Opinion
May 3, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Beatrice Shainswit, J.).
The record on appeal reveals that plaintiffs never received a proper accounting as ordered by the IAS Court in confirming the Judicial Hearing Officer's report, and that at the proceeding before the Special Master, defendant was allowed to patently forestall and evade efforts to hold a proper accounting. Accordingly, there was no basis in the record for the subsequent conclusion by the Special Master to dismiss the complaint, and the IAS Court's confirming of the Special Master's report and dismissal of the complaint was error. However, the court did not err in denying plaintiffs' request for entry of a money judgment, since there is no basis in the record for fixing an amount.
On the issue of the Special Master's fee, the record does not reflect an agreement on the part of plaintiffs to defray any of such costs, and it was improper for the IAS Court to grant a judgment against plaintiffs for a portion of the fee.
Concur — Ellerin, J.P., Kupferman, Ross, Nardelli and Williams, JJ.