DAVEY v. KELLY (2008)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Richard F. Braun, J.), entered on or about October 15, 2007, which, after a hearing, granted defendants' application to find plaintiff in civil contempt for violating a legal mandate of the court and directed plaintiff to purge the contempt, within 10 days, by paying counsel fees and costs to defendants in an amount totaling $28,309.97, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

 The record establishes that plaintiff was expressly prohibited by two prior court orders from filing any litigation relating to his divorce action without first obtaining permission from the court, and that plaintiff, without obtaining said permission, filed actions asserting collateral attacks on the divorce proceedings to the detriment of the remedies accorded defendants by the court's prohibitory orders (see Richards v. Estate of Kaskel, 169 A.D.2d 111, 121, 570 N.Y.S.2d 509 [1991], lv. dismissed in part, denied in part 78 N.Y.2d 1042, 576 N.Y.S.2d 210, 582 N.E.2d 593 [1991];  Judiciary Law § 753 [A][1] ).

 The court properly declined to assign counsel to plaintiff in light of his admissions regarding his financial status (see People ex rel. Lobenthal v. Koehler, 129 A.D.2d 28, 31-33, 516 N.Y.S.2d 928 [1987] ).

We have considered plaintiff's other arguments and find them unavailing.