Actual Chiropractic, P.C. v. Global Liberty Ins. Co. of N.Y.

Actual Chiropractic, P.C., as Assignee of Ruben Rodriguez, Respondent, against Global Liberty Insurance Company of New York, Appellant. Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C. (Jason Tenenbaum and Shaaker Bhuiyan of counsel), for appellant. Zara Javakov, P.C. (Zara Javakov, Esq.), for respondent (no brief filed). Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Rosemarie Montalbano, J.), entered May 8, 2018. The order denied the branch of defendant's motion seeking to, in effect, open its default in appearing for trial. ORDERED that the appeal is dismissed. Plaintiff commenced this action to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits as assignee of Ruben Rodriguez, who was allegedly injured in a motor vehicle accident on December 5, 2013. After issue was joined, counsel from The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum appeared for defendant for trial, but was told by the Civil Court that his office was not counsel of record, and the matter was adjourned. On the adjourned date, April 20, 2017, the court granted plaintiff's application to mark the case "inquest clerk" and hold defendant in default. By order to show cause dated May 12, 2017, defendant moved to consolidate the present action with four other actions pending in the Civil Court and, upon consolidation, to, in effect, open its defaults in appearing for trial. Defendant supported the motion with a Supreme Court order of substitution entered May 4, 2017 and a notice of appearance dated April 24, 2017, which lists The Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C., as the attorney appearing for defendant. By order entered May 8, 2018, the Civil Court denied the branch of defendant's unopposed motion seeking to, in effect, open its defaults in appearing for trial, finding that defendant had failed to proffer a reasonable excuse for the failure by its incoming counsel to provide "proper proof of its legal representation of defendant." The Civil Court did not reach the branch of defendant's motion seeking, pursuant to CPLR 602 (a), consolidation. On the instant appeal, defendant has annexed to its brief an order of the Supreme Court, Bronx County, entered February 9, 2018, which held, among other things, that all civil lawsuits, judgments and other proceedings "that have been brought or may be brought by . . . Actual [*2]Chiropractic, P.C." seeking no-fault benefits under the same claim number and regarding the same assignor and motor vehicle accident as in the case at bar are permanently stayed. As a court may take judicial notice "on appeal, of reliable documents, the existence and accuracy of which are not disputed" and, generally, "of matters of public record" (Brandes Meat Corp. v Cromer, 146 AD2d 666, 667 [1989]; see Headley v New York City Tr. Auth., 100 AD3d 700 [2012]), this court, in the interest of judicial economy, takes judicial notice of the Supreme Court's order entered February 9, 2018, which permanently "stays" the parties from proceeding further in the action at bar. In light of the stay issued by the Supreme Court, this appeal has "been rendered academic as any determination on [this] appeal[ ] would not, under the facts of this case, have a direct effect upon the parties" (Matter of Claudia G. [Ermelio G.], 71 AD3d 894, 895 [2010]). Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. WESTON, J.P., ALIOTTA and SIEGAL, JJ., concur. ENTER: Paul Kenny Chief Clerk Decision Date: January 31, 2020