On February 12, 2021, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 20-page decision denying an application for a preliminary injunction against a client of the firm, a major manufacturer and seller of modern-engineered piping.
Judge Vyskocil held that Plaintiffs application was foreclosed under the “law of the case” doctrine because New York County, Supreme Court Judge Sherwood had previously denied the virtually identical motion prior to the case being removed to federal court. Even if the law of the case doctrine did not apply, Kane Kessler successfully argued, and Judge Vyscocil held, that Plaintiffs failed to establish that it would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief because (i) it inexcusably waited nine months before seeking an injunction and (ii) Plaintiffs could be compensated by money damages since the allegation was that Plaintiffs were merely using, not disseminating, trade secrets. Notably, the Court found that the Covid-19 pandemic, including the fact that Plaintiffs’ principals allegedly contracted the virus, did not justify the delay since nothing “prevented counsel from filing the application.”
The attorneys for the Firm who represented the client were Arthur M. Rosenberg, Dana. M. Susman, David Gold and Jonathan M. Sabin of the firm’s Litigation Department. See Hodnett v. Medalist Partners Opp. Master Fund II-A, No. 1:210cv-00038, 2021 WL 535485 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 12, 2021).