Opinion
February 25, 1991
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Huttner, J.).
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted and the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Kings County, is directed to deliver to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Queens County, all papers filed in the action and certified copies of all minutes and entries (see, CPLR 511 [d]).
The plaintiffs, residents of Queens County, commenced this action on March 21, 1989, in the Supreme Court, Kings County, against the defendant corporation for injuries allegedly sustained by the infant plaintiff in the defendant's Queens County store on January 3, 1987. The summons stated that the basis of venue was the defendant's "main office". However, "the sole legal residence of a corporation for venue purposes is the county designated in its certificate of incorporation" (Papadakis v Command Bus Co., 91 A.D.2d 657, 658; see, Saal v Claridge Hotel Casino, 152 A.D.2d 631, 632). The documents filed with the Secretary of State qualifying the defendant, a Delaware corporation, to do business in New York State designated New York County as its principal place of business in New York State. Therefore, since neither the plaintiffs nor the defendant resided in Kings County at the time of the commencement of the action, that county was not a proper county for venue (see, CPLR 503 [a], [c]; Business Corporation Law § 102; Shavaknbeyn v Starrett City, 161 A.D.2d 626; Scott v Otis Elevator Co., 160 A.D.2d 519). Having commenced this action in an improper county in the first instance, the plaintiffs forfeited their right to select the venue (see, Scott v Otis Elevator Co., supra; Kelson v Nedicks Stores, 104 A.D.2d 315, 316; Papadakis v Command Bus Co., supra, at 658). Further, there is no merit to the claim by the plaintiffs that the defendant's motion was untimely (see, CPLR 511). Accordingly, the defendant's motion to change venue to Queens County should have been granted (see, CPLR 510). Bracken, J.P., Kooper, Lawrence, Balletta and O'Brien, JJ.,; concur.