The right to plead claims in the alternative is well established in New York state practice and jurisprudence. Yet, courts often seek to “streamline” cases at the very nascent stages of a litigation by dismissing so-called “duplicative” claims seeking alternative forms of relief. This practice defies the permissive pleading standards embodied in the CPLR and often risks imposing unnecessary complexity and prejudice into the litigation.

As declared by the New York Court of Appeals: “Undeniably, a plaintiff is entitled to advance inconsistent theories in alleging a right to recovery.” Cohn v. Lionel Corp., 21 N.Y.2d 559, 563, 236 N.E.2d 634, 637, 289 N.Y.S.2d 404, 408 (1968). Indeed, not one but two provisions of the CPLR expressly afford a plaintiff this right:

Statements. Every pleading shall consist of plain and concise statements in consecutively numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph shall contain, as far as practicable, a single allegation. Reference to and incorporation of allegations may subsequently be by number. Prior statements in a pleading shall be deemed repeated or adopted subsequently in the same pleading whenever express repetition or adoption is unnecessary for a clear presentation of the subsequent matters. Separate causes of action or defenses shall be separately stated and numbered and may be stated regardless of consistency. Causes of action or defenses may be stated alternatively or hypothetically. A copy of any writing which is attached to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes.

CPLR §3014 (emphasis added).

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