Prosecutors Have the Right to Keep Some Secrets
Post 5093
Application of New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
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James M. Haddad sought to compel Alvin L Bragg (Bragg) to produce certain material seized pursuant to a search warrant executed in connection with a now-completed criminal matter.
In James M. Haddad v. Alvin L Bragg, in his official capacity as District Attorney of the County of New York, 2025 NY Slip Op 31779(U), Index No. 158493/2023, Supreme Court, New York County (May 15, 2025) the court resolved the dispute.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
OneTeam Restoration, Inc., its owner and president, Mario Rojas, Jr., and certified public accountant Steven Lyon were charged with three counts of Insurance Fraud in the First Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree based on allegations that Lyon, Rojas, and OneTeam engaged in a scheme to defraud the New York State Insurance Fund.
On April 26, 2023, petitioner submitted a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to Bragg, the New York County District Attorney's Office. The FOIL sought the original rap sheets, warrants and corporate summons, production log and a thumb drive containing the discovery materials. The "discovery materials" on the thumb drive were, at least in part, thousands of pages of these defendants' business and financial records seized pursuant to a search warrant.
Bragg's Records Access Officer ("RAO" ) Corey S. Shoock denied petitioner's request on the grounds that disclosure would "interfere with the criminal judicial process, as well as with any further investigation and future judicial proceedings that might be necessary." Petitioner appealed the denial of his FOIL request.
Shortly thereafter, Rojas and OneTeam pled guilty to one count each of First Degree Falsifying Business Records and were sentenced that day.
Because the third defendant, Steven Lyon, remained open the appeal affirmed the RAO's determination and denial on pending judicial proceeding grounds and incorporate by reference his reasoning and cited authority.
In a post-remand decision on June 16, 2023, RAO Shoock wrote: “[P]ursuant to that portion of the AO's decision granting your appeal, you will be provided access to the following thirty-three (33) pages of material ... [but] [i]nsofar as criminal charges remain pending against defendant Steven Lyon, Omnibus Motion papers relating to defendant Lyon, discovery produced in the criminal prosecution against defendant Lyon, together with email correspondence between opposing counsel and with the Court, is exempt from production on the grounds that disclosure of such records would interfere with three pending prosecutions conducted by this Office against this defendant ...” [emphasis added]).
DISCUSSION
FOIL imposes a broad duty on government to make its records available to the public and all government records are thus presumptively open for public inspection and copying unless they fall within an enumerated statutory exemption contained in Public Officers Law § 87(2). The burden rests on the agency to establish that requested material qualifies for any of the exemptions, which must be narrowly construed.
Bragg met the burden by establishing that the requested records fell "squarely" within an exemption to disclosure. The statute exempts from disclosure records or portions thereof that are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which, if disclosed, would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.
The petition was denied and this special proceeding dismissed.
ZALMA OPINION
FOIL limits the freedom of information available to criminal litigants and the public if it has an effect on the prosecution to disclose that information. Even after some defendants pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, others did not, so the FOIL request stayed refused. Regardless of the need for information to be freely available from prosecutors like Bragg, that freedom is not unlimited and the prosecutor may keep the evidence private for the purposes of trial.
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See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
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Post 5396
See the video and at https://rumble.com/v7ctgmq-the-great-jewel-theft.html at https://youtu.be/aRbQ2sJfGwA
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ¬¬¬Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
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Post 5421
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Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units. After an underlying personal injury action was filed, Union Mutual determined that the property actually contained three apartment units and rescinded the policies on the ground that the defendants had made a material misrepresentation in the applications.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true ...
Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true facts been disclosed. To establish materiality as a matter of law, the insurer must submit documentation of its underwriting practices, such as manuals, guidelines, bulletins, or rules addressing similar risks.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
As a result, the...
