Mendez v. Airport Transmission, Inc.

—Order unanimously affirmed without costs. Memorandum: Supreme Court properly granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint as barred by res *988judicata or collateral estoppel (see, CPLR 3211 [a] [5]). After defendant demanded payment of storage charges in addition to the cost of repairing of his vehicle, plaintiff commenced a small claims action against defendant to recover damages in an amount equal to the value of the vehicle. The matter was referred to an arbitrator, who dismissed plaintiff’s claim and awarded defendant $980.32 on its counterclaim. At plaintiff’s request, there was a…