CHEN v. Qian Chen, et al., Proposed Plaintiffs-Appellants. (2024)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Robert R. Reed, J.), entered December 4, 2023, which denied proposed plaintiffs' motion to join the pending action or to intervene, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs and the motion to join granted.

Supreme Court should have granted proposed plaintiffs' motion for permissive joinder since their claims were virtually identical to the claims asserted by original plaintiffs and thus, shared common questions of law and fact (see CPLR 1002[a];  T.J. v. Parpia, 227 A.D.3d 517, 518, 209 N.Y.S.3d 408 [1st Dept. 2024]).  Moreover, allowing proposed plaintiffs to join would not cause undue delay to the parties because discovery was still ongoing and defendants had not yet answered (see CPLR 1002[c];  Amtorg Trading Corp. v. Broadway & 56th Street Assocs., 191 A.D.2d 212, 213, 594 N.Y.S.2d 204 [1st Dept. 1993]);  see also Tanjong Shipping, Inc. v. Berke, 115 A.D.2d 401, 402–403, 496 N.Y.S.2d 31 [1st Dept. 1985]).