Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2000

Johnson v. Semple

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York · Decided June 12, 2000

273 A.D.2d 311; 708 N.Y.S.2d 476; 2000 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6463

Cases that cite this one

13 later published cases cite this decision.

Engeldrum v. Engeldrum (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
Matter of R.B. v. S.S. (Westchester County Children's Court 2025)
Matter of R.B. v. S.S. (Westchester County Children's Court 2025)
Matter of R.B. v. S.S. (Westchester County Children's Court 2025)
Jean v. Jean (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2009)
Grassi v. Grassi (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2006)
Jackson v. Jackson (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2006)
Bruno v. Kerr (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2005)
Belbol v. Stevenson (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2005)
Carpenter v. Whitaker (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2004)
Matter of Aleksander K. v. Elena K. (Richmond Family Court 2004)
Pander v. Pander (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
Madden v. Cavanaugh (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

In a child custody proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 6, the mother appeals from an order of the Family Court, Kings County (Greenbaum, J.), dated December 8, 1997, which, without a hearing, denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding on the merits.

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

Contrary to the mother’s contention, the Family Court did not err in dismissing her petition for a change of custody without first conducting a hearing. Where it is possible, custody should be established on a long-term basis, “at least so long as the custodial parent has not been shown to be unfit, or perhaps less fit, to continue as the proper custodian” (Obey v Degling, 37 NY2d 768, 770). A parent seeking a change in custody is not automatically entitled to a hearing; some evidentiary showing must be made (see, Matter of Ann C. v Debra S., 221 AD2d 338; Matter of Lynette L. v Richard K.A., 210 AD2d 1005; Matter of Lenczycki v Alexander, 209 AD2d 480, 481; Matter of Wolfer v *312Dame, 207 AD2d 898). In the case at bar, the mother failed to make such a showing to warrant a hearing (see, Matter of Wurmlinger v Freer, 256 AD2d 1069; Matter of Miller v Lee, 225 AD2d 778; Matter of Lacarrubba v Lacarrubba, 198 AD2d 354, 355). Joy, J. P., Sullivan, Friedmann and H. Miller, JJ., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.