A PRE-JOINDER MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT MUST BE DENIED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, noted that a pre-joinder motion for summary judgment must be denied:

The Court of Appeals has noted that the rule barring a pre-joinder motion for summary judgment is strictly applied (City of Rochester v Chiarella, 65 NY2d 92, 101 [1985]). While CPLR 3211(c) permits the court, on notice to the parties, to treat a motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment before issue is joined, that is not the case here, where [plaintiff] moved directly for summary judgment; thus, a motion for summary judgment brought before a defendant has answered the complaint is premature and must be denied … . SHG Resources, LLC v SYTR Real Estate Holdings LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 00525, First Dept 1-27-22