Opinion
No. 16944 Index No. 158735/16 Case No. 2021-04672
12-20-2022
Paul Iacovacci, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Brevet Holdings, LLC, et al., Defendants-Appellants, Douglas Monticciolo et al., Defendants. Brevet Holdings, LLC, et al., Counterclaim Plaintiffs-Appellants, Douglas Monticciolo et al., Counterclaim Plaintiffs, v. Paul Iacovacci, Counterclaim Defendant-Respondent.
Reed Smith, LLP, New York (Louis M. Solomon of counsel), for appellants. Cyrulnik Fattaruso LLP, New York (Jason Cyrulnik of counsel), for respondent.
Reed Smith, LLP, New York (Louis M. Solomon of counsel), for appellants.
Cyrulnik Fattaruso LLP, New York (Jason Cyrulnik of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Singh, Scarpulla, Pitt-Burke, JJ.
Appeal from order, Supreme Court, New York County (Alexander M. Tisch, J.), entered on or about May 20, 2021, which, to the extent appealed from, granted plaintiff's motion for civil contempt against nonparty Greenberg Traurig LLP and held in abeyance pending a hearing the issue of civil and criminal contempt of defendants and criminal contempt of Greenberg Traurig LLP, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as taken from a nonappealable order.
The issues raised on appeal are not appealable as of right (see generally CPLR 5701[a]). The order on appeal did not "affect[] a substantial right" of defendants because it did not decide the motion for contempt as to them, instead holding it in abeyance pending a hearing (CPLR 5701[a][2][v]; see Goldin v Levy, 192 A.D.3d 478, 479 [1st Dept 2021]). Although the order encompassed a finding that the underlying conduct of defendants' counsel, from which defendants' potential liability derived, constituted contempt, "findings of fact and conclusions of law are not independently appealable" (Baez v First Liberty Ins. Corp., 95 A.D.3d 1250, 1250 [2d Dept 2012]).