Justice Alexander Hunter Jr.
Schur Management moved to sanction plaintiffs and their attorneys. Plaintiffs were previously held in civil contempt for their failure to post an undertaking in contravention of two court orders. Plaintiffs CEO stated the company was economically impoverished, arguing if Schur turned over $230,000, plaintiffs would be able to post the undertaking. Yet, even after Schur turned over the sum, plaintiffs failed to obtain and post the undertaking. The CEO noted surety companies required plaintiff to post 15 buildings and $200,000 in cash as collateral in order to obtain a bond. Plaintiff noted it was prohibited from granting any interest in 10 of their buildings without the express consent of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which denied the request. As such, plaintiff was unable to post the undertaking. The court concluded plaintiffs attempted in earnest to comply with the prior court orders, finding the record did not show that plaintiffs’ refusal to comply was undertaken primarily to delay this litigation or maliciously injure Schur. Therefore, the court denied Schur’s motion for an order sanctioning plaintiffs and their attorneys for frivolous conduct.
