A Connecticut developer who lost a lawsuit over the denial of his membership into an exclusive golf club, then hired a private investigator to probe possible connections between the judge's family and the defendants, has unsuccessfully moved for the judge, Westchester, N.Y., Supreme Court Justice Kenneth W. Rudolph, to reopen the case and recuse himself.
The investigator's report listed numerous specific details about the personal lives of Rudolph's family members, including references to his daughter's former job and specific details about her upcoming wedding.
In denying the motion, Rudolph berated solo-practitioner Richard B. Herman, who represents the plaintiff, Corey A. Kupersmith.
"This unwarranted intrusion into the personal life of the jurist and my family can only be intended to intimidate the Court in the administration of justice," Rudolph wrote in Kupersmith v. Winged Foot Golf Club, 20312/04. "It cannot be tolerated in the civil practice of law, and the ethics of same must be determined by those charged with the review of professional responsibilities of attorneys who practice before the bar."