Motion to Renew Was Not Based Upon a Change in the Applicable Law—Motion Court Had Simply Ignored the Controlling Precedent—Therefore the Motion Was Actually a Motion to Reargue, the Denial of Which Is Not Appealable
The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Tom, determined that defendants’ motion, which was labeled a motion to renew, was actually a motion to reargue, the denial of which is not appealable. A motion to renew can be based upon a change in the law since the first motion was determined. However, in this case, the trial judge who denied the original underlying motion, specifically refused to follow the appellate precedent in her department (re: the availability of nonpecuniary damages in a legal malpractice action). Because the underlying law did not change, but rather the law was simply ignored by the trial judge, there was no change in the law which could serve as a basis of a motion to renew. The legal malpractice action stemmed from defense counsel’s failure to raise the speedy trial defense in a criminal matter. The plaintiff was freed after14 years of imprisonment on the basis of defense counsel’s failure. D’Alessandro v Carro, 2014 NY Slip Op 06246, 1st Dept 9-18-14
