The First Department determined the law of the case doctrine prohibited the trial court, a court of coordinate jurisdiction, from deviating from a prior ruling in the commercial division. The commercial division had ruled the plaintiff restaurant’s exhaust system violated the NYC Mechanical Code:
The “law of the case doctrine is designed to eliminate the inefficiency and disorder that would follow if courts of coordinate jurisdiction were free to overrule one another in an ongoing case” … . Here, the trial court was prohibited from finding that plaintiff’s commercial kitchen exhaust system did not violate the Mechanical Code. The trial court adopted the earlier finding … when it held that [the] orders were the “law of the case,” and limited the issue at trial … . Glaze Teriyaki, LLC v MacArthur Props. I, LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 07770, First Dept 11-9-17
CIVIL PROCEDURE (LAW OF THE CASE, TRIAL COURT VIOLATED THE LAW OF THE CASE DOCTRINE, PRIOR RULING BY THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION BECAME THE LAW OF THE CASE (SECOND DEPT))/LAW OF THE CASE (LAW OF THE CASE, TRIAL COURT VIOLATED THE LAW OF THE CASE DOCTRINE, PRIOR RULING BY THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION BECAME THE LAW OF THE CASE (SECOND DEPT))