Family Law Round Up August 4, 2022
The week of August 4, 2022 saw only several new family law cases in the Appellate Division. The cases came out of the Second Department, which covers Nassau , Rockland , Queens , Kings , Orange and Westchester.
Matter of Kattayam v Kattayam- The parties were married in 2009 and have one child. In 2020 the wife filed a child support petition in Family Court for child support. The Second Department held that the Support Magistrate was able to order the husband to pay spousal support to the wife in the sum of $318.61 per month because the husband agreed to the Support Magistrate’s order.
Key Takeaway- Once a party consents to an order, they cannot file objections in Family Court. The proper method is to file a motion to vacate the order.
Matter of Lederman v Lederman- A mother brought a Family Offense Petition against the father of her children. After a hearing, the judge found the father guilty of the family offenses of harassment in the second degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, and disorderly conduct. The Court found that the judge should not have said the father was guilty of disorderly conduct because at trial there was no evidence he “acted with the intent to cause, or recklessly posed a risk of causing, public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm.” The Court gave credit to the rest of the Family Court’s findings.
The Court also found that a longer Order of Protection was warranted based on aggravating circumstances because some of the family offenses occurred in front of the children.
Murray v Giovannello- The case involved a divorce where, after the wife failed to show up for five court conferences and the inquest, the court issued a judgment of divorce on default. The wife moved to vacate the default because she claimed she “became depressed and disillusioned, that she withdrew from everything,’ ‘effectively became a hermit,’ and, therefore, did not appear at the scheduled court conferences.” The judge denied her request and the Appellate Division affirmed the decision. The Court found the wife failed to present a reasonable excuse for her default.
Key Takeaway- It is important to show up for all court conferences. The court will enter judgments even if both parties are not present.
