ROSS v. CLYDE BEATTY COLE BROTHERS CIRCUS (2006)

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for false imprisonment, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Putnam County (O'Rourke, J.), dated December 23, 2004, which denied her motion to vacate a stipulation of settlement entered in open court on February 27, 2004.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

 The Supreme Court correctly denied the plaintiff's motion to vacate the stipulation of settlement.   An “open-court stipulation is an independent contract between the parties ․ and will be enforced according to its terms unless there is proof of fraud, duress, overreaching, or unconscionability” (Jablonski v. Jablonski, 275 A.D.2d 692, 693, 713 N.Y.S.2d 184;  see McCoy v. Feinman, 99 N.Y.2d 295, 302, 755 N.Y.S.2d 693, 785 N.E.2d 714;  Hallock v. State of New York, 64 N.Y.2d 224, 230, 485 N.Y.S.2d 510, 474 N.E.2d 1178;  Desantis v. Ariens Co., 17 A.D.3d 311, 792 N.Y.S.2d 599;  Shuler v. Dupree, 14 A.D.3d 548, 789 N.Y.S.2d 197).  “General contentions that a party felt pressured by the court are insufficient to establish such a claim” (Shuler v. Dupree, supra at 549, 789 N.Y.S.2d 197, citing Cavalli v. Cavalli, 226 A.D.2d 666, 667, 641 N.Y.S.2d 724;  Sontag v. Sontag, 114 A.D.2d 892, 893, 894, 495 N.Y.S.2d 65).