Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Carolyn E. Wade, J.), entered July 17, 2009. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiffs the principal sum of $5,000.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiffs commenced this action to recover the sum of $16,400 allegedly due on a loan. Defendant claimed that there was no loan agreement and that plaintiffs' issuance of a $20,000 check to him was repayment for services rendered, not a loan. At the nonjury trial, the check, in the sum of $20,000, was admitted into evidence, as was an "IOU," in the sum of $15,000, signed by plaintiffs in favor of defendant. The Civil Court awarded plaintiffs the principal sum of $5,000, representing the difference between the $20,000 check issued to defendant and the $15,000 "IOU" signed by plaintiffs for money owed to defendant. This appeal by defendant ensued.

The decision of a 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]). Here, a fair interpretation of the documentary evidence submitted at trial supports the Civil Court's findings and conclusions. Accordingly, we find no basis to disturb the judgment.

Pesce, P.J., Golia and Steinhardt, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: March 01, 2011