New York Court of Appeals, 1983

Merritt v. Way

Merritt v. Way
New York Court of Appeals · Decided February 8, 1983
58 N.Y.2d 850; 446 N.E.2d 776; 460 N.Y.S.2d 20; 1983 N.Y. LEXIS 2845

Merritt v. Way

Opinion of the Court

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs. In a custody contest between parent and non-*853parent, the question of best interests is not reached absent a showing of surrender, abandonment, unfitness, persistent neglect or other extraordinary circumstance (Matter of Bennett v Jeffreys, 40 NY2d 543). The Family Court found that petitioner’s evidence did not establish extraordinary circumstances. That finding having been affirmed by the Appellate Division is beyond our power of review (Laufer v Ostrow, 55 NY2d 305).

Chief Judge Cooke and Judges Jasen, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg, Meyer and Simons concur.

Order affirmed, with costs, in a memorandum.

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