Delgado v. City of New York

Background

Peter Delgado brought the case after alleging that members of the New York City Police Department falsely arrested him on April 23, May 4, and September 22, 2018. The opinion states that the defendants previously filed a partial motion for judgment on the pleadings, a motion asking the court to decide claims based on the existing pleadings. On June 17, 2021, the court granted that motion in part and denied it in part.

Discovery dispute

The defendants served document requests and interrogatories—written discovery requests—on September 23, 2021. After several rounds of responses and deficiency letters, the defendants said that some deficiencies remained. They asked the court to compel Delgado to produce documents concerning his retainer agreements, time and expense records, and financing of the litigation.

Delgado asserted attorney-client privilege, which generally protects certain confidential communications between a lawyer and client, over the requested materials and provided a privilege log identifying the materials he claimed were protected. The defendants argued that the retainer agreement was not privileged in its entirety and that any partially protected material should be redacted rather than withheld wholesale. They also argued that the documents were relevant because Delgado sought attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.

Court’s action

Judge John P. Cronan did not rule on whether the defendants were entitled to the requested discovery. The order states only that Delgado had to file a response to the defendants’ letter-motion to compel by May 4, 2022. The text provided does not include a later decision on that motion.