| OneBeacon Am. Ins. Co. v Colgate-Palmolive Co. |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 04833 [96 AD3d 541] |
| June 14, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| OneBeacon America Insurance Company,Appellant, v Colgate-Palmolive Company, Respondent, et al.,Defendant. |
—[*1] Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., New York (Alexander Hardiman of counsel), forrespondent.
Interim orders, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol R. Edmead, J.), entered November10, 2011, which, inter alia, granted defendant Colgate-Palmolive Company's motion to stay thisaction, and stayed plaintiff's motion to compel discovery, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Supreme Court properly stayed this action pending the resolution of an appeal in a relatedaction among the parties in Massachusetts (see CPLR 2201; Asher v AbbottLabs., 307 AD2d 211 [2003]). The issues, relief sought, and parties in the two actions aresubstantially identical (see id.). Plaintiff's argument that the Massachusetts action is nolonger pending because it was dismissed is unavailing, since an appeal was taken from the orderof dismissal (see Rael Automatic Sprinkler Co. v Solow Dev. Corp., 58 AD2d 600[1977]; D'Aprile v Blythe, 53 AD2d 1059, 1060 [1976]). The duplication of effort, wasteof judicial resources, and possibility of inconsistent rulings in the absence of a stay outweigh anyprejudice to plaintiff resulting from the fact that defense counsel is located in New York (seeAsher, 307 AD2d at 212), particularly since [*2]the materialsthat may be relevant to whether plaintiff is entitled to independent counsel, i.e., liabilityinsurance policies, correspondence from the insurance companies, and the insurance claims files,and insurance company witnesses, are located in Massachusetts. Concur—Andrias, J.P.,Friedman, Sweeny, Manzanet-Daniels and Román, JJ.