Issued pursuant to CPLR §§ 2301, 2303, 3119, and 3120
---------------------------------------------------------------X RICHARD C. LITMAN,
Plaintiff,
-against- Index No. 524343/2025
JOSHUA B. GOLDBERG, NATH, GOLDBERG SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM MEYER, and NATH & ASSOCIATES PLLC, TO NON-PARTY
Defendants.
---------------------------------------------------------------X
Assigned Justice: Hon. Brian L. Gotlieb, J.S.C.
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. Legal Order Processing PO Box 1000, Mail Code DE5-024-02-08 Charlotte, North Carolina 28255
(Address to be verified with Bank of America Legal Order Processing prior to service. Alternative service address: Bank of America Customer Subpoena Processing, 1800 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley, CA 93063, Mail Code CA6-913-02-09.)
GREETINGS:
WE COMMAND YOU, pursuant to CPLR §§ 2301, 2303, 3119, and 3120, that all business and excuses being laid aside, you produce and permit inspection and copying of the documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things described in Schedule A annexed hereto, at the offices of counsel for Plaintiff (address below), within thirty (30) days of service of this subpoena, or at such other time and place as counsel may mutually agree in writing.
Production may be made by delivering legible and complete copies (electronic production in native format or searchable PDF is acceptable and encouraged) to the address set forth below, accompanied by a Certification of Business Records pursuant to CPLR 4518(c) and, for purposes of self-authentication in any federal proceeding, FRE 902(11).
Failure to comply with this subpoena is punishable as a contempt of court and shall make you liable to the person on whose behalf this subpoena was issued for a penalty not to exceed fifty dollars and all damages sustained by reason of your failure to comply. CPLR § 2308.
"Account" means Bank of America, N.A. deposit account number 003926278751, together with any successor, predecessor, renumbered, linked, sweep, zero-balance, or sub-account related thereto.
"ABA" means Bank of America ABA/Routing number 026009593 to the extent used to credit, debit, or route funds to or from the Account.
"Account Holder" means Nath, Goldberg & Meyer ("NGM"); Nath & Associates PLLC; Joshua B. Goldberg; Gary M. Nath; Tanya E. Meyer (a/k/a Tanya Harkins); and any d/b/a, predecessor, successor, parent, subsidiary, or affiliated entity in whose name the Account has been held, titled, signed upon, or beneficially owned, in whole or in part, at any time.
"Litigation Period" means June 15, 2020 through the date of production, inclusive.
"Litman-Originated Matters" means any matter, client, file, docket, or engagement associated with or billed under the name, initials, or customer number of Richard C. Litman, including without limitation: King Faisal University ("KFU"), King Saud University ("KSU"), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research ("KISR"), Kuwait National Petroleum Company ("KNPC"), Kuwait University, United Arab Emirates University ("UAEU"), Dasman Diabetes Institute, Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity ("SACGC"), Qatar Foundation, Qatar University, and any matter referenced by USPTO Customer Number 37833 or NGM internal Attorney Number 418.
"Document" is used in its broadest sense consistent with CPLR § 3120 and includes all writings, records, electronically stored information (ESI), metadata, images, audio recordings, and tangible things, whether originals or copies.
"Communication" means any transmission of information, whether written, oral, electronic, or otherwise.
"Concerning" means relating to, referring to, reflecting, evidencing, constituting, describing, or discussing, in whole or in part.
Form of Production. Electronic records shall be produced in native format with metadata preserved, or, where not feasible, as text-searchable PDF. Statements shall be produced as issued to the customer. Check and deposit item images shall be produced front and back at not less than 300 DPI.
Privilege Log. If any Document is withheld or redacted on any ground, produce a privilege log in accordance with CPLR § 3122(b) identifying: (a) the type of document; (b) date; (c) author/sender and all recipients; (d) subject matter sufficient to permit assessment of the claim; and (e) the specific ground asserted. Bank records are not privileged as to the Account Holder, and the Account Holder has no standing to assert privilege over the Bank's records of its own customer relationship.
Preservation. Upon receipt of this subpoena, you are directed to preserve all Documents responsive hereto, including backup tapes and automatically-deleted records, and to suspend any routine destruction policies as to the Account pending compliance.
For the Account and all related accounts of the Account Holder, for the Litigation Period:
Complete monthly account statements, including all pages (front and back), for each and every calendar month from June 15, 2020 through the date of production.
All wire transfer records, incoming and outgoing, including but not limited to Fedwire/CHIPS confirmations, MT103/MT202 messages, originator-to-beneficiary information (OBI), sender and receiver references, and the complete payment message chain for each wire.
All ACH transaction records, including NACHA files, addenda records, originator and receiver identifying information, and return/NOC records.
Check images, front and back, at not less than 300 DPI, for every check drawn on or deposited to the Account.
Deposit slips and deposit item images (including any remotely-deposited items, RDC logs, and mobile deposit records).
Online banking access logs, including user IDs, login timestamps, originating IP addresses, devices, and records of any transaction initiated through digital channels (including Bank of America CashPro, Online Banking for Small Business, or any equivalent portal).
Authorized signatory records and signature card history, including all signature cards, corporate resolutions, LLC operating agreement authorizations, and any changes or updates to authorized signatories on the Account during the Litigation Period.
Beneficial ownership records collected pursuant to FinCEN's Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Rule, 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230, and any updates thereto, including all CIP and KYC refresh records.
All communications between the Account Holder (or anyone purporting to act on its behalf) and Bank of America concerning the Account, including correspondence, secure-message-center communications, email, call notes, branch visit logs, and relationship manager memoranda.
Records of any holds, freezes, stop-payments, Reg E claims, fraud alerts, SAR-related inquiries (excluding the SARs themselves), levies, restraining notices, garnishments, or legal process served upon the Account.
Account opening documents, including the original application, entity formation documents submitted in connection with account opening, IRS Form W-9 or W-8, and all subsequent re-titling or amendment records.
Any and all records of credits or debits where the counterparty, originator, beneficiary, memo field, OBI field, or payee line references (in whole or in part): "Richard C. Litman," "R. Litman," "Litman," "Litman Law," "Litman Law Offices," "rlitman@nathlaw.com," "litman@4patent.com," "rclitman@gmail.com," "richielitman@gmail.com," or any mailing or electronic address associated with Plaintiff.
Any and all records of credits or debits where the counterparty, memo field, or payment detail references any email address at the domain @4patent.com, including without limitation kfu@4patent.com, ksu@4patent.com, kisr@4patent.com, uaeu@4patent.com, knpc@4patent.com, or any other alias at that domain.
Source-of-funds records for any deposit of $50,000 or more, including the originating bank, originating account, beneficiary name, OBI information, and any correspondent bank instructions.
Any and all records of wire transfer instructions generated by or received from Soluno, Clio, Tabs3, CosmoLex, LeanLaw, or any other law-firm billing or practice-management platform and executed against the Account, including imported payment instructions and reconciliation records.
Any and all credits identifiable to Litman-Originated Matters, including without limitation incoming wires from KFU, KSU, KISR, KNPC, Kuwait University, UAEU, Dasman Diabetes Institute, SACGC, Qatar Foundation, or Qatar University, or any Kuwaiti, Saudi, Emirati, or Qatari ministry, institution, university, or sovereign entity.
IOLTA / attorney trust account designation records, if any, including any election, de-designation, or change in account classification between operating, trust, escrow, or IOLTA status during the Litigation Period, and any interest remittance records to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection or equivalent.
Linked-account and sweep records identifying any other Bank of America account (or account at any other institution) linked to, funded by, or funding the Account, including zero-balance, cash concentration, and overnight sweep arrangements.
Debit card, Zelle, and bill-pay records issued on or connected to the Account, including the names of cardholders and payees.
A Certification of Business Records pursuant to CPLR 4518(c) and FRE 902(11), executed by a records custodian of Bank of America, N.A., authenticating the documents produced.
The Account is the Bank of America deposit account identified on Nath, Goldberg & Meyer letterhead as the wire-transfer destination for client payments, as evidenced by an NGM statement of account directed to the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (a Litman-Originated client), which on its face lists: "Wire Transfer — Bank of America — Account #003926278751 — ABA #026009593." That statement of account billed fees, costs, and expenses on matters 32366.53, 32366.46, 32366.54, 32366.65, and 32366.72 — all Litman-Originated Matters — and directed payment into the Account.
Plaintiff has pleaded, and discovery to date supports, that Defendants collected legal fees and expenses from Litman-Originated clients into this Account during the Litigation Period while continuing to use Plaintiff's name and professional identity on USPTO filings, client correspondence, and firm marketing materials in violation of New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50–51 (Count V, the sole surviving count following the Court's December 5, 2025 decision). The records sought are material and necessary to establish: (i) the commercial benefit Defendants derived from the continued use of Plaintiff's name; (ii) the quantum of disgorgement and statutory damages under § 51; (iii) the pattern of client-fund routing, renumbering, and allocation referenced in contemporaneous text messages from June 2025; and (iv) identification of the natural persons who directed, authorized, and benefitted from the challenged uses, relevant to Defendant Goldberg's individual liability under LLC Law § 609 and Turane v. MGN, LLC, 171 A.D.3d 835 (2d Dep't 2019).
The records are sought from a non-party financial institution. They are self-authenticating under CPLR 4518(c) / FRE 902(11). No privilege attaches to a bank's records of its own customer relationship, and the Account Holder has no standing to assert any privilege over them. See Matter of Kapon v. Koch, 23 N.Y.3d 32 (2014).
Plaintiff Richard C. Litman, a patent attorney, alleges that Defendants used his name without consent on post-June 15, 2020 USPTO patent filings, firm website, letterhead, trademark prosecutions, and client-facing correspondence in violation of NY Civil Rights Law §§ 50–51. Count V is the only count remaining after the December 5, 2025 dismissal order. A Bill of Particulars is due April 2, 2026; depositions must be complete by June 2, 2026; compliance conference is set for September 22, 2026; Note of Issue is due February 5, 2027. The records sought from Bank of America are necessary to quantify the fees, commercial benefit, and flow of funds directly attributable to the challenged name uses, and cannot be obtained from any other source with equivalent reliability.
Pursuant to CPLR § 3122, any motion to quash, fix conditions, or modify this subpoena must be made promptly and in any event prior to the return date. Absent such a motion or a written extension signed by counsel for Plaintiff, production must be made within thirty (30) days of service. Reasonable out-of-pocket costs of compliance will be reimbursed in accordance with CPLR § 3122(d).
Dated: ___, 2026 Brooklyn, New York
______ [Attorney Name], Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff Richard C. Litman [Firm Name] [Address] [Telephone] | [Email]
TO: Joshua B. Goldberg; Nath, Goldberg & Meyer; Nath & Associates PLLC c/o Aaron Gould, Esq., Connell Foley LLP (or counsel of record)
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to CPLR §§ 3119 and 3120, Plaintiff has caused to be issued a Subpoena Duces Tecum to Non-Party Bank of America, N.A., a copy of which is annexed hereto, commanding production of the records described in Schedule A within thirty (30) days of service upon the subpoenaed entity.
This notice is served upon you contemporaneously with service of the subpoena upon Bank of America, N.A., in satisfaction of the notice requirement of CPLR § 3119(b)(3) and CPLR § 3120(3). Any objection, motion to quash, motion for protective order, or motion to fix conditions must be made in compliance with CPLR §§ 3103 and 3122 and served upon the undersigned promptly and in any event prior to the return date set forth in the subpoena.
Failure to timely object will be deemed a waiver of any objection that could have been raised.
Dated: ___, 2026 Brooklyn, New York
______ [Attorney Name], Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff
[ATTORNEY NAME], an attorney duly admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York, affirms the following to be true under penalty of perjury pursuant to CPLR § 2106:
I am counsel for Plaintiff Richard C. Litman in the above-captioned action and am fully familiar with the facts and circumstances set forth herein based upon my review of the file, communications with my client, and the documents produced in discovery to date.
I submit this affirmation in support of, and as the "circumstances or reasons such disclosure is sought" statement accompanying, the annexed Subpoena Duces Tecum directed to non-party Bank of America, N.A. CPLR § 3101(a)(4).
The Case. This action arises from Defendants' use of Plaintiff's name and professional identity in violation of New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50–51. By Order dated December 5, 2025, the Court (Maslow, J., prior to reassignment to Hon. Brian L. Gotlieb) dismissed Counts I–IV; Count V (§§ 50–51 misappropriation) remains. Defendants' Answer (NYSCEF Doc. #65, January 20, 2026) admits that Plaintiff's name appeared on patent front pages and firm marketing materials after June 15, 2020, while denying causation — a denial directly contradicted by sixteen Powers of Attorney personally signed by Defendant Goldberg.
The Account. Among documents reviewed in connection with this matter is an original statement of account on Nath, Goldberg & Meyer letterhead, dated June 21, 2018, directed to the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (Client #18756) concerning matters 32366.46, 32366.53, 32366.54, 32366.65, and 32366.72, billing $56,731.00 in fees and $11,784.00 in disbursements, for a total balance then due and owing of $48,515.00. Printed in the upper right of the letterhead, under the heading "Wire Transfer," is the following:
Bank of America Account # 003926278751 ABA # 026009593
The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research is a Litman-Originated client: the 905-patent dataset underlying Plaintiff's pleading reflects that KISR matters were originated, managed, and historically billed through Plaintiff's practice, and the matter numbers on the face of the document (the 32366 series) are consistent with NGM's Litman-era docketing nomenclature.
The same account number has been independently identified in contemporaneous NGM billing and wire-handling correspondence produced in discovery, including internal emails captioned "Please handle — Incoming Wire" and Soluno-generated financial attachments bearing dates within the Litigation Period. This confirms that the Account remained the operative receivables/wire-destination account for NGM's client funds — including funds from Litman-Originated clients — throughout the period relevant to this action.
Materiality and Necessity. The records sought from Bank of America are material and necessary under CPLR § 3101(a) to the following issues in the action:
a. Commercial Benefit (§ 51, damages). Civil Rights Law § 51 authorizes recovery of damages sustained and, in the court's discretion, exemplary damages. Quantification of the fees collected by Defendants from Litman-Originated clients during the Litigation Period — while Plaintiff's name continued to appear on USPTO filings, the firm website, letterhead, and client-facing correspondence — is a core damages issue.
b. Individual Liability of Defendant Goldberg. Online banking access logs and signature card history will identify the natural persons who controlled, authorized, and benefitted from the Account during the Litigation Period, directly bearing upon Defendant Goldberg's personal liability under LLC Law § 609 and Turane v. MGN, LLC, 171 A.D.3d 835 (2d Dep't 2019), as cited by the Court in its December 5, 2025 decision.
c. Client-Fund Allocation and Renumbering. Contemporaneous text messages exchanged between Plaintiff and Defendant Goldberg in June 2025 reference manipulation of client numbering to bypass Plaintiff's revenue allocation. The wire, ACH, and check-image records will permit forensic reconstruction of the true flow of Litman-Originated client funds, relevant both to damages and to Defendants' affirmative defenses of consent and contractual authorization.
d. Rebuttal of "Courtesy" Defense. Defendants' Bill of Particulars response (Eighth Affirmative Defense) characterizes continued use of Plaintiff's name as "purely as a courtesy." Records showing millions of dollars in fees collected into the Account from Litman-Originated clients will rebut that characterization and establish the commercial nature of the use, a required element under § 51.
Non-Party Source. The records are maintained by a non-party financial institution, are self-authenticating under CPLR 4518(c) and FRE 902(11), and are not available from any other source with equivalent completeness or reliability. See Matter of Kapon v. Koch, 23 N.Y.3d 32, 38 (2014) (subpoena to non-party appropriate where material and necessary, regardless of whether information is otherwise available).
No Privilege. Bank records are not privileged as to the Account Holder. The Account Holder has no standing to assert any privilege over the Bank's own records of its customer relationship. See, e.g., United States v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435 (1976); Matter of Nassau County Grand Jury Subpoena, 4 N.Y.3d 665 (2005).
Notice. Contemporaneously with service of this subpoena upon Bank of America, N.A., a copy of the subpoena and a Notice to Defendants have been served upon counsel for Defendants of record, in compliance with CPLR § 3119(b)(3) and § 3120(3).
No prior application for the relief sought herein has been made.
WHEREFORE, the undersigned respectfully submits the annexed Subpoena Duces Tecum for issuance and service upon Bank of America, N.A.
Dated: ___, 2026 Brooklyn, New York
______ [Attorney Name], Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff Richard C. Litman
End of Subpoena Package.