Astrada v. Archer

71 A.D.3d 803, 898 N.Y.S.2d 149
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMarch 16, 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 71 A.D.3d 803 (Astrada v. Archer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Astrada v. Archer, 71 A.D.3d 803, 898 N.Y.S.2d 149 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for breach of a contract for the sale of real property, the defendant Regina Felton appeals (1), as limited by her brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Schack, J.), dated February 1, 2008, as directed a hearing to aid in the disposition of those branches of the plaintiffs motion which were (a) to hold her in contempt of court for failure to comply with a prior order of the same court dated February 14, 2007, directing her [804]*804to return the plaintiffs down payment and pay statutory interest to the plaintiff, and (b) for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1, (2) from an order of the same court dated March 28, 2008, which, after the hearing, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was to hold her in contempt of court for failure to comply with a prior order of the same court dated February 14, 2007, directing her to return the plaintiffs down payment and pay statutory interest to the plaintiff, and directed her incarceration in the event she failed to do so within 10 days of March 28, 2008, (3) from an order of the same court dated August 7, 2008, which, after a hearing, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1 and directed her to pay costs to the plaintiff in the principal sum of $40,600.50 and to pay a sanction to the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection in the sum of $10,000, (4) from a money judgment of the same court dated October 2, 2008, which is in favor of the plaintiff and against her in the principal sum of $40,600.50, and (5) from an order of the same court dated November 21, 2008, which, sua sponte, directed a hearing to determine whether she should be held in criminal contempt for violating the order dated August 7, 2008, by failing to pay a sanction to the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection in the sum of $10,000.

Ordered that the appeals from the orders dated February 1, 2008, and November 21, 2008, are dismissed; and it is further,

Ordered that the appeal from so much of the order dated August 7, 2008, as, after a hearing, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1 and directed the defendant Regina Felton to pay costs to the plaintiff in the principal sum of $40,600.50 is dismissed; and it is further,

Ordered that the order dated March 28, 2008, is affirmed; and it is further,

Ordered that the order dated August 7, 2008, is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,

Ordered that the money judgment is affirmed; and it is further,

Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the plaintiff.

The appeals from the orders dated February 1, 2008, and November 21, 2008, must be dismissed. An order which directs a judicial hearing to aid in the disposition of a motion is not appealable as of right because it does not decide the motion, and [805]*805does not affect a substantial right (see Akerman v Akerman, 53 AD3d 633 [2008]; D’Agnese v Spinelli, 308 AD2d 561, 562 [2003]; Aw v Aw, 305 AD2d 344, 345 [2003]), and leave to appeal has not been granted. Further, any appeal from the order dated November 21, 2008, would be academic, as that order was vacated by an order of the same court dated December 5, 2008 (see Canarelli v Canarelli, 58 AD3d 658, 658-659 [2009]).

The appeal from so much of the order dated August 7, 2008, as, after a hearing, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1 and directed the defendant Regina Felton to pay costs to the plaintiff in the principal sum of $40,600.50 must be dismissed, as that portion of the order was superseded by the money judgment dated October 2, 2008 (see Matter of Aho, 39 NY2d 241 [1976]). The issues raised on the appeal from that portion of the order have been considered on the appeal from the money judgment (see CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

In February 2005 the plaintiff and the defendant Hulbert Archer entered into a contract for the plaintiffs purchase of real property owned by Archer. In April 2005 the plaintiff tendered a down payment check in the amount of $30,000 to Archer’s attorney, the defendant Regina Felton, to be held by Felton in escrow until closing occurred or the contract was terminated. By letter dated October 28, 2005, the plaintiffs attorney notified Felton that Archer had breached his obligations under the terms of the contract and demanded the return of the plaintiffs down payment. Felton did not return the down payment at that time.

In November 2005 the plaintiff commenced this action against Archer and Felton, inter alia, to recover damages for breach of contract. The plaintiff subsequently moved, among other things, for summary judgment on her cause of action alleging breach of contract. In an order dated December 21, 2006, the Supreme Court, inter alia, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion and directed Felton to return the plaintiffs down payment and pay statutory interest to the plaintiff within 10 days after being served with notice of entry of the order.

Felton failed to return the down payment or pay statutory interest to the plaintiff. In an order dated February 14, 2007, the Supreme Court, inter alia, directed Felton to return the plaintiff’s down payment and pay statutory interest to the plaintiff within 14 days after being served with notice of entry of that order or face a finding of civil contempt.

Felton and Archer appealed from portions of the orders dated [806]*806December 21, 2006, and February 14, 2007. However, in April 2007, the guardian for the management of Archer’s property withdrew the appeals insofar as asserted on Archer’s behalf. In an order dated May 27, 2008, this Court affirmed the orders dated December 21, 2006, and February 14, 2007, insofar as appealed from by Felton (see Astrada v Archer, 51 AD3d 954 [2008]).

In November 2007, the plaintiff moved, inter alia, to hold Felton in contempt óf court for failure to comply with the order dated February 14, 2007, and for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1. At a hearing held on March 28, 2008, to address those branches of the plaintiffs motion, Felton acknowledged that she had still not returned the plaintiffs down payment or paid statutory interest to the plaintiff. In an order dated March 28, 2008, the Supreme Court, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was to hold Felton in civil contempt of court for failure to comply with the order dated February 14, 2007, and directed Felton’s incarceration in the event she failed to return the plaintiffs down payment and pay statutory interest to the plaintiff within 10 days of March 28, 2008. On April 18, 2008, Felton purged her contempt by returning the plaintiffs down payment and paying statutory interest to the plaintiff.

In an order dated August 7, 2008, the Supreme Court, in effect, granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was for an award of costs, including an attorney’s fee, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1 and directed Felton to pay costs to the plaintiff in the principal sum of $40,600.50 and to pay a sanction to the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection in the amount of $10,000.

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Bluebook (online)
71 A.D.3d 803, 898 N.Y.S.2d 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/astrada-v-archer-nyappdiv-2010.