Opinion
April 9, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Ralph Yachnin, J.).
It was an improvident exercise of discretion to deny defendants' motion to compel disclosure of information pertaining to plaintiff's sale of fuel oil to customers other than defendants since such information was material and relevant to defendants' defenses in the underlying dispute and to disprove the allegations in the complaint. Liberal discovery is favored and pretrial disclosure extends not only to proof that is admissible but also to matters that may lead to the disclosure of admissible proof ( see, Matter of New York County DES Litig.,
171 A.D.2d 119, 123). Any concerns with respect to plaintiff's other customers will be alleviated by a stipulation of confidentiality.
The court properly denied defendants' request to compel discovery of documents relating to plaintiff's delivery of fuel to them since plaintiff's assertion that it turned over all such documents, with the exception of those in the possession of the Internal Revenue Service, satisfied its obligation under CPLR 3122 (b) of setting forth the reasons justifying the withholding ( see, Jonassen v. A.M.F., Inc., 104 A.D.2d 484, 486).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Ellerin, Rubin and Mazzarelli, JJ.