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Father’s Consent to Adoption Not Required

In a proceeding to terminate the mother’s parental rights, the Second Department affirmed Family Court’s determination that the father’s consent to the adoption of the child was not required:

In this proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b to terminate the mother’s parental rights on the ground of permanent neglect, the Family Court’s determination that the father’s consent to the adoption of the subject child was not required was supported by clear and convincing evidence … . The father failed to meet his burden of establishing that he maintained substantial and continuous or repeated contact with the child through the payment of support and either regular visitation or other communication with the child … . Matter of Tanay RS …, 2014 NY Slip Op 08032, 2nd Dept 11-19-14

 

Retroactive Suspension of Child Support Payments Based On Interference With Payor’s Parental Rights Proper

In a lengthy and complex decision which addressed the proper allocation of marital and separate property, including the application of credits for the contribution of separate property to marital assets, the Third Department determined that child support payments can be suspended retroactively based upon interference with the payor’s parental relationship.  In a concurring decision, two justices expressed their concern that the availability of retroactive suspension of child support would lead to self-help, i.e., the unilateral suspension of payments without a court order.  To avoid that circumstance, the concurring justices suggested that child support payments be made to an escrow account pending a decision on the application to cease the payments (as was done in this case).  From the concurring decision:

While we agree with the result reached by the majority, we are compelled to voice our concerns regarding the practical effect of, and policy considerations surrounding, the retroactive suspension of a noncustodial parent’s obligation to pay child support. According to the longstanding jurisprudence of this Court, in certain circumstances, such as here, in which a custodial parent interferes with the parental rights of the noncustodial parent, a court may suspend the noncustodial parent’s child support obligation retroactive to the date an application for such suspension was made … . While we interpret the relevant statutes as prohibiting the child support payor from unilaterally discontinuing his or her payments during the pendency of a suspension application in the absence of a court order permitting such action, we are concerned that our previous decisions — and, to a certain extent, the majority decision here — which apply a suspension of child support retroactively, could actually promote such self-help. We, therefore, write separately to advocate for clarification and/or a modification of our precedent on this issue. * * *

…[W]e are of the view that a retroactive suspension of child support payments is appropriate only where, as here, the child support payor has, with court authorization, either paid child support into an escrow account or has obtained a temporary court order suspending payments during the pendency of the suspension application. In our opinion, requiring that child support payments be made in escrow is preferable, as it ensures that the noncustodial parent fulfills his or her child support obligations if the case is ultimately decided in favor of the custodial parent, while also making certain that the financial support is readily available for court-directed withdrawals, if necessary, for the custodial parent to meet the needs of the children … . If, on the other hand, the noncustodial parent prevails, a subsequent suspension of child support can truly be retroactive and allow for the return of monies paid into the escrow account without violating the public policy against recoupment and without encouraging the accrual of arrears. Whitaker v Case, 2014 NY Slip Op 07707, 3rd Dept 11-13-14

 

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Questions of Fact Raised About Whether Premarital Agreement Was the Product of Overreaching

The Second Department reversed Supreme Court, finding that defendant-wife had raised a question of fact about the validity and enforceability of the premarital agreement.  The agreement purported to resolve all financial issues in the event of divorce and entitled defendant-wife only to a payment of $25,000.00 for each year of marriage.  Plaintiff-husband had assets of $10,000,000.00 and defendant-wife had assets of $170,000.00 at the time of the marriage:

An agreement between spouses or prospective spouses should be closely scrutinized, and may be set aside upon a showing that it is unconscionable, or the result of fraud, or where it is shown to be manifestly unfair to one spouse because of overreaching on the part of the other spouse … . Such an agreement may be invalidated if the party challenging the agreement demonstrates that it was the product of fraud, duress, or other inequitable conduct … .

There is evidence that the defendant was not represented by independent counsel in connection with the preparation and execution of the allegedly “take-it-or-leave-it” premarital agreement that is the subject of this appeal. In addition, contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, the preprinted financial forms executed by the parties do not demonstrate that they were expecting to enter into a premarital agreement, as the forms recite that they were furnished by a commercial bank in connection with an application for a mortgage. The defendant therefore raised triable issues of fact as to whether the premarital agreement was the product of overreaching, such that it would be rendered unenforceable … . Bibeau v Sudick, 2014 NY Slip Op 07608, 2nd Dept 11-12-14

 

Gifts from One Spouse to the Other Are Marital Property Subject to Equitable Distribution

The Second Department noted that gifts given by one spouse to the other are marital property subject to equitable distribution:

Gifts given by one spouse to another during a marriage are marital property and, thus, are subject to equitable distribution … . Here, the defendant testified that, during the marriage, the plaintiff gave her a diamond ring valued at $16,900. The Supreme Court erred in failing to equitably distribute the value of that item. Accordingly, the plaintiff is entitled to a credit of $8,450 … . Smithie v Smithie, 2014 NY Slip Op 07647, 2nd Dept 11-12-14

 

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Appellant’s Running From Area Where Gunshots Were Heard and a Visible Bulge Under Appellant’s Clothing Provided Police With Reasonable Suspicion to Justify Stopping Appellant

The Second Department, over a partial dissent, determined that seeing the appellant running shortly after hearing gunshots, and seeing a bulge under appellant’s clothing, provided the police with reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify stopping the appellant.  The suppression of the weapon thrown down by the appellant, therefore, was not required:

Appellate courts have held under the same or similar factual circumstances that the police have reasonable suspicion to pursue an individual observed with a bulge at the waistband while in geographic and temporal proximity of gunshots, who then flees from the police … . The Court of Appeals has recognized that reasonable suspicion, and not probable cause, is the applicable standard in assessing a police stop or detention and that, in determining whether reasonable suspicion exists, a defendant’s flight may be considered … .

Here, because the pursuit of the appellant was justified, the gun he discarded during the pursuit was not subject to suppression as a result of any unlawful police conduct … . Matter of Ya-Sin S, 2014 NY Slip Op 07672, 2nd Dept 11-12-14

 

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Marriage Between a Half-Uncle and Half-Niece Is Not Prohibited by Domestic Relations Law 5 (3)

The Court of Appeals, in answering a certified question from the Second Circuit, determined that a marriage between a half-uncle and half-niece is not incestuous under Domestic Relations Law 5 (3).  The husband is the half-brother of the petitioner-wife's mother.  Petitioner is a citizen of Vietnam and the husband is a naturalized American citizen.  An immigration judge had declared the marriage void and ordered petitioner removed from the country. Judge Smith, in one of two concurring opinions, wrote:

Section 5 of the Domestic Relations Law reads in full:

“A marriage is incestuous and void whether the relatives are legitimate or illegitimate between either:

“1. An ancestor and a descendant;

“2. A brother and sister of either the whole or the half blood;

“3. An uncle and niece or an aunt or nephew.

“If a marriage prohibited by the foregoing provisions of this section be solemnized it shall be void, and the parties thereto shall each be fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars and may, in the discretion of the court in addition to said fine, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months. Any person who shall knowingly and wilfully solemnize such marriage, or procure or aid in the solemnization of the same, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined or imprisoned in like manner.”

We must decide whether subdivision 3 of this statute should be read to include a half-uncle and half-niece (or half-aunt and half-nephew). There is something to be said on both sides of this question.  * * *

Domestic Relations Law § 5 is in part a criminal statute: it says that the participants in a prohibited marriage may be fined, and may be imprisoned for up to six months. Penal Law § 255.25, using language very similar to that of Domestic Relations Law § 5 (“ancestor, descendant, brother or sister of either the whole or half blood, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece”), makes entry into a prohibited marriage a class E felony. Where a criminal statute is ambiguous, courts will normally prefer the more lenient interpretation, and the courts of several other states have followed that rule in interpreting their criminal laws not to prohibit relationships between uncles and nieces, or aunts and nephews, of the half blood … .  * * *

We are not geneticists, and the record and the briefs in this case do not contain any scientific analysis; but neither party disputes the intuitively correct-seeming conclusion that the genetic risk in a half-uncle, half-niece relationship is half what it would be if the parties were related by the full blood. Indeed, both parties acknowledged at oral argument that the risk in a half-uncle/half-niece marriage is comparable to the risk in a marriage of first cousins. First cousins are allowed to marry in New York, and I conclude that it was not the Legislature's purpose to avert the similar, relatively small, genetic risk inherent in relationships like this one.  Nguyen v Holder, 2014 NY Slip Op 07290, CtApp 10-28-14

 

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Warrantless Search of Backpack After Juvenile Was Handcuffed and Placed in a Police Car Justified by “Close Spatial and Temporal Proximity” and “Exigent Circumstances”

The First Department affirmed a juvenile delinquency adjudication based upon the juvenile’s possession of an air pistol, which was discovered in a warrantless search of the juvenile’s backpack after the juvenile was handcuffed.  In explaining why the suppression motion was properly denied, the court wrote:

The police lawfully detained appellant as a suspected truant … . In the course of this detention, the police lawfully patted down appellant’s book bag, particularly since as appellant approached the police car, the bag hit the car, making a distinctive metallic sound that the officer recognized as the sound of a firearm. In patting down the bag, an officer felt the distinctive shape of a pistol, including its grip and trigger guard. The warrantless search of the bag, after appellant had been handcuffed and placed in the police car, was justified by close spatial and temporal proximity, as well as by exigent circumstances … . These circumstances included the fact that defendant resisted arrest, the officers’ knowledge that appellant was on probation in connection with a past robbery and that he had resisted arrest before, the officers’ high level of certainty that the bag actually contained a weapon, and the danger of appellant reaching the bag, despite being handcuffed, while seated in the police car next to the officer who had the bag. Matter of Kenneth S, 2014 NY Slip Op 07299, 1st Dept 10-28-14

 

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Where Jail Time Is Contemplated as Punishment for Disobeying an Order of Protection, the Standard of Proof for Willful Contempt is “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”

The Third Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Lahtinen, determined that the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard applied in a contempt proceeding where jail time was imposed as a punishment for disobeying an order of protection.  The court held the proof met the standard, but sentenced the respondent to time-served (11 days):

Case law has not been consistent regarding the level of proof when considering an alleged willful violation of a protective order … . This inconsistency may be due in part to the statutory silence as to the quantum of proof (see Family Ct Act § 846-a [stating that the court must be satisfied by “competent proof”]), as well as the fact that, like other statutes implicating contempt, a Family Ct Act article 8 proceeding can involve civil contempt, criminal contempt or both. Criminal and civil contempt have different levels of proof as “criminal contempt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” whereas “civil contempt . . . must be proven by clear and convincing evidence” … .

Where, as here, a person who has violated an order of protection is incarcerated as a punitive remedy for a definite period — with no avenue to shorten the term by acts that extinguish the contempt — then that aspect of the Family Ct Act article 8 proceeding “is one involving criminal contempt [and] [t]he standard of proof that must be met to establish that the individual willfully violated the court’s order is beyond a reasonable doubt” … . Matter of Stuart LL v Aimee KL, 2014 NY Slip Op 07222, 3rd Dept 10-23-14

 

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Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine Applied to Dismiss Appeal of Wife Whose Child Support Payments Were In Arrears and Who Had Moved to Nigeria

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Roman, applied the fugitive disentitlement doctrine where the wife, whose child support payments were in arrears, had left the jurisdiction and was living in Nigeria.  The Second Department determined the criteria for fugitive disentitlement had been met and dismissed the wife's appeal on that ground:

“It has been settled for well over a century that an appellate court may dismiss the appeal of a defendant who is a fugitive from justice during the pendency of his [or her] appeal” … . The “fugitive disentitlement doctrine,” which has its origin in criminal law, is based upon the inherent power of the courts to enforce their judgments, and has long been applied to those who evade the law while simultaneously seeking its protection … . * * *

To apply the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, there must be a “connection between a defendant's fugitive status and the appellate process, sufficient to make an appellate sanction a reasonable response” … . The doctrine has been extended to the dismissal of appeals in civil cases provided there is likewise a nexus between the appellant's fugitive status and the appellate proceedings … . The nexus requirement is satisfied in civil cases “where the appellant's absence frustrates enforcement of the civil judgment” … . * * *

Applying these principles here, we find that dismissal of the appeal is warranted pursuant to the fugitive disentitlement doctrine. The record reveals that the mother deliberately removed herself from the jurisdiction of the New York courts concomitant with the filing of the October 2011 violation petition, which alleged that she had willfully failed to obey the December 2009 child support order. She thereafter failed to personally appear before the Family Court, and a bench warrant was issued to secure her return. However, the mother continued to evade the court, rendering her a fugitive … .

Additionally, there is a nexus between the mother's fugitive status and the appellate proceedings, since her fugitive status related to her failure to comply with the Family Court's prior orders and her refusal to personally appear before that court. Indeed, “by her default and absence,” the mother is “evading the very orders from which she seeks appellate relief” … . Further, the mother's absence from New York has frustrated the father's efforts to enforce the prior child support orders … . Matter of Allain v Oriola-Allain, 2014 NY Slip Op 07151, 2nd Dept 10-22-14

 

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Out-of-State Dismissal with Prejudice Barred Similar New York Action Under Doctrine of Res Judicata

The Third Department determined that an Alabama paternity proceeding brought by the mother against the respondent, which was dismissed with prejudice, barred the paternity proceeding brought by the mother in New York under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.  The court explained the “res judicata” principles:

“In New York, res judicata, or claim preclusion, bars successive litigation based upon the same transaction or series of connected transactions if: (i) there is a judgment on the merits rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction, and (ii) the party against whom the doctrine is invoked was a party to the previous action [or proceeding], or in privity with a party who was” … .

Here, there is no dispute that the Alabama proceeding involved the same parties and underlying issues, i.e., paternity and child support. Additionally, under both Alabama and New York law, a dismissal “with prejudice” indeed constitutes an adjudication “on the merits”…. . Matter of Starla D v Jeremy E, 2014 NY Slip Op 07033, 3rd Dept 10-16-14

 

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