SLABAKIS v. POYIADJIS (2026)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Nancy M. Bannon, J.), entered June 6, 2025, awarding defendants $24,045 plus interest for attorneys' fees arising from plaintiff's counsel's frivolous conduct, unanimously affirmed, with costs, and the matter remanded to Supreme Court for a determination of costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by defendants in responding to this appeal.

Supreme Court was entitled, pursuant to CPLR 5019(a), to amend its November 8, 2024 order to reflect that the $24,045 awarded to defendants as a result of plaintiff's counsel's frivolous conduct was against plaintiff's counsel and not plaintiff himself.  The November 8, 2024 order was “clearly inconsistent with the intentions of the court,” as the court stated in its October 17, 2024 order sanctioning plaintiff's counsel for frivolous conduct (Salamone v. Wincaf Props., 9 AD3d 127, 134 [1st Dept 2004], lv dismissed 4 NY3d 794 [2005] ).  The amendment was “ministerial” in nature and did not “affect substantial rights of the parties” (Kiker v. Nassau County, 85 N.Y.2d 879, 881 [1995] ), and did not require a motion by defendants for relief.

Under the circumstances, this appeal is frivolous within the meaning of 22 NYCRR 130–1.1, and defendants should be reimbursed for their reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in this appeal (see Boye v. Rubin & Bailin, LLP, 152 AD3d 1, 11 [1st Dept 2017] ).  Counsel's conduct appears to be a dilatory attempt to evade the court's order by shifting responsibility to his client for a substantial sanction imposed upon him for his frivolous conduct (22 NYCRR 1200.1.7[a][2] ).  Therefore, we remand this matter to Supreme Court for “a determination of the amount of expenses and costs including attorneys' fees incurred by defendants in defending this appeal, and for entry of an appropriate judgment as against plaintiff's attorney” (Boye, 152 AD3d at 11).