Opinion
7973N Index 20849/16E
12-27-2018
Neville GIBSON, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. U'SAGAIN HOLDINGS, LLC, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Guerrero & Rosengarten, New York (Susan R. Nudelman of counsel), for appellant. Law Offices of Tobias & Kuhn, New York (Carol M. Wickham of counsel), for respondents.
Guerrero & Rosengarten, New York (Susan R. Nudelman of counsel), for appellant.
Law Offices of Tobias & Kuhn, New York (Carol M. Wickham of counsel), for respondents.
Acosta, P.J., Gische, Mazzarelli, Webber, Oing, JJ.
The court providently exercised its discretion in granting defendants' motion to change venue to Westchester County. The motor vehicle accident occurred in Westchester, which is where plaintiff resided on the day of the accident and when the action was commenced. The affidavit of the Chief Financial Officer of defendant U'SAgain Holdings, LLC sufficiently satisfied defendants' burden of showing that plaintiff had improperly designated venue due to the fact that they did not maintain a principal office in Bronx County. He averred that he had reviewed the records maintained by U'SAgain Holdings, LLC, which is the parent company of U'SAgain LLC, and that U'SAgain (2000) LLC had merged into U'SAgain LLC before the accident. Defendants also submitted an affidavit of a claims examiner of Penske Truck Leasing Corporation (Penske), who reviewed the relevant records, and set forth that Penske did not have a principal office in the Bronx (see Perez v. Worby, Borowick, Groner , 290 A.D.2d 233, 735 N.Y.S.2d 112 [1st Dept. 2002] ). The copies of the electronic records from the Secretary of State's official government website were admissible despite being uncertified, and the motion court properly considered them (see Matter of LaSonde v. Seabrook , 89 A.D.3d 132, 137 n. 8, 933 N.Y.S.2d 195 [1st Dept. 2011], lv denied 18 N.Y.3d 911, 940 N.Y.S.2d 558, 963 N.E.2d 1259 [2012] ; Kingsbrook Jewish Med. Ctr. v. Allstate Ins. Co. , 61 A.D.3d 13, 19–21, 871 N.Y.S.2d 680 [2d Dept. 2009] ).