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Suffolk Cty. Dep't of Soc. Serv. v. Assata A. (In re Asani J.)

New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
Jul 10, 2024
214 N.Y.S.3d 776 (N.Y. App. Div. 2024)

Opinion

07-10-2024

In the MATTER OF ASANI J. (Anonymous). Suffolk County Department of Social Services, appellant; v. Assata A. (Anonymous), respondent.

Christopher J. Clayton, County Attorney, Central Islip, NY (Karin A. Bohrer of counsel), for appellant. Glenn Gucciardo, Northport, NY, for respondent. Warren S. Hecht, Forest Hills, NY, attorney for the child.


Christopher J. Clayton, County Attorney, Central Islip, NY (Karin A. Bohrer of counsel), for appellant.

Glenn Gucciardo, Northport, NY, for respondent.

Warren S. Hecht, Forest Hills, NY, attorney for the child.

VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, J.P., JOSEPH J. MALTESE, LILLIAN WAN, LAURENCE L. LOVE, JJ.

DECISION & ORDER

In a proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, the petitioner appeals from an order of the Family Court, Suffolk County (Frank A. Tantone, J.), dated November 15, 2023. The order, upon granting the mother’s motion, made at the close of the petitioner’s case at a fact-finding hearing, to dismiss the petition for failure to establish a prima facie case, dismissed the petition.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, without costs or disbursements, the mother’s motion to dismiss the petition is denied, the petition is reinstated, and the matter is remitted to the Family Court, Suffolk County, for further proceedings consistent herewith.

The petitioner commenced this proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, alleging that the mother neglected the subject child by committing acts of domestic violence against the child’s father in the presence of the child. After the close of the petitioner’s case at a fact-finding hearing, the Family Court granted the mother’s motion to dismiss the petition for failure to establish a prima facie case and dismissed the petition. The petitioner appeals.

[1, 2] "To establish neglect, [a] petitioner must demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, (1) that the child’s physical, mental or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired, and (2) that the actual or threatened harm to the child is due to the failure of the parent or caretaker to exercise a minimum degree of care in providing the child with proper supervision or guardianship" (Matter of Chaim R. [Keturah Ponce R.], 94 A.D.3d 1127, 1130, 943 N.Y.S.2d 195; see Family Ct Act §§ 1012[f][i][B]; 1046[b][i]; Nicholson v. Scoppetta, 3 N.Y.3d 357, 368, 787 N.Y.S.2d 196, 820 N.E.2d 840). Although the exposure of a child to domestic violence between parents may form the basis for a finding of neglect (see e.g. Matter of Jihad H. [Fawaz H.], 151 A.D.3d 1063, 1064, 58 N.Y.S.3d 478), "exposing a child to domestic violence is not presumptively neglectful. Not every child exposed to domestic vio- lence is at risk of impairment" (Nicholson, v. Scoppetta, 3 N.Y.3d at 375, 787 N.Y.S.2d 196, 820 N.E.2d 840 [emphasis omitted]; see Matter of Kiana. M.-M. [Robert M.], 123 A.D.3d 720, 721, 997 N.Y.S.2d 723).

[3] At the fact-finding hearing, the petitioner offered, among other things, a recording of a 911 call placed by the father during the incident and the testimony of a caseworker and a responding police detective. Contrary to the Family Court’s determination, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the petitioner and affording it the benefit of every inference which could be reasonably drawn from the evidence (see Matter of Isiah L. [Terry C.], 154 A.D.3d 697, 61 N.Y.S.3d 652), the petitioner presented a prima facie case of neglect against the mother. Accordingly, the court erred in granting the mother’s motion to dismiss the petition for failure to establish a prima facie case (see Matter of John M.M. [Michael M.], 160 A.D.3d 646, 647, 73 N.Y.S.3d 232).

Since the Family Court terminated the proceeding after the close of the petitioner’s case upon an erroneous determination that a prima facie case had not been established, we remit the matter to the Family Court, Suffolk County, to complete the fact-finding hearing and to determine the petition on the merits (see id.).

BRATHWAITE NELSON, J.P., MALTESE, WAN and LOVE, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Suffolk Cty. Dep't of Soc. Serv. v. Assata A. (In re Asani J.)

New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
Jul 10, 2024
214 N.Y.S.3d 776 (N.Y. App. Div. 2024)
Case details for

Suffolk Cty. Dep't of Soc. Serv. v. Assata A. (In re Asani J.)

Case Details

Full title:In the MATTER OF ASANI J. (Anonymous). Suffolk County Department of Social…

Court:New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Date published: Jul 10, 2024

Citations

214 N.Y.S.3d 776 (N.Y. App. Div. 2024)