Appellate Term, Second Department:June 16, 2020

By: Weston, J.P., Aliotta, Siegal, JJ. Rubin, Fiorella & Friedman, LLP (Leila Cardo and Grant Meisels of counsel), for appellants. The Law Office of John P. Demaio (John Demaio of counsel), for respondent.

2018-69 Q C. MILTON v. SUBRAJ — Appeals from orders of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County, dated July 31, 2017 (Richard G. Latin, J.) and October 20, 2017 (Terrence C. O’Connor, J.), respectively. The order dated July 31, 2017 denied defendants’ motion to, among other things, vacate plaintiff’s notice of trial and certificate of readiness. The order dated October 20, 2017 denied defendants’ motion for leave to amend their answer to include additional affirmative defenses and, upon such amendment, for, in effect, summary judgment dismissing the complaint based upon those additional affirmative defenses. ORDERED that the order dated October 20, 2017 is reversed, without costs, and defendants’ motion for leave to amend their answer to include additional affirmative defenses and, upon such amendment, for, in effect, summary judgment dismissing the complaint based upon those additional affirmative defenses is granted; and it is further, ORDERED that the appeal from the order dated July 31, 2017 is dismissed as moot. In this action, which was commenced in the Supreme Court, Queens County, plaintiff, Jacob Milton,¹ seeks, in a verified complaint dated May 26, 2015, to recover $1,000,000 in damages resulting from an alleged illegal lockout, and from defendants’ alleged breach of the warranty of habitability. In a joint answer dated August 19, 2015, defendants denied the allegations of the complaint and asserted eight affirmative defenses. Defendants also asserted a demand for a verified bill of particulars, a demand to take depositions, as well as other discovery demands. The Supreme Court issued several discovery orders, the most recent of which was dated May 4, 2016 and provided that plaintiff was to provide outstanding discovery. By order dated May 9, 2016, the Supreme Court transferred the action to the Civil Court pursuant to CPLR 325 (d). Plaintiff subsequently filed a notice of trial and certificate of readiness, dated June 13, 2017, in the Civil Court.