ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, the complaint is dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants, and the action against the remaining defendant is severed.
The doctrine of the law of the case "applies to various stages of the same litigation and not to different litigations" (Matter of McGrath v. Gold, 36 N.Y.2d 406, 413). The law of the case "is a rule of practice, an articulation of sound policy, that, when an issue is once judicially determined, that should be the end of the matter as far as Judges and courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction are concerned" (Martin v. City of Cohoes, 37 N.Y.2d 162, 165).
The Supreme Court erred in denying the appellants' motion to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against them, as the issues decisive of their motion had already been litigated and decided in a prior motion in this action.
RITTER, J.P., ALTMAN, McGINITY, SMITH and COZIER, JJ., concur.