Landi v. We're Associates, Inc.

124 Misc. 2d 331, 475 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4181
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 16, 1983
StatusPublished

This text of 124 Misc. 2d 331 (Landi v. We're Associates, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Landi v. We're Associates, Inc., 124 Misc. 2d 331, 475 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4181 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Harvey W. Sherman, J..

Ordered that this motion by third-party defendant and proposed main defendant, D.F.M. Electrical Construction, Inc., hereinafter referred to as D.F.M., seeking an order granting leave to renew and reargue said defendant’s motion for dismissal of plaintiff’s cause of action on the grounds that the same is time barred by the Statute of Limitations, and further requests this court enter an order dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211 (subd [a], par 5), is considered pursuant to the applicable rules and section of the CPLR and is decided as follows:

[332]*332Motion to renew and reargue the motion which was the basis for this court’s prior order, dated September 30,1983, is granted.

Upon renewal, reargument and reconsideration of third-party defendant’s motion this court strikes and vacates its previous order and enters the following order.

This is an action by the plaintiff as a result of an accident which occurred on November 30, 1979. The main action was commenced against the named defendants, We’re Associates, Inc., Structure Tone, Inc., and Dimension Ceilings, Inc., on or about September of 1980. Therefore, pursuant to CPLR 214, the Statute of Limitations in this action ran on November 30,1982. Third-party defendant, D.F.M., alleged in its original motion:

“That on or about October 20, 1982, a third-party action was commenced against d.f.m. electrical construction, inc., and issue was joined in this third-party action on or about May 23, 1983 * * *

“That on or about August 22, 1983, the plaintiff attempted to serve a supplemental summons and complaint as against the third-party defendant, d.f.m. electrical construction, inc., in an attempt to bring D.F.M. in as a named defendant in the main action”.

The third-party defendant, D.F.M., now alleges: “That an initial third-party action was commenced by we’re associates against the third-party defendant, d.f.m. electrical construction, inc., herein after referred to as D.F.M., by service upon Richard P. Willie, Sheriff of Palm Beach County, Florida, some time in the year 1983.”

This changed allegation as to the service of the third-party complaint is crucial to a decision of this matter.

It is not disputed that on or about August 22,1983, more than nine months after the expiration of the Statute of Limitations, the plaintiff attempted to serve a supplemental summons and complaint as against the third-party defendant D.F.M. in an attempt to bring D.F.M. in as a named defendant in the main action.

In this regard, CPLR 203 (subd [e]) provides as follows: “(e) Claim in amended pleading. A claim asserted in an amended pleading is deemed to have been interposed at the [333]*333time the claims in the original pleading were interposed, unless the original pleading does not give notice of the transactions, occurrences, or series of transactions or occurrences, to be proved pursuant to the amended pleading.”

The third-party defendant, D.F.M., concludes that “where a plaintiff amends his complaint to include a third-party defendant as a named defendant following this expiration of the three year statute of limitations, such plaintiff was in effect seeking to state a new cause of action as against the third-party defendant and as such, such action was barred by the Statute of Limitations.”

Until recent years there has been a profound reluctance in New York case law to permit an amended pleading to relate back, for purposes of the Statute of Limitations, to a point before the new party was joined. (See McLaughlin, Supplementary Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR C203:ll, p 45, 1983-1984 Pocket Part; and see Practice Commentaries, CPLR C203:ll, p 124). Since 1966, the leading case on the subject has been Trybus v Nipark Realty Corp. (26 AD2d 563, 564) which stated: “the claim sought to be asserted in the proposed amended complaint did not relate back to the date of service of the original complaint, pursuant to CPLR 203 (subd. [e]), since the original pleading did not give notice to appellant ‘of the transactions, occurrences, or series of transactions or occurrences, to be proved pursuant to the amended pleading’.”

However, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, has reached a different conclusion, holding that CPLR 203 (subd [e]) does apply so as to cause plaintiff’s amended complaint for the first time alleging a direct claim against the third-party defendants to relate back at least to the date of the service of the third-party complaint. (Lancaster Silo & Block Co. v Northern Propane Gas Co., 75 AD2d 55, 60.)

The Appellate Division, First Department, has recently followed the rationale espoused by the Fourth Department in a recent matter (Holst v Edinger, 93 AD2d 313, 315-316) in which the court stated:

[334]*334“However, we think the statute should be applicable so as to deem plaintiffs’ claim against the third-party defendants to have been interposed at the time the third-party complaint was served. At that time, the third-party defendants had full notice of the transactions to be proved. Although the original complaint said that the accident was caused solely by the negligence of the original defendants, there was no real specification of the nature of the negligence; the third-party complaint alleged that the accident was caused by the third-party defendants’ negligence; and thus, the third-party defendants had full notice at that time that their negligence was in issue. Further, at the time the third-party complaint was served, the original complaint also had to be served upon the third-party defendants. (CPLR 1007.) And the third-party defendants served and were required to serve their answer on the plaintiffs. (CPLR 2103, subd [e].)

“Thus, from the time of the service of the third-party complaint, the third-party defendants were fully parties to the action with full notice that they may ultimately be charged with the complete liability. In the circumstances, we think that it is desirable to permit the plaintiffs’ amended complaint as against the third-party defendants to relate back at least to the time of the service of the third-party complaint, thus enabling the court to render complete justice among all the parties.”

However, the Appellate Division, Third Department, has consistently followed the Trybus rule of the Second Department. (See Knorr v City of Albany, 58 AD2d 904.) The Third Department has held that CPLR 203 (subd [e]) clearly required that the relation back shall be to the time the claims in the original pleadings were interposed and at that time the third-party defendant did not have notice of the transaction or occurrences to be proved pursuant to the amended pleading. (Village of St. Johnsville v Travelers Ind. Co., 93 AD2d 932.)

Finally, the Second Department, as noted by Professor McLaughlin (op. cit., p 45,1983-1984 Pocket Part), “may be prepared to overrule Trybus. In Brock v. Bau, 1981, 83 A.D. 2d 61, 443 N.Y.S. 2d 407, that court in a lengthy footnote discussed this problem and suggested that in an appropriate case it may be prepared to overrule Trybus.”

[335]*335In Brock {supra,

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Bluebook (online)
124 Misc. 2d 331, 475 N.Y.S.2d 969, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/landi-v-were-associates-inc-nysupct-1983.