LITTLE PRINCE PRODUCTIONS LTD v. SCOULLAR (1999)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Beatrice Shainswit, J.), entered November 24, 1997, which, in an action resulting in a judgment declaring that defendants are the exclusive owners of certain rights in and to a certain literary work, denied plaintiff's motion to “clarify or modify” such judgment so as to provide that defendants' rights are subject to a certain contract plaintiff had entered into with a nonparty, and denied defendants' cross motion for an injunction and sanctions, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

 Plaintiff's motion, which seeks to amend the judgment so as to correct an alleged inaccuracy in the declaration of the rights plaintiff had transferred to defendants, was properly denied absent a contention of fraud or any of the other grounds for relief from a judgment set forth in CPLR 5015(a), and absent a showing that the judgment in its present form was taken through mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect (see, Matter of McKenna v. County of Nassau, 61 N.Y.2d 739, 742, 472 N.Y.S.2d 913, 460 N.E.2d 1348).   Defendants' cross motion for an injunction restraining plaintiff from infringing on defendants' exclusive rights was correctly denied, the court having no jurisdiction to entertain applications for additional relief after entry of final judgment, although defendants were free to commence a new action seeking such relief.   Denial of defendants' request for sanctions was a proper exercise of discretion.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.