| Larsen v Rotolo |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 08497 [78 AD3d 1683] |
| November 19, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| John F. Larsen, Respondent, v Deborah A. Rotolo, Appellant, et al.,Defendant. |
—[*1] Ralph W. Fusco, Utica, for plaintiff-respondent.
Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Oneida County (Anthony F. Shaheen, J.), enteredNovember 19, 2009 in a personal injury action. The order, insofar as appealed from, directeddefendant Deborah A. Rotolo to pay the fees and expenses of counsel for plaintiff to accompanyplaintiff to an independent medical exam.
It is hereby ordered that the order insofar as appealed from is unanimously reversed on the lawwithout costs and the motion of defendant Deborah A. Rotolo is granted in part by vacating the firstordering paragraph.
Memorandum: Supreme Court erred in denying that part of the motion of Deborah A. Rotolo(defendant) seeking a determination that she is not obligated to pay the fees of plaintiff's attorney in theamount of $450 representing his travel costs to accompany plaintiff to a medical examination to beconducted on behalf of defendant pursuant to CPLR 3121, and in further ordering defendant to pay anadditional $20 "for gas and tolls." " ' "In New York the general rule is that each litigant is required toabsorb the cost of his [or her] own attorney's fees . . . in the absence of a contractual orstatutory liability" ' " (Widewaters Prop. Dev.Co., Inc. v Katz, 38 AD3d 1220, 1222 [2007], quoting Umfrey v NeMoyer, 184AD2d 1047, 1048 [1992]). Present—Martoche, J.P., Sconiers, Green and Pine, JJ.