Roth v State Univ. of N.Y.

2009 NY Slip Op 02829 [61 AD3d 476]

April 14, 2009

Appellate Division, First Department

As corrected through Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Jeffrey Roth et al., Appellants, v State University of NewYork et al., Respondents.

—[*1]Pryor Cashman LLP, New York (Joshua Zuckerberg of counsel), for appellants.

Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, New York (Richard O. Jackson of counsel), for StateUniversity of New York, SUNY State College of Optometry, Steven H. Schwartz, Mitchell Duland Richard Weber, respondents.

Manatt Phelps & Phillips, LLP, New York (Gregory A. Clarick of counsel), for Alden N.Haffner, respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Leland G. DeGrasse, J.), entered November 30,2007, which granted defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint for lack of personaljurisdiction, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The summons described the nature of this action as "violations of federal, New York State,and New York City human rights laws, including but not limited to" various named statutes.Since numerous potential causes of action may be brought under these statutes, the summons leftdefendants to guess the precise claims against them (see Scaringi v Broome RealtyCorp., 191 AD2d 223 [1993]). In thus failing to comply with the notice requirements ofCPLR 305 (b), the summons was jurisdictionally defective (Wells v Mount Sinai Hosp. &Med. Ctr., 196 AD2d 749 [1993]), and as such could not be amended (seeAlexander, Practice Commentaries, McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR C305:4).Concur—Tom, J.P., Andrias, Buckley and Moskowitz, JJ.