Opinion
November 23, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Lifson, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
We decline to disturb the Supreme Court's award of counsel fees, the evaluation thereof being committed primarily to the sound discretion of the trial court, which is in a "superior position to judge those factors integral to the fixing of counsel fees" ( Levine v. Levine, 179 A.D.2d 625, 626; see also, Matter of Aronesty v. Aronesty, 202 A.D.2d 240). The defendant wife's inability to pay her entire legal bill does not warrant holding the plaintiff husband responsible for payment where the court found that the wife's counsel prolonged this action in bad faith in order to increase his fees ( see, Matter of Aronesty v. Aronesty, supra).
The defendant wife's remaining contentions are without merit.
Copertino, J. P., Sullivan, Pizzuto and Goldstein, JJ., concur.