A fraud on the court involves wilful conduct that is deceitful and obstructionistic, and which injects into the judicial process misrepresentations and false information so serious that it undermines the integrity of the proceeding. In order to demonstrate fraud on the court, the nonoffending party must establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that the offending party has acted knowingly in an attempt to hinder the fact finder's fair adjudication of the case and his adversary's defense of the action. The fraudulent conduct may include proof of fabrication of evidence, perjury, and falsification of documents, and must concern issues that are central to the truth-finding process. Generally, an isolated incident of misconduct will not rise to the level of a fraud on the court. Here, defense counsel's misrepresentation of the subject trial testimony during his summation was inexcusably careless, but it did not constitute a fraud on the court. The Appellate Division notes that the alleged fraud occurred in the context of a summation, which does not constitute evidence.
Bhim v. Platz, NY Slip Op 04531 (2d Dep't July 13, 2022)
