Neuman v Century 21 Dept. Stores LLC

Neuman v Century 21 Dept. Stores LLC 2008 NY Slip Op 09895 [57 AD3d 329] December 18, 2008 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. As corrected through Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Menahem Neuman, Appellant, et al., Plaintiff,
v
Century 21 Department Stores LLC, Respondent.

—[*1] Erlanger Law Firm PLLC, New York (Robert K. Erlanger of counsel), for appellant.

James D. Butler, P.A., New York (Paul A. Liggio of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Debra A. James, J.), entered October 10, 2007, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and denied plaintiff's cross motion in limine as moot, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Defendant established prima facie that it had reasonable grounds to detain plaintiff as a suspected shoplifter (General Business Law § 218; see Johnson v Lord & Taylor, 25 AD3d 435 [2006]). Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue as to the reasonableness of the detention (see Conteh v Sears, Roebuck & Co., 38 AD3d 314 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 814 [2007]). He voluntarily signed a confession that he intended to steal the merchandise, after which defendant called the police, who arrived 30 minutes later.

Defendant established its defense without the evidence that plaintiff sought to exclude.

We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find them without merit. Concur—Lippman, P.J., Tom, Buckley, Moskowitz and Renwick, JJ. [See 2007 NY Slip Op 33234(U).]