Caro Home v 181 Westchester Ave. LLC
2021 NY Slip Op 01504 [192 AD3d 503]
March 16, 2021
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, May 5, 2021


[*1]
 Caro Home et al., Appellants,
v
181 Westchester Ave. LLC et al., Respondents.

Appell & Parrinelli, New York (John J. Appell of counsel), for appellants.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Lynn R. Kotler, J.), entered on or about December 18, 2019, which, to the extent appealed from, changed venue of the Jane and John Doe plaintiffs' claims from New York County to Westchester County, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the change of venue of those claims vacated.

Upon defendant 181 Westchester Ave. LLC's motion to change venue of this matter pursuant to CPLR 501 as to the claims asserted by plaintiff Caro Home, LLC, based on a contractual provision in a lease agreement between those two parties, the court erred in sua sponte changing venue as to the claims of the Jane and John Doe plaintiffs (see Bank of N.Y. v Elance, Inc., 309 AD2d 725 [2d Dept 2003]). Nor was there a showing of inconvenience of witnesses sufficient to support a change in venue (see e.g. Lividini v Goldstein, 175 AD3d 420, 423 [1st Dept 2019]). Concur—Renwick, J.P., Kapnick, Oing, Moulton, JJ.