Rawlins v George

[*1] Rawlins v George 2013 NY Slip Op 51401(U) Decided on August 23, 2013 Appellate Term, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on August 23, 2013
SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: Hunter, Jr., J.P., Schoenfeld, Shulman, JJ
570317/13.

Lloyd O. Rawlins, Plaintiff-Appellant,

against

Loreen George, Defendant-Respondent.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment of the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Raul Cruz, J.), entered on or about October 11, 2012, after trial, in favor of defendant dismissing the action.

Per Curiam.

Judgment (Raul Cruz, J.), entered on or about October 11, 2012, reversed, without costs, a new trial ordered.

Plaintiff instituted this small claims action to recoup moneys — $1,000 in cash — that he allegedly advanced to defendant as a loan. At trial, defendant acknowledged signing a written agreement confirming the parties' loan arrangement (one of several documents presented by the parties that were not marked as exhibits or introduced into evidence, and thus are not included in the record on appeal), but maintained that the loan was never consummated based on plaintiff's ultimate insistence that any loan payment be conditioned on his receipt of sexual favors. Thus, the trial presented a pure credibility contest, which, due to the trial court's failure to issue a written decision in conformity with CPLR 4213(b), went unaddressed below. In this posture, and given the absence from the record of the documentary evidence proffered by each side, we are constrained to order a new trial.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
Decision Date: August 23, 2013