THE ORDER DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO PROSECUTE DID NOT DESCRIBE THE SPECIFIC CONDUCT CONSTITUTING NEGLECT BY THE PLAINTIFF AS REQUIRED BY CPLR 3216; PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO VACATE THE ORDER SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the plaintiff’s motion to vacate the order dismissing the complaint for failure to prosecute should have been granted because the conditions required by CPLR 3216 were not met:
A court may not dismiss a complaint for want of prosecution pursuant to CPLR 3216 on its own initiative unless certain conditions precedent have been complied with, including the requirement that “where a written demand to resume prosecution of the action is made by the court . . . ‘the demand shall set forth the specific conduct constituting the neglect, which conduct shall demonstrate a general pattern of delay in proceeding with the litigation'” … .
Here, the Supreme Court should have granted the plaintiff’s motion, among other things, to vacate the … order, as that order failed to set forth the specific conduct constituting neglect by the plaintiff … . Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Brown, 2020 NY Slip Op 06576, Second Dept 11-12-20