Jacaruso v. Keyspan Energy Corp.

• Decision Date: 21 August 2013
• Citation: 109 A.D.3d 585,2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 05677,971 N.Y.S.2d 14
• Parties: John JACARUSO, appellant, v. KEYSPAN ENERGY CORP., et al., respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

109 A.D.3d 585

971 N.Y.S.2d 14

2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 05677

John JACARUSO, appellant,

v.KEYSPAN ENERGY CORP., et al., respondents.

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

Aug. 21, 2013.

Proner & Proner, New York, N.Y. (Tobi R. Salottolo of counsel), for appellant.

Cullen and Dykman LLP, New York, N.Y. (Diana Neyman of counsel), for respondents.

WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., CHERYL E. CHAMBERS, PLUMMER E. LOTT, and SANDRA L. SGROI, JJ.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals (1), as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County(Lewis, J.), dated June 24, 2011, as granted that branch of his motion which was to compel the defendant Brooklyn Union Gas, doing business as National Grid N.Y., to disclose certain statements made by two of its employees only to the extent of directing that the statements be produced for an in camera review, and (2) from an order of the same court dated September 29, 2011, which, after the in camera review of the statements, denied that branch of his motion which was to compel their disclosure.

ORDERED that on the Court's own motion, the notice of appeal is treated as an application for leave to appeal from so much of the order dated June 24, 2011, as granted that branch of the plaintiff's motion which was to compel the defendant Brooklyn Union Gas, doing business as National Grid N.Y., to disclose certain statements made by two of its employees only to the extent of directing that the statements be produced for an in camera review, and leave to appeal is granted ( seeCPLR 5701[c] ); and it is further,

ORDERED that the order dated June 24, 2011, is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, that branch of the plaintiff's motion which was to compel the defendant Brooklyn Union Gas, doing business as National Grid N.Y., to disclose certain statements made by two of its employees is granted in its entirety, and the order dated September 29, 2011, is vacated; and it is further,

ORDERED that the appeal from the order dated September 29, [109 A.D.3d 586]2011, is dismissed as academic in light of our determination on the appeal from the order dated June 24, 2011; and it is further,

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

The plaintiff allegedly was injured when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle operated by Gregory Smith, an employee of Brooklyn Union Gas Company, doing business as National Grid N.Y. (hereinafter BUG).The plaintiff commenced this action against BUG, among others, and served demands for discovery and inspection of certain accident records.At his examination before trial, Smith's coworker, Edward Hunter, testified that about a month after the accident, he and Smith met with a claims investigator employed by BUG and gave written statements about how the accident occurred.The claims investigator later provided affidavits indicating that his job included investigating litigated cases and obtaining accident reports for the purpose of assisting in-house and outside counsel in defense of litigation.

The Supreme...