Extract to table

The Common Interest Doctrine Under New York Law Is Narrow and Must Be Strictly Construed

It is a bedrock principle of New York discovery law that "[t]here shall be full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action

Privileges that restrict disclosure are exceptions to this broad mandate and must be narrowly construed so as not to defeat the legislative policy of full and open discovery

2d 371, 376–77 (1991) (holding that privileges "are not lightly created" and that "their application [must be] limited to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the purposes underlying them"); see also Hyatt v

3d 228, 237 (2014) (reaffirming that the attorney-client privilege must be "narrowly construed" because it operates as an impediment to the truth-seeking function of the courts)

2015), holding that the common interest doctrine requires an "identical" legal interest — not merely a "similar" interest — and that the interest must be "legal" in nature, not "solely commercial or financial