| Range v Trustees of Columbia Univ. in the City of N.Y. |
| 2017 NY Slip Op 01138 [147 AD3d 487] |
| February 10, 2017 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| King Range, Plaintiff, v The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York et al., Respondents. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York et al., Third-Party Plaintiffs-Respondent, v Breeze National Inc. et al., Third-Party Defendants. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York et al., Second Third-Party Plaintiffs-Respondents, v Total Safety Consulting, L.L.C., Second Third-Party Defendant-Appellant, et al., Second Third-Party Defendant. Francisca Montero De Ruiz et al., Plaintiffs, v The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York et al., Respondents, et al., Defendants. Sakim Kirby, Plaintiff, v Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB, Inc., et al., Respondents, et al., Defendant. |
Gruvman, Giordano & Glaws, LLP, New York (Charles T. Glaws of counsel), for appellants.
Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, LLP, Mineola (Mark J. Volpi of counsel), for respondents.
[*2] Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ellen M. Coin, J.), entered on or about June 13, 2016, which, inter alia, denied the motion of second third-party defendant Total Safety Consulting, L.L.C. (Total Safety) to sever the second third-party action, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court properly denied Total Safety's motion. Second third-party plaintiffs Columbia University and Lend Lease provided a reasonable excuse for their late impleader. Total Safety has also not demonstrated that it would be prejudiced because, while the main action was ready for trial, it will have ample time to conduct discovery while summary judgment motions are pending. Furthermore, the third-party actions present questions of law and fact in common with the main action, thereby making a joint trial preferable (see e.g. Marbilla, LLC v 143/145 Lexington LLC, 116 AD3d 544 [1st Dept 2014]; Wilson v City of New York, 1 AD3d 157 [1st Dept 2003]). Concur—Sweeny, J.P., Mazzarelli, Manzanet-Daniels and Webber, JJ.