Appeal from a judgment of the Justice Court of the Village of Suffern, Rockland County (Matthew J. Byrne, J.), entered April 8, 2008. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $1,427.99.

Judgment affirmed without costs.

Plaintiff brought the instant small claims action to recover defendant's alleged unpaid share of the amounts due for past utility bills. The parties were in dispute as to whether defendant had agreed to pay for any of those utility bills. There was no written agreement with respect thereto. Following a nonjury trial, the Justice Court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $1,427.99.

Upon a review of the record, 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 (UJCA 1804, 1807). The issue presented to the trial court was essentially one of credibility, and was determined by said court, which had the opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses. That determination should not be disturbed on appeal unless it is obvious that it could not have been reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence (see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160 AD2d 544 [1990]). The deference accorded to a trial court's credibility determinations applies with even greater force to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court, given the limited standard of review (see UJCA 1807; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125 [2000]).

Since the record amply supports the trial court's conclusions regarding defendant's proportionate share of the utility bills, we find no reason to disturb the judgment. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Rudolph, P.J., Tanenbaum and Nicolai, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: June 29, 2009