Opinion
12134N Index No. 805233/19 Case No. 2020-00698
10-20-2020
Farzana SULTANA, etc., et al., Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. ST. ELIZABETH MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendant-Appellants, MVHS Medical Group, et al., Defendants
Napierski, Vandenburgh, Napierski & O'Connor, LLP, Albany (Christine M. Napierski of counsel), for appellants. The Law Offices of Eric Richman, New York (Natascia Ayers of counsel), for respondents.
Napierski, Vandenburgh, Napierski & O'Connor, LLP, Albany (Christine M. Napierski of counsel), for appellants.
The Law Offices of Eric Richman, New York (Natascia Ayers of counsel), for respondents.
Acosta, P.J., Mazzarelli, Moulton, Gonza´lez, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York (Eileen A. Rakower, J.), entered January 14, 2020, which denied defendants' motion to change venue from New York County to Oneida County, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiffs commenced this medical malpractice action in New York County, alleging that one of the defendants, Emergency Physician Services of New York (EPSNY), designated New York County as its principal office in its certificate of incorporation. Defendants moved to change the venue, arguing that EPSNY's most recent biennial statements, submitted in accordance with Business Corporations Law § 408, reflected its current corporate residence as Woodbury, New Jersey.
Plaintiffs properly commenced this action in New York County, as the designation of New York County in EPSNY's papers filed with the Secretary of State "control[led] for venue purposes, even if it [did] not actually have an office in New York County" ( Janis v. Janson Supermarkets LLC, 161 A.D.3d 480, 480, 73 N.Y.S.3d 419 [1st Dept. 2018] ; see also Shetty v. Volvo Cars of N. Am., LLC, 38 A.D.3d 202, 203, 830 N.Y.S.2d 554 [1st Dept. 2007] ; Job v. Subaru Leasing Corp., 30 A.D.3d 159, 159, 817 N.Y.S.2d 9 [1st Dept. 2006] ). The "principal executive office" noted in a corporation's biennial statement does not determine corporate residence for venue purposes, since it is not contained in either a certificate of incorporation or an amended certificate (see Villalba v. Brady, 162 A.D.3d 533, 533, 80 N.Y.S.3d 220 [1st Dept. 2018] ). Thus, plaintiffs properly selected New York County as the venue for this action (see Martirano v. Golden Wood Floors Inc., 137 A.D.3d 612, 613, 27 N.Y.S.3d 555 [1st Dept. 2016] ).