Opinion
2021-50559
06-17-2021
Uton Ferguson, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. M-Dolla Auto Collision Corp., Defendant-Respondent.
PRESENT: McShan, J.P., Brigantti, Hagler, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff, as limited by his brief, appeals from so much of the judgment of the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Marian C. Doherty, J.), entered on or about September 24, 2019, after trial, as limited his recovery to the principal sum of $34.57.
Judgment (Marian C. Doherty, J.), entered on or about affirmed, without costs.
The amount of the damage award ($34.57) issued in plaintiff's favor upon the trial of this Small Claims action achieved "substantial justice" (CCA 1804, 1807) and was neither inadequate nor unreasonable. Plaintiff did not establish his entitlement to any additional damages for the defective automobile repairs beyond the sum awarded, which was based upon findings contained in the Department of Motor Vehicles Investigation Report. Plaintiff submitted only one itemized estimate showing a higher cost to repair, when two are required by CCA 1804, and this estimate was, in any event, too remote in time from the incident to be of any probative value (see Wyche v VFC Indus., Ltd., 65 Misc.3d 149 [A], 2019 NY Slip Op 51833[U] [App Term, 1st Dept 2019]).