Matter of Davona L.

2007 NY Slip Op 08641 [45 AD3d 1392]

November 9, 2007

Appellate Division, Fourth Department

As corrected through Wednesday, January 16, 2008

In the Matter of Davona L., an Infant. Onondaga CountyDepartment of Social Services, Respondent; David L., Appellant.

—[*1]Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society, Syracuse (Mary P. Davison of counsel), forrespondent-appellant.

Anthony P. Rivizzigno, County Attorney, Syracuse (Sara J. Langan of counsel), forpetitioner-respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Onondaga County (Martha Walsh Hood, J.),entered August 30, 2006 in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b. Theorder, inter alia, revoked a suspended judgment and terminated respondent's parental rights.

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

Memorandum: Respondent father contends that Family Court erred in revoking a suspendedjudgment entered upon his consent to a finding of permanent neglect and in terminating hisparental rights. We affirm. "Family Court Act §§ 631 and 633 allow a court tosuspend judgment for up to one year, providing a brief grace period designed to prepare a parent,previously found to have permanently neglected his or her child, to be reunited with the child"(Matter of Nikkias T., 32 AD3d1220, 1221 [2006], lv denied 7 NY3d 716 [2006]; see Matter of Michael B.,80 NY2d 299, 310-311 [1992]). Here, petitioner established by the requisite preponderance ofthe evidence that the father failed to comply with the terms and conditions set forth in thesuspended judgment, and thus the court properly revoked the suspended judgment and terminatedthe father's parental rights (see Nikkias T., 32 AD3d 1220 [2006]; see Matter of Terry L.G., 6 AD3d1144 [2004]). We note that, while the Law Guardian should have informed the court of thechild's wishes pursuant to the Guidelines for Law Guardians in the Fourth Department, the LawGuardian's failure to do so did not prevent the court from considering the child's best interests (cf. Matter of Dominique A.W., 17AD3d 1038, 1039-1040 [2005], lv denied 5 NY3d 706 [2005]).Present—Hurlbutt, J.P., Gorski, Martoche, Lunn and Peradotto, JJ.