FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK : CIVIL TERM: PART 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X MYRENTCO, LLC and MURRAY STREET HOLDINGS, LLC, derivatively on behalf of TRIBECA SPACE MANAGERS, INC., - against - Plaintiffs, NEW BEDFORD MANAGEMENT CORP., and GREG BAZHDARI, - and - Defendants. TRIBECA SPACE MANAGERS, INC., Nominal Defendant. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X Index No. /0 October, 0 0 Centre Street New York, New York 00 B E F O R E: MARCY S. FRIEDMAN, Justice 0 A P P E A R A N C E S: MELTZER LIPPE GOLDSTEIN & BREITSTONE, LLP Attorneys for the Plaintiffs Myrentco LLC and Murray Street Holdings 0 Willis Avenue Mineola, New York 0 BY: PEDRAM A. TABIBI, ESQ. of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 A P P E A R A N C E S : (Cont'd) COZEN O'CONNOR Attorneys for Defendant New Bedford Management Corp. Broadway, th Floor New York, New York 00- BY: AMANDA L. NELSON, ESQ. KAUFMAN BORGEEST & RYAN LLP Attorneys for Nominal Defendant Tribeca Space Managers Broadway New York, New York BY: BRYN GOODMAN, ESQ. 0 of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 0 M O R N I N G S E S S I O N THE COURT: On the record. Good morning. May I have counsels' appearances, please. MR. TABIBI: Good morning, your Honor. For the plaintiffs -- THE COURT: Would you stand, please. MR. TABIBI: Sure. I'm sorry. For the plaintiffs, your Honor, Myrentco, LLC and Murray Street Holdings, LLC, Pedram Tabibi from Meltzer Lippe Goldstein & Breitstone. THE COURT: Thank you. MS. NELSON: Good morning, your Honor. Amanda Nelson, from Cozen O'Connor, for the defendant New Bedford Management Corp. MS. GOODMAN: Good morning, your Honor. Bryn Goodman, Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan for Tribeca Space Managers Inc., nominal defendant. THE COURT: Thank you. I have a number of motions to dismiss. I also have defendant Bazhdari's motion for leave to serve an answer and to dismiss. Now, we have had two calls this morning, I am informed by my part clerk, from Mr. Bazhdari, claiming that his son, I believe, had a problem which required him to of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 0 stay at home, and we have also had a call from Mr. Colbert, Mr. Bazhdari's attorney formerly, both asking for an adjournment. My clerk was directed to tell Mr. Bazhdari and Mr. Colbert that we do not take applications for adjournments by telephone ex parte. Now, Mr. Tabibi, did Mr. Bazhdari call you this morning and ask you for an adjournment? MR. TABIBI: Your Honor, he did not call. I believe he may have sent an e-mail to the attorneys. My colleague, Mr. Blasberg, received it and then called me. I did not receive any direct communication from Mr. Bazhdari this morning, but I was forwarded an e-mail that he sent to my colleague. THE COURT: So he did attempt to contact you? MR. TABIBI: Correct, your Honor. THE COURT: And, Ms. Nelson, did he attempt to contact you? MS. NELSON: Yes, your Honor. He sent a mass e-mail to all counsel. THE COURT: And Ms. Goodman? MS. GOODMAN: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: And did you not agree to the adjournment? MR. TABIBI: Your Honor, my colleague, Mr. Blasberg, indicated, while he was sympathetic, he would of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 0 prefer to move forward but leave it up to the Court, and we're prepared to leave it up to the Court. My understanding was that an e-mail that he -- the court indicated -- the part clerk indicated that we all needed to appear regardless, but we leave it to the discretion of the Court. THE COURT: The court clerk sent you an e-mail this morning? MR. TABIBI: No. We received an e-mail, I believe, from one of the -- counsel indicated that they called the court before the appearance and were told that we needed to come in. THE COURT: Well, somebody who wants an adjournment has to either get everyone on a conference call or has to send someone down to ask for an adjournment. Or what should have happened is that when someone who hasn't been repeatedly defaulting on motions asked for an adjournment for a family emergency, it should have been granted. And this is on a par with not accepting that late answer, that de minimis delay of two months in answering. This is nothing but a waste of the parties' resources and of the court's resources. I haven't seen anything like this in a long, long time and it is really dispiriting. I am granting the branch of defendant Bazhdari's motion for leave to serve a late answer on the ground that of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 0 he had a reasonable excuse for his delay based on his difficulty in retaining counsel; in addition, based on the fact that this is a de minimis delay or, if not de minimis, short-term; and further on the basis that in this department it has long been held that an excuse for the delay is sufficient to warrant leave to serve a late answer in the absence of a showing of prejudice and that the merits need not be shown before a default judgment has been entered. See, e.g., Artcorp. Inc. v. CitiRich Realty Corp., A.D.d [st Dept 0]; Smoke v. Windermere Owners, LLC, A.D.d [st Dept 0]; Nason v. Fisher, 0 A.D.d [st Dept 00]. The motions to dismiss are going to be adjourned to a mutually convenient date. The plaintiff will serve notice on Mr. Bazhdari of the adjourned date. Nothing I have ruled here today is intended to condone Mr. Bazhdari's failure to appear here this morning, but he did take the kinds of efforts that a layperson would reasonably take to alert you to a family emergency and under the circumstances I will adjourn the hearing of the motions to dismiss. And I am not -- underscore "not" -- going to have these cases litigated in this fashion. We are going to litigate on the merits. Now, I am directing the plaintiff to obtain a of
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK /0/0 0:0 PM INDEX NO. /0 NYSCEF DOC. NO. RECEIVED NYSCEF: /0/0 of