In the exercise of its discretion, a court may grant relief not specifically requested in the notice of motion, pursuant to a general prayer for relief contained in the notice of motion, if the relief is warranted by the facts plainly appearing on the papers on both sides, and if the relief granted is not too dramatically unlike the relief sought, the proof offered supports it, and there is no prejudice to any party.
Here, the defendant, in its answer, pled statute of limitations as an affirmative defense but did not move to dismiss on that ground pursuant to CPLR 3211(a). The Supreme Court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in declining to dismiss the complaint on statute of limitations grounds.
Caesar v. Metropolitan Transportation. Auth., NY Slip Op 03807 (2d Dep't July 17, 2024)
