On November 19, 2024, the First Department issued a decision in Ray v. Ray, 2024 NY Slip Op. 05777, upholding sanctions against a plaintiff for bringing frivolous lawsuits, explaining:
Supreme Court improvidently exercised its discretion in denying defendant an award of sanctions despite noting that plaintiff’s conduct was entirely frivolous, abusive, and fabricated. The record firmly established that plaintiff engaged in a persistent pattern of extended and largely meritless litigation against defendant and made false statements of material fact, rendering his conduct frivolous within the meaning of 22 NYCRR 130-1.1(c) and thereby warranting sanctions. Plaintiff’s numerous lawsuits initiated against both defendant and her attorneys—six separate suits between 2010 and 2020, all dismissed at the pleading stage—strongly suggests that those lawsuits, along with the present action, were brought primarily to harass defendant. Our prior decision holding that sanctions for frivolous conduct were not warranted does not affect our decision to grant the motion for sanctions here, as the result in our prior decision was not based on these particular facts.
Therefore, defendant’s motion to impose sanctions upon plaintiff pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1(a) is granted. Accordingly, we remit this matter to the trial court for a determination of appropriate sanctions to be imposed upon plaintiff.
In light of plaintiff’s long history of frivolous and abusive litigation against this defendant and her attorneys, plaintiff is restrained from commencing further proceedings against defendant or her attorneys without prior judicial permission.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).