Opinion
2000-08056, 2000-08652
Argued December 13, 2001.
January 22, 2002.
In a child custody proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 6, the law guardian appeals from (1) a decision of the Family Court, Rockland County (Garvey, J.), dated August 24, 2000, and (2) an order of the same court, entered September 14, 2000, which granted the mother's petition to relocate to Florida with the parties' child.
Karla J. Zimmerman, New City, N.Y., nonparty-appellant pro se.
Anne Gilleece, White Plains, N.Y., for petitioner-respondent.
Before: ANITA R. FLORIO, J.P., GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, LEO F. McGINITY, HOWARD MILLER, JJ.
ORDERED that the appeal from the decision is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as no appeal lies from a decision (see, Schicchi v. Green Constr. Corp., 100 A.D.2d 509); and it is further,
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
After weighing the appropriate factors as set forth in Matter of Tropea v. Tropea ( 87 N.Y.2d 727), the Family Court properly found that it was in the child's best interest to grant the mother's request to relocate to Florida with the child. The court was not required to follow the recommendations of the court-appointed expert and law guardian (see, Matter of Hopkins v. Wilkerson, 255 A.D.2d 319; Matter of Forzano v. Scuderi, 224 A.D.2d 385). The Family Court did not arbitrarily disregard the recommendations of the expert and law guardian and there is a sound and substantial basis in the record for its determination to permit the mother to relocate to Florida with the child.
FLORIO, J.P., GOLDSTEIN, McGINITY and H. MILLER, JJ., concur.