MILLER v. JEFFERSON (2018)

ORDERED that, on the court's own motion, the notice of appeal from the decision dated October 6, 2015 is deemed a premature notice of appeal from the final judgment entered October 24, 2018 (see CPLR 5520 [c] ); and it is further,

ORDERED that the final judgment is affirmed, without costs.

In this unlawful entry and detainer summary proceeding (see RPAPL 713 [10] ), petitioner alleges that respondents, the landlord and tenant of the subject apartment, had, by withholding her keys from her, illegally locked her out of the apartment, in which she had rented a room from tenant. Following a nonjury trial, the Civil Court found, among other things, that petitioner had not met her burden of demonstrating that she had ever resided in the apartment as the tenant's roommate.

In reviewing a determination made after a nonjury trial, the power of this court is as broad as that of the trial court, and this court may render the judgment it finds warranted by the facts, bearing in mind that the determination of a trier of fact as to issues of credibility is given substantial deference, as a trial court's opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses affords it a better perspective from which to assess their credibility (see Northern Westchester Professional Park Assoc. v. Town of Bedford, 60 NY2d 492, 499 [1983]; Hamilton v. Blackwood, 85 AD3d 1116 [2011]; Zeltser v. Sacerdote, 52 AD3d 824, 826 [2008] ). Here, the Civil Court found respondents' testimony to be more credible than petitioner's testimony, a determination which we find no basis to disturb, nor has petitioner otherwise provided a basis to reverse the order appealed from. We note that this court does not consider evidence which is dehors the record (see Chimarios v. Duhl, 152 AD2d 508 [1989] ).

Accordingly, the final judgment is affirmed.

WESTON, J.P., PESCE and SIEGAL, JJ., concur.