Lawrence v Dinnall
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Lawrence v Dinnall 2017 NY Slip Op 33546(U) November 27, 2017 Supreme Court, Queens County Docket Number: Index No. 700896/2015 Judge: Denis J. Butler 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. 700896/2015 FILED: QUEENS COUNTY CLERK 12/05/2017 03:51 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 66 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/05/2017 Short Form Order NEW YORK SUPREME COURT - QUEENS COUNTY Present: HONORABLE DENIS J. BUTLER Justice IAS Part 12 ---------------------------------------x ANNELLA LESHANDA NESHA SHRISSA LAWRENCE, Index Number:700896/2015 Plaintiff(s), Action No. 1 -againstDONOV~N G. DINNALL, BLACK INK MANAGEMENT INC., JERMAINE TYRONE WISDOM, Defendant(s). ---------------------------------------x SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS Motion Date: October 31, 2017 Motion Seq. No. :2 ---------------------------------------x NIKEISHA BILLINGS, Plaintiff, -against- Index Number: 8113/2015 Action No. : 2 DONOVAN G. DINNALL, BLACK INK MANAGEMENT INC., JERMAINE TRYONE WISDOM, Defendant. ---------------------------------------x "'' l...~o . Utl' ... ;J l 011 couN;y OUL:eNs Cl.fEF(I( The following papers were read on this motion by plaintiff, Ann~,y Leshanda Nesha Sherissa Lawrence for an order for leave to appoint the named partners of the defendant's attorneys, Mendolia & Stenz as temporary administrator and/or representative of the estate of JERMAINE TYRONE WISDOM, to substitute them for JERMAINE TYRONE WISDOM as defendant and lifting the stay resulting from the death of Jermaine Tryone Wisdom and amend the caption to reflect the appointment of the administrator. Papers Numbered Notice of Motion, Affirmation, Affidavit, Exhibits .. £54-65 [* 1] 1 of 2 FILED: QUEENS COUNTY CLERK 12/05/2017 03:51 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 66 INDEX NO. 700896/2015 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/05/2017 Upon the foregoing papers it is ordered that the motion is determined as follows: This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by Plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident on October 11, 2013. The action was stayed by the death of Defendant Jermaine Tyrone Wisdom on October 31, 2015 (Exhibit G). Plaintiff's counsel affirms that no executor or administrator has been appointed to represent the interests of decedent. Plaintiff now seeks, inter alia, an order appointing Defendants' attorneys, Mendolia & Stenz, as temporary administrator for Jermaine Tyrone Wisdom. Defendants do not oppose the motion. A motion seeking substitution "may be made by the successors or representatives of a party or by any party" {CPLR § 1021). The Supreme Court is a court of general jurisdiction with the power to appoint a temporary administrator and may do so to avoid delay and prejudice {see Dieye v Royal Blue Services, Inc., 104 AD3d 724 [2d Dept 2013]; Harding v Noble Taxi Corp, 155 AD2d 265 [1st Dept 1989]). The determination of whether to exercise its authority to appoint a temporary administrator is committed to the sound discretion of the Court (see Lambert v Estren, 126 AD3d 942 [2d Dept. 2015]). Here, as plaintiff has agreed to limit the amount of recovery sought to the limits of any insurance coverage available to the deceased defendant, deceased defendant's estate will not be adversely affected by the continuation of this action. Under these circumstances there is no need for plaintiff to proceed in Surrogate's Court {see Dieye v Royal Blue Services, Inc., 104 AD3d 724 [2d Dept 2013]). Moreover, Jermaine Tyrone Wisdom died over two years ago and a personal representative has not yet been appointed. Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, plaintiff's motion shall be granted to the extent that the stay is lifted and MENDOLIA & STENZ shall be substituted as temporary administrator for deceased defendant JERMAINE TYRONE WISDOM. Settle Order. Dated: November , 2017 Denis J. Butler, 2 [* 2] 2 of 2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
