Sullivan v. Aircraft Servs. Grp. Inc.

ORDER On November 18, 2019, plaintiff Justin Sullivan commenced this action against defendants Aircraft Services Group, Inc. and Kerry Sailler, alleging claims of libel per se, intentional interference with contract and with advantageous business relationships,¹ and violations of New York’s General Business Law 349. (Compl.²) On March 31, 2020, plaintiff Sullivan amended the Complaint (Am. Compl.³). Currently pending before this Court is defendants’ motion for sanctions pursuant to Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, based on plaintiff’s failure to comply with this Court’s Order of November 29, 2021. For the reasons set forth below, the defendants’ motion is granted in part. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Sullivan alleges that he is a private airplane charter broker, operating as Private FLITE. (Am. Compl. 9). According to the Complaint, defendant Aircraft Services Group, Inc. (“ASG”), and Kerry Sailler (“Sailler”), ASG’s director of charter sales, published allegations of fraud and possible criminal conduct by plaintiff in an email dated October 3, 2019. (Id.

26-29). The email was allegedly sent to 150 private air charterers and then sent on to 500 more, including the suppliers and customers of plaintiff’s broker business. (Id.