Opinion
2002-11263
Argued September 16, 2003.
October 14, 2003.
In related actions, inter alia, to recover corporate property and funds, the defendants in Action No. 1 appeal, by permission, from stated portions of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Golia, J.), dated August 26, 2002, which, among other things, sua sponte appointed a private attorney to be compensated by the parties to serve as a referee to oversee discovery.
Felipe ("Philip") Orner, Flushing, N.Y., for appellants in Action No. 1 and plaintiff in Action No. 2.
Schlesinger Sussman, New York, N.Y. (Ken Sutak of counsel), for respondents in Action No. 1 and defendants-respondents in Action No. 2.
Before: A. GAIL PRUDENTI, P.J.,, NANCY E. SMITH, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, HOWARD MILLER, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is modified by deleting the provision thereof which sua sponte appointed a private attorney to be compensated by the parties to serve as a referee to oversee discovery; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for the appointment of a Judicial Hearing Officer to serve as a referee.
The Supreme Court lacked the authority to appoint a private attorney to serve as a referee to oversee discovery, and to be compensated by the parties, without their consent ( see CPLR 3104; Csanko v. County of Westchester, 273 A.D.2d 434).
The parties' remaining contentions are without merit.
PRUDENTI, P.J., SMITH, FRIEDMANN and H. MILLER, JJ., concur.