Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Genine D. Edwards, J.), entered November 22, 2010. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $2,400 and implicitly dismissed the counterclaim.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

In this small claims action, plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of $5,000 for property damage, breach of a lease, and failure to return security and pet deposits. Defendant counterclaimed for breach of the lease and property damage. After a nonjury trial, the Civil Court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $2,400 and implicitly dismissed the counterclaim. 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 (see CCA 1804, 1807; 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 the 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 [2000]). As the record supports the determination of the Civil Court, we find no reason to disturb the judgment.

Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Weston, J.P., Aliotta and Solomon, JJ., concur.