The following e-filed documents listed on NYSCEF (Motion No. 001) numbered 2-15, 17, 23-24 were read on this motion.

The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's Order to Show Cause seeking pendente lite relief, [*2]supported by the sworn Affidavit of the Plaintiff dated June 3, 2025, the Affirmation of Francine Pickett Cohen, Esq., and the annexed documentary exhibits. Defendant has submitted opposition via an Affirmation of Counsel and an Affidavit in Opposition, both filed on August 4, 2025. The Court has undertaken a thorough examination of the evidentiary record and applicable statutory provisions and, upon due deliberation, renders the following Decision and Order.

I. Facts

The parties were joined in matrimony on July 6, 1998. Their union produced four children: VME (DOB XX/XX/1999), twins RJE and WJE (DOB XX/XX/2006), and ESE (DOB XX/XX/2009). At present, only ESE is a minor; the others, while of majority age, are either enrolled in higher education or remain financially dependent on Plaintiff.

The Plaintiff and the unemancipated children continue to reside at the longstanding marital residence located at XX XXX Avenue, Staten Island, New York, a rental property maintained as the family domicile. The Defendant, VE, vacated the residence approximately five years prior to the commencement of this action but, according to unrebutted testimony, continued to pay the rent and utilities as part of the parties' de facto separation arrangement. That status quo was abruptly disrupted following the filing of the Summons with Notice on April 21, 2025.

The Plaintiff is presently unemployed, having been a stay-at-home parent for the duration of this lengthy marriage. She avers that she has no independent assets or income, and that her ability to provide even for basic subsistence has been jeopardized by Defendant's calculated cessation of financial support. Plaintiff's sworn submissions further allege a long history of financial coercion and marital economic control perpetrated by the Defendant, who is a high-income wage earner and member of Local XX, XXX.

Defendant's opposition, which is largely conclusory, asserts that Plaintiff is employable, exaggerates her caregiving obligations, and should therefore not be entitled to spousal maintenance, child support, or legal fees. Defendant denies financial abuse, and instead alleges that Plaintiff mismanaged marital funds and engaged in unspecified misconduct.

II. Conclusions of Law

A. Service by Alternate Means

The first prong of Plaintiff's motion seeking to serve both the Summons with Notice and the instant Order to Show Cause via alternate means, pursuant to CPLR § 308 [5] has been previously resolved and is deemed to be moot.

B. Pendente Lite Spousal Maintenance (DRL § 236 [B] [5-a])

The purpose of pendente lite maintenance is to preserve the financial status quo and forestall economic compulsion that may otherwise compromise the equitable adjudication of matrimonial litigation. The Plaintiff seeks a guideline-based award in the amount of $2,877.73 per month, premised upon the Defendant's income of approximately $172,664.00.

Plaintiff reports in her statement of new worth filed as Exhibit B with this motion on June 5, 2025 (NY St Cts Filing [NYSCEF] Doc No. 6) a gross income of $5,688.00. Plaintiff [*3]further lists income not included in her gross income $4,836.00 in unemployment insurance benefits and $975.00 in food stamps, the value of which is included in annual income for the purposes of calculating child support obligations. (see Lattuca v Lattuca, 129 AD3d 1683 [4th Dept 2015]).

The Defendant's assertion that Plaintiff is voluntarily unemployed lacks support in both fact and law. Plaintiff, a primary caregiver for multiple children, some with diagnosed ADHD and behavioral needs, is not merely unemployed but unemployable in the immediate term due to her domestic responsibilities and protracted economic dependence. The Defendant, who for years maintained the household financially, cannot now invoke Plaintiff's lack of contribution to frustrate her claim to spousal maintenance.

Furthermore, Defendant offers no competent evidence of Plaintiff's imputed earning capacity. His general accusations—unsubstantiated by affidavits, records, or testimony, are insufficient to rebut the statutory presumption favoring maintenance in a long-term marriage, particularly where Defendant's ability to pay is undisputed.

Calculation of Spousal Maintenance

Accordingly, pendente lite maintenance in the amount of $2,343.00 per month is awarded to the Plaintiff, retroactive to April 21, 2025.

C. Pendente Lite Child Support and Add-On Expenses

Plaintiff also seeks child support in the sum of $3,338.17 per month, calculated in accordance with the Child Support Standards Act (DRL § 240[1-b]), assuming the award of pendente lite maintenance. The Court finds this amount to be presumptively correct under the statute, and notes that Defendant provides no alternate calculations or statutory rationale for deviation. Notably, Defendant's opposition fails to include a Child Support Worksheet or any evidentiary rebuttal to Plaintiff's calculations.

The children's financial dependence, especially that of ESE, who remains a minor, is clear from the record. Plaintiff's inability to provide even basic necessities absent court intervention strongly supports the issuance of temporary child support to maintain continuity and prevent irreparable harm.

Additionally, Plaintiff seeks contribution toward statutory "add-on" expenses, specifically 80% of unreimbursed medical and dental costs. Given Defendant's superior financial position and Plaintiff's absence of income, this pro-rata share is equitable and consistent with prevailing jurisprudence.

Calculation of Child Support

Accordingly, Defendant shall pay $3,030.42 per month in pendente lite child support, and 77% of all statutory add-on expenses, including but not limited to unreimbursed medical, dental, and educational costs. These payments shall also be retroactive to April 21, 2025.

D. Rent and Utilities

Plaintiff seeks an order directing Defendant to bring current arrears on rent, National Grid, and Con Edison accounts for the marital residence. The Court finds that Defendant's abrupt and retaliatory cessation of payment constitutes a constructive form of economic duress. That he previously maintained these expenses for years following separation, without protest or modification, establishes a compelling inference that this obligation had been accepted and relied upon.

The cessation of support appears to have coincided directly with the initiation of this litigation. Such conduct, especially in light of the household's financial vulnerability, risks the [*4]loss of housing, disruption to the children's lives, and potentially triggers reliance on public assistance.

The Court directs the Defendant to pay all rent and utility arrears due for the marital residence through the date of this Order.

E. Interim Counsel Fees (DRL § 237)

It is well-established that there exists a rebuttable presumption under Domestic Relations Law § 237(a) that interim counsel fees shall be awarded to the less-monied spouse. The Plaintiff has amply demonstrated that she is entirely without means to fund her litigation. She borrowed her initial retainer of $8,000 from family and remains dependent on legal representation to vindicate her rights in a complex matrimonial action involving children, support, and distribution issues.

Conversely, the Defendant has offered only perfunctory opposition, without a meaningful accounting of his finances to substantiate an inability to pay. The suggestion that he would be left with insufficient funds post-maintenance and support lacks evidentiary weight and fails to rebut the statutory presumption.

Plaintiff's counsel fee application is substantiated by contemporaneous billing records and a detailed narrative of services rendered. An interim fee of $10,000.00 is both reasonable and necessary to ensure parity of representation.

The Defendant is directed to remit $10,000.00 to Plaintiff's counsel within thirty (30) days of service of this Order with notice of entry.

III. Conclusion and Decretal Paragraphs

Accordingly, it is hereby:

ORDERED, that Defendant shall pay to Plaintiff spousal maintenance in the amount of $2,343.00 per month, retroactive to April 21, 2025; and it is further

ORDERED, that Defendant shall pay to Plaintiff child support in the amount of $3,030.42 per month, retroactive to April 21, 2025; and it is further

ORDERED, that Defendant shall contribute 77% of all child support add-on expenses, including but not limited to unreimbursed medical, dental, and educational costs; and it is further

ORDERED, that Defendant shall immediately bring current all rent and utility arrears (National Grid and Con Edison) for the marital residence located at 14 Bedell Avenue, Staten Island, NY; and it is further

ORDERED, that Defendant shall remit interim counsel fees in the amount of $10,000.00 to Plaintiff's counsel within thirty (30) days of service of this Order with notice of entry; and it is further

ORDERED, that prior authorization for alternate service of the Summons with Notice and Order to Show Cause is hereby ratified and deemed sufficient.

This constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.