The news for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo seems to be getting worse — and it's hard not to take a little joy in it (the Germans call it schadenfreude.)
With New York the ground zero of COVID in America, his "leadership" has been a disaster. He wrote and published a book bragging about his handling of the crisis — while the crisis is still going on! — and COVID cases have surged 800% since then. His former aides have described his work environment as "beyond toxic," while one staffer has accused him of sexual harassment.
In the effort to seize absolute power — er, "flatten the curve" — he recently demanded New Yorkers not gather for Thanksgiving, with police outright refusing to enforce his commands, especially after it came to light that he would not be following said commands himself. His own brother has been reprimanded for not wearing a mask!
Right now, Cuomo's only saving grace is that he isn't a Democrat in California.
And yet, with COVID raging in New York — which to play devil's advocate would probably happen under any elected official given the density of New York City's population — one Empire State judge has decided to force a decade-old lawsuit through … rather than just wait a few more months.
Mortgage company Countrywide Financial Corp. and insurance company Ambac Financial Group have been in a legal dispute since the financial crisis. Between 2004 and 2006, Countrywide lured Ambac to insure almost 400,000 individual mortgages, defrauding bond insurers who supplied the financial safety net for risky mortgages.
Ambac is seeking over $2 billion in damages from Countrywide for a case that involves 17 RMBS transactions issued by Countrywide and insured by Ambac between 2004 and 2006.
To put it gently, Ambac has disagreed with this decision.
Since the financial crisis, BoA has successfully tied Ambac up in court, banking (pardon the pun) on the strategy that if they made life difficult enough for Ambac, the insurer would eventually decide to just eat the sunk costs and walk away. Ambac has one a victory or two along the way, but the company is concerned that a virtual proceeding right now would confusticate the proceedings enough to allow BoA to avoid justice.
New York Justice O. Peter Sherwood said last week that a remote trial in February is "both appropriate and feasible," but it's a plan with a lot of problems.
A virtual trial doesn't actually mean socially distanced for every party involved. Many participants in this extremely complicated trial will still require substantial personal interaction in order to do their jobs — they will not be distanced socially. The legal teams on both sides will be required to travel and interact with others on a daily basis, highly risky behavior due to the complexities of the case.
Meanwhile many witnesses will no doubt balk at appearing under these circumstances as another judge ruled New York must sharply limit in-person proceedings. Many may likewise lack the technological savvy to participate — compounding the stress of a court proceeding with the "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" we've all experienced 100 times this year on Skype or Zoom.
While other courts have gotten comfortable with handling cases remotely this way, that's no precedent for uber-dense New York City since — again — it is ground zero for a communicable disease. No reason to jam on the gas after 10 years and risk a miscarriage of justice. An in-person trial would be fairer and safer; it would just require waiting a few months.
Surely none of us want to have to sit through a Big Short sequel where celebrities colorfully explain how BoA took advantage of COVID.
While BoA is pushing for whatever situation gives them an advantage, lead counsel Enu Mainigi argued in a separate civil case before a West Virginia federal court last week that virtual proceedings don't result in a fair trial. He noted, "Defendants are entitled to present a full and complete defense in person, not a stilted, stymied defense by videoconference."
Officials in New York need to do the right thing (for a change.) They need to wait until it's safe to do this the right way. After all, if Cuomo and other Democrats in New York were accused of leadership, there's no way they'd get convicted.
Jared Whitley is a long-time politico who has worked in the U.S. Congress, White House and defense industry. He is an award-winning writer, having won best blogger in the state from the Utah Society of Professional Journalists (2018) and best columnist from Best of the West (2016). He earned his MBA from Hult International Business School in Dubai. Read Jared Whitley's reports — More Here.
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