Edwards v. 1234 Pac. Mgmt., LLC

• Decision Date: 04 May 2016
• Docket Number: 2015-06433, Index No. 8077/12.
• Citation: Edwards v. 1234 Pac. Mgmt., LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 3464, 139 A.D.3d 658, 30 N.Y.S.3d 675 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)
• Parties: Orlaine EDWARDS, respondent, v. 1234 PACIFIC MANAGEMENT, LLC, appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

139 A.D.3d 658

30 N.Y.S.3d 675

2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 03464

Orlaine EDWARDS, respondent,

v.1234 PACIFIC MANAGEMENT, LLC, appellant.

2015-06433, Index No. 8077/12.

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

May 4, 2016.

Carman, Callahan & Ingham, LLP, Farmingdale, N.Y. (Peter F. Breheny, Lauren M. Mazzara, and Anne P. O'Brien of counsel), for appellant.

Johnson Liebman, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Charles D. Liebman of counsel), for respondent.

JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, J.P., THOMAS A. DICKERSON, JEFFREY A. COHEN, and SYLVIA O. HINDS–RADIX, JJ.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (King, J.), dated April 22, 2015, as granted that branch of the plaintiff's motion which was pursuant to CPLR 3025(b) for leave to amend the complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The plaintiff commenced this action to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained by her when she slipped and fell on an interior staircase in the apartment building in which she resided, which was owned by the defendant. The plaintiff alleges that she was forced to descend the staircase due to a continuing elevator outage, which allegedly was a frequent occurrence at the premises. The plaintiff alleges that she slipped and fell on kitty litter that had been present on the staircase for an extended period of time.

After some discovery, the plaintiff moved, inter alia, for leave to amend the complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages. The plaintiff alleges that the elevator had been out of service for approximately one month prior to her accident, and that the superintendent failed to remove the garbage from the higher floors of the building or properly clean the common areas such as the subject staircase. The plaintiff contends that the refuse on the staircase was only one manifestation of a larger intentional course of action and conduct that demonstrated an utter disregard for the rights and safety of the tenants of the premises. The plaintiff further asserts that the actions of the defendant were intended to drive the rent-stabilized tenants from the building in an effort to raise rents. The Supreme Court granted the plaintiff leave to amend her complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages.

“Applications for leave to amend pleadings under CPLR 3025(b) should be freely granted unless the proposed amendment (1) would unfairly prejudice or surprise the opposing party, or (2) is palpably insufficient or patently devoid of merit” (Maldonado v. Newport Gardens, Inc., 91 A.D.3d 731, 731–732, 937 N.Y.S.2d 260 ; see Favia v. Harley–Davidson Motor Co., Inc., 119 A.D.3d 836, 836, 990 N.Y.S.2d 540 ). “No evidentiary showing of merit is required under CPLR 3025(b...