The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2013 6th Edition A practical cross-border insight into litigation & dispute resolution work Published by Global Legal Group, in association with CDR, with contributions from: Advokatfirman Vinge M. & M. Bomchil Aivar Pilv Law Office MOLITOR Avocats à la Cour Allens Motieka & Audzevičius Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Arnold & Porter LLP Oblin Melichar Attorneys at law Borenius Ltd Ovalle Ugarte & Letelier Abogados Banwo & Ighodalo Pinheiro Neto Advogados Beck Redden L.L.P. Portilla, Ruy-Díaz & Aguilar, S.C. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP Collora LLP Schellenberg Wittmer Debarliev, Dameski and Kelesoska Attorneys at law Schoenherr DLA Piper SCPA DOGUE-ABBE YAO & Associés Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Shipman & Goodwin LLP Gleiss Lutz SJ Berwin LLP Hogan Lovells Studio Legale Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Lang & Asociados TashkoPustina – Attorneys Latournerie Wolfrom & Associés Vasil Kisil & Partners Lloreda Camacho & Co The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2013 General Chapter: 1 Sovereign Immunity in Practice: Caution Prevails - Greg Lascelles & Mikhail Vishnyakov, SJ Berwin LLP 1 Country Question and Answer Chapters: 2 Albania TashkoPustina – Attorneys: Florian Hasko & Anila Alliu 7 Contributing Editor 3 Argentina M. & M. Bomchil: María Inés Corrá 16 Greg Lascelles, SJ Berwin LLP 4 Australia Allens: Peter O'Donahoo & Alex Cuthbertson 23 Account Managers 5 Austria Oblin Melichar: Dr Klaus Oblin 31 Beth Bassett, Brigitte 6 Belgium DLA Piper: Sylvie Van Ommeslaghe & Caroline Verbruggen 38 Descacq, Dror Levy, Maria Lopez, Florjan Osmani, 7 Brazil Pinheiro Neto Advogados: Gilberto Giusti & Ana Carolina Beneti 46 Samuel Romp, Oliver Smith, Rory Smith 8 Canada Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Ryder Gilliland & Adam Lazier 54 Sales Support Manager 9 Chile Ovalle Ugarte & Letelier Abogados: Esteban Ovalle Andrade & Toni Wyatt Eduardo Ugarte Díaz 62 Sub Editors 10 Colombia Lloreda Camacho & Co: Bernardo Salazar & Natalia Caroprese 70 Beatriz Arroyo Fiona Canning 11 Costa Rica Lang & Asociados: Henry Lang & Rogelio Navas 78 Editor 12 Cyprus Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC: Panayiotis Neocleous 85 Suzie Kidd 13 England & Wales SJ Berwin LLP: Greg Lascelles & Mikhail Vishnyakov 92 Senior Editor 14 Estonia Aivar Pilv Law Office: Pirkka-Marja Põldvere & Aivar Pilv 103 Penny Smale 15 Finland Attorneys at law Borenius Ltd: Kristiina Liljedahl & Niki J. Welling 111 Group Consulting Editor Alan Falach 16 France Latournerie Wolfrom & Associés: Julien de Michele & Chantal Cordier-Vasseur 118 Group Publisher 17 Germany Gleiss Lutz: Michael Christ & Claudia Krapfl 129 Richard Firth 18 Italy Hogan Lovells Studio Legale: Francesca Rolla & Massimiliano Marinozzi 137 Published by Global Legal Group Ltd. 19 Ivory Coast SCPA DOGUE-ABBE YAO & Associés: Abbé Yao & Seydou Zerbo 146 59 Tanner Street 20 Japan Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu: Naoki Iguchi & Hiroki Aoki 153 London SE1 3PL, UK Tel: +44 20 7367 0720 21 Lithuania Motieka & Audzevičius: Ramūnas Audzevičius & Mantas Juozaitis 159 Fax: +44 20 7407 5255 Email: [email protected] 22 Luxembourg MOLITOR Avocats à la Cour: Nadine Bogelmann & Paulo Lopes Da Silva 167 URL: www.glgroup.co.uk 23 Macedonia Debarliev, Dameski and Kelesoska Attorneys at law: Elena Nikodinovska & GLG Cover Design Ivan Debarliev 177 F&F Studio Design 24 Mexico Portilla, Ruy-Díaz & Aguilar, S.C.: Carlos Fernando Portilla Robertson & GLG Cover Image Source Enrique Aguilar Hernández 185 iStockphoto 25 Nigeria Banwo & Ighodalo: Abimbola Akeredolu & Chinedum Umeche 193 Printed by Information Press Ltd 26 Russia Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP: Ivan Marisin & Vasily Kuznetsov 202 February 2013 27 Serbia Moravčević Vojnović i Partneri in cooperation with Schoenherr: Copyright © 2013 Matija Vojnović & Nataša Lalatović 209 Global Legal Group Ltd. All rights reserved 28 Sweden Advokatfirman Vinge: Krister Azelius & Lotta Knapp 216 No photocopying 29 Switzerland Schellenberg Wittmer: Alexander Jolles & Hannah Boehm 223 ISBN 978-1-908070-51-7 ISSN 1755-1889 30 Ukraine Vasil Kisil & Partners: Oleksiy Filatov & Andriy Stelmashchuk 232 Strategic Partners 31 USA - California Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP: Jeffrey H. Reeves & Joshua A. Jessen 242 32 USA - Connecticut Shipman & Goodwin LLP: Frederick S. Gold & Alison P. Baker 251 33 USA - Massachusetts Collora LLP: Michael A. Collora & Maria R. Durant 260 34 USA - New York Arnold & Porter LLP: Charles G. Berry & Daniel Bernstein 267 35 USA - Texas Beck Redden L.L.P.: Fields Alexander & David Gunn 275 36 USA - Washington, D.C. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: Gary A. Rubin 282 Further copies of this book and others in the series can be ordered from the publisher. Please call +44 20 7367 0720 Disclaimer This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehensive full legal or other advice. Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication. This publication is intended to give an indication of legal issues upon which you may need advice. Full legal advice should be taken from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations. www.ICLG.co.uk Chapter 34 USA - New York Charles G. Berry Arnold & Porter LLP Daniel Bernstein I. LITIGATION 1.3 What are the main stages in civil proceedings in New York? What is their underlying timeframe? 1 Preliminaries The main stages of civil proceedings are: Filing of summons and complaint and getting an index 1.1 What type of legal system does the state of New York number. have? Are there any rules that govern civil procedure in Service of summons and complaint (within 120 days of New York? filing, unless an extension is granted). Service of an answer, which may include defences, or a New York State follows a common law system, as do other motion to dismiss (typically within 20-30 days of service of jurisdictions in the United States. Judicial decisions create a body a complaint). of case law that guides the application of statutes, regulations, and Pretrial discovery (which can take months or even years). legal principles. New York also provides a right to trial by jury in Possible dispositive motions (for dismissal of all or part of certain civil actions. Courts in New York can hear almost any type the pleadings, or for summary judgment). of case, including cases that arise under state and federal law. Trial (which often lasts days or weeks). However, when a case arises under federal law or when the parties Judgment. are from different states (or countries) and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, the defendant may remove the case Appeal (which usually take many months to brief and from state to federal court. schedule for oral argument, if any, and typically take about two months after argument or submission for the appellate New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) governs civil court to render a decision). procedure in New York courts. Adopted by the state legislature, the Civil proceedings often involve motion practice at various stages. CPLR has been in effect since 1963. For example, a party may file motions for provisional remedies, motions to compel, limit or exclude discovery, or motions for 1.2 How is the civil court system in New York structured? dismissal or summary judgment before trial. The more complicated What are the various levels of appeal and are there any a case and the more motions filed, the longer it typically takes to be specialist courts? resolved. The discovery phase is often the most time-consuming and expensive. Cases can also be slowed down because of limited The main court of original general jurisdiction in New York is judicial resources and crowded court dockets. called the Supreme Court (not to be confused with Supreme Courts in other U.S. jurisdictions which are often the court of last resort). 1.4 What is the New York judiciary’s approach to exclusive Each New York county has a branch of the Supreme Court. Several jurisdiction clauses? counties, including New York County (Manhattan) have a Commercial Division, which consists of several judges whose New York courts generally enforce exclusive jurisdiction clauses, caseload is devoted exclusively to complex commercial cases. often referred to as “forum-selection” clauses. These clauses are a The principal intermediate appellate court in New York is the matter of contract and will be interpreted and enforced as such. Appellate Division. There are four judicial departments based on Accordingly, courts will look at the intent of the parties. geography, and the precedent of each department is binding on the Parties can agree to have their case heard in New York, even if they lower courts within that department. For example, decisions of the have minimal contacts with the state. Due to New York’s First Department bind lower courts in Manhattan in New York City. importance as a commercial center, New York courts must entertain The highest court in New York State is the Court of Appeals, located a case that is based on a contract involving more than $1 million, an in the state capitol of Albany, and its decisions are binding agreement to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of New York, and throughout the state. an agreement that New York law governs the parties’ dispute. See In addition to the Supreme Court, New York also