Appeal by plaintiff from a small claims judgment of the Civil Court, Queens County (K. Kerrigan, J.), entered May 13, 2003, in favor of defendant dismissing the action.

Judgment unanimously affirmed without costs.

In this small claims action, plaintiff sought to collect on a promissory note allegedly executed by defendant. Defendant denied having signed the note and denied having borrowed any money from plaintiff.

The issues at trial were essentially ones of credibility, and it cannot be said that the court's resolution of those issues were so clearly erroneous as to warrant reversal (Forte v Bielecki, 118 AD2d 620 [1986]). The deference which an appellate court normally accords to the credibility determinations of a trial court "applies with greater force" in a small claims action, given the limited scope of review (Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]). After hearing the testimony, the court apparently believed defendant's version of the facts to be more credible than plaintiff's version. In our opinion, substantial justice was done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law (CCA 1807). [*2]
Decision Date: March 02, 2005