YOUKELSONE v. Pavel Samoilov, third-party defendant-appellant. (2025)

DECISION & ORDER

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the third-party defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Thomas Rademaker, J.), dated January 13, 2022.  The order denied the third-party defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint and pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130–1.1 to impose sanctions upon the defendant third-party plaintiff and her counsel.

ORDERED that the order is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof denying that branch of the third-party defendant's motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint, and substituting therefor a provision granting that branch of the motion;  as so modified, the order is affirmed, with costs to the third-party defendant.

In January 2019, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendant third-party plaintiff to recover damages for personal injuries that the plaintiff allegedly sustained in a motor vehicle accident.  At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle owned and operated by the third-party defendant that allegedly was struck in the rear by a vehicle operated by the defendant third-party plaintiff.  In December 2019, after interposing an answer to the complaint, the defendant third-party plaintiff commenced a third-party action against the third-party defendant.  The third-party defendant thereafter moved for summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint and pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130–1.1 to impose sanctions upon the defendant third-party plaintiff and her counsel.  By order dated January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court denied the motion.  The third-party defendant appeals.

Initially, we note that, in a related appeal, we have declined to disturb the Supreme Court's determination in an order entered February 1, 2023, granting the defendant third-party plaintiff's motion to impose discovery sanctions upon the plaintiff to the extent, inter alia, in effect, of striking the complaint (see Youkelsone v. Pannagl, ––– AD3d ––––, [Appellate Division Docket No. 2023–04427;  decided herewith]).  In light of that determination, the third-party defendant is entitled to summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint (see Rampersaud v. Hsieh Hsu Mach. Co., Ltd., 196 AD3d 609, 610).

The Supreme Court properly denied that branch of the third-party defendant's motion which was to impose sanctions upon the defendant third-party plaintiff and her counsel (see 22 NYCRR 130–1.1;  Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Bagley, 104 AD3d 938, 939).

BARROS, J.P., DOWLING, VENTURA and MCCORMACK, JJ., concur.