Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Patricia Anne Williams, J.), entered September 1, 2011. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $2,750.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff, defendant's former tenant, commenced this small claims action to recover a security deposit in the amount of $2,750. Defendant interposed a counterclaim in the amount of $5,000 for rent, breach of the lease, loss of property, loss of time from work and a returned check. Defendant appeals from a judgment, after a nonjury trial, which awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $2,750 and dismissed defendant's counterclaim.

The standard of review on an appeal of a small claims judgment is whether "substantial justice has . . . been done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law" (CCA 1807). Resolution of issues of credibility is for the trier of fact, as it had the opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses (see McGuirk v Mugs Pub, 250 AD2d 824 [1998]; Richard's Home Ctr. & Lbr. v Kraft, 199 AD2d 254 [1993]), and the decision of a fact-finding court should not be disturbed upon appeal unless it is obvious [*2]that its determination could not have been reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence (see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160 AD2d 544 [1990]). The deference normally accorded to the credibility determinations of a trial court "applies with greater force" to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court, given the limited scope of review (see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]). Upon a review of the record, we conclude that the judgment rendered substantial justice (CCA 1807).

Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Pesce, P.J., Aliotta and Solomon, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: June 06, 2013