Rosen v Kessler
2008 NY Slip Op 04491 [51 AD3d 761]
May 13, 2008
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, July 16, 2008


Leslie B. Rosen et al., Appellants,
v
Gordon Kessler,Respondent.

[*1]Rosenberg Calica & Birney LLP, Garden City, N.Y. (Ronald J. Rosenberg and John S.Ciulla of counsel), for appellants.

McNulty-Spiess, P.C., Riverhead, N.Y. (James Spiess and Anthony C. Pasca of counsel), forrespondent.

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages, in effect, for breach of contract, the plaintiffsappeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Whelan, J.), dated April 24, 2007,which granted the defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the complaint onthe ground that the action is barred by the doctrine of res judicata.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The doctrine of res judicata precludes the instant action because, inter alia, it arises from thesame transactions as a prior action (seeRosen v Watermill Dev. Corp., 1 AD3d 424 [2003]) and, given that New York does notrecognize a separate cause of action to pierce the corporate veil (see Hart v Jassem, 43 AD3d 997,998 [2007]; Fiber Consultants, Inc. vFiber Optek Interconnect Corp., 15 AD3d 528, 529 [2005]), it differs from the prioraction only in the theory of recovery (seegenerally Vigliotti v North Shore Univ. Hosp., 24 AD3d 752, 753 [2005]). Accordingly,the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (5) todismiss the complaint on the ground that the action is barred by res judicata. Mastro, J.P., Skelos,Lifson and Leventhal, JJ., concur. [See 15 Misc 3d 1139(A), 2007 NY Slip Op 51055(U)(2007).]


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