PETER KELLY — Surrogate Peter Kelly
Respondent, decedent’s former attorney-in-fact, moved to quash a subpoena petitioner served on non-party JPMorgan Chase (JPMC), seeking production of respondent’s personal banking records in this discovery action. The court noted a proceeding under Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act §2103 was defined as a statutorily endorsed “fishing expedition” in which a fiduciary may probe for knowledge of information based on nothing more than “information and belief.” It stated a petitioner was not even required to set forth allegations sufficient to sustain a claim, only those justifying an inquiry. Generally, a person’s personal banking records were not subject to disclosure absent existence of absolute necessity, including where a fiduciary was accused of self-dealing. The court denied respondent’s motion finding petitioner proffered proof respondent was granted a power of attorney, and while decedent’s attorney-in-fact engaged in self-dealing by transferring money from a joint account decedent held with her husband to accounts respondent maintained at JPMC. Thus, upon the proffer of strong evidence respondent violated her fiduciary duty to decedent, which was uncontradicted, petitioner satisfied the necessary standard entitling disclosure of respondent’s personal banking records.
