State of New York

Supreme Court, Appellate Division

Third Judicial Department

Decided and Entered: July 17, 2014 517315 

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DOROTHY A. HEBERT et al.,

Respondents,

v MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MUHAMMED R. CHAUDREY,

Appellant.

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Calendar Date: May 28, 2014

Before: Peters, P.J., Lahtinen, Garry, Rose and Devine, JJ.

__________

Fischer, Bessett, Muldowney & Hunter, LLP, Malone (John J.

Muldowney of counsel), for appellant.

Law Office of Darrell L. Bowen, Plattsburgh (Darrell L.

Bowen of counsel), for respondents.

__________

Rose, J.

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Demarest, J.),

entered October 9, 2012 in Franklin County, which denied

defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint.

Plaintiffs commenced this action in 2003 seeking to recover

damages for, among other things, the intentional infliction of

emotional distress. After joinder of issue and limited

discovery, they filed a trial note of issue in October 2009. 

Supreme Court then issued an order setting a day certain for

trial and, soon thereafter, defendant moved to vacate the note of

issue based on plaintiffs' failure to comply with outstanding

discovery demands. In January 2010, Supreme Court issued a

conditional order granting the motion. When plaintiffs failed to

comply with the conditional order, defendant again moved for
-2- 517315 

vacatur of the note of issue in July 2010. Supreme Court granted

the motion, vacated the note of issue and struck the matter from

the trial calendar in a September 2010 order. When plaintiffs

filed a new note of issue almost two years later in August 2012,

defendant moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3404. 

Supreme Court denied the motion and defendant appeals. 

This case was seven years old when Supreme Court struck it

from the trial calendar in September 2010. We must agree with

defendant that, as a result, when plaintiffs failed to restore

the action within one year, the case was automatically dismissed

pursuant to CPLR 3404. CPLR 3404 provides that "[a] case . . .

marked 'off' or struck from the calendar or unanswered on a

clerk's calendar call, and not restored within one year

thereafter, shall be deemed abandoned and shall be dismissed

without costs for neglect to prosecute" (CPLR 3404). Supreme

Court's order striking the matter from the calendar places this

case squarely within the plain language of the statute (see Gray

v Cuttita Agency, 281 AD2d 785, 785 [2001]; Threatt v Seton

Health Sys., 277 AD2d 796, 796-797 [2000]; Matter of State of New

York v Town of Clifton, 275 AD2d 523, 525 [2000]). While it has

been held that vacating the note of issue alone is not enough to

invoke the presumption of abandonment that arises pursuant to

CPLR 3404, the statute clearly applies "when a case has been

struck from the calendar or gone unanswered on a clerk's calendar

call" (Franjieh v Gerardi, 63 AD3d 1502, 1503 [2009]; compare

Rodriguez v Big Ben Assoc. I, 95 AD3d 1098, 1099 [2012]; Lane v

New York City Hous. Auth., 62 AD3d 961, 961 [2009]; Travis v

Cuff, 28 AD3d 749, 750 [2006]; but see Galati v C. Raimondo &

Sons Constr. Co., Inc., 35 AD3d 805, 806 [2006]). Inasmuch as

plaintiffs did not restore the matter within one year, it is

deemed abandoned and dismissed (see CPLR 3404; Gray v Cuttita

Agency, 281 AD2d at 785).1

1 Plaintiff may seek to vacate the CPLR 3404 dismissal by

making a motion to restore the action. Such a motion requires a

showing of a meritorious cause of action, reasonable excuse for

the delay, absence of prejudice to the defendant and lack of

intent to abandon the action (see Gray v Cuttita Agency, 281 AD2d

at 786; Threatt v Seton Health Sys., 277 AD2d at 797; Krantz v
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Peters, P.J., Lahtinen, Garry and Devine, JJ., concur.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs,

motion granted and complaint dismissed. 

ENTER:

Robert D. Mayberger

Clerk of the Court

Scholtz, 201 AD2d 784, 785 [1994], lv dismissed 83 NY2d 902

[1994]).