Court Opinion

ID: 9960310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-15 21:08:05.530309+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:19:22.069424
License: Public Domain

Matter of Supplementary Proceedings Michael Page
          Intl., Inc. v Amazon.com Sales, Inc.
                2024 NY Slip Op 31246(U)
                        April 9, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 654656/2023
                    Judge: Judy H. Kim
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                        publication.
                                                                                                    INDEX NO. 654656/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 23                                                                          RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/09/2024

                              SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                        NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:        HON. JUDY H. KIM                                    PART                              04
                                                                      Justice
                                                                    ,---X       INDEX NO.          654656/2023
             IN THE MATTER OF SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS
                                                                                MOTION DATE         09/25/2023
             MICHAEL PAGE INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

                                                   Petitioner,                  MOTION SEQ. NO.         001

                                           - V -

             AMAZON.COM SALES, INC., DEEJAYZOO, LLC d/b/a                         DECISION + ORDER ON
             SHHHOWERCAP,                                                               MOTION

                                                   Respondent.
                          --------------------------------------------X

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15,
            16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
            were read on this motion for                                   TURNOVER PROCEEDING

                   Upon the foregoing documents, the petition is denied and dismissed for the reasons set

           forth below.

                   On July 19, 2022, petitioner obtained a money judgment in the sum of $15,895.74 against

           Deejayzoo LLC d/b/a SHHHOWERCAP ("Deejayzoo") in New York City Civil Court, New York

           County (the "Judgment") (NYSCEF Doc. No. 4). Petitioner subsequently served an information

           subpoena and restraining notice upon "Amazon" at 450 W 33 rd Street, New York, New York

           (NYSCEF Doc. No. 17) to which Amazon.com, Inc. responded on July 20, 2023. In that response,

           Amazon objected to the subpoena on various grounds, including that it was "issued to and

           purportedly served on 'Amazon' which is not currently an active legal entity" but stated that it had

           "searched its records with the information provided and located one seller account containing

           $2,653.46 (subject to change based on fees, returns, refunds, chargebacks, and other contractual

           obligations)" (NYSCEF Doc. No. 18).

            654656/2023 IN THE MATTER OF SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS MICHAEL PAGE                     Page 1 of 4
            INTERNATIONAL, INC. vs. AMAZON.COM SALES, INC. ET AL
            Motion No. 001

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                                                                                                  INDEX NO. 654656/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 23                                                                      RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/09/2024

                  On September 22, 2023, petitioner commenced this special proceeding, nammg

           "Amazon.com Sales Inc." as respondent and Deejayzoo as respondent/judgment debtor and

           seeking an order directing the turnover of funds referenced in Amazon.com, Inc.'s response to its

           information subpoena (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1). Petitioner served the Petition on Amazon.com Sales

           Inc. on October 4, 2023, by personal service on its authorized agent (NYSCEF Doc. No. 10).

                  Then, on November 8, 2023, petitioner filed, without leave of the Court, an Amended

           Notice of Petition and Amended Petition seeking the same relief as its initial petition but replacing

           Amazon.com Sales, Inc. with "Amazon Payments, Inc." (NYSCEF Doc. No. 13). Petitioner served

           this Amended Petition and Amended Notice of Petition on Amazon Payments, Inc. by personal

           service on an authorized agent and served Deejayzoo at its last known address by certified mail,

           return receipt requested (NYSCEF Doc. Nos. 19, 22).

                                                     DISCUSSION

                  CPLR §5227 provides that

                  Upon a special proceeding commenced by the judgment creditor, against any
                  person who it is shown is or will become indebted to the judgment debtor, the court
                  may require such person to pay to the judgment creditor the debt upon maturity, or
                  so much of it as is sufficient to satisfy the judgment, and to execute and deliver any
                  document necessary to effect payment; or it may direct that a judgment be entered
                  against such person in favor of the judgment creditor ...

           (CPLR §5227 [emphasis added])

                  Petitioner has not established that the named respondent, Amazon.com Sales, Inc. "is in

           possession of money or other property which the judgment debtor has an interest to" (See Scarola

           Malone & Zubatov LLP v Digital Social Retail, Inc. [Sup Ct, NY County 2019]; see also BNB

           Bank v Main St. Merchant Services, Inc., 74 Misc 3d 1223(A) [Sup Ct, Suffolk 2022]). The sole

           evidence it relies on to establish respondent's possession of the judgment debtor's funds is

           Amazon.com, Inc.' s response to information subpoena, yet that response states only that

            654656/2023 IN THE MATTER OF SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS MICHAEL PAGE                   Page 2 of 4
            INTERNATIONAL, INC. vs. AMAZON.COM SALES, INC. ET AL
            Motion No. 001

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                                                                                                               INDEX NO. 654656/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 23                                                                                  RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/09/2024

           Amazon.com, Inc. controls this account. There is nothing in the record to establish Amazon.com

           Sales, Inc.'s relation to Amazon.com Inc., or that the Amazon.com Sales, Inc. controls the

           judgment debtor's funds at issue here 1 (Cf. Uni-Rty Corp. v New York Guangdong Fin., Inc., 117

           AD3d 427, 429 [1st Dept 2014] ["petitioners supported this turnover petition brought pursuant to

           CPLR 5225 and 5227 with competent evidence that the Banks hold assets of the judgment debtor

           in China"]).

                     Finally, a separate and independent bar to the relief sought is the absence of any proof in

           the record that the judgment debtor was notified of the restraining notice served on "Amazon," as

           required by CPLR §5222 (See Lincoln Sq. Synagogue, Inc v Lexington Strategies, LLC, 2020 NY

           Slip Op 32793[U], 2-3 [Sup Ct, NY County 2020] ["[w]hen a restraining notice is served on a

           third-party garnishee, as here, the turnover proceeding may not be maintained if the judgment

           creditor fails to comply with CPLR 5222 (d) and (e) governing notice to the judgment debtor

           regarding that restraining notice"]).

                     Accordingly, it is

                     ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the petition is denied and this proceeding dismissed,

           without prejudice; and it is further,

                     ORDERED that petitioner shall serve a copy of this order, with notice of entry, on

           respondents as well as on the Clerk of the Court (60 Centre St., Room 141B) and the Clerk of the

           General Clerk's Office (60 Centre St., Room 119) within ten days from entry; and it is further

                     ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to enter judgment accordingly; and it is

           further

           1
             Petitioner's attempt to amend the petition to name Amazon Payments, Inc. as respondent is of no effect, as filed in
           contravention of CPLR §3025. However, even if this were not the case, the record is devoid of any evidence showing
           that Amazon Payments, Inc. is indebted to the judgment debtor.
            654656/2023 IN THE MATTER OF SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS MICHAEL PAGE                                 Page 3 of 4
            INTERNATIONAL, INC. vs. AMAZON.COM SALES, INC. ET AL
            Motion No. 001

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                                                                                                    INDEX NO. 654656/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 23                                                                          RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/09/2024

                   ORDERED that such service upon 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

           at the address www.nycourts.gov/supctmanh).

                   This constitutes the decision, order, and judgment of the court.

                    4/9/2024
                     DATE

                                                                      ~
            CHECK ONE:                  CASE DISPOSED                     NON-Fl~AL DISPOSITION

                                        GRANTED         0    DENIED       GRANTED IN PART          □ OTHER
            APPLICATION:                SETTLE ORDER                      SUBMIT ORDER

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

            654656/2023 IN THE MATTER OF SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS MICHAEL PAGE                     Page 4 of 4
            INTERNATIONAL, INC. vs. AMAZON.COM SALES, INC. ET AL
            Motion No. 001

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