| Kosnac v Kosnac |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 01619 [60 AD3d 636] |
| March 3, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| 24—Ferdinand S. Kosnac III,Respondent, v Stephanie T. Kosnac, Appellant. |
—[*1] Casella & Casella, LLP, Staten Island, N.Y. (Ralph Casella of counsel), forrespondent.
In a matrimonial action in which the parties were divorced by judgment dated February 28,2003, the defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Richmond County (Silber, J.),dated January 18, 2008, which denied her motion, inter alia, to find the plaintiff in violation ofthe child support provisions of the parties' stipulation of settlement and judgment of divorce, todirect an audit of the corporate books and records of the plaintiff's business, and to compel theplaintiff to provide documentation regarding an inheritance.[*2]
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
A stipulation of settlement which is incorporated but not merged into a judgment of divorceis a contract subject to principles of contract construction and interpretation (see Matter ofMeccico v Meccico, 76 NY2d 822, 823-824 [1990]; Shanon v Patterson, 38 AD3d 519 [2007]; Gipp v Gipp, 37 AD3d 406[2007]; Rivers v Rivers, 35 AD3d426, 428 [2006]). Where such an agreement is clear and unambiguous on its face, the intentof the parties must be gleaned from the four corners of the instrument, and not from extrinsicevidence (see Matter of Meccico v Meccico, 76 NY2d at 824; Sorrentino v Pearlstein, 55 AD3d901 [2008]; Colucci v Colucci,54 AD3d 710 [2008]; Herzfeldv Herzfeld, 50 AD3d 851 [2008]; Clark v Clark, 33 AD3d 836 [2006]). An ambiguity exists onlywhere "the agreement on its face is reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation"(Chimart Assoc. v Paul, 66 NY2d 570, 573 [1986]; Sorrentino v Pearlstein, 55 AD3d 901 [2008]; Nappy v Nappy, 40 AD3d 825[2007]; Clark v Clark, 33 AD3d836 [2006]).
Here, the stipulation of settlement in which the father agreed to pay support for the parties'five children in a sum which exceeded his statutory obligation under the Child Support StandardsAct (CSSA) (Domestic Relations Law § 240 [1-b]) provided that as each child becomesemancipated, "support for such child shall cease and the child support paid shall be reducedproportionately." Contrary to the mother's contention, this provision is clear and unambiguous,and reflects an intent to reduce the father's support obligation by one fifth of the original amountas each child becomes emancipated. Furthermore, there is no language in the stipulation whichsupports the mother's contention that the parties intended that child support be recalculated uponthe emancipation of each child by applying the CSSA guidelines to the parties' income at thetime of emancipation. Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied that branch of themother's motion which was to find the father in violation of the child support provisions of theparties' stipulation of settlement and judgment of divorce (see Sorrentino v Pearlstein, 55 AD3d 901 [2008]; Colucci vColucci, 54 AD3d at 712-713; Herzfeld v Herzfeld, 50 AD3d 851 [2008]; Gipp v Gipp, 37 AD3d 406[2007]). Furthermore, absent a basis for the recalculation of child support, the court properlydenied that branch of the mother's motion which was to compel the father to providedocumentation regarding an inheritance.
Under the circumstances of this case, it was also proper for the Supreme Court to deny themother's request for an audit of the corporate books and records of the father's business. Theparties' stipulation directs the father to pay additional child support if his [*3]annual income exceeds the sum of $100,000, but provides amechanism for verifying his income by requiring him, inter alia, to give the mother copies of hisannual income tax returns. It is undisputed that the father has provided the mother with copies ofhis federal tax returns, and the mother has not demonstrated an evidentiary basis for hercontention that the these returns do not reflect his true income. Spolzino, J.P., Santucci,Angiolillo and Eng, JJ., concur.