Tenant Didn't Answer Pretrial Questions

Prospective tenant sued landlord for a refund of a deposit made in contemplation of a lease. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case due to tenant’s refusal to comply with pretrial discovery requests. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. For a year, tenant failed to respond to any of landlord’s discovery demands or to comply with court orders directing him to do so. He neither answered landlord’s written questions nor appeared for pretrial oral questioning. Instead, tenant filed a notice that he was ready for trial, falsely indicating that discovery wasn’t required. Tenant tried to submit vague, unsigned answers to interrogatories only after landlord moved to dismiss the case. These were properly rejected. Although dismissal of the case was a drastic remedy, tenant clearly showed that his conduct was intentional.

Kim v. Goldmine Realty, Inc.: NYLJ, 5/12/10, p. 43, col. 4 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Rivera, JP, Florio, Miller, Chambers, Roman, JJ)