| Conway v Consumer Affairs Dept. Nassau County |
| 2016 NY Slip Op 50137(U) [50 Misc 3d 138(A)] |
| Decided on February 5, 2016 |
| 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| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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, on the ground of inadequacy, from a judgment of the District Court of Nassau County, Third District (Scott H. Siller, J.), entered March 14, 2014. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $250.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover the sum of $500 which he had paid to the County of Nassau in applying for a home improvement contractor's license (see Nassau County Administrative Code § 21-11.6), as well as a $50 fee which he had paid to the Nassau County Home Improvement Restitution Fund as part of the license application process (see Nassau County Administrative Code § 21-11.16). Plaintiff claims that he was entitled to these sums because he had withdrawn his application. Following a nonjury trial, the District Court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $250. Plaintiff appeals on the ground of inadequacy.
In a small claims action, our review is limited to a determination of whether "substantial justice has . . . been done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law" (UDCA 1807; see UDCA 1804; Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2000]; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125 [2000]).
Nassau County Administrative Code § 21-11.6 (4) specifies that a full refund of the license application fee of $500 will be made in only two instances: to an applicant who has predeceased the issuance of a license or to an applicant who has been inducted into the military service prior to the license's issuance. Here, plaintiff conceded that he belonged to neither class of applicants. In addition, as part of the application for a license, every applicant must pay a fee of $50 to the Home Improvement Restitution Fund pursuant to Nassau County Administrative Code § 21-11.16, for which there is no provision for a refund.
As plaintiff has failed to establish that the judgment in his favor is inadequate, we find no basis to disturb the judgment (see UDCA 1804, 1807). Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
Marano, P.J., Iannacci and Garguilo, JJ., concur.