Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC v. Williams, Jr.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK wn eK MARSH & MCLENNAN AGENCY LLC, : Plaintiff, : : 22 Civ. 8920 (JPC) -V- : : ORDER DONALD DRENNAN WILLIAMS, JR. et al., : Defendants. :

wn KX JOHN P. CRONAN, United States District Judge: On July 13, 2023, the Court issued an Order allowing for limited jurisdictional discovery on the question of Plaintiff's standing, including into “Defendants’ current business activities.” Dkt. 39 at 2. The Court understands that, during a deposition on February 8, 2024, Defendants’ counsel objected to Plaintiff's counsel asking about when individuals were hired for Defendants’ new business, Advo(k)ate, on the grounds that at least some of these decisions were made prior to the opening of the business, and thus the hiring decisions cannot constitute “current business activities.” Mindful that “‘a court should take care to give the plaintiff ample opportunity to secure and present evidence relevant to the existence of jurisdiction,” Amidax Trading Grp. v. S.W.LF.T. SCRL, 671 F.3d 140, 149 (2d Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted), the Court will permit Plaintiff's counsel to inquire about the hiring decisions for Advo(k)ate and the timelines thereof, including hiring decisions that occurred prior to the official opening of the business. Such hiring decisions may be relevant to Defendants’ current business activities, inasmuch as they bear on Advo(k)ate’s personnel and services offered by Advo(k)ate. SO ORDERED. f22... Dated: February 9, 2024 ° New York, New York JOHN P. CRONAN United States District Judge