A court may not dismiss an action for failure to prosecute unless the statutory preconditions to dismissal are met, including that issue has been joined. Here, the conditional order of dismissal was improper, since none of the defendants had submitted an answer to the complaint, and, therefore, issue was never joined.
Central Mtge. Co.. v. Ango, NY Slip Op 01286 (2d Dep't March 2 2022)
