Summary
The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed an order denying 12 Whitwell LLC's motion to intervene in an action involving a constructive trust and ownership of real property. The court held that the motion was untimely because the proposed intervenor had knowledge of the dispute for several years and moved only after trial and issuance of the trial decision.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 12 Whitwell, LLC's motion for leave to intervene under CPLR 1012 and CPLR 1013 was timely.
- Whether the Supreme Court properly denied Whitwell LLC's related requests to vacate the trial decision and deem served its proposed answer with counterclaims.
Holdings
- The motion was untimely because Whitwell LLC waited more than four years after its managing member had knowledge of the property dispute, six months after the nonjury trial, and until after the trial decision was issued.
- The related requests were properly denied because they depended on Whitwell LLC being permitted to intervene, which was properly rejected as untimely.
Key quotations
“"Intervention under CPLR 1012 and 1013 requires a timely motion"” ([*1])
“"[I]ntervention may occur at any time, provided that it does not unduly delay the action or prejudice existing parties"” ([*1])
“"In examining the timeliness of the motion, courts do not engage in mere mechanical measurements of time, but consider whether the delay in seeking intervention would cause a delay in resolution of the action or otherwise prejudice a party"” ([*1])
Factual background
The action concerned a Staten Island parcel that was owned by 12 Whitwell Realty Corp. and allegedly leased to MBR Catskill Corp. In December 2018, 12 Whitwell, LLC acquired the property, and Daniel Resnick, who had provided an affidavit and been deposed concerning the property in 2018, was its managing member. Despite that knowledge, Whitwell LLC did not move to intervene until August 2022, after the nonjury trial and issuance of the trial decision.
Procedural history
Juber Jaber commenced an action in 2017 seeking, among other relief, imposition of a constructive trust and a declaration that he was the equitable owner of certain Staten Island real property. After a nonjury trial, the Supreme Court found that Jaber established the elements of a constructive trust and subsequently entered judgment imposing the trust and declaring Jaber the owner. 12 Whitwell, LLC, which had acquired title to the property in 2018, moved to intervene on August 26, 2022, after the trial and decision; the Supreme Court denied the motion, and the Appellate Division affirmed.