Defendant Cablevision consents to the requested relief while plaintiffs do not.

Plaintiffs bring the within action to recover for property damages sustained following a fire in their residence. The cable modem allegedly manufactured by Motorola is further alleged to be a cause of the fire.

The standard to be applied in determining whether or not to allow destructive testing was best expressed by the Second Dept. in Castro v. Alden Leeds, Inc., 116 AD2d 549, 550.

"Although scientific testing may, in an appropriate case, promote the just determination of legal controversies (citation omitted), testing which destroys or materially alters the item or sample being tested should be permitted only where the court determines, in the exercise of its discretion, that such testing is required in the interest of justice (citation omitted). The party seeking to conduct destructive testing should provide a reasonably specific justification for such testing including, inter alia, the basis for its belief that nondestructive testing is inadequate and that destructive testing is necessary; further, there should be an enumeration and description of the precise tests to be performed, including the extent to which each such test will alter or destroy the item being tested (citations omitted). The court can then determine whether such testing is appropriate and what safeguards may be required in the testing procedure to protect the interests of all parties (citation omitted)."