Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Anna Culley, J.), entered August 28, 2008. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed without costs.

Plaintiff brought the instant small claims action to recover the sum of $4,596 from defendant, his sister, representing the balance allegedly due for the cost of labor and building materials for repairs he made to her home. After a nonjury trial, the Civil Court dismissed the action.

On a bench trial, the decision of the fact-finding court should not be disturbed on appeal unless it is obvious that its conclusions could not be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence (see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160 AD2d 544 [1990]). 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 [1991]). This principle "applies with greater force" to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court, given the limited scope of review (Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]). Upon a review of the record, we find that the Civil Court properly rendered its judgment providing the parties with substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law (CCA 1804, 1807) and, accordingly, we find no reason to disturb the judgment.

Weston, J.P., Golia and Steinhardt, JJ., concur. [*2]
Decision Date: January 22, 2010