Though I wasn't there personally, it appears the oral arguments made this morning were essentially rehashing the arguments the attorneys made in their written submissions. And we know the arguments on each side of the issue.
This morning, in between my own court cases, it occurred to me that there may be an even quicker way to get updates in this case than twitter -- shocking, I know! The New York State Court System has this online system called "eCourts," which gives the public a wealth of information on cases pending in many of the Courts in the state. Among its features is the ability to search by a case's Index Number and find out the parties, the attorneys of record, past court appearances, future court appearances, and the posting of judicial decisions. On top of all that, anybody can register for an eTrack account, which can send you an immediate email update anytime a case's information is changed in the state-wide computer system: when a new court date is scheduled, when a motion is filed, or when a decision is released. And so, I created my own eTrack account and registered for updates on this case.
For those of you looking to do the same thing, here's a quick tutorial:
- Point your favorite web browser (i.e. Chrome and nothing else) to http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/ecourtsMain
- Click on the link to WebCivil Supreme
- Enter the code displayed to confirm you're not a bot. If you're a bot, figure out how to mask your identity.
- On the left bar of the screen there should be a link to eTrack. Click on that.
- You're now on a page asking you to register for an account (unless you already have one). Do that.
- Once you've created an eTrack account, log in to eTrack with that information.
- Next, under the Civil Supreme Court Cases, click "Add an existing Civil Supreme Court Case"
- After probably typing in another "I'm not a bot" code, you'll then be brought to WebCivil Supreme and can search for a case a number of different ways. I suggest Index Search.
- Enter 000255/2012, select Onondaga County, and search away.
- You should now see the case you're looking for with some familiar names. Click on the linked Index Number, and you'll get a pop-up with more case information. At the bottom of the pop-up, click Add to eTrack. Boom!
If Justice DeJoseph grants the motion to transfer venue, that means the case will be heard not in "New York, Concrete Jungle," but rather in Onondaga County, home of the bustling DestiNY USA. That's still a thing, right?
If the motion is denied, then venue stays where it's been asserted (Manhattan) and the judge there will rule on the Boeheim motion to dismiss next month.
Either way, the venue issues and the motion to dismiss will really dictate whether this case settles (or rather, how soon). Of course, if it's dismissed, there's nothing to settle. That would be best case scenario for the Boeheim camp. Allred & Co. certainly want the case to go forward in New York County with the motion to dismiss being denied. I think at that point, this case goes away real fast, via settlement. Even with this case and these facts, I don't think I chance it in NYC if I'm Boeheim. Too much financial exposure. Just my opinion.
Once the change of venue motion is decided tomorrow, check my twitter (@jbren) for immediate reaction. Since I'll be in Syracuse for the USF game, you'll want to check back here for more in-depth analysis of the decision at some point on Thursday.
Labels: Bernie Fine, Defamation Lawsuit, Jim Boeheim, Orange44 Lawdogs
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