Opinion
Submitted September 21, 2001.
November 5, 2001.
In an action to recover damages for legal malpractice, the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Nicolai, J.), entered January 24, 2000, which denied their motion for the court to recuse itself.
Norman I. Saferstein, Boca Raton, FL., and Sebastian Schiavone, Eastchester, N.Y., appellants pro se (one brief filed).
Jeffrey I. Klein, White Plains, N.Y., respondent pro se.
Before: GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, STEPHEN G. CRANE, JJ.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
Absent a legal disqualification under Judiciary Law — 14, a trial judge is the sole arbiter on the issue of recusal. This discretionary decision is within the personal conscience of the court, and is not overturned easily (see, People v. Moreno, 70 N.Y.2d 403, 405-406; Ficalora v. Town Bd. Gov. of E. Hampton, 276 A.D.2d 666; Fisk v. Slye, 234 A.D.2d 983; Colburn v. Blum, 233 A.D.2d 890). Here, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in refusing to recuse itself from the case (see, Chodos v. Barresi, 174 A.D.2d 359).
KRAUSMAN, J.P., S. MILLER, SCHMIDT and CRANE, JJ., concur.