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Monday, November 04, 2019

Recent Decisions and Legislation November 1, 2019


Appellate Division, Second Department

Forensic Report property admitted in custody case pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.16(g)

            Comment: The Court of Appeals has held that forensic reports are not admissible in custody cases unless they are admitted pursuant to stipulation or upon consent of the parties. Kesseler v. Kesseler, 10 N.Y.2d 445, 225 N.Y.S.2d 1, 180 N.E.2d 402 (1962). However, 22 NYCRR 202.16(g)(2) provides that in the discretion of the court, written expert reports may be used to substitute for direct testimony at the trial. The reports must be submitted by the expert under oath, and the expert must be present and available for cross-examination.  To be admissible the forensic report can not rely upon information other than that upon which an expert may properly base an opinion. see Jemmott v. Lazofsky, 5 A.D.3d 558, 772 N.Y.S.2d 840; Wagman v. Bradshaw, 292 A.D.2d 84, 86–87, 739 N.Y.S.2d 421).Matter of D'Esposito v Kepler, 14 AD3d 509, 788 N.Y.S.2d 169 (A.D. 2 Dept.2005)

            In Matter of Raymond v Raymond, 174 A.D.3d 625, 107 N.Y.S.3d 433, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 05546  (2d Dept., 2019) the mother filed a petition seeking sole custody of the parties’ only child, who resided with her. The father initially was awarded parental access every weekend. He subsequently filed a petition seeking increased parental access. Family Court granted the mother’s petition and denied the father’s petition. The Appellate Division agreed  with the Family Court’s determination to  admit the forensic report into evidence. The parties received access to the report well in advance of the scheduled hearing, the forensic evaluator testified and was cross-examined by the parties at the hearing, the parties had  the opportunity to rebut the forensic evaluator’s findings, and the conclusions in the report were based primarily on the forensic evaluator’s firsthand interviews rather than on hearsay statements made by nontestifying declarants.


Appellate Divison holds that test generally applied for setting combined parental income cap is whether child is receiving enough to meet his or her actual needs and the amount required to live an appropriate lifestyle

In Pandis v Lapas, ‑‑‑ N.Y.S.3d ‑‑‑‑, 2019 WL 5057564, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 07267(2d Dept.,2019) the parties were married in 1992. There were  two children of the marriage, S.P., born in 1999, and N.P., born in 2005. The plaintiff commenced this action for divorce on January 9, 2012. Supreme Court awarded the defendant sole custody of the children, and declined to direct any parental access between the plaintiff and the children. In terms of child support, the court set the combined parental income cap at $250,000. The court directed the plaintiff to pay child support of $3,593.75 per month, which was 69% of the basic child support for the two children. The court also directed the plaintiff to pay 69% of the children=s add‑on expenses, including private school tuition and college tuition.  The Appellate Division held, among other things, that Supreme Court did not err in setting the combined parental income cap for child support purposes at $250,000.  Where Athe combined parental income exceeds the [statutory cap], the court shall determine the amount of child support for the amount of the combined parental income in excess of such dollar amount through consideration of the factors set forth in [Domestic Relations Law ' 240(1Bb)(f)] and/or the child support percentage@ (Domestic Relations Law ' 240[1Bb][c][3]. The test generally applied is whether the child is receiving enough to meet his or her >actual needs and the amount required ... to live an appropriate lifestyle= @


Party must demonstrate Aexigent or compelling circumstances@ supporting request for an adjournment to obtain counsel at late stage in the hearing

            In Matter of Eckstein v Young, 2019 WL 5057835 (2d Dept., 2019) the Appellate Division affirmed an order which granted the mother custody and permission to relocate to Connecticut. The Appellate Division, inter alia,  rejected the fathers argument that he was denied the right to counsel. The right to be represented by counsel of one=s own choosing is qualified in the sense that a party may not employ such right as a means to delay judicial proceedings. Absent exigent or compelling circumstances, a court may, in the exercise of its discretion, deny a party=s request to substitute counsel made on the eve of or during trial if the party has been accorded a reasonable opportunity to retain counsel of his [or her] own choosing before that time. Family Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the father=s request for an adjournment to obtain new counsel When the father requested this adjournment, the hearing had been ongoing for three years; the father had finished presenting his case, including testifying on his own behalf and calling two witnesses, and the mother had completed most of her case, including testifying on her own behalf on six dates and calling two witnesses. The father failed to demonstrate that there were Aexigent or compelling circumstances@ supporting his request for an adjournment at this late stage in the hearing, and given that the father was represented for the first several years of the proceedings, there is no indication that he lacked Aa reasonable opportunity to retain counsel@ before the date on which he requested the adjournment.


Mothers willful interference with fathers right to parental access] so inconsistent with the best interests of the child as to, warrant custody award to father, despite forensic evaluator recommending custody to mother

In Matter of Nieves v Nieves, ‑‑‑ N.Y.S.3d ‑‑‑‑, 2019 WL 5057657, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 07261 (2d Dept.,2019) Family Court, denied the mother=s petition for sole legal and physical custody of the parties= child and granted the father=s petition for sole legal and physical custody of the child. The Appellate Division affirmed.  In September 2016, a court‑appointed forensic evaluator prepared a forensic evaluation, noting extensive evidence that the mother and the stepfather had engaged in behavior intended to alienate the child from the father. Despite this evidence, as well as other concerns regarding the mother=s parenting, the forensic evaluator recommended against awarding custody to the father on the ground that it would be Adevastat[ing]@ to the child. Family Court concluded that despite the forensic evaluator=s recommendation, subsequent events warranted awarding sole custody to the father on the ground, among others, that he was better able to foster the child=s relationship with the noncustodial parent. The Appellate Division observed that >[w]illful interference with a noncustodial parent=s right to [parental access] is so inconsistent with the best interests of the child[ ] as to, per se, raise a strong probability that the offending party is unfit to act as a custodial parent=. The record was replete with evidence of the efforts of the mother and the stepfather to thwart the father=s parental access and alienate the child from the father. The mother and the stepfather appeared to be Apunish[ing the child] for having a relationship with [him]@ by, inter alia, forcing the child to take telephone and video calls with the father outdoors, even in inclement weather, taking a tablet that had been provided by the father to facilitate the video calls and that the stepfather claimed was Agarbage,@ and confiscating gifts from the father. The mother and the stepfather also repeatedly refused to cooperate with travel plans, and the father, among other things, had to seek a writ of habeas corpus to bring the child to the airport for a planned visit. Moreover, the mother and the stepfather disparaged the father and his family to the child and caused the child to worry that the mother would not permit him to continue a relationship with the father. This conduct was so inconsistent with the child=s best interests as to warrant awarding sole legal and physical custody to the father, notwithstanding the fact that the mother had been the primary custodian. Further, as the court observed, at the time the forensic evaluator made his recommendation that a change of custody would be detrimental to the child, the relationship between the father and the child was Aextremely tenuous,@ whereas, due to Athe extended visits,@ they subsequently developed a Asolid relationship.@

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