Turturro v. Stevens

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, dated February 28, 1977, which granted plaintiffs’ application for a special preference. Order reversed, without costs or disbursements, and application for a special preference denied. The court abused its discretion in granting the special preference. A clear case of liability does not entitle a plaintiff to have his or her action preferred for trial over the other actions on the calendar. The remedy in such a situation is a motion for summary judgment (see Binninger v Grillo, 28 AD2d 1100). A court cannot make a finding of bad faith under CPLR 3403 simply because it disagrees with the amount which the defendant has offered for settlement (Oaklander v Sodikoff Contr. Co., 35 AD2d 960). Martuscello, J. P., Latham, Margett and O’Connor, JJ., concur.