A PLAINTIFF FACED WITH A MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION NEED NOT SUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE OR AFFIDAVITS IN OPPOSITION BUT RATHER CAN STAND ON THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE COMPLAINT (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department noted that a plaintiff, when faced with a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, need not submit any evidence or affidavits in opposition, but may simply stand on the pleadings:
While a court is permitted to consider evidentiary material submitted by a defendant in support of a motion to dismiss pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7)… , “affidavits submitted by a defendant will almost never warrant dismissal under CPLR 3211 unless they establish conclusively that [the plaintiff] has no cause of action” … . The plaintiff “may not be penalized for failure to make an evidentiary showing in support of a complaint that states a claim on its face” … . Indeed, if a plaintiff chooses to stand on his or her pleading alone, “confident that its allegations are sufficient to state all the necessary elements of a cognizable cause of action, he [or she] is at liberty to do so and, unless the motion to dismiss is converted by the court to a motion for summary judgment, he [or she] will not be penalized because he [or she] has not made an evidentiary showing in support of his [or her] complaint” … .
Here, the Supreme Court did not convert motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment. The amended complaint states a cause of action as against [defendant] and [defendant’s] submissions, including an affidavit of its president, did not conclusively establish that the plaintiff has no cause of action against it … . Yu Chen v Kupoint (USA) Corp., 2018 NY Slip Op 02498, Second Dept 4-11-18
CIVIL PROCEDURE (MOTION TO DISMISS, A PLAINTIFF FACED WITH A MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION NEED NOT SUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE OR AFFIDAVITS IN OPPOSITION BUT RATHER CAN STAND ON THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE COMPLAINT (SECOND DEPT))/CPLR 3211 (MOTION TO DISMISS, A PLAINTIFF FACED WITH A MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION NEED NOT SUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE OR AFFIDAVITS IN OPPOSITION BUT RATHER CAN STAND ON THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE COMPLAINT (SECOND DEPT))/DISMISS, MOTION TO (CIVIL PROCEDURE, A PLAINTIFF FACED WITH A MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION NEED NOT SUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE OR AFFIDAVITS IN OPPOSITION BUT RATHER CAN STAND ON THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE COMPLAINT (SECOND DEPT))