Bushwick Props. Mgt. Ltd. Partnership v Woods

[*1] Bushwick Props. Mgt. Ltd. Partnership v Woods 2004 NY Slip Op 50472(U) Decided on March 30, 2004 Appellate Term, Second Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on March 30, 2004
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
APPELLATE TERM : 2nd and 11th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS
PRESENT:PESCE, P.J., GOLIA and RIOS, JJ.
NO. 2003-888 K C

BUSHWICK PROPERTIES MANAGEMENT LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Respondent,

against

VANESSA WOODS, Appellant, -and- CHERYL WILSON, MELINDA WILSON and PAUL JAM ISON, Respondents.

Appeal by tenant Vanessa Woods from an order of the Civil Court, Kings County (M. Finkelstein, J.), entered June 11, 2003, denying her motion to set aside a stipulation of settlement.

Order unanimously affirmed without costs.

In this summary holdover proceeding, landlord and Vanessa Woods (represented by counsel) entered into a stipulation of settlement that, in pertinent part, converted the holdover proceeding to one for nonpayment, entered a money judgment in favor of landlord for $3,560.03 "that petitioner represents reflects a waiver of $1416 due to date," with payment to be made by June 10, 2003, and provided that this amount "reflects settlement of any all rents, added rents, fees, etc. to date." Woods and her counsel signed the stipulation.

After defaulting on the required payment, Woods moved, pro se, to vacate the stipulation on the grounds that the stipulation improperly included amounts representing late fees and attorney's fees, that the amount due was improperly calculated (inter alia, failing to include Department of Social Services (DSS) payments that she stated should have been credited and included), and that she was coerced into signing it. [*2]

The court properly denied Woods' motion to vacate the stipulation of settlement. Stipulations of settlement are favored by the courts and are not lightly cast aside, especially when they are made, as here, in open court (Hallock v State of New York, 64 NY2d 224, 230 [1984]). In general, a stipulation will be set aside only upon a showing of cause sufficient to invalidate a contract (id). Woods, who signed the stipulation at issue, makes only conclusory allegations that her attorney "coerced" her into doing so. She has not demonstrated that the stipulation of settlement was obtained by fraud, collusion, mistake, accident or other such grounds sufficient to invalidate a contract (id. citing Matter of Frutiger, 29 NY2d 143, 149-150 [1971]; see also City of New York v 130/40 Essex St. Dev. Corp., 302 AD2d 292 [2003]). Nor has Woods demonstrated her conclusory allegation of mistake in the calculation of the payment stipulated to be due by any documentary evidence, as she provided no evidence reflecting what, if any, DSS amounts should have been credited, or that the stipulated amount in fact included charges not authorized by the lease, which is also not in the record.
Decision Date: March 30, 2004