| Matter of Harold L.S. (Harold S.) |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 08016 [89 AD3d 1447] |
| November 10, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| In the Matter of Harold L.S., an Infant. Monroe County Department of Human Services, Respondent; Harold S., Appellant. |
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David Van Varick, County Attorney, Rochester (Carol L. Eisenman of counsel), for
petitioner-respondent.
Lisa J. Maslow, Attorney for the Child, Rochester, for Harold L.S.
Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Monroe County (John J. Rivoli, J.), entered March 22, 2010 in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b. The order terminated the parental rights of respondent.
It is hereby ordered that said appeal is unanimously dismissed without costs.
Memorandum: Respondent father appeals from an order terminating his parental rights on the ground of abandonment and freeing his child for adoption. The father refused to attend the fact-finding hearing and his attorney, although present, elected not to participate in the father's absence. Under those circumstances, we conclude that the father's refusal to appear constituted a default, and we therefore dismiss the appeal (see Matter of Shawn A. [Milisa C.B.], 85 AD3d 1598 [2011]). Present—Peradotto, J.P., Carni, Lindley, Sconiers and Green, JJ.