Matter of Batista v. Iqbal

128 A.D.3d 1063, 8 N.Y.S.3d 605

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: May 27, 2015
• Docket: 2014-09926
• Status: Published

Opinion

Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Queens County (Anne-Marie Jolly, J.), dated September 29, 2014. The order, after a hearing, denied the family offense petition for failure to prove a family offense by a preponderance of the evidence, and dismissed the proceeding.

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

At a fact-finding hearing pursuant to Family Court Act article 8 to determine whether a family offense has been committed, the petitioner has the burden of establishing, by a fair preponderance of the evidence, that the charged conduct was committed as alleged in the petition (see Family Ct Act § 832; Matter of Cole v Muirhead, 125 AD3d 964 [2015]; Matter of Cassie v Cassie, 109 AD3d 337, 340 [2013]; Matter of Testa v Strickland, 99 AD3d 917, 917 [2012]).

Here, the petitioner failed to establish, by a fair preponderance of the evidence, that the respondent committed any of the family offenses alleged in the petition (see Matter of Bah v Bah, 112 AD3d 921 [2013]; Matter of Cassie v Cassie, 109 AD3d 337 [2013]; Matter of Ungar v Ungar, 80 AD3d 771 [2011]; see also Matter of Laplante v Laplante, 70 AD3d 1039 [2010]). Accordingly, the Family Court properly denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding. Mastro, J.P., Balkin, Sgroi and Duffy, JJ., concur.