Opinion
1448
June 25, 2002.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Diane Lebedeff, J.), entered July 17, 2000, which denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78 to annul a determination of respondent Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund denying petitioner's application for accident disability retirement benefits, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
JEFFREY L. GOLDBERG, for petitioner-appellant.
RONALD E. STERNBERG for respondents-respondents.
Nardelli, J.P., Mazzarelli, Rosenberger, Lerner, Marlow, JJ.
Where, as here, accident disability retirement benefits are denied by the Board of Trustees as a consequence of a tie vote, "the reviewing court may not set aside the Board of Trustees' denial . . . unless `it can be determined as a matter of law on the record that the disability was the natural and proximate result of a service-related accident'" (Matter of Meyer v. Bd. of Trustees, 90 N.Y.2d 139, 145, quoting Matter of Canfora v. Bd. of Trustees, 60 N.Y.2d 347, 352). Such a determination can be made "[o]nly where the circumstances allow but one inference" (Matter of Guidal v. Bd. of Trustees, 275 A.D.2d 458). Accordingly, because the record evidence permits the inference that petitioner's hearing loss was caused by factors other than service-related accidents, the IAS court properly left the Board of Trustees' determination undisturbed (see, e.g., Matter of King v. Bd. of Trustees, 269 A.D.2d 597, 598).
We have considered petitioner's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.