Opinion
2011-04-26
Patrick HUDSON, et al., respondents, v. Patsy GOULDBOURNE, etc., appellant.
Victor N. Okeke, Bronx, N.Y. (Patrick Jones of counsel), for appellant. Barry Nesson Law, P.C., Scarsdale, N.Y., for respondents.
Victor N. Okeke, Bronx, N.Y. (Patrick Jones of counsel), for appellant. Barry Nesson Law, P.C., Scarsdale, N.Y., for respondents.
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for legal malpractice, the defendant appeals from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Murphy, J.), dated July 1, 2010, as imposed a monetary sanction as a condition to granting her motion to vacate an order of the same court dated March 19, 2010, granting the plaintiffs' unopposed motion for leave to enter a default judgment against her on the issue of liability.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
An order relieving a party from a default may be conditioned on payment of a monetary sanction pursuant to *555CPLR 5015(a) ( see Gissaro v. Lessne, 300 A.D.2d 281, 282, 750 N.Y.S.2d 876;Du Jour v. DeJean, 247 A.D.2d 370, 371, 668 N.Y.S.2d 639;Workman v. Amato, 231 A.D.2d 627, 628, 647 N.Y.S.2d 793;Coven v. Trust Co. of N.J., 225 A.D.2d 576, 639 N.Y.S.2d 95;Sasson v. Sasson, 134 A.D.2d 491, 521 N.Y.S.2d 276). Under the circumstances of this case, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in imposing a monetary sanction in the sum of $3,000 as a condition to granting the defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment against her on the issue of liability.