Clendeninn v. Young

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a $32,000 judgment entered in favor of the tenant against the landlord-related defendants. The court held that the plaintiff failed to establish prima facie that the COVID-19 pandemic and related executive orders made performance of the lease impossible or frustrated its purpose, and also failed to establish that certain defendants were proper parties. The court therefore denied the plaintiff's summary judgment motion and reinstated the challenged defenses and counterclaim.

Holdings

1. The Supreme Court improvidently exercised its discretion by deeming the assertions in the plaintiff's statement of material facts admitted under the circumstances presented; blind adherence to 22 NYCRR 202.8-g was not required.
2. The plaintiff failed to establish prima facie entitlement to summary judgment because he did not demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent executive orders made performance of the lease impossible or frustrated the lease's purpose.
3. The plaintiff failed to demonstrate prima facie that S.W. Young Contracting and Steven W. Young were proper parties to the action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Supreme Court properly deemed the defendants' failure to respond paragraph by paragraph to the plaintiff's statement of material facts an admission of those assertions.
2. Whether the plaintiff established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment by proving that the COVID-19 pandemic and related executive orders made performance of the lease impossible or frustrated its purpose.
3. Whether the plaintiff established prima facie that S.W. Young Contracting and Steven W. Young were proper parties to the action.
4. Whether the plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the defendants' fourth and fifth affirmative defenses and counterclaim.

Disposition

reversed