In re Adelson

Summary

The Appellate Division affirmed an order vacating portions of 20 estate-accounting decrees that had approved and awarded attorney’s fees to former counsel for the Kings County Public Administrator. The court held that the Surrogate’s Court properly relied on misconduct under CPLR 5015(a)(3) and, alternatively, its inherent authority to vacate decrees in the interest of substantial justice.

Holdings

1. The Surrogate's Court properly vacated the portions of the decrees that approved and awarded attorney's fees to Rosenthal because the Attorney General demonstrated misconduct consisting of charging and collecting excessive fees in violation of SCPA 1108(2)(c), providing a basis for relief under CPLR 5015(a)(3).
2. The Surrogate's Court properly relied on its inherent authority to vacate the decrees for sufficient reason and in the interests of substantial justice; the statutory grounds for vacatur under CPLR 5015(a) are subsumed within that broader inherent authority.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Surrogate's Court properly vacated portions of 20 decrees approving and awarding attorney's fees to Rosenthal based on misconduct under CPLR 5015(a)(3).
2. Whether the Surrogate's Court could rely on its inherent authority to vacate the decrees in the interest of substantial justice.

Disposition

affirmed