In the Matter of the Judicial Dissolution of St. Lawrence Laundromat, Inc. Herbert Berkowitz, Respondent; Walter Sakow et al., Appellants

In the Matter of the Judicial Dissolution of St. Lawrence Laundromat, Inc. Herbert Berkowitz, Respondent; Walter Sakow et al., Appellants. [671 NYS2d 248] [MAJORITY] —Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Howard Silver, J.), entered January 30, 1997, which granted judicial dissolution of St. Lawrence Laundromat, Inc., with related relief, unanimously modified, on the law and the facts, to add that the permanent receiver is directed, prior to rendering his final accounting, to retain an independent scientific expert for the purpose of rendering a written forensic opinion as to the date on which the 1988 lease between the subject corporation and Domel Realty Corporation was created, and to include that opinion as part of his final accounting, and otherwise affirmed, with costs payable to respondents-appellants. Petitioner did not, pursuant to CPLR 3122, timely object to the demand for the original 1988 lease and has not shown that the request was palpably improper, as it manifestly was not, the issue of the lease’s authenticity having been raised by the parties’ papers. Accordingly, we disagree with the IAS Court’s denial of respondents’ motion for discovery of the original lease for the purpose of ascertaining its authenticity (see, Greico v Albany Ambulette Serv., 232 AD2d 938, 939; cf., Keis Distribs. v Northern Distrib. Co., 226 AD2d 967, 971-972). It is nonetheless unnecessary to vacate the final order. Instead, the receiver, who, we assume, is now in possession of the original lease, is independently to obtain the services of a disinterested forensic expert for a report on this lone outstanding issue. Concur— Sullivan, J. P., Rosenberger, Nardelli, Rubin and Williams, JJ.