Court Opinion

ID: 9952489
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-19 20:09:56.398947+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:39:42.880693
License: Public Domain

Goldberg-Zoino Assoc. of N.Y., P.C. v Persian
               Congregation of Flatbush
               2024 NY Slip Op 30829(U)
                     March 12, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 153761/2022
                  Judge: Louis L. Nock
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
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 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
                                                                                                                       INDEX NO. 153761/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 25                                                                                             RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/15/2024

                                   SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                             NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:             HON. LOUIS L. NOCK                                                PART                              38M
                                                                                      Justice
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X     INDEX NO.          153761/2022
             GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C.,
             d/b/a GZA GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK,                                               MOTION DATE         06/02/2023

                                                         Plaintiff,                                MOTION SEQ. NO.         001

                                                 -v-
             PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH, A
                                                                                                     DECISION + ORDER ON
             CORPORATION; THE MOINIAN GROUP, A FICTITIOUS
             NAMED CORPORATION; and JOSEPH MOINIAN,                                                        MOTION

                                                         Defendants.
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document numbers (Motion 001) 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
            15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
            were read on this motion to                                                          AMEND PLEADINGS                     .

            LOUIS L. NOCK, J.S.C.

                      Upon the foregoing documents, the motion for leave to amend the complaint and serve a

            supplemental summons is granted for the reasons set forth in the moving and reply papers

            (NYSCEF Doc. Nos. 11-12, 20) and the exhibits attached thereto, in which the court concurs, as

            summarized herein.

                      “Leave [to amend] shall be freely given upon such terms as may be just” (CPLR

            3025[b]). Absent undue delay, prejudice, or surprise, and provided the proposed amendment

            arises from the same transactions and occurrences as the original complaint, the motion should

            be granted (Fellner v Morimoto, 52 AD3d 352, 353 [1st Dept 2008]). Here, defendants make no

            showing of prejudice, surprise, or undue delay.

                      Defendants argue that plaintiff failed to adequately support the motion with an affidavit

            of merit or documentary evidence. The court first notes that documentary evidence regarding the

             153761/2022 GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C. DBA GZA                                           Page 1 of 4
             GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK vs. PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH, A
             CORPORATION, THE MOINIAN GROUP A FICTITIOUS NAMED CORPORATION & ET AL
             Motion No. 001

                                                                           1 of 4
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                                                                                                 INDEX NO. 153761/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 25                                                                      RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/15/2024

            proposed defendant to be added, Rasheed Shaikh, is attached to the proposed amended complaint

            (NYSCEF Doc. No. 16). Moreover, “[a]t this stage, plaintiff was not required to support its

            allegations with evidence or an affidavit of merit” (St. Nicholas W. 126 L.P. v Republic Inv. Co.,

            LLC, 193 AD3d 488 [1st Dept 2021]). To the extent plaintiff failed to submit a redlined version

            of the amended complaint in accordance with CPLR 3025(b), the court views this as an

            excusable defect given that a proposed pleading, albeit one without redlines, was attached

            (CPLR 2001; Greene v Esplanade Venture Partnership, 36 NY3d 513, 526 n 3 [2021] [“To the

            extent defendants contend that the motion should have been denied for the independent reason

            that plaintiffs failed to comply with the submission requirements of CPLR 3025(b), that

            contention should be rejected”]).

                    Accordingly, it is hereby

                    ORDERED that the plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend the complaint is granted; and it

            is further

                    ORDERED that the amended complaint, in the form annexed to the motion papers (within

            NYSCEF Doc. No. 16), shall be deemed served upon service of a copy of this order with notice of

            entry upon all parties who have appeared in the action; and it is further

                    ORDERED that a supplemental summons and amended complaint, in the form annexed to

            the motion papers (within NYSCEF Doc. No. 16), shall be served, in accordance with the Civil

            Practice Law and Rules, upon the additional parties in this action within 30 days after service of a

            copy of this order with notice of entry; and it is further

             153761/2022 GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C. DBA GZA                      Page 2 of 4
             GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK vs. PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH, A
             CORPORATION, THE MOINIAN GROUP A FICTITIOUS NAMED CORPORATION & ET AL
             Motion No. 001

                                                           2 of 4
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                                                                                                                           INDEX NO. 153761/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 25                                                                                                 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/15/2024

                      ORDERED that the action shall bear the following caption:

            “---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

            GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C.,
            d/b/a GZA GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK,                                                     Index No. 153761/2022

                                                                 Plaintiff,
                                            -v-

            PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH,
            A CORPORATION; THE MOINIAN GROUP, A FICTITIOUS
            NAMED CORPORATION; JOSEPH MOINIAN, d/b/a THE
            MOINIAN GROUP, and RASHEED SHAIKH,

                                                                  Defendants.
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X”; and it is further

                      ORDERED that counsel for the moving party shall serve a copy of this order with notice

            of entry upon the County Clerk and the Clerk of the General Clerk’s Office, who are directed to

            mark the court’s records to reflect the parties being added pursuant hereto; and it is further

                      ORDERED that such service upon the County Clerk and the Clerk of the General Clerk’s

            Office shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Protocol on Courthouse

            and County Clerk Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases (accessible at the “E-Filing” page on

            the court’s website); and it is further

                      ORDERED that the parties shall appear for a preliminary conference on May 15, 2024, at

            2:15 PM in Room 1166, 111 Centre Street, New York, New York.

             153761/2022 GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C. DBA GZA                                               Page 3 of 4
             GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK vs. PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH, A
             CORPORATION, THE MOINIAN GROUP A FICTITIOUS NAMED CORPORATION & ET AL
             Motion No. 001

                                                                              3 of 4
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                                                                                                     INDEX NO. 153761/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 25                                                                           RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/15/2024

                   This constitutes the decision and order of the court.

                   3/12/2024                                                               $SIG$
                     DATE                                                           LOUIS L. NOCK, J.S.C.
            CHECK ONE:                   CASE DISPOSED                X    NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

            APPLICATION:
                                     X   GRANTED

                                         SETTLE ORDER
                                                             DENIED        GRANTED IN PART

                                                                           SUBMIT ORDER
                                                                                                    □   OTHER

            CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:        INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN        FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT
                                                                                                    □   REFERENCE

            153761/2022 GOLDBERG-ZOINO ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK, P.C. DBA GZA                          Page 4 of 4
            GEOENVIRONMENTAL OF NEW YORK vs. PERSIAN CONGREGATION OF FLATBUSH, A
            CORPORATION, THE MOINIAN GROUP A FICTITIOUS NAMED CORPORATION & ET AL
            Motion No. 001

                                                          4 of 4
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