Matter of Smith v Roberts
2009 NY Slip Op 08021 [67 AD3d 688]
November 4, 2009
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, January 6, 2010


In the Matter of Shawn Smith, Appellant,
v
TeresaRoberts, Respondent.

[*1]Peter C. Lomtevas, P.C., Ozone Park, N.Y., for appellant.

Robert Marinelli, Brooklyn, N.Y., for respondent.

John J. Marotta, Douglaston, N.Y., attorney for the child.

In a visitation proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 6, the father appeals, aslimited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Family Court, Queens County (Negron, Ct.Atty. Ref.), dated July 24, 2008, as, after a hearing, granted his petition for visitation only to theextent of directing therapeutic supervised visitation.

Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.

" 'The determination of whether visitation should be supervised is a matter left to FamilyCourt's sound discretion . . . and its findings, to which deference is to be accorded,will not be disturbed on appeal unless they lack a sound basis in the record' " (Matter of Rho v Rho, 19 AD3d605, 606 [2005], quoting Matter ofCuster v Slater, 2 AD3d 1227, 1228 [2003]; see Matter of Elnatanova v Administration for Children's Servs., 34AD3d 802, 803 [2006]). Here, the Family Court's determination that supervised therapeuticvisitation would be in the child's best interests has a sound and substantial basis in the record.Fisher, J.P., Covello, Dickerson and Lott, JJ., concur.


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