On April 23, 2021 a
Exhibit,Appendix
was filed
involving a dispute between
Costello, Cooney & Fearon, Pllc,
and
Melinda Burdick Bowe,
for Torts - Other (Unjust Enrichment/Convers)
in the District Court of Onondaga County.
Preview
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022
EXHIBIT “D”
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022
211 W JeffersonSt.,Syracuse, NY 13202
Tel:315.422.1152 | Fax:
315422.1139
www ccf law.com
COONEY & FEARON, PLLC
ExperienceInnovation
Robert J. Smith, Partner
Chief Executive Officer
rsmith@ccf-law.com
Also Admitted in Texas
June 23, 2021
Greta K. Kolcon, Esq.
Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP
1900 Bausch & Lomb Place
Rochester, New York 14604
Re: Costello, Cooney & Fearon , PLLC v. Bowe
Index No. 03917/2021
Dear Greta:
We are in receipt of your letter dated June 22, 2021. Regarding your proposal to "move
forward"
with an ADR process within the next twenty (20) days, we respectfully decline such
invitation. At this stage, we do not believe that exercise would result in resolution of the dispute
or be worth the expense of engaging a private mediator. However, we remain open to and will
consider in good faith any further settlement proposals from Melinda you would like to make on
her behalf.
Upon review of Defendant's Answer with Counterclaims, and in my discussions with you
and Katie Centolella, it appears Melinda is relying on a belief that there is no requirement for
Partners to zero out negative capital accounts, and she was never made aware of any such practice
while at CCF. However, in searching my past e-mails on this issue, not only has it occurred on
numerous occasions, iteven happened in early 2020, when 2019 capital account balance were
calculated, and she was included in an e-mail to the Partnership noting that those with negative
capital accounts needed to bring their negative balance back to zero. I am enclosing a copy of that
e-mail. You might want to discuss this with Melinda, given how adamant she has been on this
point.
Concerning Defendant's discovery requests served last week, Defendant seeks a variety of
confidential and proprietary information, including but not limited to CCF's Operating Agreement,
Defendant's Of Counsel Agreement, and CCF's financial and tax information. Prior to disclosure
of such business information, we would request Defendant enter into a Confidentiality Stipulation
and Order which would preclude the dissemination of such information or use for non-
any
litigation purpose by either party. For your convenience, I enclose a proposed Confidentiality
Stipulation and Order. We would request that you advise no later than Monday, June 28, 2021 at
12:00 p.m. if Defendant will enter into such agreement. Should you have redlines or other edits
ALBANY OFFICE CAZENOVIA OFFICE
220 Columbia Turnpike| Rensselaer, NY12144 5 Mill
Street| Cazenovia, NY13035
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022
Ms. Greta Kolcon
June 23, 2021
Page 2
to the proposed Stipulated Order, we would request such suggestion be sent sufficiently in advance
of the June 28, 2021 deadline to allow for our consideration of same.
We thank you for your anticipated attention to these matters.
Very truly yours,
COSTELLO,COO EY & F A ,
obert . mi
RJS/ar
Enc.
Document Filed Date
February 24, 2022
Case Filing Date
April 23, 2021
Category
Torts - Other (Unjust Enrichment/Convers)
For full print and download access, please subscribe at https://www.trellis.law/.
Preview
FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022 EXHIBIT “D” FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022 211 W JeffersonSt.,Syracuse, NY 13202 Tel:315.422.1152 | Fax: 315422.1139 www ccf law.com COONEY & FEARON, PLLC ExperienceInnovation Robert J. Smith, Partner Chief Executive Officer rsmith@ccf-law.com Also Admitted in Texas June 23, 2021 Greta K. Kolcon, Esq. Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP 1900 Bausch & Lomb Place Rochester, New York 14604 Re: Costello, Cooney & Fearon , PLLC v. Bowe Index No. 03917/2021 Dear Greta: We are in receipt of your letter dated June 22, 2021. Regarding your proposal to "move forward" with an ADR process within the next twenty (20) days, we respectfully decline such invitation. At this stage, we do not believe that exercise would result in resolution of the dispute or be worth the expense of engaging a private mediator. However, we remain open to and will consider in good faith any further settlement proposals from Melinda you would like to make on her behalf. Upon review of Defendant's Answer with Counterclaims, and in my discussions with you and Katie Centolella, it appears Melinda is relying on a belief that there is no requirement for Partners to zero out negative capital accounts, and she was never made aware of any such practice while at CCF. However, in searching my past e-mails on this issue, not only has it occurred on numerous occasions, iteven happened in early 2020, when 2019 capital account balance were calculated, and she was included in an e-mail to the Partnership noting that those with negative capital accounts needed to bring their negative balance back to zero. I am enclosing a copy of that e-mail. You might want to discuss this with Melinda, given how adamant she has been on this point. Concerning Defendant's discovery requests served last week, Defendant seeks a variety of confidential and proprietary information, including but not limited to CCF's Operating Agreement, Defendant's Of Counsel Agreement, and CCF's financial and tax information. Prior to disclosure of such business information, we would request Defendant enter into a Confidentiality Stipulation and Order which would preclude the dissemination of such information or use for non- any litigation purpose by either party. For your convenience, I enclose a proposed Confidentiality Stipulation and Order. We would request that you advise no later than Monday, June 28, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. if Defendant will enter into such agreement. Should you have redlines or other edits ALBANY OFFICE CAZENOVIA OFFICE 220 Columbia Turnpike| Rensselaer, NY12144 5 Mill Street| Cazenovia, NY13035 FILED: ONONDAGA COUNTY CLERK 02/24/2022 06:07 PM INDEX NO. 003917/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 28 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/24/2022 Ms. Greta Kolcon June 23, 2021 Page 2 to the proposed Stipulated Order, we would request such suggestion be sent sufficiently in advance of the June 28, 2021 deadline to allow for our consideration of same. We thank you for your anticipated attention to these matters. Very truly yours, COSTELLO,COO EY & F A , obert . mi RJS/ar Enc.