Justice David Schmidt
Defendants moved for summary judgment granting dismissal of the complaint. Plaintiff credit union cross-moved to consolidate this action with an underlying one against member Galdi. Plaintiff alleged defendants conducted faulty appraisals on two properties in conjunction with a mortgage loan made by plaintiff to Galdi. It claimed the loans were approved based on appraisals by defendants, arguing defendants deviated from the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisers in determining the estimated market values of the properties. Plaintiff asserted claims including breach of contract and a violation of General Business Law §349, among others. The court found the alleged deceptive acts were not directed toward a consumer, but a financial institution receiving services in furtherance of a business purpose, thus §349 was inapplicable, and dismissal was granted. Defendants claimed plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract were duplicative of the negligence claim, yet, the court found it was the negligence claim which should be subject to dismissal as duplicative of plaintiffs’ contract breach claims, denying dismissal. Also, consolidation was inappropriate as the two actions sought to be consolidated were not factually related.
