In re Eric W.
Opinion of the Court
In a child neglect proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, the intervenor-mother appeals from an order of fact-finding and disposition of the Family Court, Kings County (Danoff, J.), dated February 4, 2011, which, after fact-finding and dispositional hearings, found that the child was neglected by his maternal aunt, Toshiba W, the person legally responsible for the child, and placed the child with the Commissioner of Social Services of the City of New York until the completion of the next permanency hearing.
Ordered that the order of fact-finding and disposition is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
Shortly after the subject child was born, a proceeding was commenced against his mother alleging that she neglected him. The neglect proceeding against the mother was dismissed when she consented to the entry of an order giving custody of the child to the child’s maternal aunt, Toshiba W Thereafter, the
Contrary to the contention of the attorney for the child, the mother is entitled to appeal from the order of fact-finding and disposition entered in this neglect proceeding, as the Family Court, in effect, granted her application for leave to intervene, and she requested relief that was denied, thus aggrieving her (see Family Ct Act § 1035 [d]; Murnane Bldg. Contrs., Inc. v Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 107 AD3d 674, 676 [2013]; Mixon v TBV, Inc., 76 AD3d 144, 156 [2010]).
In order for a nonparent to be awarded permanent custody of a child over a parent’s objection, he or she must first prove that extraordinary circumstances exist such that the parent has relinquished his or her superior right to custody (see Matter of Bennett v Jeffreys, 40 NY2d 543, 544 [1976]; Matter of Noonan v Noonan, 109 AD3d 827 [2013]). Here however, the child’s maternal aunt, Toshiba W., had permanent custody of him when this neglect proceeding was commenced against her. The mother’s petition to regain permanent custody of the child from Toshiba W. is pending, and has been referred for a hearing. Contrary to the mother’s contention, in the context of this neglect proceeding, in which permanent custody was not at issue, the Family Court was not required to make a finding that extraordinary circumstances existed before determining, in effect, that the best interests of the child warranted that he be temporarily placed in the care of the Commissioner of Social Services (see Family Ct Act § 1052 [a] [iii]; cf. Matter of Tristram K., 25 AD3d 222 [2005]; Family Ct Act § 1055-b).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.