Opinion
8003 Index 17097/06
01-03-2019
Fitzmore H. HARRIS, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Mitchell N. KAY, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
H. Fitzmore Harris, P.C., Bronx (Fitzmore H. Harris of counsel), for appellant. Smith Carroad Levy Wan & Parikh, Commack (Riley Mendoza of counsel), for respondents.
H. Fitzmore Harris, P.C., Bronx (Fitzmore H. Harris of counsel), for appellant.
Smith Carroad Levy Wan & Parikh, Commack (Riley Mendoza of counsel), for respondents.
Sweeny, J.P., Gische, Kahn, Oing, Singh, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Joseph E. Capella, J.), entered February 3, 2017, which granted defendants' motion pursuant to CPLR 3126(3) to strike the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court did not abuse its discretion in striking the complaint, given plaintiff's repeated, willful and contumacious refusals to provide discovery and to comply with court's orders over an approximately eight-year period (see McHugh v. City of New York, 150 A.D.3d 561, 562, 55 N.Y.S.3d 29 [1st Dept. 2017] ; Fish & Richardson, P.C. v. Schindler, 75 A.D.3d 219, 221–222, 901 N.Y.S.2d 598 [1st Dept. 2010] ; see generally Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Global Strat Inc., 22 N.Y.3d 877, 880, 976 N.Y.S.2d 678, 999 N.E.2d 156 [2013] ). Even if plaintiff's response to defendants' first set of interrogatories could be considered "timely" pursuant to the court's August 28, 2013 order, despite that the interrogatories were served more than six years prior, the response certainly does not "evince[ ] a good-faith effort to address the requests meaningfully" ( Kihl v. Pfeffer, 94 N.Y.2d 118, 123, 700 N.Y.S.2d 87, 722 N.E.2d 55 [1999] ).
We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.