Schatzki et al v. Weiser Capital Management, LLC et al, No. 1:2010cv04685 - Document 277 (S.D.N.Y. 2014)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION re: 271 MOTION to Stay collection of judgment MOTION for Judgment as a Matter of Law filed by Hoitsz Michel, Weiser Capital Management, LLC. The motions of the Defendants for judgment and for a stay are denied. (Signed by Judge Robert W. Sweet on 5/12/2014) (ajs)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -----------------------------------------x DEBRA SCHATZKI and BPP WEALTH, INC., Plaintiffs, -against- 10 Civ. 4685 OPINION WEISER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC, WEISERMAZARS, LLP and HOITSZ (A/K/A "CARIJN") MICHEL, Defendants. ,.,,... .,...., -----------------------------------------x A P P E A R A N C E S: Attorneys for Plaintiffs LAWLER MAHON & ROONEY LLP 36 West 44th Street, Suite 1400 New York, NY 10036 By: Albert K. Lawler, Esq. Christopher S. Rooney, Esq. James J. Mahon, Esq. Attorneys for Defendants STARK & STARK, P.C. 993 Lenox Drive Lawrenceville, NJ 08543 By: Scott I. Unger, Esq. ... -ยท -., Sweet, D.J. Defendants Weiser Capital Management, LLC ("WCM"), Weisermazars, LLP ("Weisermazars") and Hoitsz Michel ("Michel") (collectively, the "Defendants") have renewed their motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) ("Rule 50(b)"), seeking a dismissal of the claim upon which the jury awarded $300,000.00 in damages to Plaintiff. For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants' motion is denied. Prior Proceedings On January 21, 2014 Defendants moved pursuant to Rule 50(a) for judgment as a matter of law to set aside the jury verdict of $300,000 in favor of the Plaintiffs Debra Schatzki ("Schatzki") and BPP Wealth, Inc. ("BPP"), collectively (the "Plaintiffs"). The motion was denied. Judgment was entered on March 14, 2014. The instant motion renewing the motion was marked fully submitted on April 16, 2014. The Rule SO(b) Standard 1 In Cash v. County of Erie, 654 F.3d 324 (2d Cir. 2011), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals discussed what it called the "heavy burden" that a party must meet on a Rule SO(b) motion for judgment after a jury rendered a verdict in favor of its adversary as follows: In such circumstances, a court may set aside the verdict only "if there exists such a complete lack of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury's findings could only have been the result of sheer surmise and conjecture, or the evidence in favor of the movant is so overwhelming that reasonable and fair minded persons could not arrive at a verdict against it." Id. at 333, (quoting Kinneary v. City of New York, 601 F.3d 151, 155 (2d Cir. 2010)). The Defendants' Motion For Judgment Is Denied In the In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Liability Litig., 725 F.3d 65, Prod. (2d Cir. 2013), our circuit noted that the jury was free to accept or reject expert testimony, and to draw its own conclusions. Id. at 114 (citing Berger v. Iron Workers Reinforced Rodmen, Local 201, 170 F.3d 1111, 1131 (D.C. Cir. 1999)). The Circuit Court adopted in a jury context the holding of its previous decision in Schroeder v. The Tug 2 Montauk, 358 F.2d 485 (2d Cir. 1966), where it held that "[i]t was within the province of the [trier of fact] to weight [conflicting expert evidence] and accept or reject the whole or a part of each [expert's] testimony." Id., 358 F.2d at 488. Here, there was evidence before the jury, expert and otherwise, to support the jury's award. The Defendants have not established the basis for Rule 50(b) relief and their motion is denied. The Motion For A Stay Is Denied No basis for a stay of execution having been established, the Defendants' motion is denied. 3 Conclusion The motions of the Defendants for judgment and for a stay are denied. New York, NY May ( y, 2014 4
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
