Perri and Popadiuk Obtain Medical Discovery in Breach of Contract Action Despite No Claim or Allegations of Personal Injuries
We represented a defendant who both sold and installed an elevator for Plaintiff’s residence. Plaintiff required an elevator to meet his lifestyle needs. He hired various contractors to perform pre-elevator installation construction work to his home. However, he withdrew from the elevator installation prior to it being completed because he determined that the elevator was not what he had bargained for, not functional and that there were misrepresentations about its features. Plaintiff sued for breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud in the inducement, unjust enrichment and violations of various New York General Business Law statutes which protect against unfair and deceptive trade practices. We were able to elicit deposition testimony that Plaintiff’s physical and/or medical condition may have changed during the elevator installation process and that he would no longer be able to use the elevator. We further argued that this was the true basis for Plaintiff abandoning the installation rather than there being anything wrong with the elevator itself. We demanded and Plaintiff’s attorney objected repeatedly to providing any medical records to either confirm or refute that Plaintiff’s condition had changed. The Court agreed with our position that Plaintiff’s physical and medical condition was in issue and granted our application for the disclosure of medical records.
Carl M. Perri
Gregory J. Popadiuk