On April 21, 2022, Justice Reed of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Chen Dongwu v. New York City Regional Ctr. LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op. 50322(U), holding that requests to admit directed to controverted facts are improper, explaining:
A notice to admit is to be used only for disposing of uncontroverted questions of fact or those that are easily provable. Its use is not to obtain information in lieu of other disclosure devices, such as the taking of depositions before trial or to obtain admissions to facts that go to the heart of the matter.
Contrary to the defendants’ assertions, defendants’ first set of requests for admissions dated October 5, 2020, seek admissions regarding disputed facts. The bulk of the request seeks admissions relevant to whether the plaintiffs fully appreciated the scope and form of their submitted I-526 and I-829 applications in addition to any investment paperwork that accompanied it. The plaintiffs understanding of the EB-5 investment, their representation, communications and actions undertaken in support of their I-526 and I-829 applications are not matters where there can be no substantial dispute at trial.
The Court also finds the defendants’ request for an admission as to the plaintiffs’ sophistication as an investor, and the requests seeking admissions regarding plaintiffs’ net worth and personal investment values to be inappropriate and not a line of inquiry proper for a request for admission.
Since here, the bulk of the requests seek admissions regarding fundamental matters and do not dispose of uncontroverted questions of fact, the Court finds that those requests are improper.
However, the Court finds that the requests that seek to authenticate the plaintiffs’ signature on documentation submitted by the plaintiffs in support of their I-526 and I-829 paperwork, and requests as to residency and the status and/or acceptance of the I-526 and I-829 applications are proper.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).