Minihane v. Brown

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a judgment awarding the plaintiff $19,000 on a promissory note and rejected the defendant's statute-of-limitations defense. The court held that, because the note required repayment upon the plaintiff's written request, the six-year limitations period began when the plaintiff made that request in September 2023.

Holdings

1. The statute of limitations did not begin to run until September 11, 2023, when Minihane requested repayment, because the note made repayment due upon written request and she had no legal right to obtain relief before making that request.
2. The Supreme Court properly granted Minihane's motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint and properly denied Brown's CPLR 3211(a)(5) cross-motion to dismiss as time-barred.
3. The appeal from the order was dismissed because the right to direct appeal from the order terminated upon entry of the judgment, although the order's issues were reviewable on the appeal from the judgment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the six-year statute of limitations for an action on the promissory note began to run on January 1, 2015, or when Minihane made her written demand for repayment on September 11, 2023.
2. Whether the Supreme Court properly granted summary judgment in lieu of complaint and denied Brown's CPLR 3211(a)(5) motion to dismiss the action as time-barred.
3. Whether the appeal from the interlocutory order was independently reviewable after entry of judgment.

Disposition

affirmed