NEILL v. NUNZIATO (2004)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York.

Matter of Rose O'NEILL, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Michael NUNZIATO, Respondent-Respondent.

Decided: October 01, 2004

PRESENT: GREEN, J.P., PINE, SCUDDER, MARTOCHE, AND HAYES, JJ.

Palmer, Warren, Murphy & Tripi, Buffalo (Thomas Allan Palmer of Counsel), for Petitioner-Appellant. Elsaesser & O'Connell, PLLC, Clarence (Robert L. O'Connell of Counsel), for Respondent-Respondent.

Petitioner appeals from an order of Family Court that granted the motion of respondent and dismissed without a hearing her petition seeking visitation with her grandson pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 72. We conclude that the court erred in dismissing the petition. Because petitioner established standing as the mother of a deceased parent, the court “must determine if visitation is in the best interest of the grandchild” (Matter of Wilson v. McGlinchey, 2 N.Y.3d 375, 380, 779 N.Y.S.2d 159, 811 N.E.2d 526).

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously reversed on the law without costs, the motion is denied, the petition is reinstated and the matter is remitted to Family Court, Erie County, for further proceedings on the petition.

MEMORANDUM:

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.

Go To Learn About The Law