Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Diccia T. Pineda-Kirwan, J.), entered August 15, 2006. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the total sum of $2,720.

Judgment affirmed without costs.

Defendant appeals from a small claims judgment which awarded plaintiff the sum of $2,720 representing unpaid rent and disbursements. We find that the court below properly rendered its judgment providing the parties with substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law (CCA 1804, 1807; see Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2000]; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]).

The decision of the fact-finding court should not be disturbed upon appeal unless it is obvious that the court's conclusions could not be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence (see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160 AD2d 544 [1990]). This standard applies with greater force to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court (see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d at 126). Furthermore, the determination of the trier of fact as to issues of credibility is given substantial deference as the court has the opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses, thereby affording the trial court a better perspective from which to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses (see Vizzari v State of New York, 184 AD2d 564 [1992]; Kincade v Kincade, 178 AD2d 510, 511 [1991]). The record amply supports the trial court's determination and, accordingly, there is no reason to disturb the judgment.

Weston Patterson, J.P., Golia and Rios, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: April 14, 2008