Opinion
2001-11065, 2000-03249
Argued December 12, 2001.
December 31, 2001.
In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the plaintiff appeals, as limited by her brief, from stated portions of a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Winslow, J.), entered April 3, 2000, which, inter alia, awarded custody of the parties' child to the defendant and, in effect, awarded a counsel fee to the defendant in the sum of $40,900.
Kenneth B. Schwartz, Garden City, N.Y., for appellant.
Capetola Doddato, LLP, Garden City, N.Y. (Linda Kule of counsel), for respondent.
Before: FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, DANIEL F. LUCIANO, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof which, in effect, awarded a counsel fee to the defendant in the sum of $40,900, and substituting therefor a provision denying a counsel fee to the defendant; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
The Supreme Court's determination that it was in the best interests of the child to award custody to the defendant has a sound and substantial basis in the record (see, Eschbach v. Eschbach, 56 N.Y.2d 167; cf., Matter of Hartsough v. Hartsough, 270 A.D.2d 349; Matter of Sandra C. v. Christian D., 244 A.D.2d 551).
However, there is no basis for awarding a counsel fee to the defendant.
The plaintiff's remaining contentions are without merit.
SANTUCCI, J.P., KRAUSMAN, LUCIANO and FEUERSTEIN, JJ., concur.