From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Yellowbook, Inc. v. Heller & Heller

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Jul 5, 2016
2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 5349 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)

Opinion

1670N 653498/11

07-05-2016

Yellowbook, Inc., formerly known as Yellow Book Sales & Distribution Company, Inc., Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Heller & Heller, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

Peter Toumbekis, Brooklyn, for appellants. Concetta G. Spirio, Sayville, for respondent.


Peter Toumbekis, Brooklyn, for appellants.

Concetta G. Spirio, Sayville, for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ellen M. Coin, J.), entered November 5, 2014, which, upon reargument, adhered to a prior determination granting plaintiff's motion to strike defendants' answer and enter judgment in plaintiff's favor, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The motion court providently exercised its discretion in striking defendants' answer, including their remaining counterclaim, given their "willful and repeated failure to comply with court-ordered discovery" (Soto-Law v Law, 264 AD2d 695, 696 [1st Dept 1999]). After repeated discovery violations for which defendants were sanctioned, the individual defendant failed to appear for his deposition, which had already been rescheduled. Defendants' behavior, and their failure to offer a reasonable excuse for it, supported the motion court's finding of willfulness (see Fish & Richardson, P.C. v Schindler, 75 AD3d 219, 221-222 [1st Dept 2010]; Kutner v Feiden, Dweck & Sladkus, 223 AD2d 488, 489 [1st Dept 1996], lv denied 88 NY2d 802 [1996]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: JULY 5, 2016

DEPUTY CLERK


Summaries of

Yellowbook, Inc. v. Heller & Heller

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Jul 5, 2016
2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 5349 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)
Case details for

Yellowbook, Inc. v. Heller & Heller

Case Details

Full title:Yellowbook, Inc., formerly known as Yellow Book Sales & Distribution…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

Date published: Jul 5, 2016

Citations

2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 5349 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)