Matter of Albert T. v Wanda H.
2007 NY Slip Op 07126 [43 AD3d 1320]
September 28, 2007
Appellate Division, Fourth Department
As corrected through Wednesday, November 7, 2007


In the Matter of Albert T., Respondent, v Wanda H.,Appellant.

[*1]Abbie Goldbas, Utica, for respondent-appellant.

A.J. Bosman, Law Guardian, Utica, for Shyanne T.

Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Herkimer County (Henry A. LaRaia, J.), enteredNovember 23, 2005 in a proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 6. The order awardedpetitioner sole custody of the parties' child and visitation to respondent.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimouslyaffirmed without costs.

Memorandum: Family Court properly granted the petition seeking to modify a prior order byawarding petitioner father sole custody of the parties' child. Contrary to respondent mother'scontention, the court properly exercised jurisdiction over the proceeding pursuant to DomesticRelations Law § 76-a (1) (a) (seegenerally Bjornson v Bjornson, 20 AD3d 497, 499 [2005]). Also contrary to themother's contention, the record supports the court's determination that awarding sole custody ofthe child to the father is in the child's best interests, particularly in view of the evidence that themother maintained a relationship with a level three sex offender and allowed him to move intoher home and to have unsupervised contact with the child (see Matter of Richard C.T. v Helen R.G., 37 AD3d 1118 [2007]; Matter of Roe v Roe, 33 AD3d1152, 1153 [2006]; Matter of Bradyv Schermerhorn, 25 AD3d 1037, 1038 [2006]). Present—Scudder, P.J., Martoche,Lunn, Peradotto and Green, JJ.


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