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CUSTODY MODIFICATION PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, remitting the matter for a hearing, determined that Family Court should not have granted mother's modification and violation petitions without holding a hearing:

Where a facially sufficient petition has been filed, modification of orders relating to custody and visitation generally require a full and comprehensive hearing at which a parent is to be afforded a full and fair opportunity to be heard … . A decision regarding child custody and parental access should be based on admissible evidence … . Here, in making its determination, the Family Court relied solely on information provided at court conferences, and the hearsay statements and conclusions of the forensic evaluator, whose opinions and credibility were untested by either party … . The court should have conducted a hearing to ascertain the child's best interests before it modified the … Order … . Matter of Migliore v Santiago, 2018 NY Slip Op 06911, Second Dept 10-17-18

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DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER WHICH CONFLICTED WITH THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT IN THIS DIVORCE ACTION COULD NOT BE ENFORCED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the stipulation of settlement in this divorce action controlled, and a domestic relations order (DRO) which did not conform to the stipulation could not be enforced:

“A stipulation of settlement that has been incorporated but not merged into a judgment of divorce is a contract subject to principles of contract construction and interpretation” … . “A court may not write into a contract conditions the parties did not insert or, under the guise of construction, add or excise terms, and it may not construe the language in such a way as would distort the apparent meaning” … . “A domestic relations order entered pursuant to a stipulation of settlement can convey only those rights to which the parties stipulated as a basis for the judgment'” … .

Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, the formula set forth in her proposed DRO conflicts with the stipulation of settlement, which provided for a “fifty/fifty division of all pension benefits accumulated from the date of this marriage … through the date of service of the summons and complaint … ,” and that the plaintiff is “to be the recipient of 50 percent of any and all benefits payable to the [defendant] upon his retirement which were accumulated during that period of time” … . The stipulation of settlement made no reference to the formula set forth in Majauskas v Majauskas (61 NY2d 481), nor can such a reference be implied from the unambiguous terms of the stipulation … . Since the stipulation is controlling, the Supreme Court should not have granted the plaintiff’s cross motion for leave to enter her proposed DRO … . McPhillips v McPhillips, 2018 NY Slip Op 06896, Second Dept 10-17-18

FAMILY LAW (DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER WHICH CONFLICTED WITH THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT IN THIS DIVORCE ACTION COULD NOT BE ENFORCED (SECOND DEPT))/CONTRACT LAW (FAMILY LAW, DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER WHICH CONFLICTED WITH THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT IN THIS DIVORCE ACTION COULD NOT BE ENFORCED (SECOND DEPT))/DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER (DRO)  (DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER WHICH CONFLICTED WITH THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT IN THIS DIVORCE ACTION COULD NOT BE ENFORCED (SECOND DEPT))/STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT (DIVORCE, DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER WHICH CONFLICTED WITH THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT IN THIS DIVORCE ACTION COULD NOT BE ENFORCED (SECOND DEPT))

IT WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD TO RESTRICT CONTACT WITH THE INCARCERATED FATHER TO TELEPHONE CALLS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined it was in the child's best interests to limit the incarcerated father's contact with the child to telephone calls:

The father had last seen the child in 2011 or 2012, when the mother and child visited the father in a detention facility in Brooklyn. The mother testified that the visit was “extremely stressful” for the child, the jail personnel asked the mother and the child to leave multiple times, and the child was unable to sit for any period of time. After the fact-finding hearing, the Family Court denied the father's petition, and, instead, directed that the father have telephone contact with the child. The father appeals.

The paramount concern in making a parental access determination is the best interests of the child, under the totality of the circumstances … . Parental access with a noncustodial parent is presumed to be in the best interests of a child, even when that parent is incarcerated … . However, that presumption may be rebutted by demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that under all the circumstances parental access would be harmful to the child's welfare, or that the right to parental access has been forfeited … . Here, there is a sound and substantial basis in the record for the Family Court's determination limiting the father's contact with the child to telephone communication. A preponderance of the evidence adduced at the fact-finding hearing demonstrated that in-person parental access at the prison would be harmful to the child's welfare … . Matter of Grimes v Pignalosa-Grimes, 2018 NY Slip Op 06740, Second Dept 10-10-18

FAMILY LAW (IT WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD TO RESTRICT CONTACT WITH THE INCARCERATED FATHER TO TELEPHONE CALLS (SECOND DEPT))VISITATION (FAMILY LAW, IT WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD TO RESTRICT CONTACT WITH THE INCARCERATED FATHER TO TELEPHONE CALLS (SECOND DEPT))

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER WAS A PERSON LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE CHILD AND THEREFORE WAS SUBJECT TO A NEGLECT FINDING (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the maternal grandmother met the definition of a person legally responsible for the child's (Talia's) care, against who a neglect finding can properly be made:

Child protective proceedings encompass only abuse or neglect by a person who is a parent or other person legally responsible for the child's care … . A person legally responsible is defined as “the child's custodian, guardian, [or] any other person responsible for the child's care at the relevant time” (Family Court Act § 1012[g]). “A person is a proper respondent in an article 10 proceeding as an other person legally responsible for the child's care if that person acts as the functional equivalent of a parent in a familial or household setting” … . “Determining whether a particular person has acted as the functional equivalent of a parent is a discretionary, fact-intensive inquiry which will vary according to the particular circumstances of each case. Factors such as the frequency and nature of the contact between the child and respondent, the nature and extent of the control exercised by the respondent over the child's environment, the duration of the respondent's contact with the child, and the respondent's relationship to the child's parent(s) are some of the variables which should be considered and weighed by a court” … . However, “article 10 should not be construed to include persons who assume fleeting or temporary care of a child such as a supervisor of a play-date or an overnight visitor or those persons who provide extended daily care of children in institutional settings, such as teachers” … .

Here, we agree with the Family Court's determination that the maternal grandmother was a person legally responsible for the children. The maternal grandmother came to the parents' home every day and slept over regularly, as many as two to three times per week. On the days that she did not sleep over, the maternal grandmother would come over in the morning and would stay until the paternal grandmother arrived in the afternoon. The maternal grandmother fed Talia, changed her diaper and her clothes, and, along with the mother, bathed Talia several times a week. The mother testified that the maternal grandmother took care of Talia while the mother played with Jonah, and the maternal grandmother was alone with Talia whenever the mother napped or did laundry, and that at least one to two times per week from Talia's birth until April 2014, the maternal grandmother was the only person caring for Talia. Matter of Jonah B. (Riva V.), 2018 NY Slip Op 06736, Second Dept 10-10-18

FAMILY LAW (MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER WAS A PERSON LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE CHILD AND THEREFORE WAS SUBJECT TO A NEGLECT FINDING (SECOND DEPT))/NEGLECT (FAMILY LAW, MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER WAS A PERSON LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE CHILD AND THEREFORE WAS SUBJECT TO A NEGLECT FINDING (SECOND DEPT))/PERSON LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF CHILD (FAMILY LAW, MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER WAS A PERSON LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE CHILD AND THEREFORE WAS SUBJECT TO A NEGLECT FINDING (SECOND DEPT))

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THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS ‘CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY’ (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, found that the child, Talia, was abused. Family Court had determined that Talia was not abused because her injuries did not meet the definition of serious physical injury as defined in the Penal Law. The Family Court Act criteria is “creating a substantial risk of serious injury:”

We agree with the Family Court's finding that Talia's injuries were “clearly inflicted and not accidental.” However, we disagree with the court's finding that Talia was not abused based on its determination that she had not sustained a serious physical injury as defined in Penal Law § 10.00(10). Although the definition of “abuse” under Family Court Act § 1012 is similar to the definition of “serious physical injury” under the Penal Law, the definitions are not identical. The Penal Law defines “serious physical injury” as “physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss of impairment of the function of any bodily organ” (Penal Law § 10.00[10]). However, under the Family Court Act, a “child need not sustain a serious injury for a finding of abuse as long as the evidence demonstrates that the parent sufficiently endangered the child by creating a substantial risk of serious injury” … .

Here, the fracture to Talia's humerus required her arm to be immobilized for more than two weeks, which is sufficient to establish a protracted impairment of health … . In addition, the medical testimony revealed that this injury caused Talia pain and discomfort, and could take months to heal. Furthermore, there was a concern that there could be loss of function and loss of growth potential. Although this was unlikely in Talia's case, since her fracture was not completely displaced, the conduct of the mother, the father, and the maternal grandmother still created a substantial risk that such injury could have occurred … . Matter of Jonah B. (Ferida B.), 2018 NY Slip Op 06735, Second Dept 10-10-18

FAMILY LAW (THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS 'CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY' (SECOND DEPT))/ABUSE (FAMILY LAW, THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS 'CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY' (SECOND DEPT))/SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY (FAMILY LAW, THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS 'CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY' (SECOND DEPT))/CRIMINAL LAW (FAMILY LAW, ABUSE, THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS 'CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY' (SECOND DEPT))

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UNCORROBORATED HEARSAY OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELIED UPON BY THE COURT, NEGLECT FINDING REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department reversed Family Court's neglect finding in the interest of justice, in part because the finding relied on the uncorroborated hearsay testimony of the child:

… [T]he court determined that the mother neglected the children by forgetting to feed them, but the only evidence of such a danger is the uncorroborated out-of-court statement of one of the children. The mother failed to preserve for our review her contention that the court erred in relying on that child's uncorroborated statement … . Nevertheless, we exercise our power to review that contention as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice. Although “[i]t is well settled that there is an exception to the hearsay rule in custody cases involving allegations of abuse and neglect of a child . . . where . . . the statements are corroborated” … , “repetition of an accusation by a child does not corroborate the child's prior account of [neglect]” … . Here, there was no corroboration of the one child's out-of-court statement, and thus the court erred in relying upon it to conclude that neglect occurred.

The court's further determination that the mother stopped taking her medication, and “that without . . . psychotropic medication [the] mother's mental health could rapidly deteriorate and she would endanger the safety and well-being of the children,” is belied by the testimony of the mother's counselor, the only witness who testified on that issue. The mother's counselor testified that the mother had been properly weaned off of those medications because they were impeding her functionality, and that the mother's ability to parent the children had increased after she successfully stopped taking those medications. Matter of Chance C. (Jennifer S.), 2018 NY Slip Op 06642, Fourth Dept 10-5-18

FAMILY LAW (UNCORROBORATED HEARSAY OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELIED UPON BY THE COURT, NEGLECT FINDING REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT))/EVIDENCE (FAMILY LAW, HEARSAY, UNCORROBORATED HEARSAY OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELIED UPON BY THE COURT, NEGLECT FINDING REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT))/HEARSAY (FAMILY LAW, UNCORROBORATED HEARSAY OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELIED UPON BY THE COURT, NEGLECT FINDING REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT))/APPEALS (FAMILY LAW, UNCORROBORATED HEARSAY OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELIED UPON BY THE COURT, NEGLECT FINDING REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT))

COURT IMPROPERLY INCLUDED A PROVISION IN THE ORDER DENYING MOTHER’S PETITION TO RELOCATE WHICH WOULD AUTOMATICALLY AWARD CUSTODY TO FATHER IF MOTHER RELOCATES (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, in affirming the denial of mother's petition to relocate, determined the portion of the order which provided that father would automatically be granted custody upon mother's relocation:

… [The] court erred in including a provision in the order that transferred primary physical custody of the child from the mother to the father in the event that the mother relocates outside of Monroe County, and we therefore modify the order accordingly. Such a provision, “while possibly never taking effect, impermissibly purports to alter the parties' custodial arrangement automatically upon the happening of a specified future event without taking into account the child['s] best interests at that time” … . Matter of Eason v Bowick, 2018 NY Slip Op 06641, Fourth Dept 10-5-18

FAMILY LAW (COURT IMPROPERLY INCLUDED A PROVISION IN THE ORDER DENYING MOTHER'S PETITION TO RELOCATE WHICH WOULD AUTOMATICALLY AWARD CUSTODY TO FATHER IF MOTHER RELOCATES (FOURTH DEPT))/RELOCATE, PETITION FOR (FAMILY LAW, COURT IMPROPERLY INCLUDED A PROVISION IN THE ORDER DENYING MOTHER'S PETITION TO RELOCATE WHICH WOULD AUTOMATICALLY AWARD CUSTODY TO FATHER IF MOTHER RELOCATES (FOURTH DEPT))

FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED THE HEARING, AWARD OF PRIMARY PHYSICAL CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN TO THE MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court, determined primary physical custody of the children should not have been awarded to the maternal grandmother because the proceedings were flawed:

“[A]s between a parent and a nonparent, the parent has a superior right to custody that cannot be denied unless the nonparent establishes that the parent has relinquished that right because of surrender, abandonment, persisting neglect, unfitness or other like extraordinary circumstances” … . “The nonparent has the burden of establishing that extraordinary circumstances exist even where, as here, the prior order granting custody of the child to [the] nonparent[] was made upon consent of the parties' ” … .

Here, the court erred in granting the grandmother's petition prior to the completion of the hearing. The mother's testimony was not complete, the grandmother had not yet rested, and the mother had not been afforded the opportunity to call witnesses or present other evidence on her own behalf. In addition, there were controverted issues inasmuch as there is no evidence in the record of the mother's mental health other than her erratic in-court conduct, which she attributed to the trauma of being separated from her children, and there is no evidence whatsoever that the mother was abusing drugs or alcohol. Indeed, she denied abusing alcohol. We conclude that the court should have completed the hearing. Matter of Driscoll v Mack, 2018 NY Slip Op 06640, Fourth Dept 10-5-18

FAMILY LAW (FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED THE HEARING, AWARD OF PRIMARY PHYSICAL CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN TO THE MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT))/CUSTODY (FAMILY LAW, FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED THE HEARING, AWARD OF PRIMARY PHYSICAL CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN TO THE MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT))

FATHER COULD NOT BE FOUND TO HAVE PERMANENTLY NEGLECTED THE CHILDREN AND ALSO BE FOUND MENTALLY ILL TO A DEGREE WARRANTING TERMINATION OF HIS PARENTAL RIGHTS (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department determined father could not be found to have permanently neglected the children and also found to be mentally ill to a degree warranting termination of his parental rights:

Given the court's finding that the father was incapable of caring for the children based on his mental illness, however, the court erred in terminating his parental rights on the additional ground of permanent neglect. The father “could not be found to be mentally ill to a degree warranting termination of his parental rights and at the same time be found to have failed to plan for the future of the children although physically and financially able to do so” … . We therefore modify the order by dismissing the petition insofar as it alleges that the father permanently neglected the subject children. Matter of Norah T. (Norman T.), 2018 NY Slip Op 06681, Fourth Dept 10-5-18

FAMILY LAW (PARENTAL RIGHTS, FATHER COULD NOT BE FOUND TO HAVE PERMANENTLY NEGLECTED THE CHILDREN AND ALSO BE FOUND MENTALLY ILL TO A DEGREE WARRANTING TERMINATION OF HIS PARENTAL RIGHTS (FOURTH DEPT))/PARENTAL RIGHTS (FATHER COULD NOT BE FOUND TO HAVE PERMANENTLY NEGLECTED THE CHILDREN AND ALSO BE FOUND MENTALLY ILL TO A DEGREE WARRANTING TERMINATION OF HIS PARENTAL RIGHTS (FOURTH DEPT))/NEGLECT (FAMILY LAW, PARENTAL RIGHTS, FATHER COULD NOT BE FOUND TO HAVE PERMANENTLY NEGLECTED THE CHILDREN AND ALSO BE FOUND MENTALLY ILL TO A DEGREE WARRANTING TERMINATION OF HIS PARENTAL RIGHTS (FOURTH DEPT))

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APPEAL HELD IN RESERVE AND MATTER SENT BACK FOR FACTUAL FINDINGS IN THIS CUSTODY CASE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, holding the appeal in reserve, sent the matter back for factual findings in this custody case:

With respect to the court's award of sole legal custody to the mother, we conclude that the court failed to set forth ” those facts upon which the rights and liabilities of the parties depend' “… , specifically its “analysis of those factors that traditionally affect the best interests of a child” … . “[E]ffective appellate review . . . requires that appropriate factual findings be made by the trial court—the court best able to measure the credibility of the witnesses”… . We therefore hold the case, reserve decision and remit the matter to Family Court to set forth its factual findings. Matter of Valentin v Mendez, 2018 NY Slip Op 06680, Fourth Dept 10-5-18

FAMILY LAW (APPEALS, APPEAL HELD IN RESERVE AND MATTER SENT BACK FOR FACTUAL FINDINGS IN THIS CUSTODY MATTER (FOURTH DEPT))/APPEALS (FAMILY LAW, APPEAL HELD IN RESERVE AND MATTER SENT BACK FOR FACTUAL FINDINGS IN THIS CUSTODY MATTER (FOURTH DEPT))

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