The Fourth Department determined a stipulation which was not merged into the judgment of divorce should not have been dismissed as unenforceable:
It is well settled that a party to a stipulation that is incorporated but not merged into a judgment of divorce “cannot challenge the [enforceability of the] stipulation by way of motion but, rather, must do so by commencement of a plenary action” … . Conversely, a party seeking to enforce the terms of such a stipulation may do so either by a motion to enforce the judgment … . In this case, the issue whether the stipulation was enforceable was not properly before the court because defendant did not commence a plenary action challenging its enforceability. Rather, plaintiff moved to enforce the judgment incorporating the stipulation, and defendant effectively conceded that the stipulation was enforceable when she asserted that the only questions before the court were the valuation of her master’s degree and the extent of plaintiff’s marital interest therein. Thus, we conclude that the court erred in denying plaintiff’s motion on the ground that the stipulation was unenforceable … . Anderson v Anderson, 2017 NY Slip Op 06786, Fourth Dept 9-29-17
FAMILY LAW (DIVORCE, STIPULATION WHICH WAS NOT MERGED INTO THE JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AS UNENFORCEABLE (FOURTH DEPT))/STIPULATIONS (DIVORCE, STIPULATION WHICH WAS NOT MERGED INTO THE JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AS UNENFORCEABLE (FOURTH DEPT))/DIVORCE (STIPULATION WHICH WAS NOT MERGED INTO THE JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AS UNENFORCEABLE (FOURTH DEPT))