’ demonstrated failure to pay the $609mn due, LCP has a strong interest in a speedy resolution of this case and likely would be prejudiced by a delay,” the judge added.
LCP has issued 47 requests for production to all defendants, while A-CAP has issued 70 requests for production to the plaintiff.
LCP has brought numerous claims against the defendants, including claims for violations of the RICO Act, common law breach of contract and fraud.
The breach of contract claims were sufficiently well supported for the court to enter preliminary injunctions against 777 Partners, the ruling on Tuesday noted.