Brian Heermance & Dennis P. Kisyk, Jr. Prevail in New York Supreme Court

Plaintiff alleged personal injuries as the result of a slip and fall on defendant’s premises. However, Plaintiff passed away before being deposed. Plaintiff’s estate was never raised and no one took any action to be substituted as Plaintiff in his place. Nearly two years after Plaintiff’s death, Brian and Dennis moved to dismiss the Complaint for Plaintiff’s failure to timely substitute an administrator to take up Plaintiff’s claim on behalf of his estate. The Court held that since there was no evidence of any next of kin and since sufficient time had passed since Plaintiff’s death with no effort to prosecute the case, dismissal of the Complaint was warranted.