Arnoux v. Glik
| Docket Number | Index No. 538155/2022 |
| Decision Date | 23 August 2023 |
| Parties | Ralph Arnoux, Plaintiff, v. Mariana Glik, Nations Holding Corp., Rosenberg & Steinmetz, P.C., New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Defendants. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
D: NYC Housing Preservation & Development and Marianna Glik, by Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Samantha Schoenfeld, Ass't Corp. Counsel
Recitation as per CPLR §§ 2219 and/or 3212 of Papers consider on Review of Motion:
Papers/NYSCEF Document #s
Plaintiff's Summons and Complaint (Instant matter) 1
Defendants NYC Dep't of Housing Preservation and Development ("HPD") and Mariana Glik (Mot. Seq. 2) 20-30
Plaintiff's Mot. Seq. 4 35-39, 64-66
Defendant NYC HPD's Mot. Seq. 5 40-49
Defendant Nations Holding Corp.'s Mot. Seq. 6 50-63
Defendant Rosenberg & Steinmetz, PC's ("RSPC") Opposition and Cross-Motion (Mot. Seq 4) 76
Defendant Rosenberg & Steinmetz, PC's Mot. Seq. 8 77-78
Plaintiff's Reply (Mot. Seq. 3) 79-83
Plaintiff's Mot. Seq. 9 90-93
Plaintiff's Mot. Seq. 10 96-99
Upon the foregoing cited papers and appearances on April 19, 2023 and, pursuant to CPLR §§ 2219 and/or 3212, the Decision and Orders on Motion Sequences ("Mot. Seq.") 2 through 8 [1] is as follows:
Defendants HPD and Marianna Glik's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint (Mot. Seq. 2) is GRANTED.
Defendants HPD's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's amended complaint (Mot. Seq. 5) is GRANTED.
Defendant Nations Holding Corp.'s ("Nations Holding") motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint (Mot. Seq. 6) is GRANTED.
Defendant Rosenberg & Steinmetz PC's ("RSPC") motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint (Mot. Seq. 8) is GRANTED.
Plaintiff's motions to amend the complaint (Mot. Seq. 3 and 7) and for a Default Judgment against Defendant(s) Nations Holding and/or RSPC (Mot. Seq. 4) are DENIED.
Plaintiff's ownership interest in the subject property (47 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) arose in or around 2015 when he was named co-administrator of decedent Max Antoine Arnoux's estate, which included the subject property. See NYSCEF Doc #s 16-22 (Index # 500069/2021). Plaintiff claimed that he subsequently contracted to sell 47 Vanderbilt Avenue to Aquamarine Properties, whose rights to that contract were subsequently assigned to Defendant Nations Holding in or around March 2019. See id. and NYSCEF Doc # 58 (Escrow Agreement) (Index # 538155/2022).
On or about January 16, 2018, Defendant HPD issued an order to repair and vacate the property due to uninhabitable conditions for tenants including lack of heat, water, and gas . See NYSCEF Doc. #s 27, 28, 48; see also NYSCEF Doc #s 16-22 (Index # 500069/2021). As a result of said repair and vacate order, HPD provided relocation services to the. See id.
At the time that Defendant Nations Holding closed on its purchase of 47 Vanderbilt Avenue from the administrators on March 5 2019, the property was under a clouded title caused by the vacate order and a potential/consequential HPD lien for relocation expenses. See NYSCEF Doc. # 55 at page 2. Pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement between the administrators and Defendant Nations Holding, they executed an escrow agreement on March 5, 2019 which placed $320,000 of the sale proceeds into escrow, with Defendant RSPC acting as escrow agent, that could be applied to buyouts of remaining tenants at the subject property and to satisfy any final HPD lien once relocation services were completed. See id. at pages 2-3; NYSCEF Doc. # 58; see also NYSCEF Doc. # 2, at page 11 (Index # 500069/2021) ("The plaintiffs [Ralph Arnoux and Nations Holding] and Marie Beecham entered into an agreement to hold $320,000 of the sale proceeds in escrow to, inter alia, discharge the relocation charges and corresponding future lien[s] from the Premises").
The tenant relocations began in 2018 and Defendant HPD incurred its last relocation expenses on January 7, 2021. See NYSCEF Doc. # 27. On or about January 4, 2022 and within the statutory period pursuant to Admin. Code § 26-305, Defendant HPD filed a lien in the Kings County Clerk's Office against the property in the amount of $389,195.46 for reimbursement of those relocation expenses. See, e.g., NYSCEF Doc. #s 27, 28, 48; see also NYSCEF Doc #s 16-22 (Index # 500069/2021). By that time, $36,184.09 had been paid from the escrow funds to cover legal fees, tenant settlements and investigator costs to location tenants, and expenses incurred by Plaintiff Arnoux, leaving a balance of $283,815.91. See NYSCEF Doc. # 55 at pages 3-4; NYSCEF Doc. 54 at page 1.
Plaintiff filed a series of lawsuits related to the HPD lien, including Ralph Arnoux v. New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Index Number 2363/2018. See NYSCEF Doc. #s 23, 43. In that action, Plaintiff argued that Defendant HPD's repair and vacate order should be null and void because ownership of 47 Vanderbilt Avenue was being litigated, that any liens against the property should be vacated because the property had been sold and the tenants would be unable to return, and that escrow funds should be held until the liens were removed. See id. By Order dated Sept. 24, 2019, the Kings County Supreme Court (Velasquez, J.) found that there were no liens filed by HPD on the subject property, Plaintiff had not yet suffered injury therefore Plaintiff's motion was premature, he did not have standing to sue, and he failed to state a cause of action. See id.
In or around March 2020, Plaintiff filed another action, Ralph Arnoux v. New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Index Number 577/2020. See NYSCEF Doc. # 28. Defendants HPD and Glik claim that Plaintiff voluntarily discontinued that action on January 13, 2021. See id. [2]
By summons and complaint filed on or about April 29, 2021, Plaintiff commenced the action Ralph Arnoux v. New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Index Number 510074/2021. By Order dated December 2, 2021, the Kings County Supreme Court (Velasquez, J.) denied Plaintiff's motion, finding that as there were no liens filed by HPD on the property, Plaintiff had not yet suffered injury and thus Plaintiff's motion was premature and accordingly Plaintiff did not have standing to sue and had failed to state a cause of action. On or around August 30, 2022, Plaintiff appealed the December 2, 2021 Dismissal Order to the Appellate Division (NYSCEF Doc #s 55, 58, Index # 510074/2021), where it is pending as Docket No. 2022-00797. [3]
By summons and complaint filed on or about December 30, 2022 (see NYSCEF Document # 1), Plaintiff commenced the instant action against Defendants challenging a relocation lien placed by Defendant HPD upon 47 Vanderbilt Avenue, alleging negligence by Defendant HPD for filing the lien and seeking an Order for Defendant Nations Holding to release the escrow funds being held by Defendant RSPC to Plaintiff.
On or about January 20, 2023, Defendants HPD and Glik filed a motion to dismiss the instant complaint pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211(a)(2) and 3211(a)(7) (Mot. Seq. 2). In their motion, Defendants argued that Plaintiff lacked standing to prosecute the action because Plaintiff was not the property owner at the time the lien was filed. See NYSCEF Doc. # 28. Defendants contend Plaintiff failed to establish that Defendant HPD owed him any special duty or that its filing of the lien was the proximate cause of Plaintiff's alleged injury, and thus has failed to state a cause of action against Defendant HPD. See id. Defendants aver that dismissal is required because Plaintiff failed to file a Notice of Claim for the instant action, a condition precedent to actions seeking monetary damages against city municipalities. See id. Defendants further claimed that Glik, as an employee with HPD, acting in her official capacity, was not a proper party and must be dismissed from the action. See id. In the alternative, Defendants ask the Court they be allowed to submit an answer to Plaintiff's complaint. See id.
On or about February 9, 2023, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend the caption and/or pleadings (Mot. Seq. 3). In his Notice of Motion and on several of his filings related to this motion, Plaintiff appears to have deleted Defendant Mariana Glik from the complaint caption and papers therein.
On or about February 23, 2023, Plaintiff filed a motion for a Default Judgment against Defendant(s) Nations Holding and/or RSPC and/or to amend the caption and/or pleadings of his complaint (Mot. Seq. 4). In his Notice of Motion and on the related filings to this motion, Plaintiff omitted Defendant Glik from the caption.
On or about March 2, 2023, Defendant HPD filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (Mot. Seq. 5). In its Notice of Motion and related filings, Defendant HPD argued Plaintiff lacked standing to prosecute the action and failed to state a cause of action against Defendant HPD and that dismissal was warranted because Plaintiff failed to file a Notice of Claim.
On or about March 3, 2023, Defendant Nations Holding filed a motion to dismiss both the...
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