GOLDBERG v. Leah Torim, Defendant–Appellant. (2023)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Francis A. Kahn, III, J.), entered on or about January 9, 2023, which denied defendant Leah Torim's motion to dismiss the amended complaint as against her as time-barred, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

Plaintiff's cause of action for conversion as against defendant was not time-barred because the claim against defendant related back to the conversion claim asserted against codefendant, Shloime Torim, in the original complaint.  Although we agree that the two defendants were not “united in interest” solely because they are husband and wife, the complaint adequately alleges an agency relationship between the two defendants sufficient to impose vicarious liability on defendant for codefendant's acts, including but not limited to Leah having allegedly forged plaintiff's signature on a deed as Shloime's agent and transferring and selling the property in furtherance of the underlying conversion (see CPLR 203[b], [c];  Higgins v. City of New York, 144 A.D.3d 511, 513, 43 N.Y.S.3d 1 [1st Dept. 2016];  LeBlanc v. Skinner, 103 A.D.3d 202, 210, 955 N.Y.S.2d 391 [2d Dept. 2012]).