Joel M. Cohen
How Judge Cohen decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On motion-to-dismiss review of a nonprofit-dissolution claim, he weighs whether the alleged harm is primarily private (to the organization and its own members/donors) or genuinely public before allowing the state's most severe remedy -- corporate dissolution -- to proceed, treating dissolution as a last resort rather than a first option even where the underlying misconduct allegations are serious.
“The Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the "corporate death penalty." Moreover, dissolving the NRA could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members.”
In fraud claims arising from a corporate buyout or appraisal, he scrutinizes the plaintiff's own contemporaneous emails and communications for admissions undercutting justifiable reliance, and will grant summary judgment dismissing the claim with prejudice where the plaintiff's own words show they knew the alleged misrepresentation was false at the time.
“Landau admitted at his deposition that he was "very doubtful" of the Siegel Email, agreeing that it "absolutely" was a "suspension of reality."”
In mechanic's-lien willful-exaggeration damage awards under Lien Law section 39-a, he ties the attorneys'-fee award to the specific percentage of the lien actually found to be exaggerated, rather than awarding the movant's full requested fees where much of the underlying litigation involved other, non-exaggeration issues.
“The Court has determined that willful exaggeration applies to $4,633,247.95 of the total Lien amount of $11,022,181.16, or approximately 42% of the total, meaning that 58% of the claimed fees and costs are not recoverable under the statute.”
Procedural preferences
On motions to seal, he requires a specific, document-by-document showing of good cause and will deny sealing outright -- even leaving material only provisionally sealed -- where a party relies on a generic confidentiality stipulation rather than explaining why targeted redaction cannot protect the sensitive material instead.
“The fact that the parties have stipulated to sealing documents, or that they have designated the documents during discovery as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential," does not, by itself, require granting of the motion.”
In arbitration disputes governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, he consistently sends challenges to the legality of the underlying contract as a whole -- including usury defenses -- to the arbitrator rather than deciding them himself, reserving only challenges to the arbitration clause itself for judicial resolution.
“[S]ince Petitioners challenge the legality of the underlying FRSAs on usury grounds, rather than the legality of the arbitration provisions themselves, the question of whether the FRSAs are void as disguised usurious loans is for the arbitrator to decide in the first instance.”
He does not treat a non-signatory's addition to a lawsuit as a bar to compelling arbitration where a signatory defendant already preserved its arbitration right in its answer, and will compel the entire case to arbitration -- including claims against parties who never signed the arbitration agreement -- once arbitrable and non-arbitrable claims are inextricably intertwined.
“The mere fact that plaintiffs named additional defendants, who are not signatories to the arbitration agreement, does not foreclose [a defendant's] right to enforce arbitration.”
Cautions
He is willing to sanction a litigant under the frivolous-conduct rule for pursuing a claim the litigant's own contemporaneous communications show they knew was baseless, awarding the prevailing party its costs and fees even where a companion malicious-prosecution claim on the same conduct fails for lack of special injury.
“The contemporaneous record makes clear that Plaintiff made a tactical decision not to raise the question of Crossover's ownership or "fraud," and to instead create a litigation record for future use.”
In high-stakes governance litigation, he crafts detailed, forward-looking remedial orders addressing board composition and election procedures rather than simply resolving the pending claims, while stopping short of the most intrusive remedies (dissolution, an outside monitor) sought by a plaintiff -- reforms he found reasonably necessary to prevent future violations, calibrated to what the trial evidence supported.
“[T]he NRA shall implement the following reforms as remedial measures the Court finds based on the evidence adduced at the trials in this action are reasonably necessary to prevent future violations of law.”
In contested preliminary-injunction disputes he will hold a live evidentiary hearing with witness testimony before ruling, and calibrates relief precisely to what the evidence supports at that stage -- granting injunctive protection for claims where a likelihood of success was shown while expressly declining relief on claims the record did not yet support.
“Plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on a portion, but not the entirety, of their Fourth Cause of Action.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Defendants' motion to compel arbitration and stay litigation is granted”
“Mr. Nicklaus' motion for summary judgment on dismissing claims against him for breach of the LLC Agreement and breach fiduciary duty is granted”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Mot. Seq. 011) is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Defendants' Motion is denied without prejudice”
“ORDERED that the motions to dismiss are GRANTED to the extent that the claims for dissolution (first and second causes of action), breach of the NYPMIFA (sixteenth cause of action), and unjust enrichment (eighteenth cause of action) are dismissed; and the motions are otherwise DENIED.”
“ORDERED that Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment dismissing those portions of BCI's First Cause of Action based on the alleged non-payment of proposed COs 58 and 68 and granting 225 LLCs First Counterclaim on the issue of liability, with the matter to be set down for an inquest to determine 225 LLC's damages, is GRANTED”
“ORDERED that Nissan's motion for Lien Law § 39-a damages is granted in part such that Nissan is awarded $144,767.00 for its bond premium payments, $999,054.07 for its reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses, and $2,316,623.97 for its share of the amount of willful exaggeration, totaling $3,460,445.04”
“ORDERED that Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Verified Complaint is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion to amend is DENIED without prejudice”
“ORDERED that Defendants' motion to compel arbitration and to stay this action are GRANTED and this matter is stayed pending arbitration”
“ORDERED that Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted dismissing Plaintiffs' fraud claim with prejudice, and is otherwise denied”
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is granted”
“Accordingly, Defendants' request for sanctions is granted, and Defendants shall recover their reasonable costs and attorneys' fees incurred in connection with defending the fraud claim in this action.”
“the order of the Supreme Court, New York County (Joel M. Cohen, J.), entered June 10, 2022, which granted the NYAG's motion to dismiss defendant NRA's First Amendment retaliation and selective enforcement counterclaims, should be affirmed, without costs”
“Judgment is entered in favor of the Plaintiff ... and against Defendant National Rifle Association of America ... as determined by the jury, and as such the NRA shall implement the following reforms as remedial measures the Court finds based on the evidence adduced at the trials in this action are reasonably necessary to prevent future violations of law”
Put Judge Cohen's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Cohen actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Cohen's own signed orders and cites them.