Port Village HOA, Inc. v. Summit Associates

33 Misc. 3d 39
CourtAppellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
DecidedAugust 5, 2011
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 33 Misc. 3d 39 (Port Village HOA, Inc. v. Summit Associates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Port Village HOA, Inc. v. Summit Associates, 33 Misc. 3d 39 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

Ordered that so much of the appeal as is from the portion of the “Decision/Judgment” that denied plaintiff’s motion to amend the caption is dismissed; and it is further, ordered that so much of the appeal as is from the portion of the “Decision/ Judgment” that, sua sponte, directed nonparty T.W. Finnerty Property Management, Inc. to close any and all bank accounts it maintains on behalf of any homeowners’ association or condominium, other than plaintiff, in any bank located outside of New York State and to reopen such accounts in banks subject to New York State’s jurisdiction is dismissed as plaintiff is not aggrieved from that portion of the order (see CPLR 5511); and it is further, ordered that, on the court’s own motion, so much of the notice of appeal as is from the portion of the “Decision/ Judgment” that, sua sponte, directed the clerk of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Richmond County to vacate any and all judgments entered in favor of Port Village Homeowners’ Association, Inc. or Port Village HOA, Inc. and to simultaneously dismiss any and all of those actions, as well as any actions [42]*42brought by either of these entities pending before the same court; directed the County Clerk for the County of Richmond to vacate any judgments or liens docketed in favor of Port Village Homeowners’ Association, Inc. or Port Village HOA, Inc.; and directed nonparty T.W. Finnerty Property Management, Inc. to close any and all bank accounts it maintains on behalf of plaintiff, however denominated, in any bank located outside of New York State and to reopen such accounts in banks subject to New York State’s jurisdiction, is treated as an application for leave to appeal from that portion of the “Decision/Judgment,” and leave to appeal from that portion of the “Decision/ Judgment” is granted (see CCA 1702); and it is further, ordered that so much of the “Decision/Judgment,” as sua sponte, directed the clerk of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Richmond County to vacate any and all judgments entered in favor of Port Village Homeowners’ Association, Inc. or Port Village HOA, Inc. and to simultaneously dismiss any and all of those actions, as well as any actions brought by either of these entities pending before the same court; directed the County Clerk for the County of Richmond to vacate any judgments or liens docketed in favor of Port Village Homeowners’ Association, Inc. or Port Village HOA, Inc.; and directed nonparty T.W. Finnerty Property Management, Inc. to close any and all bank accounts it maintains on behalf of plaintiff, however denominated, in any bank located outside of New York State and to reopen such accounts in banks subject to New York State’s jurisdiction, is reversed, without costs, and those provisions of the “Decision/Judgment” are stricken; and it is further, ordered that the judgment is modified by amending the caption to remove “Port Village HOA, Inc.” as the plaintiff and by substituting “Port Village Association, Inc.” as the plaintiff, by vacating so much of the “Decision/Judgment” as denied plaintiffs motion so to amend the caption and by providing that plaintiffs motion so to amend the caption is granted; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff brought this commercial claims action to recover from a title company and two successor owners for common charges to a unit in a residential development which had not been paid by a prior owner. The action was brought in the name of “Port Village HOA, Inc.,” even though, pursuant to the “Declaration of Protective Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions, Easements, Charges and Liens” for the Port Village residential development (the declaration), the homeowners’ association for the Port Village development was incorporated as the “Port Vil[43]*43lage Association, Inc.” (the Association). The Civil Court denied plaintiffs motion, made at the outset of trial and renewed following trial, to amend the caption to reflect the correct name of the homeowners’ association, and premised its dismissal of the action, in part, on plaintiffs use of an incorrect name.

The appeal from so much of the “Decision/Judgment” as denied plaintiff’s motion to amend the caption must be dismissed because the right of direct appeal therefrom terminated with the entry of judgment in the action (see Matter of Aho, 39 NY2d 241, 248 [1976]). The issues raised on the appeal from that portion of the “Decision/ Judgment” are brought up for review and have been considered on the appeal from the judgment (see CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

CPLR 2001, which authorizes courts to correct any mistake or irregularity not affecting the merits or a substantial right of a party at any stage of an action, is an essential component of our “enlightened system of civil procedure that eschews the elevation of form over substance” (Alexander, Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR 2001, at 626). Here, “the right party plaintiff [wa]s in court but under a defective name” (Covino v Alside Aluminum Supply Co., 42 AD2d 77, 80 [1973]; see also Homemakers, Inc. v Williams, 100 AD2d 505 [1984]), and defendants have failed to demonstrate any prejudice arising from the misnomer and, in fact, should have been well aware from the outset of plaintiffs actual identity (see 86 NY Jur 2d, Process and Papers § 32). Nor was there any showing of an intent by plaintiff to defraud defendants, which could have justified the dismissal of the action based on plaintiffs failure to file a certificate of doing business under the name of Port Village HOA, Inc. (see Cohen v OrthoNet N.Y. IPA, Inc., 19 AD3d 261 [2005]). Consequently, we conclude that the Civil Court erred in denying plaintiffs motion to amend the caption and instead dismissing the action, in part, based on plaintiffs use of an incorrect name. Accordingly, we vacate the denial of plaintiffs motion and grant the motion, and deem the caption amended to reflect that Port Village Association, Inc. is the plaintiff herein.

It was nevertheless incumbent upon plaintiff to establish its right to recover against each of defendants by a preponderance of the evidence (Naclerio v Adjunct Faculty Assn., 1 Misc 3d 135[A], 2003 NY Slip Op 51644[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2003]). From the evidence presented at trial, it could be inferred that defendant Summit Associates (Summit), or its [44]*44principal, Fidelity National Title Co., was the title company for defendant Victoria Hickson when she purchased a residence at 26 Port Lane, Staten Island, New York (the unit), which was within the Port Village residential development and was subject to the declaration. However, there was no evidence of privity between plaintiff and Summit or its principal. “Absent evidence of fraud, collusion or other special circumstances, a title company hired by one party generally is not subject to suit for negligent performance by one other than the party who contracted for its services” (Lebhar v National City Bank, 25 Misc 3d 58, 60 [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009]). Although a demonstration of the “functional equivalent” of privity may also support liability (see Kidd v Havens, 171 AD2d 336, 339 [1991]), there was no such showing here. We therefore conclude that the Civil Court’s dismissal of plaintiff s cause of action against Summit rendered substantial justice between the parties (CCA 1807-A), and the judgment, as amended, insofar as it dismissed so much of Port Village Association, Inc.’s action as is against Summit, is affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)
33 Misc. 3d 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/port-village-hoa-inc-v-summit-associates-nyappterm-2011.