On November 4, 2023, Justice Masley of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Crestview SPV, LLC v. Crestview Fin., L.L.C., 2023 NY Slip Op. 33947(U), holding that it was not appropriate to issue a coercive contempt punishment if the contemnor was not going to respond to the coercion, explaining:
The purpose of the contempt penalty is to coerce or compensate or both. Here, there is no reason to issue a coercive penalty as there is no hope of CF LLC ever producing the documents. Accordingly, the sanction is to pay SPV’s attorneys’ fees for this action in its entirety.
(Internal citations omitted).