Plaintiff moves for an order, pursuant to CPLR 327(a), dismissing the action in its entirety. Defendant cross-moves for an order, pursuant to CPLR §3215(a), granting him a default judgment of divorce.

The following papers were read:

Notice of Motion-Affidavit-Affirmation-1-8

Exhibits A-C-Memorandum of Law-Affidavit [*2]

of Service

Notice of Cross-Motion-Affidavit-Affirmation-9-16

Exhibits A-C-Memorandum of Law

Affidavit-Affirmation-Exhibit A-Affidavit of17-21

Service-Memorandum of Law

Upon the foregoing papers, the motions are decided as follows:

The doctrine of forum non conveniens permits a court, on the motion of any party, to stay or dismiss an action when, although it may have jurisdiction over a claim, the court determines that in the interest of substantial justice the action should be heard in another forum (CPLR 327[a] see Koskar v. Ford Motor Co., 84 AD3d 1317 [2nd Dept 2011]). On such a motion, the Supreme Court is to weigh the parties' residencies, the location of the witnesses and any hardship caused by the choice of forum, the availability of an alternative forum, the situs of the action, and the burden on the New York court system (Tiger Sourcing [HK] Ltd. v. GMAC Commercial Fin. Corporation-Can., 66 AD3d 1002 [2nd Dept 2009]). No one factor is dispositive (id.). The Supreme Court's determination should not be disturbed unless the court improvidently exercised its discretion or failed to consider the relevant factors (see Koskar v. Ford Motor Co., 84 AD3d 1317 [2nd Dept 2011]).

The facts of this action, relevant to the motions, are as follows: (1) the parties were married on October 5, 1991 in Nassau County, New York; (2) at the time of the filing of the summons and complaint, plaintiff was residing in the Town of Pleasant Valley, New York; (3) shortly after filing the complaint, plaintiff moved to Haddonfield, New Jersey; (4) this residence was purchased by the parties on June 11, 2013 and it was intended to be the marital residence; (5) defendant indicates that he has been living in company provided housing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; (6) the parties do not own any real property in New York; (7) the parties' children are all over eighteen years of age, and maintain a legal residence with the plaintiff in New Jersey; (8) plaintiff is aware of no witnesses necessary to deciding this matter who will be unduly inconvenienced by the necessity of appearing in New Jersey; and (9) the plaintiff has commenced an action for divorce in New Jersey, by filing a complaint on October 24, 2013.

New York courts are not compelled to retain [*3]jurisdiction over any case which does not have a substantial nexus to New York (see Turay v. Beam Bros. Trucking, Inc., 61 AD3d 964 [2nd Dept 2009]). Here, although the parties were married in New York and resided in New York for a time, the record clearly establishes that the parties currently have little or no connection to New York (id.). The parties are not now residents of New York, their appearance in the courts of New York, specifically Dutchess County Supreme Court, will cause both parties hardship in the form of substantial travel and associated costs. The plaintiff submits that there will be no witnesses prejudiced by this action being decided in New Jersey. The parties were clearly in the process of moving to New Jersey prior to the turmoil in their marriage. Plaintiff's maintenance of a New York action, based upon advice of counsel, was to simply "put the automatic orders into effect which would protect [her] share of our assets." Accordingly, this court finds that the courts of New Jersey are a particularly viable alternative forum, the plaintiff having shown that New York is genuinely inconvenient and the selected forum of New Jersey is significantly preferable (see Boyle v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 110 AD3d 938 [2nd Dept 2013]).

Based upon the foregoing, plaintiff's motion for dismissal of the action is granted in its entirety. Defendant's cross-motion is denied as academic. This constitutes the decision and order of this court.

Dated:January 28, 2014

Poughkeepsie, New York

ENTER

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HON. JAMES D. PAGONES, A.J.S.C.