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Galatianos v. Nick Son Auto Ctr.

Appellate Term of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Dec 5, 2011
2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 52212 (N.Y. App. Term 2011)

Opinion

2010-2566 Q C.

Decided December 5, 2011.

Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Terrence C. O'Connor, J.), entered on February 24, 2010. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.

PRESENT: PESCE, P.J., RIOS and STEINHARDT, JJ.


ORDERED that judgment is affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover for defective repairs and damage to his automobile. The Civil Court dismissed the action, finding that plaintiff's testimony was incredible. On appeal, plaintiff contends that defendant failed to complete repairs on his car and that the car was vandalized the second time he brought it to defendant.

Upon a review of the record, we find that the judgment rendered substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law (CCA 1804, 1807; see Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126). The decision of a fact-finding court should not be disturbed upon appeal unless it is obvious that the court's conclusions could not be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence ( see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160 AD2d 544). This standard applies with greater force to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court ( see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d at 126). Furthermore, the determination of a trier of fact as to issues of credibility is given substantial deference, as the trial court's opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses affords it a better perspective from which to assess the credibility of the witnesses ( see Vizzari v State of New York, 184 AD2d 564; Kincade v Kincade, 178 AD2d 510, 511). We find that the record supports the trial court's conclusions and, accordingly, find no reason to disturb the judgment.

Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Pesce, PJ., Rios and Steinhardt, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Galatianos v. Nick Son Auto Ctr.

Appellate Term of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Dec 5, 2011
2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 52212 (N.Y. App. Term 2011)
Case details for

Galatianos v. Nick Son Auto Ctr.

Case Details

Full title:ANTHONY A. GALATIANOS, Appellant, v. NICK SON AUTO CENTER, INC., Respondent

Court:Appellate Term of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Dec 5, 2011

Citations

2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 52212 (N.Y. App. Term 2011)