D'Alessio v. Gilberg

• Decision Date: 11 October 1994
• Citation: 208 A.D.2d 625,618 N.Y.S.2d 222
• Parties: In the Matter of Grace D'ALESSIO, etc., Respondent, v. Michael GILBERG, etc., Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 222

618 N.Y.S.2d 222

208 A.D.2d 625

In the Matter of Grace D'ALESSIO, etc., Respondent, v. Michael GILBERG, etc., Appellant.

Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division,

Second Department.

Oct. 11, 1994.

Gilberg & Gilberg, Mount Vernon (Michael Gilberg, on the brief), for appellant.

In a proceeding to compel pre-action disclosure pursuant to CPLR 3102(c), Michael Gilberg appeals, as limited by his brief and notice of appeal, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Wood, J.), entered January 6, 1993, as denied that branch of his motion which was to have Mr. Justice Wood recuse himself from the case.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.

Where, as here, there is no allegation that Justice Wood is legally disqualified from presiding over a proceeding (see, Judiciary Law § 14), disqualification is only appropriate where the court's impartiality might reasonably be questioned (see, Matter of Johnson v. Hornblass, 93 A.D.2d 732, 461 N.Y.S.2d 277). On the record before us we conclude that Justice Wood did not improvidently exercise his discretion in concluding that recusal was not warranted (see, People v. Moreno, 70 N.Y.2d 403, 521 N.Y.S.2d 663, 516 N.E.2d 200).

LAWRENCE, J.P., and RITTER, HART and KRAUSMAN, JJ., concur.