Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2014

Matter of Negus T. (Fayme B.)

Matter of Negus T. (Fayme B.)
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York · Decided December 10, 2014 · Dillon, Dickerson, Austin, Cohen
123 A.D.3d 836; 996 N.Y.S.2d 544
Matter of Negus T. (Fayme B.)

Opinion

Appeal from an order of fact-finding of the Family Court, Kings County (Amanda E. White, J.), dated September 6, 2013. The order, after a fact-finding hearing, found that the mother neglected the subject child.

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

At a fact-finding hearing in a neglect proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, a petitioner has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the subject child was neglected (see Family Ct Act § 1046 [b] [i]; Nicholson v Scoppetta, 3 NY3d 357, 368 [2004]; Matter of Tammie Z., 66 NY2d 1, 3 [1985]). The hearing court’s credibility determinations are accorded great weight (see Matter of China C. [Alexis C.], 116 AD3d 953 [2014]). Contrary to the mother’s contention, *837 the Family Court’s determination that she neglected the subject child was supported by a preponderance of the evidence. The evidence adduced at the hearing established that the subject child was in imminent danger of becoming physically, mentally, or emotionally impaired as a result of the mother’s mental illness (see Matter of Amber Gold J. [Vanessa J.], 88 AD3d 1001 [2011]; Matter of Faith J., 47 AD3d 630 [2008]). The evidence further established that the mother maintained the child’s home in a deplorable and unsanitary condition (see Matter of Mariah C. [Frey C.-M.], 84 AD3d 1372 [2011]; Matter of Isaac J. [Joyce J.], 75 AD3d 506 [2010]).

Accordingly, the Family Court properly found that the mother neglected the subject child.

Dillon, J.P., Dickerson, Austin and Cohen, JJ., concur.

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