Hanna v. 19 W. 55th St. Prop. LLC

Bella N. Hanna, Plaintiff-Appellant, against 19 West 55th St. Property LLC, Defendant-Respondent. In consolidated actions, plaintiff appeals from (1) two judgments of the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Carol Ruth Feinman, J.), each entered May 19, 2016, after trial, in favor of defendant dismissing the actions under index numbers 2047/15 and 2048/15 and (2) a judgment (same court and Judge), entered May 19, 2016, in favor of the defendant dismissing the action under index number 2049/15. Per Curiam. Judgments (Carol Ruth Feinman, J.), each entered May 19, 2016, affirmed, without costs. The record establishes that the trial court applied the appropriate rules and principles of substantive law and accomplished "substantial justice" in dismissing plaintiff-tenant's claims for personal injuries and property damages (see CCA 1804, 1807; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000], lv dismissed 95 NY2d 898 [2000]). A fair interpretation of the evidence supports the court's finding that plaintiff failed to adduce evidence establishing that defendant-landlord's renovations at the building premises, which allegedly involved the use of a jackhammer, proximately caused any injury to plaintiff's ear or any damage to her refrigerator. Nor, in any event, did plaintiff adduce competent evidence of damages. Plaintiff's action under index number 2049/15 was properly dismissed as being duplicative of her claim under index number 2047/14, and thus an improper attempt by plaintiff to circumvent the jurisdictional limit of the small claims court (see Swiss Hamlet Homeowners Assoc., Inc. v Souza, 13 Misc 3d 87 [App Term, 2d Dept 2006]). THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT. I concur I concur I concur Decision Date: December 18, 2017