Opinion
June 13, 1988
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Donovan, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, in the exercise of discretion, with costs, and a new trial is granted.
After denying the plaintiffs' application for a brief continuance, the trial court granted the defendant's motion for judgment during trial (CPLR 4401) based upon its determination that the plaintiffs had failed to prove a prima facie case. The judgment which was thereafter entered is, contrary to the defendant's contention, appealable as of right, and the plaintiffs' appeal brings up for review the court's ruling denying the application for a continuance (CPLR 5701 [a] [1], [3]). Considering all the circumstances, we are of the opinion that the trial court improvidently exercised its discretion in denying the plaintiffs' request for a continuance (see generally, Sutter v Nelson, 126 A.D.2d 634, 635; Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v Bologna, 114 A.D.2d 796; Cuevas v Cuevas, 110 A.D.2d 873). The matter is therefore remitted to the Supreme Court, Westchester County, for a new trial. Bracken, J.P., Brown, Weinstein and Rubin, JJ., concur.