Neimark v. Lefferts

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed an order enforcing a divorce-settlement provision requiring the plaintiff to pay summer camp expenses for the parties' youngest child. The court held that the later settlement did not prevent the Supreme Court from deciding the issue and that the defendant's attempts to discuss the camp selection, coupled with the plaintiff's failure to respond, did not relieve him of his contractual obligation.

Holdings

1. The Supreme Court properly decided the defendant's enforcement application because the record did not show that she withdrew it, and the 2023 stipulation expressly excluded the 2023 summer-camp issue from the matters resolved by that stipulation.
2. The plaintiff was not relieved of his contractual obligation to pay the youngest child's summer camp expenses merely because the defendant did not adequately discuss the matter with him.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Supreme Court improperly decided the defendant's application to enforce the summer-camp provision because the parties' 2023 stipulation allegedly required them to attempt to resolve the issue before the court ruled.
2. Whether the plaintiff was relieved of his contractual obligation to pay the youngest child's summer camp expenses because the defendant allegedly failed to adequately discuss the matter with him.

Disposition

affirmed