October 20, 2015

Jordan R. Pavlus Obtains a Decision From the Fourth Department Appellate Division Setting the Legal Standard for CPLR §3016(f) Causes of Action

Jordan R. Pavlus recently obtained a decision from the Fourth Department Appellate Division which clearly established the pleading requirements for a sale and delivery of goods cause of action pursuant to CPLR §3016(f).  The case centered on construction materials furnished to a roofing contractor on various projects in NYS.  Upon filing a summons and complaint containing a CPLR §3016(f) cause of action, invoking CPLR §3016(f) within the complaint, and incorporating the outstanding invoices into the complaint, the defendant submitted a general denial and interposed counterclaims claiming damages in excess of $1 million.

Mr. Pavlus filed a pre-discovery motion for summary judgment on the CPLR §3016(f) cause of action and to dismiss the counterclaims.  The motion was granted and unanimously affirmed on appeal.  The Fourth Department Appellate Division held that incorporating invoices into the complaint complied with the pleading requirements of CPLR §3016(f) and thus, the defendant’s general denial was insufficient to defeat summary judgment.  In addition, the Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the counterclaims on the basis of the statute of of frauds in UCC 2-201(1).

The decision can be found at the following citation:  Erie Materials, Inc. v Central City Roofing Co., Inc., 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7145, 2015 NY Slip Op 07137 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dep’t Oct. 2, 2015)