Icon Octavian Ctr. LLC v Center Nav. Ltd.

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Icon Octavian Ctr. LLC v Center Nav. Ltd. 2019 NY Slip Op 32071(U) June 28, 2019 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 656164/2016 Judge: Andrew Borrok Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. [*FILED: 1] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 SUPREME COURT OF THE tlTATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PReSl.NT: PART HON. ANDREW BORROK IAS MOTION s&M JustJce --"'":.......-----·-··-·----· . ····-··-,---X ICON OCTAVIAN CENTER. LLC, p~~ -vCENrER NAVIGATION, l TD., QEDEN HOL.OINQ:S, LTD .• INDEX NO. 65616412016 MOTIONDAt:E ·o~019 *>110N 8'!Q.· ~Q. 003 DECISION AND ORDER Oefendant. Tne f'(llldwlna e;.ftled• d(lCUments, !listed: by NYSCEF ck>cumerrt humt>er. (Mgtjon 003) 100, 10.1 , 102, 'f 03, 1fl4, 105, 108,. 107, 108, .• 109, HO. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 118. 117. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122. 123, 124, 1~ .... 127, 12&. 128, 130. 131. 132. 1.33~ 134. 135. 136. 137. 13a, 139, 14o, 141, 142. 143, 1"4. 145~ 148, .147, 1~1 .1491 1eo. 1&1J 1s2, 164, 1s1. 15(!, 159, 1eo, 1e1, 1'62, 1es, 164, 165, 1~ 181, 1ea, w. tf9, ·110. 11t 112. 1n, 114, 11•s1 176, 111, 11s, 11e, 1ao. 1&1, 1aa. 1&i1. 1~. 1se QM Mad on 0111 molfcm tol.fat' ·~ DISCOVERY 1hC f~q ctoc'1tnen11 and fortbe reasons ·set forth ~ ;lhe record (612512(>19), Jeon ~vian~er, L.LC's {lcon)molion i3 granted solelyta 01he extent that Gtdcn Holdings, Ltd. .(Gede•)·~ ('.en~er Na'.\l'ipdo~ Ut;I. (Celrie.r} tre ~eml 10 pre~e me· communications listed below by September l 6. 2019 given the volwm"nous MllW'e' of the request and certain. schedulina conflicts. ~ aet(on ari:s,iufh>m the defendmts~.a]leged .breach ofan .qt'f:ehlent and gUanmty comeming the charter Qt• eetlaift CfllJJO ~I. Icon naw brillgs this motiQn against the defmdants:.to compel the prod.llCtion ofdocuments from and related to non-parties Oeden Lines. Fmure HoldinSS 8'1.'ld Advaritap TaitJrm LLC. Icon argues that me defen&!nli. sbould:ptod.uce dOcUnlents tio'm tbc non~es·beeaWiE Geden 's reJatiQl.)Sbip. with the ~~panieis prov.ides it ftlC . 1 of 8 [*FILED: 2] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 di~ from the foreign non~.pnrties should be conducted pursuan.t'tlf tb.e ' y •. INDEX NO. 655154/2016 - ' Hague Convention and that. Jccm bas no' iucceufUJly pierted·the corporate veil as tQ enal::He production from the non-parties. UndetCPLR § 3120 (1 )(i). a pt11ty· may serve a ·notice on. odrer part)' -'ID. produce and pennit the ~· seekioa (liscovery ....any designated dQeuments: or any. things which ~re in the po:ssessiAAt custody Qr eontro:lofiM,party or person senied." Tf1e Court of ApPells bas explaiDed that "possession. 'Custody or control" meansr constructive posoomon (Commonwealth ofI.he N. MariOl,alt. v~lanl~riallJanko/Commerce121 NY3d SS.6l [2013]). ln particular. doeu.ments {+are under a:pm'ty~s control when that party has the rig;h~ :authQrity, or practk:all lbililY uiobtain ~documents from a non-party to 1he action." CM citing Bank a/New York ir Merldten BIAO.BonkTmrzaltia Ltd., l71 FRO l3S~ 146 [SDNY l997J).. In i.tamovipg ptper:s, IClM ~ a.cldueed. suffici~nt evl~ence to d~tbit the do¢inncnts. sougbhM wi1bia1he.l)OsSC1Siou,·cutody or con1r01 of the defendaM8, The Idationship betweel1 ~~.and it. oon~es:is illustmted: in.a structure clup1,. in.cl~ .in the Project Hermitage R.eilmOturing R~ dated March. 61 2013, ~by Alix Parineni (NYSCEF Doc. No. 104, ..,. Hi). Al. his d~tiqnt Mebmet MaHem:itled U..Gede.o and Geclen Lines shared the $IPJle otfictn, namely that Mr. Mat was the. Chief Financial Offioor for.both entities and Tugru) Totgoz W,98 tho·QUef&ec:u.tive Oftker of both entities (Deposition Transcript of Mehnwt Mat. NYSCB:F I)Oc. l'j().1'.U. pg 12.;U). FUJ1hct~ Mr. Mat stated thatbe held the tit1c·of Chief FDumcial Officer wiith A~'faakers in:eonnec.tfon with oortai» fim,mmng negotiations (:frl1 2 of 8 [*FILED: 3] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 pg ~4), Mr.. M«t also COAt"'UU'ICd 1hat Ged.en, Cleden Li:n¢S and Ad\iamagc Tant.en shared the $ante tlrio~ipm place of' bushleSs tn Turby (id 1 pas 44-45). Moreovert there· isevidoneeth.1t Oeden~ for AdV1ln.tlge Tankers Oil at least o.ne occasion .(see NYSC~F Ode·~· No~ 108)· In two lttters dam!. November l8. 2614,. CIT Finance LLC addressed •·id letteteto A:dv~tace. T.mws LL.C. co·W'tc:sy ofOed~~. and to the attention of Mr. .'f9kaoz. one of the k1tten further.slated that Gede:D ll<>.ldinss•Ltd. (the - o r 'Jlm")•.aoting on behalf of a.new mw«mcnt~ Of'C19tmg ~J>&l.V ill ttK-. process of being ~~cal~ AdVWltqe Tank'.etl LLC ("'GU&mq~l)), lnls advised CIT FU»mce LLC (tagetber Vii.th its aftlliates ••l\am~ m tbc ..Commit!IJat Part)!". sometimes also referred to herein as ~rr. ~, or '"d"> that it is.·aeCking·seniot.~Uied te,rm ck~ to fb:1ance a portion ()(the price of Guanaotors:p~ed acquisition ftom· affiliu::s.ofQ)e Commitment Guarantor (th '1'nmsoetioo-,ottwb Suemu1x.trudettankets (id..). AltboUgh: the~~ $Q\1lht by icon are not in the pbyskalpaS$e'Slion etfthe defendants, lhe *O!d ShQWi thatGcdents mltionship with the non~csaft'onls CkdenJhe ability to .obtain th~ ~'IS that lcon bu requested. Accordingly, ·111e defendants an to produce d®lltDCOts &om the IWD:"partles because sw:h doe•t11s:a~ in the pPS~OA, ·~~ Md ccmtml of the d11d~t$. To find,~ would ·m, tp pUl form over 1ubstari.ees. To the extent that the . .ndams.que that Jeon ilrtquind to pi¢tc1Uhe c~te: v~il U>:~ontptlp:roducdoo of ·~~a finding is not necessary at die di$0owry stage' of the proceedings. l\t.oralarpment, lcon withdrtrw tb4U bnmch of its moti~n adciressi~ spoliation and reserved ~ ~ . t,O p~rve this a:rgumenton the representation of defendants• emlils .were available·~• ~Net was· baekcd.up. 3 of 8 counsel that deleted [*FILED: 4] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM INDEX NO. 655154/2016 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 Aecmdingly, h; i.s OIWERBD tfiat·PJaintifrstnOtiob to ·ca~l is gnmted sot.ely to ·tile extem 1bat defendants are to producr:1heltcms liSb!dbelow by ~ber 16t 2019: F£Dm the lettcri dated July 6, ~17. ftom Thomas.Johmton to Neil Quartaro! 1; Bnd ofyear fmancl1lreporrs and f&cords tor Gtd.en Holdings, Ltd. ~en") Bild C~r Navigation, Ltd. for 201.1 through 201~ including inc~ statemo~ balance~ sheets ap.d ~ .ofc8$h.f!OWI; 2. Alt manag,ementagmements between (ledenandGenel.Denizcilit :from ;?OU through the 3. All ~~fl!D4 ~ ot:Mtl)cnimlik andAdV:ann.ge Taiikers.from 2011 thtoughtbe CWTCttt date; 4. All re_oords ~og tile sale of-~ of(leden to Advantage Tankers from 2011 tm®gh the eorrent,date~ S. All·rccordis ~:the·:ownerslrlp ~fGeden from 2011 thto.the ctll'rellt date; 6~ AU byfaws. artioles of ~ration and ~Y oth~r ®fP()tatiilO gO\'Omam:e arid tbmmtion ~ J®ltiling ~nchium$. otAdvantq.e Tankeu from·201 l 7~ lltto.W. 'the CU!mlt .AU byJa~ ~lcm ofinem:po:ratlon and any other eorpqrtnion governance and. fi>rmation ~ i11eJuditt1 ·llU:ndmeIJtsj.ofOecb:n·from 20J t· throughlhe e.ummt. ~ ·a~. All ~s.regmding the uuafttfo other parties of vessels~, operated 0r tontrolled . by·~ by any~ tio.m 2011 through the current date; -.d 9. Aft rccomr.on. file.lJ1 the <Clissobiti()ll.Pl"OC~dings mMal.taregardinQ o~ 4 of 8 [*FILED: 5] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 l 0. ·Alt. relevant eleetmnicalJy stored e-mai~ letters, ootea., metnanmda Md eal:endar entries fto.m pemCnal cpa}puter(s), iaptop comput~$,khQtt\f! desk:top<:ocnpute:r(s), tablet(s). SU\ar,l AAone(s}, eelb1lartele~s)~ persoJUll digjtal ~:1)1 or any otJiet device witb~.smrq.e cape:bUities; t I .All releYIJH instant message (IM) lop,· tmmcripts, data (.dat) flies stored on ·Urd dri\•e(s), ·mcludi.Jig. but not limi~ «>: per$0iW computer(~) •. laptop compuier(s)1 home .desktop. <»1llputes:(s;h 1alil~l(~}. smart phone(:a), cellular te1ephone(s')i. ~al digital .~t(s). and cOinputer(s); ,, ' ' ' '.-' ' l 2. All relevant teXl messages &om and receiYO(f which are stored qn: Ublet(s}~ smart :p~(s), cellular tcJcphori~(s). ~ dighalassmtant(s); or any other mnular ckwi~s) Whi~ the ~1\)iJity Of' se~ding mu! reccivioj. textmcsuges; ll. All ~t voieemail me!ll!lages stored. on mblet(s).i smart phooc(s), ..:cllular telepbone(s). hOtt1c ttleplione(sJ~.wort tdcphom(i1 l'erso~ digital as:sistant(s)orany·other devi(C(s) ' ' ," \ ' '' '' - ' '• ', ' I• • ' ' ' .with .the ~bilitr ofIeeeiviog and saYing voice ~es~ 14. Datamap($)and/'or detailed repreaeti~tion(s} ofti.e tn>e(s) and lot;atioo(s) or all cl~tronically·slOJed information {ESQ, in¢1udlng, btit not lirnikld IOT lhe·fallowing ~lectmnic'S,yslems: a. Sl!m1ers Md~ acti.w and ~c data in.clU!ling but not litni~d to file ·.~ emaif tm,d. vOicemail ~ b~ Data management S)'$t~ including. but fl()J limited··~ hlttiup. ~ fi~iid 5 of 8 [*FILED: 6] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 assisumu, ·smm phones and eell\l.lar te.lepb.o•; d. Parta:ble mediaiw:luding but not limited ~o fluh drives, hard drives, CD' .sand DVDs; and e. . Data hMted hy third-put)' vendt)rs itttludi~ I.mt nt>t limited to payroll .rystcms and junk man .filudag:sy.stems; and JS.• AU eleetrorucaJly ~to.red inf~on (ESI) ~.tbe ltarultCr ofassea, t;oai'bl.c and fll~b~ iooluding vesse~ ~ Center to third parties, ineJw:lina, but not llmit&d to repreletitarlVes OfJ\~ ·rankcn; 8'1dNezli ~let Williams, from.January •~ 201 l to.present~ :Ft'O:m; lcon'~.SeeQnd RequC#J for Prodltction or Docwnents. dated Ck.'tober 1.s. 2017: 16. Any mid all·dt'ICDnleut$ that mer., rell,tt;1 or J)erbUn to·111y and 411 oon-privite{1Cd communications between Center. and. BUY third party reprdina the e-vmts leadica u. dJ.e tentiination ofthe~ Cbarier;.. 17. Any and all documerns: that refer,, relate or pertain to ~Y and all nan-privileged co~munieauons ·between Center and· any of its employees, agents or reprmentatives ;regairdina the events leading to the tetm.btation af the B~b(JatChan~; .ls. Any 8J1d all dOcumenf! that refer, relat.e or pertaJn to any and. all oon-privilqed commu.nicmiou between Ccmter ud any of its ~ploy~, &genrs or reprtscntatives ttPfding·theit failure. to perform under tbe·terms of the Guarantee; and l 9'. Any •··all:~B ·tbBt refer, rtilate «pCrtam to any·.00111 no:n•privikged communications belween CeJite:r and• any thW party regarding lhcir wlure to perfonn under th~ tenns of the Oumaritce~ 6 of 8 [*FILED: 7] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 FNm ~ idf.cr. dalf:d. ApJ:iL25~JOI&, frOm ThCln\UO. Johnston to ·Neil Quartaro: 2a. Gedeo's consolidated rUranctaI statemel'lls and im:Iepemlc:nt ~r reports f0;r 201.5 and 2L Center's. detailed balal'1ce sheets· and income ·st.atemems .for 2016; 2·Z.ADy and all communi.catlons between any dife!Ctor• ofti,eer~.empJo)1:o-O:I' agent of Dc~antlend.any-0.irc~. ot:mef, employee or agent Q(fJenie'l [)enizoiJilt .reptdins :n, Alfi and 1U ~ommunic.ations betvi."Cen any di.rector, officer, empkl"'·~ or agent of Def~J! and .Bllf d~or officer. emp1~,-ee or agent of Gener Denizcilik regarding the vcsulBJanl;. .Blue, lJl'(Wo, Pink, POKitrr~ Prqfit, Royal,. Target. True, Ya/Jiff, Reef 0.:reills.fter Advantap.Veuois): 24 •.Anf and 11lll communications ~ $lY directort ..pfficer, employee or agcut of De.feadanhund Oulsun Nazli Karamehmet Williams; 25. Any and:llf commwtications bi:.m1'«t any ~tor. officer, employee.or eaent of Defen~ and ~y<lirector, tiffieeri .employee ot lfeJlf ofAdwm•·Tankers. LLC or itS, hpldio.a corripmty~ mbsidiaries or migos (hereinafter Advutap Tank.en>,. from 2PTI to 20J6; ·~. Any aud .it paymenl rceordl for the purcltase ·~ of any vessel that Defends.ms so.kl to Advantap Tarr.ken ~m 201lk>2016; ~1. Any and all .agreements Jhowmr tba.u.ny tights ;and/~ obligatit>l\u101:1er 1he loan .· ~n.ts~ ~tC:ctorcbarter agreemQtts.~ the Ad~' vessc1s have been uslgnecho 8'.third patty~ __________ .,,...... 7 of 8 [*FILED: 8] NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/02/2019 02:31 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 188 INDEX NO. 655154/2016 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/02/2019 2.S. An:,rw all notices ~ved by Mehtnct Mat or by finance@geden!ine-s.£mn Ngarding 1heJoe ,a~ts and or gu~tees for the Advantage Vessel$ :from 20l I 1o 201(i; 29. Any .l#d all memttr81ldums. or t.gR:emeot; certificates of ~lmlbmcy. board.resolutions m oorrespo~ ~aQY' ~. ofticer. emp.IQ'Y.ee or agent ofOenel Deni:wilik and 1.n1 d.irecw.r, officet\ employee or ~t of Defendam$ ntl~ lli the ship mana,gtmJent agreeiJ)M!lJ'lt (lated June 10. 2011 for the Center, JO. Any and all eorrespondence betw~en Mehmet Miu and Oman Karadcmil' :relating to the 31. Any and all nmiceu11mt to. De:fettdantcl P.unuant to the. '1lip managemcmt agreement, dated 1une 10~ 2011. fortheCmter, ·oATi aw BORROK. J.a.c. <:HleKM DllPOlmON ftANtE. , . DIN NIT IUIM'f J)JIDp AHt.ICAllCNi ~IFAf'PtlaflliA"l'I': l"DJCWl't AAPO!NrMINT 8 of 8 o·~ o~

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