| Reynolds v Reynolds |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 01165 [92 AD3d 1109] |
| February 16, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| Rhonda K. Reynolds, Respondent, v Michael T. Reynolds, Appellant. |
—[*1] Law Offices of Newell & Klingebiel, Glens Falls (Karen Judd of counsel), forrespondent.
Rose, J. Appeals (1) from an order and amended order of the Family Court of Warren County(Breen, J.), entered August 17, 2010 and September 20, 2012, which denied defendant'sobjections to an order of support, and (2) from an order of said court, entered October 25, 2010,which denied defendant's motion for reargument.
Plaintiff (hereinafter the mother) and defendant (hereinafter the father), the parents of twochildren (born in 1992 and 1996), were divorced in 2009. When Supreme Court (Krogmann, J.)issued the judgment of divorce, it also ordered the father to pay temporary child support andreferred the mother's application for permanent child support to a Support Magistrate of theFamily Court of Warren County. After a fact-finding hearing, the Support Magistrate (Huessi,S.M.) issued an order of permanent support and the father timely filed written objectionspursuant to the requirements of Family Ct Act § 439 (e). Without reaching the merits,however, Family Court denied the objections on the ground that the father should have taken adirect appeal to this Court from the Support Magistrate's order. Family Court also denied thefather's motion to reargue this procedural point.
We agree with the father that Family Ct Act § 439 (e) requires a judge of the FamilyCourt to review any objections made by the parties to a Support Magistrate's final order before anappeal may be taken pursuant to Family Ct Act article 11 (see Matter of Corry v Corry, 59 AD3d 618, 618 [2009]; Commissioner of Social Servs. of City ofN.Y. v Harris, 26 AD3d 283, 286[*2][2006]; Matter of Feliz v Rojas, 21 AD3d373, 374 [2005]; Matter ofDambrowski v Dambrowski, 8 AD3d 913, 914 [2004]). Contrary to Family Court'sconclusion, this procedure is not altered by Family Ct Act § 464 (a), which permitsSupreme Court to refer an application for support in a matrimonial action to Family Court andprovides Family Court with jurisdiction to determine the application with the same powerspossessed by Supreme Court (see e.g.Rossiter v Rossiter, 56 AD3d 1011, 1011 n 1 [2008]; Zwickel v Szajer, 47 AD3d 1157,1157 [2008]).
While Supreme Court's referral here was to the Support Magistrate of the Family Court(see Family Ct Act § 464 [a]), Support Magistrates are a part of Family Court andare "empowered to hear, determine and grant any relief within the powers of [Family] [C]ourt" inspecifically enumerated proceedings, including, as relevant here, support proceedingscommenced upon referral pursuant to Family Ct Act article 4 (Family Ct Act § 439 [a]).Accordingly, Supreme Court was authorized to refer the application for permanent supportdirectly to the Support Magistrate (see Family Ct Act § 464 [a]; Burgaleta v Burgaleta, 51 AD3d842, 842 [2008]), the matter then became a Family Court support proceeding pursuant toFamily Ct Act article 4, and the objections to the Support Magistrate's order should have beenreviewed by Family Court prior to any appeal to this Court (see Family Ct Act §439 [e]). We remit the proceeding for that purpose.
Inasmuch as the denial of the motion to reargue is not appealable (see e.g. Matter of Jennifer G. v BenjaminH., 84 AD3d 1433, 1436 [2011]), we dismiss the appeal from that order.
Peters, J.P., Lahtinen, Kavanagh and Garry, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order enteredAugust 17, 2010 and the amended order entered September 20, 2010 are reversed, on the law,without costs, and matter remitted to the Family Court of Warren County for further proceedingsnot inconsistent with this Court's decision. Ordered that the appeal from the order enteredOctober 25, 2010 is dismissed, without costs.
[As corrected at the direction of the Appellate Division, Third Department, Apr. 15, 2014.]