DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE PROPERLY GRANTED BASED UPON CONVENIENCE OF WITNESSES (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined the defendant’s (Target’s) motion to change venue in this traffic accident case was properly granted:
Supreme Court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in granting Target’s motion to change venue to Suffolk County even though plaintiff properly placed venue in New York County based upon Target’s principal place of business at the time the action was commenced (see CPLR 503[a], [c]). The motor vehicle accident happened in Suffolk County, plaintiffs and codefendants live in that county, the decedent received her medical treatment there … . Target also submitted the affidavits of two Suffolk County police officers, who averred that they were involved in the investigation including interviewing witnesses at the accident location and that they would be inconvenienced by having to travel to New York County because it would cause them to be absent from their police duties for a full day … .
That the police officers signed affidavits in favor of the motion to change venue establishes that they were aware of the action and demonstrates that they are willing to testify at trial. It was proper for the motion court to consider the police officers’ convenience, because their testimony regarding their investigation as to how the accident happened bears on liability… . Furthermore, the police officers’ affidavits are not insufficient because they do not set forth their home addresses, since it is undisputed that they work in Suffolk County … . Kochan v Target Corp., 2018 NY Slip Op 03445, First Dept 5-10-18
CIVIL PROCEDURE (VENUE, DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE PROPERLY GRANTED BASED UPON CONVENIENCE OF WITNESSES (FIRST DEPT))/VENUE (DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE PROPERLY GRANTED BASED UPON CONVENIENCE OF WITNESSES (FIRST DEPT))/TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS (CIVIL PROCEDURE, VENUE, DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE PROPERLY GRANTED BASED UPON CONVENIENCE OF WITNESSES (FIRST DEPT))/CPLR 503 (VENUE, DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE PROPERLY GRANTED BASED UPON CONVENIENCE OF WITNESSES (FIRST DEPT))