Case Law Database

Lennox v. Rhodes

This case involves an appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Essex County. The initial order had granted the respondents' motion to compel the appellants to accept their complaint and denied the appellants' cross-motion to dismiss the action for failure to timely serve the complaint. The Special Term had attempted to extend the time for serving the complaint, despite a 26-month delay, to avoid a Statute of Limitations bar. The appellate court ruled that such an extension was improper, as CPLB 2004 cannot be used to extend the Statute of Limitations. Consequently, the appellate court reversed the order and granted the appellants' cross-motion for dismissal of the action.