In re Elegant R.C.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

In re Elegant R.C.

60 A.D.3d 1386, 876 N.Y.S.2d 797

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedMarch 20, 2009

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 60 A.D.3d 1386 (In re Elegant R.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

In re Elegant R.C., 60 A.D.3d 1386, 876 N.Y.S.2d 797 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2009).

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Opinion

Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Erie County (Margaret O. Szczur, J.), entered April 4, 2008 in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b. The order, among other things, terminated the parental rights of respondent.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously reversed on the law without costs and the petition is dismissed.

Memorandum: Respondent father appeals from an order terminating his parental rights with respect to his daughter upon a finding that he abandoned her. We agree with the father that petitioner failed to meet its burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that he failed to visit his daughter or to communicate with her or petitioner, although able to do so, “for the period of six months immediately prior to the date on which the petition [was] filed” (Social Services Law § 384-b [4] [b]; see § 384-b [5] [a]; cf. Matter of Annette B., 4 NY3d 509, 513-515 [2005], rearg denied 5 NY3d 783 [2005]). The petition was filed on September 19, 2007, but petitioner presented evidence concerning the failure of the father to maintain contact with his daughter beginning only on March 26, 2007, which was less than six months prior to the filing of the petition. We thus conclude that reversal is required. Present — Scudder, P.J., Smith, Peradotto, Garni and Green, JJ.

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Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Erie County (Margaret O. Szczur, J.), entered April 4, 2008 in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b. The order, among other things, terminated the parental rights of respondent.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously reversed on the law without costs and the petition is dismissed.

Memorandum: Respondent father appeals from an order terminating his parental rights with respect to his daughter upon a finding that he abandoned her. We agree with the father that petitioner failed to meet its burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that he failed to visit his daughter or to communicate with her or petitioner, although able to do so, “for the period of six months immediately prior to the date on which the petition [was] filed” (Social Services Law § 384-b [4] [b]; see § 384-b [5] [a]; cf. Matter of Annette B., 4 NY3d 509, 513-515 [2005], rearg denied 5 NY3d 783 [2005]). The petition was filed on September 19, 2007, but petitioner presented evidence concerning the failure of the father to maintain contact with his daughter beginning only on March 26, 2007, which was less than six months prior to the filing of the petition. We thus conclude that reversal is required. Present — Scudder, P.J., Smith, Peradotto, Garni and Green, JJ.

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Bluebook (online)

60 A.D.3d 1386, 876 N.Y.S.2d 797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-elegant-rc-nyappdiv-2009.

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