Opinion
2013-11-26
Edward MULQUEEN, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Christopher LIVE, et al., Defendants–Appellants.
Reardon & Sclafani, P.C., Tarrytown (Michael V. Sclafani of counsel), for appellants. Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, LLP, New York (Denise A. Rubin of counsel), for respondent.
Reardon & Sclafani, P.C., Tarrytown (Michael V. Sclafani of counsel), for appellants. Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, LLP, New York (Denise A. Rubin of counsel), for respondent.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Mary Ann Brigantti–Hughes, J.), entered January 14, 2013, which denied defendants' motion to change venue from Bronx County to Westchester County, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident that occurred in Bronx County. He designated venue in Bronx County, based on the actual principal place of business of the corporate defendant, Down East Seafood. While designation of venue in the county in which a corporate defendant's principal place of business is located is proper ( see Margolis v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 57 A.D.3d 371, 870 N.Y.S.2d 252 [1st Dept.2008] ), it has been held that, for venue purposes, the corporation's designation of a county as the location of its principal office in its certificate of incorporation is controlling ( see Krochta v. On Time Delivery Serv., Inc., 62 A.D.3d 579, 879 N.Y.S.2d 428 [1st Dept.2009]; Conway v. Gateway Assoc., 166 A.D.2d 388, 561 N.Y.S.2d 190 [1st Dept.1990] ).
Here, in support of their motion to change venue, defendants failed to submit a copy of Down East's certificate of incorporation, and submitted a print-out of information on file with the New York State Department of State, which supports plaintiff's allegation that its principal executive offices are located in Bronx County. Defendants could not “remedy a fundamental deficiency in the moving papers by submitting evidentiary material with the reply” (TrizecHahn, Inc. v. Timbil Chiller Maintenance Corp., 92 A.D.3d 409, 410, 937 N.Y.S.2d 586 [1st Dept.2012] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Doyaga v. Camelot Taxi Inc., 102 A.D.3d 594, 595, 961 N.Y.S.2d 30 [1st Dept.2013] ). FRIEDMAN, J.P., RENWICK, FREEDMAN, FEINMAN, JJ., concur.