Appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Suffolk County, Fifth District (James P. Flanagan, J.), entered January 29, 2007. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed plaintiff's action.

Judgment affirmed without costs.

Plaintiff appeals from a small claims judgment dismissing his action, which was based upon defendant's alleged improper release of funds. We find that the trial court properly rendered its judgment providing the parties with substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law (UDCA 1804, 1807; see Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2004]; 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). The record amply supports the trial court's conclusions and, accordingly, there is no reason to disturb the judgment.

Rudolph, P.J., Tanenbaum and Molia, JJ., concur. [*2]
Decision Date: May 27, 2008