Learn About the Law
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
IN RE: Loriann DEUEL, Appellant, v. Frank T. DALTON, Respondent.
Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Rensselaer County (Cholakis, J.), entered July 29, 2004, which dismissed petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to Family Ct. Act article 6, to modify a prior order of custody.
On April 20, 2004, respondent (hereinafter the father) was awarded sole legal and physical custody of the parties' daughter. Thereafter, on May 24, 2004, petitioner (hereinafter the mother) filed a petition in Family Court seeking custody. At the initial return date of the petition, the father served and filed a motion to dismiss asserting that the petition failed to make any factual showing of a substantial change in circumstances warranting modification of the prior custody order. On July 29, 2004, without hearing argument, Family Court dismissed the petition without prejudice. At a Family Court hearing held September 30, 2004, the parties agreed to a consent order which granted the mother supervised visitation. The mother now appeals the July 2004 dismissal of her custody petition.
We affirm. First, the instant matter should not be dismissed as moot since the consent order dealt only with the mother's rights of visitation, an issue distinct from the custody order in favor of the father (see Matter of Carella v. Ferrara, 9 A.D.3d 605, 605, 780 N.Y.S.2d 90 [2004]; Matter of Baker v. Ratoon, 251 A.D.2d 921, 922, 675 N.Y.S.2d 170 [1998] ).
Turning to the merits, it is well settled that an existing custody arrangement will not be modified unless changed circumstances have occurred since the entry of the prior custody order impacting the child's best interests (see Matter of Oddy v. Oddy, 296 A.D.2d 616, 617, 745 N.Y.S.2d 584 [2002] ). Here, the mother's petition for custody, filed 35 days after the custody order in favor of the father, fails to factually aver any change in circumstances within that 35-day period which would warrant modification, and Family Court properly dismissed the mother's petition (see Matter of Mathis v. Parkhurst, 23 A.D.3d 923, 924, 805 N.Y.S.2d 155 [2005] ).
Next, the mother's contentions with respect to the untimely service of the notice of motion to dismiss her petition are not before us as there was no appropriate objection (see Matter of Borggreen v. Borggreen, 13 A.D.3d 756, 757, 785 N.Y.S.2d 792 [2004] ). Notably, she was given adequate time to and did, in fact, respond prior to the issuance of the court's order. Lastly, issues raised by the mother for the first time in her reply brief are not properly before this Court for review (see Matter of Lupovici v. Sobol, 223 A.D.2d 753, 636 N.Y.S.2d 160 [1996] ).
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs.
MUGGLIN, J.
CARDONA, P.J., MERCURE, SPAIN and CARPINELLO, JJ., concur.
Thank you for your feedback!
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.
Decided: October 26, 2006
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)
Harness the power of our directory with your own profile. Select the button below to sign up.
Learn more about FindLaw’s newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy.
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)