On November 6, 2024, the Second Department issued a decision in Provident Bank v. Maze Condos, LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op. 05465, holding that a financial statement was not documentary evidence sufficient to support a motion to dismiss under CPLR 3211(a)(1), explaining:
To succeed on a motion to dismiss based upon documentary evidence pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(1), the documentary evidence must utterly refute the plaintiff’s factual allegations, conclusively establishing a defense as a matter of law. To be considered documentary, evidence must be unambiguous and of undisputed authenticity, that is, it must be essentially unassailable. Judicial records, as well as documents reflecting out-of-court transactions such as mortgages, deeds, contracts, and any other papers, the contents of which are essentially undeniable, would qualify as documentary evidence in the proper case. Here, the one-page financial statement of unknown origin submitted by the defendants in support of their motion does not constitute documentary evidence within the intendment of CPLR 3211(a)(1).
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).