Civil Practice Law & Rules 5519
CPLR 5519: Stay of enforcement
CPLR 5519
Stay of enforcement
(a) Stay without court order.
Service upon the adverse party of a notice of appeal or an affidavit of intention to move for permission to appeal stays all proceedings to enforce the judgment or order appealed from pending the appeal or determination on the motion for permission to appeal where:
1. the appellant or moving party is the state or any political subdivision of the state or any officer or agency of the state or of any political subdivision of the state; provided that where a court, after considering an issue specified in question four of section seventy-eight hundred three of this chapter, issues a judgment or order directing reinstatement of a license held by a corporation with no more than five stockholders and which employs no more than ten employees, a partnership with no more than five partners and which employs no more than ten employees, a proprietorship or a natural person, the stay provided for by this paragraph shall be for a period of fifteen days; or
2. the judgment or order directs the payment of a sum of money, and an undertaking in that sum is given that if the judgment or order appealed from, or any part of it, is affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, the appellant or moving party shall pay the amount directed to be paid by the judgment or order, or the part of it as to which the judgment or order is affirmed; or
3. the judgment or order directs the payment of a sum of money, to be paid in fixed installments, and an undertaking in a sum fixed by the court of original instance is given that the appellant or moving party shall pay each installment which becomes due pending the appeal and that if the judgment or order appealed from, or any part of it, is affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, the appellant or moving party shall pay any installments or part of installments then due or the part of them as to which the judgment or order is affirmed; or
4. the judgment or order directs the assignment or delivery of personal property, and the property is placed in the custody of an officer designated by the court of original instance to abide the direction of the court to which the appeal is taken, or an undertaking in a sum fixed by the court of original instance is given that the appellant or moving party will obey the direction of the court to which the appeal is taken; or
5. the judgment or order directs the execution of any instrument, and the instrument is executed and deposited in the office where the original judgment or order is entered to abide the direction of the court to which the appeal is taken; or
6. the appellant or moving party is in possession or control of real property which the judgment or order directs be conveyed or delivered, and an undertaking in a sum fixed by the court of original instance is given that the appellant or moving party will not commit or suffer to be committed any waste and that if the judgment or order appealed from, or any part of it, is affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, the appellant or moving party shall pay the value of the use and occupancy of such property, or the part of it as to which the judgment or order is affirmed, from the taking of the appeal until the delivery of possession of the property; if the judgment or order directs the sale of mortgaged property and the payment of any deficiency, the undertaking shall also provide that the appellant or moving party shall pay any such deficiency; or
7. the judgment or order directs the performance of two or more of the acts specified in subparagraphs two through six and the appellant or moving party complies with each applicable subparagraph.
(b) Stay in action defended by insurer.
If an appeal is taken from a judgment or order entered against an insured in an action which is defended by an insurance corporation, or other insurer, on behalf of the insured under a policy of insurance the limit of liability of which is less than the amount of said judgment or order, all proceedings to enforce the judgment or order to the extent of the policy coverage shall be stayed pending the appeal, and no action shall be commenced or maintained against the insurer for payment under the policy pending the appeal, where the insurer:
1. files with the clerk of the court in which the judgment or order was entered a sworn statement of one of its officers, describing the nature of the policy and the amount of coverage together with a written undertaking that if the judgment or order appealed from, or any part of it, is affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, the insurer shall pay the amount directed to be paid by the judgment or order, or the part of it as to which the judgment or order is affirmed, to the extent of the limit of liability in the policy, plus interest and costs;
2. serves a copy of such sworn statement and undertaking upon the judgment creditor or his attorney; and
3. delivers or mails to the insured at the latest address of the insured appearing upon the records of the insurer, written notice that the enforcement of such judgment or order, to the extent that the amount it directs to be paid exceeds the limit of liability in the policy, is not stated in respect to the insured. A stay of enforcement of the balance of the amount of the judgment or order may be imposed by giving an undertaking, as provided in paragraph two of subdivision (a), in an amount equal to that balance.
(c) Stay and limitation of stay by court order.
The court from or to which an appeal is taken or the court of original instance may stay all proceedings to enforce the judgment or order appealed from pending an appeal or determination on a motion for permission to appeal in a case not provided for in subdivision (a) or subdivision (b), or may grant a limited stay or may vacate, limit or modify any stay imposed by subdivision (a), subdivision (b) or this subdivision, except that only the court to which an appeal is taken may vacate, limit or modify a stay imposed by paragraph one of subdivision (a).
(d) Undertaking.
On an appeal from an order affirming a judgment or order, the undertaking shall secure both the order and the judgment or order which is affirmed.
(e) Continuation of stay.
If the judgment or order appealed from is affirmed or modified, the stay shall continue for five days after service upon the appellant of the order of affirmance or modification with notice of its entry in the court to which the appeal was taken. If an appeal is taken, or a motion is made for permission to appeal, from such an order before the expiration of the five days, the stay shall continue until five days after service of notice of the entry of the order determining such appeal or motion. When a motion for permission to appeal is involved, the stay, or any other stay granted pending determination of the motion for permission to appeal, shall:
(i) if the motion is granted, continue until five days after the appeal is determined; or
(ii) if the motion is denied, continue until five days after the movant is served with the order of denial with notice of its entry.
(f) Proceedings after stay.
A stay of enforcement shall not prevent the court of original instance from proceeding in any matter not affected by the judgment or order appealed from or from directing the sale of perishable property.
(g) Appeals in medical, dental or podiatric malpractice judgments.
In an action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice, if an appeal is taken from a judgment in excess of one million dollars and an undertaking in the amount of one million dollars or the limit of insurance coverage available to the appellant for the occurrence, whichever is greater, is given together with a joint undertaking by the appellant and any insurer of the appellant's professional liability that, during the period of such stay, the appellant will make no fraudulent conveyance without fair consideration as described in section two hundred seventy-three-a of the debtor and creditor law, the court to which such an appeal is taken shall stay all proceedings to enforce the judgment pending such appeal if it finds that there is a reasonable probability that the judgment may be reversed or determined excessive.
In making a determination under this subdivision, the court shall not consider the availability of a stay pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of this section. Liability under such joint undertaking shall be limited to fraudulent conveyances made by the appellant subsequent to the execution of such undertaking and during the period of such stay, but nothing herein shall limit the liability of the appellant for fraudulent conveyances pursuant to article ten of the debtor and creditor law or any other law. An insurer that pays money to a beneficiary of such a joint undertaking shall thereupon be subrogated, to the extent of the amount to be paid, to the rights and interests of such beneficiary, as a judgment creditor, against the appellant on whose behalf the joint undertaking was executed.
This section of the Civil Practice Law and Rules is provided as part of a free educational service by J. Douglas Barics, attorney at law for reference only. Statutes and codes such as CPLR 5519 are frequently amended, and no representation is made that the above version of CPLR 5519 is current. Updated statutes and codes may be available at the New York State Legislature Website. No statute should be relied on without understanding controlling case law which may further interpret it. An attorney should be consulted for legal advice.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Mr. Barics at lawyer@jdbar.com or (631) 864-2600. For more articles and information, please visit www.jdbar.com.
J. Douglas Barics, Esq. – Divorce, family, matrimonial, trial and appeals lawyer in Long Island, New York.