Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Civil Court, Queens County

(J. Golia, J.), entered May 17, 2002, after a non-jury trial, awarding plaintiff the principal sum of $9,199.

Judgment unanimously affirmed without costs.

Plaintiff commenced this action to recover the sum of $9,199 as the credit card balance due on her purchase of a car for defendant, which balance defendant had allegedly agreed to pay. Defendant claimed that plaintiff's payment of the purchase price was a gift, not a loan. Inasmuch as the crux of this case involves the credibility of
the witnesses, we defer to the lower court's determination of credibility since the evaluation of witnesses and the quality of proof can best be made by the court which had direct access to the parties and had the benefit of seeing, hearing and observing the witnesses (see Jones v Hart, 233 AD2d 297 [1996]). Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
Decision Date: September 20, 2004