| Kuney v Christian |
| 2014 NY Slip Op 50120(U) [42 Misc 3d 136(A)] |
| Decided on January 27, 2014 |
| Appellate Term, Second Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
Appeal from a judgment of the City Court of Peekskill, Westchester County
(William L. Maher, J.), entered October 18, 2011. The judgment, after a nonjury trial,
dismissed the action.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover the sum of $5,000, alleging that defendants had damaged trees on his property. After a nonjury trial, the City Court dismissed the action. Upon a review of the record, we find that the judgment provided the parties with substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law (UCCA 1804, 1807; see Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2000] Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]).
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]). Furthermore, the determination of a trier of fact as to issues of credibility is given substantial deference, as a trial court's opportunity to observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses affords it a better perspective from which to assess their credibility (see Vizzari v State of New York, 184 AD2d 564 [1992] Kincade v Kincade, 178 AD2d 510, 511 [1991]). This standard applies with greater force to judgments rendered in the Small Claims Part of the court (see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d at 126).
Upon a review of the record, we find, based on the credible evidence, that only the portions of the branches of plaintiff's trees which had been overhanging defendants' property had been pruned, and that defendants properly resorted to self-help (Hileman-Rizzo v Krysty, 10 Misc 3d 135[A], 2005 NY Slip Op 52118[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2005] Fliegman v Rubin, 1 Misc 3d 127[A], 2003 NY Slip Op 51542[U] [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2003] 1 NY Jur 2d, Adjoining Landowners § 65).
Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
Tolbert, J.P., Nicolai and Iannacci, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: January 27, 2014