Summary
In Milazzo v. Long Island Lighting Co., (106 AD2d 495 (2nd Dept. 1984), the plaintiff was a law secretary to two sitting Justices in the court in which the action was commenced.
Summary of this case from TRUST U/W/O NICK GALLIPOLI v. RUSSOOpinion
December 17, 1984
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Held, J.).
Order reversed, insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements, and the aforenoted branch of defendant's motion is granted to the extent that "venue and place of trial" of the action is transferred to New York County.
Plaintiff Douglas Milazzo has been a law secretary to two Justices in the Supreme Court, Kings County. Defendant asserts that there will be a possibility of bias or of an appearance of impropriety if the trial is held in that court, since Mr. Milazzo has a confidential relationship with two of its Justices and presumably knows many of the Justices in that court and sees and works with them on a frequent basis.
Defendant waited over four years after learning of this relationship before making its motion on the eve of trial for a change of venue. This cannot be considered "a reasonable time after commencement of the action" (CPLR 511, subd [a]; Hillegass v Duffy, 104 A.D.2d 969).
Not every relationship with a Justice necessitates disqualifying the entire court (see Fishman v. Fishman, 20 A.D.2d 941 [affirming denial of motion for change of venue where plaintiff's attorney was employed by a Justice of the judicial district where the trial was to be held]), and the decision to grant or deny a motion to change venue generally rests in the sound discretion of the trial court ( Panicello v. Panicello, 73 A.D.2d 595). Nevertheless, to avoid any appearance of impropriety, we believe the action should be transferred out of Kings County ( DeLuca v. CBS, Inc., 105 A.D.2d 770). The Supreme Court in New York County, however, is more conveniently located than the Supreme Court, Nassau County, for the witnesses in this case, including plaintiff's physician, and the facilities in its court-house are adequate to accommodate plaintiff, who is a paraplegic from a previous accident (see Arkwright v Steinbugler, 283 App. Div. 397, 399). Titone, J.P., Weinstein, Rubin and Boyers, JJ., concur.