DeJULIO v. WULF

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The nature and degree of the penalty to be imposed pursuant to CPLR 3126 against a party who "refuses to obey an order for disclosure or wilfully fails to disclose information which the court finds ought to have been disclosed" is a matter within the discretion of the court (CPLR 3126; see, Kubacka v. Town of N. Hempstead, 240 A.D.2d 374; Soto v. City of Long Beach, 197 A.D.2d 615). The defendants' willful and contumacious conduct can be inferred from their continued adjournment of scheduled depositions, the commencement of a baseless third-party action, and their failure to comply with the court's order directing depositions on a date certain without an adequate excuse ( see, Castrignano v. Flynn, 252 A.D.2d 352; Brady v. County of Nassau, 234 A.D.2d 408; Garcia v. Kraniotakis, 232 A.D.2d 369).