George v. Mt. Sinai Hospital

In George v. Mt. Sinai Hospital, 47 NY2d 170 (1979) the Court of Appeals held that "where the prior action has been terminated by means of a voluntary discontinuance pursuant to a stipulation which contains no express statement of contrary intent, [CPLR 205(a)] simply does not authorize a subsequent action, regardless of the actual motives of the parties." The Court of Appeals in George, however, granted plaintiff a six month extension of the statute of limitations pursuant to CPLR 205 because the voluntary discontinuance specifically stated that it was "without prejudice to plaintiff's right to commence any action pursuant to the authority of Section 205 of the CPLR." Id.