| Matter of Doar (C.B.) |
| 2025 NY Slip Op 05034 [241 AD3d 1117] |
| September 23, 2025 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| In the Matter of Robert Doar, Petitioner, for the
Appointment of a Guardian for C.B, an Incapacitated Person. Dalton Battin, Nonparty
Appellant, v Gregory K. Pryor, Nonparty Respondent. |
Dalton Battin, New Rochelle, for appellant, pro se.
Smith Buss & Jacobs LLP, New York (Jacqueline Aiello of counsel), for respondent.
Attorney and Client
- Frivolous Conduct
- Counsel Fees
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ta-Tanisha James, J.), entered October 9, 2024, which, insofar appealed from, denied appellant's request for attorneys' fees and costs, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion by declining to award counsel fees and costs to appellant, as respondent did not engage in "frivolous conduct" within the meaning of 22 NYCRR 130-1.1 (a). The record does not establish that respondent advanced a position that was "completely without merit in law" or undertaken for the purposes of delay, harassment, or malicious injury, nor does it establish that respondent asserted material factual statements that were false (id. § 130-1.1 [c] [1]; see Matter of Kover, 134 AD3d 64, 74 [1st Dept 2015]). In view of the foregoing, we need not consider appellant's remaining arguments. Concur—Moulton, J.P., Mendez, O'Neill Levy, Michael, Chan, JJ.