Howard S. v. LILLIAN S.

Pigott, J. (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent because, in my view, it is premature to rule that wife’s behavior does not, as a matter of law, constitute egregious misconduct for purposes of equitable distribution under the Domestic Relations Law. Therefore, husband is entitled to discovery on his claim.

It is well settled that parties are entitled to “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action” (CPLR 3101 [a] [1]). This provision makes no exception for matrimonial actions. Further, as the majority recognizes, this Court has held that…