CPLR 3025(b).

Leave to amend a pleading should be freely granted, in the absence of prejudice or surprise to the opposing party, and unless the proposed amendment is palpably insufficient or patently devoid of merit. The determination whether to grant leave is within the Supreme Court's broad discretion, and the exercise of that discretion will not be lightly disturbed on appeal.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Confino, NY Slip Op 06081 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

CPLR 321.

The filing of a notice of appearance in an action by a party's counsel serves as a waiver of any objection to personal jurisdiction in the absence of either the service of an answer which raises a jurisdictional objection, or a motion to dismiss, pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(8), for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Mid-Island Mtge. Corp. v. Johnson, NY Slip Op 06081 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

CPLR 3102(c).

Disclosure to aid in bringing an action authorizes discovery to allow a plaintiff to frame the complaint and to obtain the identity of the prospective defendants. Pre-action disclosure is not allowed after commencement of the action for which the identities are sought.

Weitzman v. Long Beach City Sch. Dist., NY Slip Op 06092 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

A slip and fall action.

Where the defendant does not establish its prima facie entitlement to summary judgment, the burden never shifts to the plaintiff to establish how long the allegedly hazardous condition existed.

Carela v. New York City Tr. Auth., NY Slip Op 06140 (1st Dep't August 13, 2019)

Here is the decision.

Labor Law § 240.

In order to invoke the statute, an appropriate safety device must be lacking or defective, thereby exposing workers to elevation-related risks, and it must have proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries. Here, plaintiff testified that he fell while, on his own volition, trying to climb the frame of a non-defective scaffold, which does not establish Labor Law § 240 liability.

Biaca-Neto v. Boston Rd. II Hous. Dev. Fund Corp., NY Slip Op 06142 (1st Dep't August 13, 2019)

Here is the decision.

Arbitrable and non-arbitrable claims.

Where the claims are inextricably interwoven, the court should stay judicial proceedings pending completion of the arbitration, especially where the determination of issues in arbitration may dispose of non-arbitrable matters.

Lake Harbor Advisors, LLC v. Settlement Servs. Arbitration & Mediation, Inc., NY Slip Op 06073 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

Successive summary judgment motions.

Successive motions should not be entertained, absent a showing of newly discovered evidence. Evidence is not newly discovered simply because it was not submitted on the previous motion. Instead, it must not have been available to the movant at the time of the prior motion, and it could not have been established through alternative evidentiary means.

Hillrich Holding Corp. v. BMSL Mgt., LLC, NY Slip Op 06070 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

CPLR 3211(a)(1).

A motion to dismiss will be granted on the ground of documentary evidence only where the evidence utterly refutes plaintiff's factual allegations, conclusively establishing a defense as a matter of law.

Glenwayne Dev. Corp v. James J. Corbett, P.C., NY Slip Op 06069 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

CPLR 3211(a)(5).

On a motion to dismiss on the ground that the statute of limitations has expired, the moving defendant must establish, prima facie, that the time within which to commence the action has expired. The burden then shifts to the plaintiff to raise a question of fact as to whether the limitations period has been tolled or is otherwise inapplicable, or whether the plaintiff actually commenced the action within the limitations period.

Edem v. Wondemagegehu, NY Slip Op 06065 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

Discovery motions.

Pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.7(a) and (c), the motion must be accompanied by an affirmation from moving counsel attesting to a good faith effort to resolve the issues raised in the motion, including the time, place, and nature of the consultation, as well as the issues discussed.

Bronstein v. Charm City Hous., LLC, NY Slip Op 06058 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.

CPLR 3215(c).

"If the plaintiff fails to take proceedings for the entry of judgment within one year after the default, the court shall not enter judgment but shall dismiss the complaint as abandoned, without costs, upon its own initiative or on motion." The plaintiff's failure to timely seek a default may be excused on a showing of sufficient cause, which requires the plaintiff to proffer a reasonable excuse for the delay in timely moving for a default judgment and to demonstrate that the cause of action is potentially meritorious. The determination of whether an excuse is reasonable is committed to the sound discretion of the motion court.

Bank of Am., N.A. v. Santos, NY Slip Op 06056 (2d Dep't August 7, 2019)

Here is the decision.