New Age Gen. Contr. v. Theso Corp.

DECISION AND ORDER

*1 In a case involving a mechanic’s lien where the lien has already been discharged, plaintiff New Age General Contracting, Inc. (New Age) moves, pursuant to CPLR 3211, to dismiss defendants’ counterclaim for an exaggerated lien. Defendants cross-move for sanctions against plaintiff pursuant to 22 NYCRR §130.1.1 (a).BACKGROUNDNew Age claims that it is owed $31,537 from construction work it did in 2014 for defendants at a property in Manhattan located at 300 West 71st Street. In March 2015, New Age filed a mechanics lien against the property and, in January 2016, it filed a summons and complaint seeking to foreclose the lien. Defendants, in March 2016, filed an answer with counterclaims. The first counterclaim alleges that New Age breached its subcontract with Manhattan Restoration by performing defective and incomplete work. The second counterclaim alleges that New Age intentionally exaggerated the amount of the lien.The problem for New Age was that it did not have a license for home improvement in 2014, the year that it performed the subject work. After first seeking the license through discovery, and not receiving one for 2014, defendants lodged an inquiry with the Department of