Opinion
2018–03181 Docket No. O–18466–16
01-23-2019
In the Matter of Jean Jumeau ESTIME, Appellant, v. Marie Suze CIVIL, Respondent.
Heath J. Goldstein, Jamaica, NY, for appellant. Kreuza Ganolli, Brooklyn, NY, for respondent.
Heath J. Goldstein, Jamaica, NY, for appellant.
Kreuza Ganolli, Brooklyn, NY, for respondent.
WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., LEONARD B. AUSTIN, SHERI S. ROMAN, VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, JJ.
DECISION & ORDERIn a proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 8, the petitioner appeals from an order of the Family Court, Queens County (Dweynie E. Paul, J.), dated February 28, 2018. The order, after a fact-finding hearing, dismissed the petitioner's family offense petition.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The appellant filed a family offense petition alleging, inter alia, that the respondent, who is the mother of his child, had committed certain family offenses. Following a fact-finding hearing, the Family Court determined that the appellant failed to sustain his burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the credible evidence, that the respondent committed a family offense and, inter alia, dismissed the petition.
In a family offense proceeding, the petitioner has the burden of establishing the offense by a fair preponderance of the evidence (see Family Ct. Act § 832 ; Matter of Lopez de Salmon v. Salmon, 150 A.D.3d 1121, 1122, 52 N.Y.S.3d 638 ; Matter of Matheson v. Matheson, 140 A.D.3d 1068, 1069, 35 N.Y.S.3d 167 ; Matter of Buskey v. Buskey, 133 A.D.3d 655, 655, 20 N.Y.S.3d 108 ). Whether a family offense was committed is a factual issue to be resolved by the Family Court, and that court's determination of credibility issues is entitled to great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see Matter of Lopez de Salmon v. Salmon, 150 A.D.3d at 1122, 52 N.Y.S.3d 638 ; Matter of Matheson v. Matheson, 140 A.D.3d at 1069, 35 N.Y.S.3d 167 ).
Here, the Family Court was presented with conflicting testimony from each of the parties as to whether the respondent had committed a family offense. The court's determination that the appellant failed to establish a family offense was based on its credibility assessments and is supported by the record (see Matter of Lopez de Salmon v. Salmon, 150 A.D.3d at 1122, 52 N.Y.S.3d 638 ; Matter of Buskey v. Buskey, 133 A.D.3d at 656, 20 N.Y.S.3d 108 ).
The appellant's remaining contention is without merit.
Accordingly, we agree with the Family Court's dismissal of the appellant's family offense petition.
MASTRO, J.P., AUSTIN, ROMAN and BRATHWAITE NELSON, JJ., concur.