Ray v Ray
2010 NY Slip Op 03097 [72 AD3d 782]
April 13, 2010
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, June 9, 2010


Seemita Ray, Respondent,
v
Arka Ray, Appellant. Eric Ole Thorsen, Nonparty Respondent.

[*1] William A. Gerard, Palisades, N.Y., for appellant.

Eric Ole Thorsen, New City, N.Y., nonparty respondent pro se.

In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the defendant appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Weiner, J.), dated September 4, 2008, which, upon a decision of the same court dated May 21, 2008, made after a hearing, and upon the granting of the motion of the nonparty, Eric Ole Thorsen, for an award of counsel fees to the extent of directing the defendant to pay him counsel fees in the principal sum of $10,000, representing a portion of the plaintiff's counsel fees, is in favor of the nonparty, Eric Ole Thorsen, and against him in the principal sum of $10,000.

Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the facts and in the exercise of discretion, with costs, and the motion of the nonparty, Eric Ole Thorsen, is denied in its entirety.

Considering the financial circumstances of both parties and other circumstances of this case (see Domestic Relations Law § 237 [a]; Johnson v Chapin, 12 NY3d 461, 467 [2009]; DeCabrera v Cabrera-Rosete, 70 NY2d 879, 881 [1987]), the Supreme Court improvidently exercised its discretion in directing the defendant to pay $10,000 of the plaintiff's counsel fees. On this record, the plaintiff had sufficient funds to pay her counsel fees. Santucci, J.P., Angiolillo, Leventhal and Lott, JJ., concur.