Matter of Sarfaty v Recine

2008 NY Slip Op 09606 [57 AD3d 552]

December 2, 2008

Appellate Division, Second Department

As corrected through Wednesday, February 11, 2009

In the Matter of Debra Sarfaty, Respondent, v Ralph Recine,Appellant.

—[*1]Richard W. Fulfree, Yonkers, N.Y., for appellant.

Patricia T. Bisesto, Valhalla, N.Y., for respondent.

In a proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 4, the father appeals from an order of theFamily Court, Westchester County (Edlitz, J.), entered March 13, 2008, which denied his objections toan order of the same court (Furman, S.M.), entered November 30, 2007, which, after a hearing,granted the mother's motion for a money judgment for an award of an attorney's fee in the sum of$16,770.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

"[T]he award of reasonable counsel fees is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court"(Matter of Grald v Grald, 33 AD3d922, 923 [2006]). Under the facts of this case, the Family Court providently exercised itsdiscretion in awarding the mother a money judgment for an award of an attorney's fee in the sum of$16,770 (see Family Ct Act § 438 [a], [b]; Matter of Israel v Israel, 273 AD2d385 [2000]). Mastro, J.P., Rivera, Fisher and Eng, JJ., concur.