On September 9, 2025, Justice Jamieson of the Westchester County Commercial Division issued a decision in Capitalize Group LLC v. Empire Core Group LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op. 51444(U), holding that a confession of judgment must be vacated through a plenary action, not by motion, explaining:
On this motion, defendants argue that the Confession must be vacated because it is defective on its face; there is no event of default mentioned in the affidavit; there is no event of default at all; the affidavit does not match the Confession; and other issues. The problem with the motion is that it is quite clear that a party seeking to set aside an affidavit of confession of judgment and to vacate a judgment entered thereon must commence a plenary action for that relief.
In an attempt to circumvent this requirement, defendants contend that they are not disputing the validity of the confession of judgement [sic], dated September 20, 2024 (the ‘COJ’) or the fact that a plenary action is necessary to challenge the validity of a COJ. Rather, Empire is challenging the filing of the COJ by Capitalize. But by challenging the filing of the Confession, defendants are challenging the facts asserted by plaintiff. This necessitates a plenary action.
When, as here, there are sharply contested issues of fact, they cannot be resolved upon conflicting affidavits but should have been reserved for trial in a plenary action.
The Court thus denies the motion in its entirety, without prejudice to the commencement of a plenary action. The Court cautions the parties that the tenor of their interaction must be civil; they are directed to review the Standards of Civility before filing any further papers before the Court.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).