Opinion
2014-685 K C
07-14-2015
Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union, Appellant, v. Liana D. Wilson, Respondent.
PRESENT: :
Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Noach Dear, J.), entered September 23, 2013. The order granted defendant's motion to, in effect, vacate a stipulation of settlement and a judgment entered pursuant thereto.
ORDERED that the order is reversed, without costs, and defendant's motion to, in effect, vacate the stipulation of settlement and the judgment entered pursuant thereto is denied.
This action to recover for breach of a credit agreement and upon an account stated was settled pursuant to a "so-ordered" stipulation of settlement. The stipulation provided that, upon defendant's default in making the monthly payments pursuant thereto, plaintiff would be entitled to enter judgment for the full amount sued for, $3,367.79. After defendant failed to make any payments pursuant to the stipulation, plaintiff entered judgment against defendant. Thereafter, defendant moved to, in effect, vacate the stipulation of settlement and the judgment entered pursuant thereto.
It is well settled that stipulations of settlement are judicially favored and will not easily be set aside (see Hallock v State of New York, 64 NY2d 224 [1984]; Matter of Frutiger, 29 NY2d 143 [1971]). While stipulations of settlement may be vacated on grounds sufficient to set aside a contract, such as in instances of fraud, mistake or collusion (see Nash v Yablon-Nash, 61 AD3d 832 [2009]), here no such grounds were alleged.
Accordingly, the order is reversed and defendant's motion to, in effect, vacate the stipulation of settlement and the judgment entered pursuant thereto is denied.
Elliot, J.P., Pesce and Solomon, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: July 14, 2015