Summary
The Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed an order granting a preliminary injunction under Executive Law § 632-a, prohibiting a convicted respondent from disbursing or transferring his share of proceeds from his deceased spouse's estate. The court held that the respondent failed to preserve his argument concerning the injunction's duration and that the victim demonstrated a likelihood of success in a future civil action based on his guilty plea, conviction, and the victim's affidavit regarding her losses and injuries.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Supreme Court properly granted a preliminary injunction under Executive Law § 632-a to preserve Mobayed's estate proceeds pending a civil action by the crime victim.
- Whether the crime victim demonstrated a probability of success on the merits of a civil action against Mobayed.
- Whether Mobayed preserved his contention that the injunction should have been limited to 18 months.
Holdings
- Mobayed failed to preserve his contention that Supreme Court abused its discretion by not limiting the preliminary injunction to 18 months.
- The crime victim demonstrated a probability of success on the merits of a civil action against Mobayed.
- The preliminary injunction was not an abuse of discretion and was properly granted.
Key quotations
“Executive Law § 632-a sets forth a statutory scheme intended to improve the ability of crime victims to obtain full and just compensation from the person(s) convicted of the crime by allowing crime victims or their representatives to sue the convicted criminals who harmed them when the criminals receive substantial sums of money from virtually any source and protecting those funds while litigation is pending” (at 1170)
“To obtain a preliminary injunction, a party must demonstrate a probability of success on the merits, danger of irreparable injury in the absence of an injunction and a balance of equities in its favor” (at 901)
Factual background
Mobayed pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in 2016 and received a prison sentence followed by postrelease supervision. In 2024, the Office of Victim Services learned that he would receive approximately $32,000 from his deceased spouse's estate, notified the crime victim, and obtained a temporary restraining order freezing the proceeds. The victim affirmed her intention to bring a civil action, and the Office sought a preliminary injunction under Executive Law § 632-a to preserve Mobayed's share of the estate proceeds.
Procedural history
The Office of Victim Services commenced a proceeding on behalf of the crime victim after learning that Mobayed was expected to receive approximately $32,000 from his deceased spouse's estate. Supreme Court, Albany County, granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting Mobayed from disbursing, distributing, encumbering, transferring, alienating, or assigning his share of the estate proceeds. Mobayed appealed, and the Appellate Division affirmed.