New York Court of Appeals

The People v. McCumber

December 5, 185818 N.Y. 315

Summary

The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's order granting judgment on the complaint, striking the first defense as a sham and allowing the second and third defenses to remain as frivolous. It held that a sham defense is one that is clearly false and involves no substantial litigation, and that verification of an answer does not shield such a defense from being struck. The Court also explained that frivolous defenses should be addressed by a motion for judgment under §247 and may be combined with a motion to strike sham defenses.