The Power and Limits of the Legislative Privilege

June 17, 2025  |  New York Law Journal

Southern District Magistrate Judge Gary Stein’s recent decision in DoorDash, Inc. v. City of New York underscores the broad scope of the legislative privilege in shielding state and local lawmakers from depositions about their legislative motives. In DoorDash, out-of-state food delivery companies alleged that a City ordinance imposing fee caps on their services was adopted with discriminatory animus toward out-of-state businesses in violation of numerous constitutional provisions. Judge Stein refused to compel City Council members and staff to be deposed, holding that compelling their testimony would undermine the core purposes of the legislative privilege. In their latest article for the NYLJ, “The Power and Limits of the Legislative Privilege,” Morvillo Abramowitz partners Edward M. Spiro and Christopher B. Harwood examine how Judge Stein applied and interpreted the legislative privilege doctrine to assess the limits of discovery into legislative intent.

The Power and Limits of the Legislative Privilege