| Pizzarotti, LLC v FPG Maiden Lane LLC |
| 2020 NY Slip Op 05305 [187 AD3d 420] |
| October 1, 2020 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| Pizzarotti, LLC, Appellant, v FPG Maiden Lane LLC et al., Respondents. FPG Maiden Lane LLC et al., Counterclaim Plaintiffs, v Pizzarotti, LLC, et al., Counterclaim Defendants. |
Peckar & Abramson, P.C., New York (Paul G. Monte of counsel), for appellant.
Herrick, Feinstein LLP, New York (William R. Fried of counsel), for respondents.
Orders, Supreme Court, New York County (Andrea Masley, J.), entered September 24, 2019 and October 3, 2019, which granted the motion of defendants FPG Maiden Lane, LLC and Fortis Property Group, LLC to reduce or discharge the mechanic's lien filed by plaintiff Pizzarotti, LLC to the extent of reducing the lien from $33,837,618.34 to $3,566,357.42, unanimously reversed, on the law, the motion denied, and the lien reinstated.
A court has no inherent power to vacate, modify or discharge a notice of lien pursuant to Lien Law § 19 (6) where there is no defect on the face of the lien, and any dispute concerning the lien's validity must await a trial (see Matter of Schiavone Constr. Co. [Fischer & Porter Co.], 181 AD2d 580 [1st Dept 1992]). In the context of the motion, to the extent the court relied upon waivers in payment applications, plaintiff's submission of evidence of the parties' course of conduct raised an issue of fact as to whether the waivers released plaintiff's payment claims (see E-J Elec. Installation Co. v Brooklyn Historical Socy., 43 AD3d 642 [1st Dept 2007]). Concur—Kapnick, J.P., Gesmer, González, Scarpulla, JJ. [Prior Case History: 2019 NY Slip Op 32645(U).]