In-Court Stipulation Enforceable Even Though Party Not Represented by Counsel
The Third Department upheld an in-court stipulation concerning a mortgage foreclosure action that was entered without counsel:
Open court stipulations of settlement are highly favored, binding on the parties and strictly enforced, and generally will not be cast aside absent a showing of “fraud, collusion, mistake or accident” … .The fact that a party was not represented by counsel when entering into a stipulation, while certainly relevant, is not sufficient in itself to invalidate a stipulation, particularly where the party was advised to retain counsel and chose not to … Liquori v Liquori, 515502, 3rd Dept, 5-9-13