Justice Eileen Rakower
Plaintiffs sued regarding The Dakota board's denial of tenant's application to purchase an apartment adjacent to his own in order to combine the two. Fletcher claimed The Dakota discriminated against him based on his race, and allegedly retaliated against him for protecting others' rights. He claimed defendants defamed him by making false statements regarding his financial condition to taint consideration of his application. Defendants moved to strike the fifth cause of action for defamation arguing a willful failure to comply with the court's prior discovery orders, and failure to produce documents and information relevant to said claims. The court noted plaintiffs' failure to comply with discovery obligations and frustrate defendants' ability to obtain meaningful discovery was previously documented in the court's prior orders. The court concluded, based on plaintiffs' repeated failure to comply with prior court orders, and provide complete, responsive information within the imposed deadlines, preclusion was warranted. Therefore, the court granted defendants' motion solely to the extent that plaintiffs would be precluded from offering evidence demanded, but not disclosed regarding their alleged damages from defendants' alleged defamation.