SUA SPONTE DISPOSITIONAL ORDERS ISSUED BY FAMILY COURT ARE APPEALABLE; THE FAMILY COURT ACT, NOT THE CPLR, CONTROLS (THIRD DEPT)

The Third Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Pritzker, determined a sua sponte dismissal of a petition in Family Court is appealable:

… [T]he sua sponte dismissal of the petition is appealable. Pursuant to Family Ct Act § 1112 (a), “[a]n appeal may be taken as of right from any order of disposition under the Family Ct Act, which includes an order issued sua sponte that dismisses a petition in its entirety” … . To the extent that this Court’s prior cases, specifically Matter of Casey Q. v Jeffrey O. (244 AD3d at 1521) and Matter of Donald QQ. v Stephanie RR. (198 AD3d 1155, 1156 n 1 [3d Dept 2021]), can be read as holding that an ex parte or sua sponte Family Court dispositional order is not appealable as of right, they should not be followed. Indeed, the decisive issue when determining whether a Family Court order is appealable as of right is whether the order is dispositional (see Family Ct Act § 1112 [a]). Moreover, because Family Ct Act § 1112 (a) specifically addresses appealability of Family Court orders, it is improper to resort to CPLR provisions addressing appealability by way of Family Ct Act §§ 165 and/or 1118 … .. Matter of Jeffrey O. v Casey Q., 2026 NY Slip Op 06363, Second Dept 10-29-26

Practice Point: Dispositional orders issued by Family Court are appealable; the Family Court Act, not the CPLR controls.