Court Opinion

ID: 9916491
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-10 01:08:01.327684+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:38.318779
License: Public Domain

CUCS Hous. Dev. Fund v Aymes
               2024 NY Slip Op 30009(U)
                     January 2, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 159303/2018
                 Judge: Melissa Crane
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                       publication.
                                                                                                                     INDEX NO. 159303/2018
                                   SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 386                                               RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/02/2024
                                             NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:             HON. MELISSA A. CRANE                                            PART

                                                                                     Justice

            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

                                                                                                  INDEX NO.         159303/2018
             CUCS Housing Development Fund et al
                                        Petitoners,

                                                -v-
                                                                                                  MOTION SEQ. NO.        010

             Clifford S. Aymes                                                                   DECISION on Special
                                                                                                 Proceeding Counterclaims and
                                                            Respondent                           Motion 10 with cross motion

            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

            Melissa A. Crane JSC

                      This case started out as a simple RPL 881 proceeding that has become a mess due to

            Respondent’s incessant, repetitive motion practice and Petitioners’ failure to protect themselves,

            until now, from Respondent’s counterclaims.

                      Respondent has made 7 out of the 10 motions in this case and 9 out of the 12 cross

            motions. The result has been a docket that is cluttered with irrelevant material and repetitive

            arguments.

                      Although the amended answer was served in October of 2018, and Petitioners replied to

            the counterclaims in November 2018, it was not until June 2023 that petitioners finally moved to

            dismiss pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (2), (7) and (10). Respondent Mr. Aymes has cross moved,

            inter alia, for sanctions and for default. My Aymes has also insisted that this case, being a

            special proceeding, continue via CPLR 409(b) whereby “[t]he court shall make a summary

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            determination upon the pleadings, papers and admissions to the extent that no triable issues of

            fact are raised. The court may make any orders permitted on a motion for summary judgment.”

                    The court has acquiesced to Mr Aymes request (see EDOC 344 [2/23/23 order] [noting

            that a hearing was held on 2/10/23 and that respondent is “emphatic that this case should proceed

            pursuant to CPLR 409(b)]”). Accordingly, both sides having put in their proof and arguments,

            the court will treat the motions, as well as all prior filings in this case as akin to a summary

            judgment motion per CPLR 409(b) as respondent has requested.

                    Respondent, who is not a lawyer, clearly is very bright, and has in some ways

            outmaneuvered his opposing counsel. It is time, however, for this case to end. The court

            dismisses the counterclaims because Respondent, who has the burden of proof on his

            counterclaims, has failed to demonstrate damages, and has already lost on his request for

            injunctive relief.

                    The procedural history of this case is important to understand how we got to this point.

            Petitioner originally sought a license to underpin respondent’s property. Petitioner was about to

            commence a construction project to provide New York City's homeless population with

            affordable housing. Respondent owns a one-story, unoccupied building adjoining petitioners'

            project.

                    On 2/26/2019, the court granted the petition in this case to afford petitioners an 881

            license to underpin respondent’s property [see EDOC 73]. At no time prior to this decision did

            Petitioners ever withdraw their petition or inform the court that they had changed their process

            and determined not to underpin respondent’s property. Thus, the 2/26/2019 decision wound up

            being in large part unnecessary and a waste of judicial resources.

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  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 386                                                                     RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/02/2024

                   In that same 2/26/2019 decision, the court denied motion 3 in which respondent requested

            summary judgment on his counterclaims, all involving various alleged violations of the zoning

            laws. The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the rulings in motions 1, 2 and 3,

            including specifically holding that “respondent was not entitled to summary judgment on his

            counterclaim to enjoin construction” (CUCS Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. IV v. Aymes, 183 A.D.3d

            404 [1st Dep’t 2020]). Respondent’s motion 4, for reargument was denied.

                   Construction progressed on the building without the underpinning, but with safety

            measures, such as scaffolding, that Respondent also opposed. Respondent’s opposition

            necessitated an interim order, on July 23, 2019, upon Petitioners’ application, to allow Petitioners

            access to Respondent’s property to install overhead protections.

                   Respondent then filed motions 5 and 6 in which he made the same arguments involved in

            his first motion for summary judgment. On 12/6/2019, the court denied the motions stating that,

            not only were the issues already decided, but also: (1) Respondent lacked standing because he

            never challenged the DOB’s approval of Petitioners’ plans through an Article 78 proceeding and

            (2) Respondent never explained how Petitioner’s project did or will damage him [EDOC 211].

            Undeterred, Respondent moved for reargument (motion 7). The court denied that motion. Then,

            respondent filed motion 8 which he described as a “renewal” motion but was really just the same

            summary judgment motion in disguise. On 10/21/2020, the court denied motion 8 and granted

            petitioners’ cross motion for sanctions [see EDOC 264].

                   On February 16, 2021, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed this court’s July

            23, 2019 interim order allowing for the protections Petitioners had sought and affirmed the

            12/6/2019 order that had denied Respondent’s successive summary judgment motion in motions

            5 and 6. However, the Appellate Division rejected this court’s analysis that Respondent lacked

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            standing because this was not an article 78 proceeding. The Appellate Division stated this was

            because Petitioners had waived the issue of Respondent’s standing having failed to move to

            dismiss:

                   “Petitioners waived any defense that respondent lacks standing or that this is an
                   improper forum in which to assert his counterclaim by failing either to raise such
                   affirmative defenses in their reply to the counterclaim or to move to dismiss the
                   counterclaim on those grounds (CPLR 404[b]; 3211[a][3], [6]; [e]; Security Pac.
                   Natl. Bank v. Evans, 31 A.D.3d 278, 280–281, 820 N.Y.S.2d 2 [1st Dept. 2006],
                   appeal dismissed 8 N.Y.3d 837, 830 N.Y.S.2d 8, 862 N.E.2d 86 [2007]).
                   However, the court properly denied as improper successive summary judgment
                   motions respondent's motions in sequence 5 and 6 for summary judgment on his
                   counterclaim based on his contention that petitioners’ building violates the Zoning
                   Resolution of the City of New York, since respondent had previously sought
                   summary judgment on his claim that petitioners’ building violates the Zoning
                   Resolution (see Amill v. Lawrence Ruben Co., Inc., 117 A.D.3d 433, 985 N.Y.S.2d
                   52 [1st Dept. 2014]; Phoenix Four v. Albertini, 245 A.D.2d 166, 665 N.Y.S.2d
                   893 [1st Dept. 1997]).

            CUCS HDFC v. Aymes, 191 A.D.3d 522 (1st Dep’t 2021).

                   On 4/14/2021, the court decided motion 9 and disposed of the case. Motion 9 was

            Petitioners’ motion for attorney’s fees attendant to the sanction in motion 8. At this point, the

            court marked the case disposed, because: (1) the building was complete; (2) the Appellate

            Division had already affirmed this court’s holding that respondent was not entitled to injunctive

            relief and (3) this court had already found that Respondent had articulated no damages. There

            was simply no possible relief remaining for the court to award.

                   Nevertheless, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed this court’s 4/14/2021

            decision “on the facts, without costs, to delete that indication, and remanding for further

            proceedings on the counterclaim” because “there had been no final determination on

            respondent’s counterclaim” (CUCS HDFC v. Aymes, 209 A.D.3d 428, 174 N.Y.S.3d 830 [2022]).

            The Appellate Division did not explain whether “on the facts” referred to the actuality that

            petitioners had never moved to dismiss respondent’s counterclaims, or whether it was remanding

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            for this court to hear respondent’s counterclaims because it thought those counterclaims had

            merit.

                     This brings us to current motion 10. In motion 10, Petitioner has finally moved to

            dismiss on several grounds:

                     (1) Pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(2), dismissing the counterclaim, on the ground that
                         the Court has not subject matter jurisdiction over the causes of action therein;
                     (2) Pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), CPLR 3013, and CPLR 3001, dismissing the
                         counterclaims, on the ground that Respondent fails to state a cause of action;
                     (3) Pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(10) and CPLR 7802, dismissing the counterclaims,
                         on the ground that the counterclaims may not proceed in the absence of
                         persons who should have been named as parties, to wit, the CITY OF NEW
                         YORK, a municipal corporation, acting by and through its instrumentalities
                         CITY COUNCIL, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CITY
                         PLANNING, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
                         PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT, and NEW YORK CITY
                         DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS; which entities issued the approvals and
                         permits enabling construction and operation of Petitioner’s assistive-living
                         facility at 302-314 West 127th Street, New York, New York.
            (see Notice of Motion EDOC 346). Respondent Mr. Aymes has cross moved, inter alia, for

            sanctions and for default.

                     As discussed earlier, despite the Appellate Division remanding for “further proceedings,”

            Mr. Aymes insisted that this case, being a special proceeding, continue via CPLR 409(b) [see

            EDOC 344 and accompanying transcript]. The court has acquiesced to Mr Aymes's request and

            will treat the motion, the cross motion and all other papers interposed in this action as the record

            for the purposes of CPLR 409 (b).

                     There are two principal arguments Petitioners make. First, Petitioners argue that the

            failure to add the public agencies who approved the project is a fatal defect in the counterclaims

            that cannot be waived. However, in its review of this court’s order of December 9, 2019, the

            Appellate Division, First Department ruled that respondent could proceed on his counterclaims

            for zoning violations in this proceeding without bringing an article 78 proceeding:

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                   “Petitioners waived any defense that respondent lacks standing or that this is an
                   improper forum in which to assert his counterclaim by failing either to raise such
                   affirmative defenses in their reply to the counterclaim or to move to dismiss the
                   counterclaim on those grounds (CPLR 404[b])”

            (191 AD3d 522).

                   Next, Petitioner argues that Respondent failed to move for temporary or preliminary

            injunctive relief sufficiently to avoid mootness. This is incorrect. This court denied

            Respondent’s request for injunctive relief several times and the Appellate Division has affirmed:

            “respondent was not entitled to summary judgment on his counterclaim to enjoin construction”

            (CUCS Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. IV v. Aymes, 183 A.D.3d 404 [1st Dep’t 2020]). As the building

            has now been completed, the request for an injunction is now moot anyway (see Comm. for

            Environmentally Sound Dev. v. Amsterdam Ave. Redevelopment Assocs. LLC, 194 A.D.3d 1 [1st

            Dep’t 2021]).

                   To the extent Respondent can still ask for an injunction, the balance of the equities do not

            favor him. “To sufficiently plead a cause of action for a permanent injunction, a plaintiff must

            allege that there was a ‘violation of a right presently occurring, or threatened and imminent,’ that

            he or she has no adequate remedy at law, that serious and irreparable harm will result absent the

            injunction, and that the equities are balanced in his or her favor” (Caruso v. Bumgarner, 120

            A.D.3d 1174, 1175, 992 N.Y.S.2d 102, quoting Elow v. Svenningsen, 58 A.D.3d 674, 675, 873

            N.Y.S.2d 319; Aponte v. Est. of Aponte, 172 A.D.3d 970, 974 [2d Dep’t 2019]).

                    The land-use application process by which Petitioners sought approval to build their

            facility culminated in issuance of resolutions by the City Council dated April 11, 2018 [see

            EDOC 369]. The Department of Buildings has approved Petitioners’ plans [see e.g. EDOC 358].

            The building is complete and currently serves formerly homeless New Yorkers who would have

            to return to the streets should the court order the building torn down. Meanwhile, Respondent’s

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            adjacent property sits vacant, unused, and empty without utilities including electricity, or even a

            secure front entrance to keep trespassers and vandals out. Accordingly, to the extent not already

            ruled upon or moot, the court denies Respondent’s request for a permanent injunction.

                   Having been denied injunctive relief several times, there is nothing left for Respondent to

            ask for, except damages. But Respondent has admitted that he has no damages, at least not yet.

            Maybe that is why he failed to interpose anything on this record to show damages, even for

            example, that his property value declined because of Petitioner’s project.

                   Thus, at this point, Respondent has no damages, and he is not entitled to injunctive relief.

            The court therefore dismisses the counterclaims with prejudice. The court finds the remaining

            contentions of both parties to be unavailing.

                   Accordingly, it is
                   ORDERED that, after a hearing and other proceedings pursuant to CPLR 409, the court
            dismisses the counterclaims; and it is further
                   ORDERED that the motion and cross motion are denied as moot; and it is further
                   ORDERED that the clerk is directed to mark this matter disposed.

                   1/2//2024
                                                                       rtl\o.l--L           $SIG$

                                                                                     Hon. Melissa Crane

             CHECK ONE:            x CASE DISPOSED                        NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                        GRANTED

                                                      D       DENIED      GRANTED IN PART

                                                                                                    D
                                                                                                    X OTHER

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