Opinion
05-10-2017
In the Matter of KIMBERLY S.K. (Anonymous). Administration for Children's Services, petitioner-respondent; Kimberly K. (Anonymous), appellant, et al., respondent. (Proceeding No. 1) In the Matter of Kirstin J.K. (Anonymous). Administration for Children's Services, petitioner-respondent; Kimberly K. (Anonymous), appellant, et al., respondent. (Proceeding No. 2) In the Matter of Kristin K. (Anonymous). Administration for Children's Services, petitioner-respondent; Kimberly K. (Anonymous), appellant, et al., respondent. (Proceeding No. 3).
Jeffrey C. Bluth, New York, NY, for appellant. Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York, NY (Pamela Seider Dolgow and Victoria Scalzo of counsel), for petitioner-respondent. Diana Kelly, Jamaica, NY, attorney for the children.
Jeffrey C. Bluth, New York, NY, for appellant.
Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York, NY (Pamela Seider Dolgow and Victoria Scalzo of counsel), for petitioner-respondent.
Diana Kelly, Jamaica, NY, attorney for the children.
Appeal by the mother from an order of the Family Court, Queens County (Joan L. Piccirillo, J.), dated February 24, 2016. The order denied the mother's motion to vacate certain orders of protection that were entered against her upon her failure to appear at a hearing. ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
In these proceedings, the Family Court issued orders of protection against the mother and in favor of her children upon the mother's failure to appear at a hearing. In the order on appeal, the court denied the mother's motion to vacate the orders of protection entered upon her default.
A party seeking to vacate an order of protection entered upon his or her default in appearing for a hearing must demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the default and a potentially meritorious defense to the petition (see CPLR 5015 [a][1] ; Matter of Williams v. Williams, 148 A.D.3d 917, 49 N.Y.S.3d 535 ; Matter of Idieru v. Jeanpierre, 122 A.D.3d 852, 852, 996 N.Y.S.2d 700 ; Matter of Nunez v. Lopez, 103 A.D.3d 803, 804, 959 N.Y.S.2d 454 ; Matter of Mongitore v. Linz, 95 A.D.3d 1130, 1130, 943 N.Y.S.2d 899 ). " ‘The determination of whether to relieve a party of an order entered upon his or her default is within the sound discretion of the Family Court’ " (Matter of Williams v. Williams, 148 A.D.3d at 917, 49 N.Y.S.3d 535, quoting Matter of Nunez v. Lopez, 103 A.D.3d at 804, 959 N.Y.S.2d 454 ; see Matter of Lee v. Morgan, 67 A.D.3d 681, 682, 889 N.Y.S.2d 205 ). Here, the Family Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the mother's motion to vacate the orders of protection entered upon her default in appearing at the hearing, as the mother failed to establish that she had a potentially meritorious defense to the petitions.
DILLON, J.P., COHEN, DUFFY and CONNOLLY, JJ., concur.