| New S. Ins. Co. v Dobbins |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 01773 [71 AD3d 652] |
| March 2, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| New South Insurance Company, Appellant, v JamesDobbins, Sr., et al., Defendants, and James Dobbins, Jr., et al.,Respondents. |
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In an action, inter alia, for a judgment declaring that the plaintiff is not obligated to provideinsurance coverage in connection with a vehicular accident that occurred on July 31, 2006, theplaintiff appeals from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Winslow, J.),entered July 23, 2008, as, upon renewal and reargument, adhered to a prior determination in anorder dated November 21, 2007, denying that branch of its motion which was for leave to enterjudgment against the defendants James Dobbins, Jr., and Felita Dobbins, upon their default inanswering the complaint.
Ordered that the order entered July 23, 2008, is affirmed insofar as appealed from, withoutcosts or disbursements.
The Supreme Court properly, upon renewal and reargument, adhered to so much of itsoriginal determination as denied the plaintiff leave to enter judgment against the defendantsJames Dobbins, Jr., and Felita Dobbins, upon their default in answering the complaint. Insupport of its motion, the plaintiff offered the complaint, which was verified by plaintiff'scounsel, and an affidavit of the plaintiff's investigator, neither of whom possessed personalknowledge of the facts constituting the claim (see CPLR 3215; Woodson v MendonLeasing Corp., 100 NY2d 62, 70-71 [2003]; Hosten v Oladapo, 44 AD3d 1006 [2007]; Finnegan vSheahan, 269 AD2d 491 [2000]). The statements from the driver of the other vehicle that theplaintiff's investigator relied upon in his affidavit constituted inadmissible hearsay (seeCPLR 4518 [a]; Hochhauser v ElectricIns. Co., 46 AD3d 174, 179-183 [2007]; Metropolitan Cas. Ins. Co. v Shaid, 23Misc 3d 1140[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 51203[U] [2009]). Accordingly, entry of a default judgmentagainst these defendants was properly denied on the papers before the Supreme Court. Mastro,J.P., Balkin, Belen and Chambers, JJ., concur.