Opinion
02-10-2017
Stanley BLASOFF, Plaintiff–Appellant, Esther Blasoff, Plaintiff, v. NEW YORK CITY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS CORPORATION, et al., Defendants–Respondents, The City of New York, et al., Defendants.
The Law Office of Avram E. Frisch LLC, New York (Avram E. Frisch of counsel), for appellant. Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York (Qian Julie Wang of counsel), for respondents.
The Law Office of Avram E. Frisch LLC, New York (Avram E. Frisch of counsel), for appellant.
Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York (Qian Julie Wang of counsel), for respondents.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Frank P. Nervo, J.), entered April 30, 2015, dismissing the complaint as against defendant New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) (sued herein as HHC and Bellevue Hospital Center), pursuant to an order, same court and Justice, entered April 1, 2015, which granted HHC's motion to dismiss the complaint as against it, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Supreme Court properly dismissed the complaint upon plaintiff's failure to obey a court-ordered stipulation in which plaintiff agreed to serve a certificate of merit, as required by CPLR 3012–a(a), within 10 days, or risk having his complaint dismissed as against HHC. The failure to file a certificate of merit when required "is a pleading defect ... requiring dismissal [of the complaint] unless plaintiff can establish a reasonable excuse for the default [and] a meritorious cause of action" (Perez v. Lenox Hill Hosp., 159 A.D.2d 251, 251, 552 N.Y.S.2d 244 [1st Dept.1990] ), neither of which were established here. Where, as here, a litigant ignores a court order, the court may dismiss the action (CPLR 3126[3] ; Kihl v. Pfeffer, 94 N.Y.2d 118, 123, 700 N.Y.S.2d 87, 722 N.E.2d 55 [1999] ).
Plaintiff's remaining arguments are academic and, in any event, unavailing.
SWEENY, J.P., ACOSTA, MAZZARELLI, MANZANET–DANIELS, WEBBER, JJ., concur.