Case Name: CRK Contracting of Suffolk, Inc., Appellant, v. Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Respondent
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1999-04-19
Citations: 260 A.D.2d 529
Docket Number: 
Parties: CRK Contracting of Suffolk, Inc., Appellant, v Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Respondent.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 260
Pages: 529–530

Head Matter:
CRK Contracting of Suffolk, Inc., Appellant, v Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Respondent.
[686 NYS2d 737]

Opinion:
—In an action to recover upon a labor and material payment bond, the plaintiff appeals from "a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Golden, J.), entered August 20, 1997, which, upon a jury verdict, is in favor of the defendant and against it dismissing the complaint.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiffs claim that it was deprived of a fair trial is without merit. " 'A Trial Judge may "assume an active role in the examination of witnesses where proper or necessary to facilitate or expedite the orderly progress of the trial" ' " (Givens v Sinert, 243 AD2d 443). Nor did the court improvidently exercise its discretion in excluding certain evidence on the ground that it was irrelevant, collateral, or otherwise incompetent (see, Coopersmith v Gold, 89 NY2d 957, 959; Feldsberg v Nitschke, 49 NY2d 636, 643; see also, Prince, Richardson on Evidence § 8-305 [Farrell 11th ed]).
The plaintiffs remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review, without merit, or both. Ritter, J. P., Altman, Goldstein and McGinity, JJ., concur.