Opinion
No. 570501/12.
2012-11-14
DEXTER 345 INC., Petitioner–Landlord–Respondent, v. Roberto BELEM, Respondent–Tenant–Appellant.
Tenant appeals from (1) an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Jean T. Schneider, J.), entered March 21, 2012, which, in granting tenant's postjudgment motion to reopen the trial of a holdover summary proceeding, denied his applications for a continuance and for leave to file a late jury demand; and 2) an order (same court and Judge), entered March 21, 2012, which closed the trial record and adhered to the prior final judgment, entered on March 6, 2012.
Present: LOWE, III, P.J., SCHOENFELD and TORRES, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Orders (Jean T. Schneider, J.), each entered March 21, 2012, affirmed, without costs.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying tenant's request for a continuance of the reopened trial, in view of the prior delays caused by tenant, and since his putative need for an adjournment resulted from his own lack of due diligence ( seeCPLR 4402; 174 Second Equities, Corp., Hee Nam Bee, 57 AD3d 319, 321 [2008] ). Tenant's claim that he was unable to appear on the scheduled trial date due to “medical [or] health reasons” was not credibly substantiated ( see Guerre v. Trustees of Columbia Univ., 300 A.D.2d 29 [2002] ). Tenant's mid-trial application for leave to file a late jury demand was properly denied.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.