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PEOPLE DEMONSTRATED THE RAPE KIT AND BLOOD AND SALIVA EVIDENCE RELATED TO A 1988 PROSECUTION HAD BEEN DESTROYED AND DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE AVAILABILITY OF THE EVIDENCE WOULD HAVE CHANGED THE VERDICT, MOTION FOR DNA TESTING AND MOTION TO VACATE THE CONVICTION PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined defendant’s motion for DNA testing and his motion to vacate his conviction were properly denied. Defendant had been convicted of sodomy in 1988. After a successful habeas corpus petition, a second trial was held and defendant was again convicted. After the habeas corpus petition had been filed, but before it was docketed, the NYPD destroyed the rape kit and blood and saliva samples. No DNA testing had been done on the evidence:

Any defendant, regardless of the date of conviction, may move for DNA testing on specified evidence. The court shall grant the application if it determines that had a DNA test been conducted on the evidence and had the results of that evidence been admitted at trial, “there exists a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been more favorable to the defendant” (CPL 440.30[1-a][a][1]). Defendant bears the burden of making the “reasonable probability” showing … . Where the People assert that the evidence to be tested has been destroyed or cannot be located, the statute provides that the people must make “a representation to that effect” and submit “information and documentary evidence in the possession of the people concerning the last known physical location of such specified evidence” (CPL 440.30[1-b][b]). It is the People’s burden to show that the evidence could no longer be located and was thus no longer available for testing … .

We find that the People met their burden. …

… .[W]e find that defendant has not carried his burden of establishing that, even had he been able to secure the original evidence and perform DNA testing on it, there is a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different … . People v Dorsey, 2019 NY Slip Op 01526, First Dept 3-5-19

 

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PLAINTIFF ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS REAR-END COLLISION CASE, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT DIDN’T REACH THE LIABILITY ISSUE, THE MERITS WERE LITIGATED AND BRIEFED ALLOWING APPELLATE REVIEW (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment in this rear-end collision traffic accident case, noting that the plaintiff no longer has to demonstrate freedom from comparative fault to warrant a judgment on liability. Supreme Court had not reached the liability issue and the Second Department did so because the merits were litigated and briefed:

… [T]he plaintiff testified at her deposition that her vehicle was stopped at a red light when it was struck in the rear by the defendants’ vehicle. This testimony established, prima facie, that the defendant driver’s negligence was a proximate cause of the accident … . Moreover, although the plaintiff also submitted a transcript of the defendant driver’s deposition testimony, that testimony does not present a triable issue of fact. The defendant driver testified that before the accident occurred, the light turned green, and the plaintiff began to slowly move forward. The defendant driver began to accelerate, then he saw the plaintiff’s brake lights go on. He testified that he “hit the brakes and hit her.” In essence, his testimony amounted to a claim that the plaintiff’s vehicle came to a sudden stop which, standing alone, was insufficient to rebut the presumption of negligence on the part of the defendants’ vehicle … . Buchanan v Keller, 2019 NY Slip Op 01385, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

 

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BANK’S FAILURE TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE WHICH MET THE CRITERIA OF THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE REQUIRED DENIAL OF THE BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, THE BANK’S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RPAPL 1304 NOTICE AND MAILING CRITERIA REQUIRED THAT DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BE GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the bank’s evidence in this foreclosure action did not meet the requirements of the business records exception to the hearsay rule and therefore the bank’s summary judgment motion should not have been granted in this foreclosure action. The court further held that defendant’s motion for summary judgment based upon the bank’s failure to comply with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304, an issue that can be raised at any time, should have been granted:

The plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the records Wallace relied upon were admissible under the business records exception to the hearsay rule (see CPLR 4518[a]). Wallace did not attest to personal knowledge of SLS’s record-keeping business practices and procedures  … . Wallace also failed to attest that the records were made in the regular course of SLS’s business and that it was the regular course of SLS’s business to make them, at the time of the act, transaction, occurrence, or event, or within a reasonable time thereafter (see CPLR 4518[a] …). Thus, Wallace failed to lay a proper foundation for the admission of records, and her assertions based on these records were inadmissible … . Bank of N.Y. Mellon v Weber, 2019 NY Slip Op 01383, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION THE MORTGAGE COMPANY DID NOT DEMONSTRATE STANDING WITH PROOF MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff mortgage company did not demonstrate standing with proof meeting the requirements of the business records exception to the hearsay rule:

In support of its motion, the plaintiff submitted the affidavit of Melissa Black, an employee of the plaintiff’s loan servicer, who alleged, based upon a review of business records maintained by the loan servicer, that the plaintiff had been “in continuous possession of the note and mortgage since June 26, 2007.” However, because Black did not attest that she was personally familiar with the plaintiff’s record-keeping practices and procedures, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the records relied upon by Black were admissible under the business records exception to the hearsay rule (see CPLR 4518[a] … ). In any event, the submissions by the plaintiff of different copies of the note raise a triable issue of fact, inter alia, as to whether the note was assigned to the plaintiff prior to the commencement of the action … . EMC Mtge. Corp. v Tinari, 2019 NY Slip Op 01392, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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PROOF OF MAILING REQUIREMENTS OF RPAPL 1304 NOT MET, BANK’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this foreclosure action, determined plaintiff bank did not present sufficient proof of compliance with the notice requirements in Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) 1304:

The plaintiff submitted the affidavit of Sherry Benight, an officer of the plaintiff’s loan servicer, Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (hereinafter SPS), stating that her review of records maintained by SPS revealed that a “[ninety-day pre-foreclosure notice] dated September 13, 2012, . . . was sent to Borrower(s) by certified and first class mail.” A copy of the notice to Fisher was annexed to Benight’s affidavit, which contained a bar code with a 20-digit number below it, but no language indicating that a mailing was done by first-class or certified mail, or even that a mailing was done by the U.S. Postal Service … . Further, Benight did not make the requisite showing that she was familiar with the plaintiff’s mailing practices and procedures, and therefore did not establish proof of a standard office practice and procedure designed to ensure that items are properly addressed and mailed … . U.S. Bank N.A. v Fisher, 2019 NY Slip Op 01444, Second Dept 2-27-19

Similar issues and result in US Bank N.A. v Rode, 2019 NY Slip Op 01446, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

 

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MOTION TO DISMISS THE NEGLIGENCE ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT SECURITY COMPANY IN THIS THIRD PARTY ASSAULT CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE DEFENDANT DID NOT RULE OUT LIABILITY BASED UPON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DEFENDANT SECURITY COMPANY AND THE COMPANY PROVIDING SECURITY AT THE TIME OF THE ASSAULT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined defendant security company’s motion to dismiss the complaint should not have been granted in this third party assault case. The complaint alleged the security company’s negligence resulted in the murder of plaintiff’s decedent at an assisted living facility. The defendant alleged it did not provide security there at the time of the murder. However, the documentary evidence submitted by defendant did not rule out the possibility the defendant company could be liable based upon its relationship with the company which was providing security at the time of the murder:

Generally, “a corporation which acquires the assets of another is not liable for the torts of its predecessor”… . However, such liability may arise if the successor corporation expressly or impliedly assumed the predecessor’s tort liability, there was a consolidation or merger of seller and purchaser, the purchaser corporation was a mere continuation of the seller corporation, or the transaction was entered into fraudulently to escape such obligations… .

Moreover, “[w]here, as here, evidentiary material is submitted and considered on a motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) . . . the motion should not be granted unless the movant can show that a material fact as claimed by the plaintiff is not a fact at all and unless it can be said that no significant dispute exists regarding it”… . ” Accordingly, consideration of such evidentiary materials will almost never warrant dismissal under CPLR 3211(a)(7) unless the materials establish conclusively that [the plaintiff] has no [claim or] cause of action'”… .

Contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, the documentary and affidavit evidence submitted by USSA in support of its motion failed to conclusively establish that the plaintiff had no cause of action against it. More particularly, that evidence failed to demonstrate that the exceptions to the general rule of a successor corporation’s nonliability where there was a de facto merger between the purchaser and the seller, or where the purchaser is a mere continuation of the seller, do not apply to this case … . Shea v Salvation Army, 2019 NY Slip Op 01441, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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DEFENDANT ENTITLED TO PERMISSIVE ADVERSE INFERENCE JURY INSTRUCTION BASED UPON THE PEOPLE’S LOSS OR DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE REQUESTED BY THE DEFENDANT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined that the permissive adverse inference jury instruction should have been given because of the loss or destruction of evidence requested by the defendant:

The defendant contends that the Supreme Court should have granted his request for a permissive adverse inference charge with respect to the People’s failure to turn over duly requested tape recordings and any other police records related to taped interactions between the undercover officer and a witness to the March 4, 1998, sale, who was also the defendant’s unindicted co-defendant. ” A permissive adverse inference instruction typically serves as either: (1) a penalty for the government’s violation of its statutory and constitutional duties or its destruction of material evidence; or (2) an explanation of logical inferences that may be drawn regarding the government’s motives for failing to present certain evidence at trial'” …

We agree with the defendant that the Supreme Court should have granted his request for a permissive adverse inference charge based upon the People’s loss or destruction of the material requested by the defendant … . “[A] permissive adverse inference charge should be given where a defendant, using reasonable diligence, has requested evidence reasonably likely to be material, and where that evidence has been destroyed by agents of the State”… . Although the prosecutor stated that the missing tapes were unrelated to the sales at issue and were not recorded on the dates of the buys, he concededly never listened to them. Additionally, the officer who relayed the information that the tapes were not recorded on the dates of the buys to the prosecutor did not testify at trial. People v Torres, 2019 NY Slip Op 01434, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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TRIAL COURT FAILED TO INSTRUCT THE JURY THAT FINDING DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY OF THE TOP COUNT BASED ON THE JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE PRECLUDED CONSIDERATION OF THE LESSER COUNTS, NEW TRIAL REQUIRED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, noted that the trial court failed to instruct the jury that finding the defendant not guilty of the top count (attempted murder) based upon the justification defense would preclude consideration of the lesser counts. Defendant was acquitted of attempted murder but found guilty of assault first:

… [T]he Supreme Court’s jury charge in conjunction with the verdict sheet failed to adequately convey to the jury that if it found the defendant not guilty of attempted murder in the second degree based on justification, then “it should simply render a verdict of acquittal and cease deliberation, without regard to” assault in the first degree and reckless endangerment in the first degree … . Thus, the court’s instructions, together with the verdict sheet, may have led the jurors to conclude that deliberation on each of the three counts required reconsideration of the justification defense, even if they had already acquitted the defendant of attempted murder in the second degree based on justification … . Since we cannot say with any certainty and there is no way of knowing whether the acquittal on attempted murder in the second degree was based on a finding of justification, a new trial is necessary… . In light of the defendant’s acquittal on the charge of attempted murder in the second degree, the highest offense for which the defendant may be retried is assault in the first degree … . People v Rosario, 2019 NY Slip Op 01432, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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DENIAL OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDER STATUS WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined it was an abuse of discretion to deny defendant youthful offender status:

The evidence demonstrated that the defendant, who was only 18 years old when he participated in the subject robbery and had spent nearly two years in pretrial detention prior to pleading guilty to robbery in the first degree, played a relatively minor role in the robbery, which, although serious, was orchestrated by his considerably older brother, who was a repeat offender. The defendant suffers from developmental delays. While the defendant did participate in the robbery, it was the defendant’s brother, not the defendant, who wielded a gun and committed a sexual assault against one of the victims. Additional mitigating circumstances include the defendant’s lack of a prior juvenile record, criminal record, or violent history, and his cooperation with the authorities as part of the plea deal. Moreover, the defendant either had graduated from high school or was on the cusp of graduating from high school. Under all the circumstances, the interest of justice would be served by “relieving the defendant from the onus of a criminal record” … . People v Sheldon O., 2019 NY Slip Op 01430, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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PHOTOGRAPH OF DEFENDANT WITH A WEAPON PROPERLY ADMITTED DESPITE THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE THE DEPICTED WEAPON WAS USED IN THE CHARGED OFFENSE, JURY WAS PROPERLY INSTRUCTED ON ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY DESPITE THE ABSENCE OF AN ALLEGATION OF ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY IN THE INDICTMENT AND DESPITE THE PEOPLE’S THEORY THAT DEFENDANT WAS THE SHOOTER (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined a photograph depicting defendant with a weapon was properly admitted into evidence despite the absence of evidence that the weapon in the photograph was the weapon used in the offense. The trial court properly instructed the jury on accessorial liability despite the absence of an allegation of accessorial liability in the indictment and the People’s theory that defendant shot the victim:

The court providently exercised its discretion in admitting in evidence a photograph, taken less than two months before the shooting, showing a person, sufficiently established to be defendant, holding a revolver of the type used in the crime. This evidence was relevant to show that defendant had access to such a weapon, thus tending to establish his identity as the perpetrator, and there was no requirement of proof that the revolver in the photograph was the actual weapon used in the crime … . …

The court properly instructed the jury on accessorial liability, notwithstanding that no such language appeared in the indictment and the People’s main theory was that defendant personally shot the victim. There was no improper amendment of the indictment, because an indictment charging a defendant as a principal is “not unlawfully amended by the admission of proof and instruction to the jury that a defendant is additionally charged with acting-in-concert to commit the same crime, nor does it impermissibly broaden a defendant’s basis of liability, as there is no legal distinction between liability as a principal or criminal culpability as an accomplice” … . A theory that defendant intentionally aided a particular other person, who did the actual shooting, was supported by defendant’s own testimony. Although defendant claimed he had not shared the gunman’s intent, such intent could be inferred from the totality of the evidence. We reject defendant’s claim of unfair surprise, particularly because the theory of accessorial liability arose from defendant’s own testimony … . People v Alexander, 2019 NY Slip Op 01341, First Dept 2-26-19

 

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