Constellation Energy Generation, LLC v. East Coast Power and Gas, LLC
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-09625
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Constellation Energy Generation v. East Coast Power and Gas: Judge Cronan denied East Coast’s subpoena motion because the case had ended after default judgment.
East Coast Power and Gas, LLC; Signature Bank, the nonparty subpoena recipient; and the judgment creditor identified in the filing as Exelon Generation Co., Inc.
What happened
In Constellation Energy Generation, LLC v. East Coast Power and Gas, LLC, East Coast asked the court to protect information and cancel a subpoena issued to Signature Bank. East Coast argued that the subpoena improperly included questions, sought overly broad information, and requested confidential material.
The court denied the motion. It explained that the court had entered a default judgment on April 5, 2022, after East Coast failed to retain new counsel, and had not kept authority to enforce that judgment. The court therefore said the case had ended and the motion was procedurally improper.
Judge John P. Cronan also noted that Levitt LLP had previously been allowed to withdraw from representing East Coast and did not claim to represent Signature Bank. He directed the clerk to close Docket Number 95.
The detailed version
- Constellation Energy Generation, LLC v. East Coast Power and Gas, LLC · No. 1:20-cv-09625
- John Cronan
- Dec. 2, 2022
Background
East Coast Power and Gas, LLC moved for a protective order and asked the court to quash, or cancel, a subpoena issued to nonparty Signature Bank. The filing identified the judgment creditor as Exelon Generation Co., Inc. The subpoena sought documents and answers to questions under oath. East Coast argued that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 did not permit interrogatories in a subpoena, that several document requests were overbroad or otherwise improper, and that the subpoena sought confidential or protected information.
Court’s reasoning
The court did not address whether the subpoena violated Rule 45 or whether the requested information was protected. Instead, it held that the motion was procedurally improper because the case had already ended. The court had entered a default judgment on April 5, 2022, after East Coast, a limited liability company, failed to retain new counsel. The court stated that it had not retained jurisdiction to enforce the judgment, so the order entering judgment terminated the case.
The court also noted that it had previously granted Levitt LLP’s request to withdraw as East Coast’s counsel after East Coast formally discharged the firm. The court further observed that Levitt LLP did not claim to represent Signature Bank, the nonparty subject to the subpoena.
Disposition
The court denied East Coast’s motion for a protective order and to quash the Signature Bank subpoena. Judge John P. Cronan directed the Clerk of Court to close Docket Number 95. The opinion text’s filing letter refers to the matter as Exelon Generation Company, LLC v. East Coast Power & Gas, LLC, while the supplied case name identifies the plaintiff as Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; this summary uses the supplied case name.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.