Opinion
2013-03-12
Anastacio MARTINEZ, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. William REINER, et al., Defendants, Hunts Point Live Poultry and Slaughterhouse, Inc., Defendant–Appellant.
Arthur Morrison, Hawthorne, for appellant.
MAZZARELLI, J.P., SAXE, DeGRASSE, MANZANET–DANIELS, CLARK, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (John A. Barone, J.), entered September 26, 2011, which denied the motion of defendant Hunts Point Live Poultry and Slaughterhouse Inc. to vacate its default and for leave to serve its proposed verified answer, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion granted.
The complaint, which was verified by counsel, was “purely hearsay, devoid of evidentiary value, and thus insufficient to support entry of a judgment pursuant to CPLR 3215” ( Beltre v. Babu, 32 A.D.3d 722, 723, 821 N.Y.S.2d 69 [1st Dept. 2006]; citing Feffer v. Malpeso, 210 A.D.2d 60, 61, 619 N.Y.S.2d 46 [1st Dept. 1994];Joosten v. Gale, 129 A.D.2d 531, 534–535, 514 N.Y.S.2d 729 [1st Dept. 1987] ). In alleging only that plaintiff fell from a ladder while doing construction-related work, plaintiff's affidavit failed to provide the motion court with evidence sufficient to satisfy the court as to the prima facie validity of defendant's liability for the stated claims ( see Manhattan Telecom. Corp. v. H & A Locksmith, Inc., 82 A.D.3d 674, 674, 920 N.Y.S.2d 74 [1st Dept. 2011], citing Feffer, 210 A.D.2d at 61, 619 N.Y.S.2d 46;Giordano v. Berisha, 45 A.D.3d 416, 845 N.Y.S.2d 327 [1st Dept. 2007];CPLR 3215[f] ). Accordingly, the default order entered was a nullity ( see Natradeze v. Rubin, 33 A.D.3d 535, 822 N.Y.S.2d 541 [1st Dept. 2006] ), and defendant's remaining contentions, including its claim that it demonstrated a reasonable excuse for its default and a meritorious defense, need not be reached.