Opinion
February 23, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Dowd, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs, the determination is confirmed, and the proceeding is dismissed on the merits.
It is well established that where, as here, the Board of Trustees of the New York City Fire Department, Article 1-B Pension Fund (hereinafter the Board of Trustees), denies an application for accidental disability benefits in consequence of a tie vote, the Board of Trustees' determination can be set aside on judicial review only if it can be concluded as a matter of law that the petitioner's disability was the natural and proximate result of a service-related injury ( see, Matter of Meyer v. Board of Trustees, 90 N.Y.2d 139). As long as there is any evidence of lack of causation before the Board of Trustees, its determination may not be disturbed upon judicial review ( see, Matter of Meyer v. Board of Trustees, supra; Matter of Carbone v. Board of Trustees, 242 A.D.2d 530). In the present case, because there was credible evidence of lack of causation before the Board of Trustees with respect to the petitioner's mood disorder, its award of ordinary disability benefits should not have been disturbed by the Supreme Court ( see, Matter of Lichtenstein v. Board of Trustees, 57 N.Y.2d 1010; see also, Matter of Schwarzrock v. Board of Trustees, 238 A.D.2d 596).
O'Brien, J.P., Sullivan, Friedmann and Goldstein, JJ., concur.