| Board of Mgrs. of King Terraces Condominium v Nadaf |
| 2015 NY Slip Op 50063(U) [46 Misc 3d 137(A)] |
| Decided on January 15, 2015 |
| 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| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Noach Dear, J.), entered October 5, 2012. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $7,396.83 and dismissed defendant's counterclaim.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiff commenced this action to recover unpaid common charges and special assessment fees through October 2009. Defendant interposed a counterclaim seeking damages for injuries and loss of income. After a nonjury trial, the Civil Court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $7,396.83 and dismissed defendant's counterclaim.
In reviewing a determination made after a nonjury trial, the power of this court is as broad as that of the trial court, and this court may render the judgment it finds warranted by the facts, bearing in mind that 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 Northern Westchester Professional Park Assoc. v Town of Bedford, 60 NY2d 492, 499 [1983]; Hamilton v Blackwood, 85 AD3d 1116 [2011]; Zeltser v Sacerdote, 52 AD3d 824, 826 [2008]).
Defendant purchased his condominium in 2005, and it is uncontroverted that defendant subsequently stopped paying his common charges and special assessment fees, and had an outstanding balance of $7,396.83 through the end of October 2009. Thus, plaintiff established its cause of action. With respect to defendant's counterclaim, we find that defendant failed to establish his physical injuries or show that plaintiff was liable for his alleged injuries and loss of income. Consequently, the Civil Court properly awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $7,396.83 and dismissed defendant's counterclaim. We note that we do not consider materials annexed to defendant's appellate brief that are dehors the record (see Chimarios v Duhl, 152 AD2d 508 [1989]; Jerome Ave. Condominium, Inc. v Ram, 25 Misc 3d 130[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 52116[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009]).
Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
Pesce, P.J., Aliotta and Solomon, JJ., concur.