Bekas v. Valiotis

• Decision Date: 31 December 2014
• Citation: Bekas v. Valiotis, 123 A.D.3d 1070, 1 N.Y.S.3d 191 (N.Y. App. Div. 2014)
• Parties: Demetrios BEKAS, appellant, v. Efstathios VALIOTIS, et al., respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

123 A.D.3d 1070

1 N.Y.S.3d 191

Demetrios BEKAS, appellant,

v.Efstathios VALIOTIS, et al., respondents.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

Dec. 31, 2014.

Demetrios Bekas, Bayside, N.Y., appellant pro se.

Harrington, Ocko & Monk, LLP, White Plains, N.Y. (John T.A. Rosenthal of counsel), for respondents.

PETER B. SKELOS, J.P., THOMAS A. DICKERSON, LEONARD B. AUSTIN, and JOSEPH J. MALTESE, JJ.

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for fraudulent inducement, the plaintiff appeals from (1) an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Grays, J.), entered January 14, 2013, which denied, without prejudice, his motion to compel the defendants to respond to his first set of interrogatories, and granted the defendants' cross motion, inter alia, to stay discovery pending resolution of their motion for summary judgment, (2) an order of the same court entered March 15, 2013, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and denied his cross motion, among other things, for leave to serve an amended complaint, and (3) an order of the same court entered May 6, 2013, which denied his motion for leave to reargue and renew the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and his cross motion, inter alia, for leave to serve an amended complaint.

ORDERED that the appeal from so much of the order entered May 6, 2013, as denied that branch of the plaintiff's motion which was for leave to reargue is dismissed, as no appeal lies from an order denying reargument; and it is further,

ORDERED that the orders entered January 14, 2013, and March 15, 2013, respectively, are affirmed; and it is further,

ORDERED that the order entered May 6, 2013, is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,

ORDERED that one bill of costs is awarded to the defendants.

The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the plaintiff's motion to compel discovery, and granting the defendants' cross motion for a stay of discovery while their summary judgment motion was pending (see CPLR 3214[b] ; cf. John Eric Jacoby, M.D., P.C. v. Loper Assoc., 249 A.D.2d 277, 279, 670 N.Y.S.2d 912 ).

The Supreme Court properly granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The claims asserted by the plaintiff in this action are the same claims the plaintiff asserted as cross claims against these defendants in an action entitled Zelouf International Corp. v. Rivercity LLC, pending in the Supreme Court, Queens County under Index No. 18790/10, in which those cross claims were summarily dismissed (see Zelouf International Corp. v. Rivercity, LLC, 123 A.D.3d 1116, 1 N.Y.S.3d 190 [Appellate Division Docket No. 2013–02236] ). The plaintiff's claims against the defendants in this action are, therefore, barred by res judicata (see O'Brien v. City of Syracuse, 54 N.Y.2d 353, 357, 445 N.Y.S.2d 687, 429 N.E.2d 1158 ; Matter of City of New York v. Schmitt, 50 A.D.3d 1032, 1033–1034, 857 N.Y.S.2d 191 ), and collateral estoppel (see Buechel v. Bain, 97 N.Y.2d 295, 303–304, 740 N.Y.S.2d 252, 766 N.E.2d 914 ; Gilberg v. Barbieri, 53 N.Y.2d 285, 291–292, 441 N.Y.S.2d 49, 423 N.E.2d 807 ).

The Supreme Court providently exercised...