Opinion
June 14, 1993
Appeal from the Family Court, Suffolk County (Abrams, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
After learning that his trial counsel had a prior personal relationship with the Family Court Judge presiding over this custody proceeding, the father moved, inter alia, to vacate the award of counsel fees to the mother. The matter was reassigned to a new Judge who reviewed the counsel fee application de novo without a hearing and determined that the award was reasonable. We affirm.
The record in this case indicates that the father waived his right to an evidentiary hearing on the issue of counsel fees, since the case was set down for a conference to determine whether the parties would stipulate to a determination on papers or to set an appropriate date for a hearing, and no demand for a hearing was made (see, Reehill v. Reehill, 181 A.D.2d 725; Mancuso v. Mancuso, 178 A.D.2d 584). We further find that there was sufficient evidence in the record for the newly assigned Judge to make a proper determination of the mother's entitlement to the counsel fee award (see, Reehill v. Reehill, supra; Wolfer v. Wolfer, 176 A.D.2d 315). Mangano, P.J., O'Brien, Ritter and Pizzuto, JJ., concur.