Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Joseph J. Esposito, J.), entered February 14, 2007. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.

Judgment reversed without costs, action reinstated and matter remanded to the court below for a new trial.

In this small claims action, plaintiff, who had purchased a round trip ticket from New York to Guyana from defendant, seeks to recover damages caused when he was allegedly bumped by defendant from the return flight scheduled on April 28, 2006. Plaintiff asserts that as a result of being bumped, he was not able to return to New York until the next day. At trial, plaintiff sought to introduce various documents, including receipts, to substantiate his claim for damages arising out of the alleged breach of contract. The court below ruled the evidence inadmissible.

In our view, the judgment in favor of defendant dismissing the action failed to provide the parties with substantial justice in accordance with the rules and principles of substantive law (CCA 1804, 1807; see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]). In a small claims action, the court is not bound by the rules of evidence (see CCA 1804; cf. Levins v Bucholtz, 2 AD2d 351 [1956]). Accordingly, the judgment is reversed and the matter is remanded to the court below for a new trial.

We note that plaintiff is not entitled to recover damages for any inconvenience he may [*2]have suffered due to the alleged breach of contract (see American Airlines, Inc. v Wolens, 513 US 219 [1994]).

Pesce, P.J., Golia and Steinhardt, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: May 28, 2008