Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County

Decided on April 20, 2026

Index No. CV-746977/18/KI

Tehilah H. Berman, J.

[*1]

Recitation as required by CPLR § 2219(a) of the papers considered in review of this Motion:

Papers:

P's Notice of Motion and Affidavits Annexed 1

Upon the motion of Plaintiff to enforce a post-commencement Stipulation of Settlement and Discontinuance pursuant to CPLR 2104 and for related relief, including an award of costs and attorneys' fees incurred in making the enforcement motion; and upon consideration of the papers and proceedings herein, the Court finds and orders as follows:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The parties executed and filed a written Stipulation of Settlement and Discontinuance dated December 14, 2022 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 2) (the "Stipulation"). The Stipulation provides that "Payment will be provided by Defendant within thirty (30) days of the date of this Stipulation" and further provides that if Plaintiff does not receive full payment within thirty (30) days, Plaintiff may enter judgment for the amount demanded in the summons and complaint, plus statutory interest, without further notice, "together with plaintiff's costs and disbursement."

2. Defendant did not comply with the Stipulation's clear payment term. Defendant failed to pay within thirty (30) days and thereafter failed to timely cure the default, seek relief from the Stipulation, or otherwise provide a legally sufficient justification for non-performance.

3. Defendant has referenced a later-signed and filed affidavit by the provider purporting to withdraw claims (NYSCEF Doc. No. 8).

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

A. Enforceability of the Stipulation. Settlement stipulations are contracts, strongly favored by New York courts, and are enforced according to their plain terms absent fraud, collusion, mistake, duress, unconscionability, or other sufficient cause. Hallock v. State, 64 NY2d 224, 230 (1984); McCoy v. Feinman, 99 NY2d 295, 302 (2002). CPLR 2104 requires that a settlement be made in open court or reduced to a signed writing that is complete as to all material terms. Bonnette v. Long Island Coll. Hosp., 3 NY3d 281, 284-86 (2004). Here, the Stipulation is a signed, complete writing and is binding.

B. Interest, costs, disbursements, and sanctions. Plaintiff, as part of its motion, seeks [*2]statutory interest from the date of Defendant's default. At minimum, Defendant's failure to timely pay is a breach of the settlement agreement, and CPLR 5001 and 5004 authorize interest to compensate for the loss of use of money. To the extent judgment is entered, post-judgment interest applies under CPLR 5003. Plaintiff, nevertheless, advised the Court that they are not seeking payments or interest stemming from the claims but rather costs for Defendant's conduct.

With respect to costs and disbursements, Plaintiff requests costs under CPLR 8101 and motion costs under CPLR 8106, together with disbursements, including motion-related filing and service expenses, under CPLR 8301.

The Court is authorized to award costs in the form of actual expenses and reasonable attorneys' fees resulting from Defendant's conduct, including conduct undertaken primarily to delay or prolong litigation. 22 N.Y.C.R.R. § 130-1.1(a), (c)(2). Defendant's failure to pay a clear, 30-day settlement obligation, followed by prolonged inaction that required enforcement motion practice, fits squarely within that definition. See Levy v. Carol Mgmt. Corp., 260 AD2d 27, 33-34 (1st Dep't 1999).

To the extent Defendant suggests that later developments render enforcement "moot," the Court retains authority to address litigation misconduct and impose costs and/or sanctions for pre-disposition conduct. 13 E 124 LLC v. J&M Realty Servs. Corp., 222 AD3d 446, 447 (1st Dep't 2023).

C. Award of $350 for the enforcement motion. The Court finds that Defendant's noncompliance with the Stipulation's unambiguous 30-day payment term, and subsequent inaction, unreasonably forced Plaintiff to make motion practice to obtain performance that Defendant already agreed to provide, thereby needlessly consuming party resources. The Court further finds that this award is warranted regardless of whether the provider later purported to withdraw claims, because the conduct and the resulting motion practice occurred first and are directly attributable to Defendant's default and inaction.

Accordingly, the Court awards Plaintiff's counsel a total of $350.00 attributable to the enforcement motion, consisting of: (1) $100.00 in statutory motion costs pursuant to CPLR 8106 and CPLR 8202; and (2) $250.00 in the form of reimbursement for reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses resulting from Defendant's conduct.

ORDER

ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion is GRANTED to the extent set forth herein; and it is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's counsel is awarded $350.00 as motion costs and attorneys' fees attributable to the enforcement motion; and it is further

ORDERED that Defendant shall pay the sum of $350.00 to Plaintiff's counsel within twenty (20) days after service of this Decision and Order with Notice of Entry; and it is further

ORDERED that the Court retains jurisdiction to enforce this award and to consider any further relief requested in the motion papers consistent with this Decision and Order.

This constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.

Date: April 20, 2026

Brooklyn, New York

Honorable Tehilah H. Berman

Judge, Civil Court, Kings County