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Matter of Shirley v. Ricardo

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 14, 1988
144 A.D.2d 472 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988)

Opinion

November 14, 1988

Appeal from the Family Court, Queens County (Torres, J.).


Ordered that the appeal from the order taken as of right is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as no appeal lies as of right from an order of filiation entered in a proceeding in which an order of support is requested (Family Ct Act § 1112; Matter of Jane PP. v. Paul QQ., 64 N.Y.2d 15; Matter of Harstein v. Mike S., 107 A.D.2d 684); and it is further,

Ordered that on the court's own motion, the notice of appeal is treated as an application for leave to appeal, and leave to appeal is granted (see, Family Ct Act § 1112 [a]); and it is further,

Ordered that upon appeal by permission, the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

In a paternity proceeding, the findings of a hearing court are entitled to great weight and, generally, should not be disturbed on appeal unless they are found to be contrary to the weight of the evidence (see, Matter of Bernadette C. v. Jossival St. V., 128 A.D.2d 774; Matter of Willa S. v. Donald R., 116 A.D.2d 582; Matter of Susan W. v. Amhad Q., 65 A.D.2d 594, lv denied 46 N.Y.2d 1037). The evidence in this case does not compel a different conclusion than that reached by the hearing court. The proof in the record includes the results of a human leucocyte antigen (HLA) test and a combined genetic marker test, which indicated the probability of the appellant's paternity to be 95.53%. The HLA test result of the petitioner's husband, whom she married after she became pregnant, excluded him as the child's father (see, Family Ct Act § 532; Matter of Department of Social Servs. v. Thomas J.S., 100 A.D.2d 119, 123-124). The record also includes the credible testimony of the petitioner that she had no sexual relations with anyone other than the appellant during the time critical to the determination of paternity (see, Matter of Harstein v. Mike S., 107 A.D.2d 684, 685, supra).

We further find that the proof was sufficient to rebut the presumption of legitimacy arising from the petitioner's marriage (see, Matter of Constance G. v. Herbert Lewis L., 119 A.D.2d 209, 211-212) and to support the hearing court's finding that the appellant's paternity had been established by clear and convincing evidence (see, Matter of Jane PP. v. Paul QQ., 65 N.Y.2d 994; Ferro v. Bersani, 59 N.Y.2d 899; Matter of Commissioner of Social Servs. v. Philip De G., 59 N.Y.2d 137; Matter of Bernadette C. v. Jossival St. V., supra, at 775).

In addition, under the circumstances in this case, we find that the hearing court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in refusing to grant the appellant's request for an adjournment (Family Ct Act § 533; Matter of Claburn v. Claburn, 128 A.D.2d 937; cf., Matter of Commissioner of Social Servs. of County of Erie v. Thornton, 94 A.D.2d 974). Mangano, J.P., Lawrence, Spatt and Harwood, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Matter of Shirley v. Ricardo

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 14, 1988
144 A.D.2d 472 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988)
Case details for

Matter of Shirley v. Ricardo

Case Details

Full title:In the Matter of SHIRLEY R., Respondent, v. RICARDO B., Appellant

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Nov 14, 1988

Citations

144 A.D.2d 472 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988)

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