In Collura v. Collura , Cynthia Collura sued her father, Ronald, to recover a $4,000 settlement she received as a child.
When she was 12 years of age, Cynthia was injured in a bicycle accident and was awarded $6,000 (pursuant to an infant compromise order) -- $2,000 of which went to her attorneys' fees.
The court's order directed the monies to be paid to Ronald and deposited in an interest bearing account. Ronald, however, decided to use the money to fund a part of his daughter's college education.
In response to his daughter's suit, Ronald countered that Cynthia owed him monies advanced for her college education.
After the Nassau County District Court sided with Cynthia, and dismissed Ronald's counterclaim, an appeal to the Appellate Term, Second Department, followed.
The AT2 refused to consider Ronald's argument his daughter's case was time-barred since he hadn't raised it below -- at the District Court level
The court also noted Ronald disregarded Cynthia's rights when he dispersed the funds without her consent. Since she hadn't agreed to the use of the monies, and never expected to repay the costs of her education, the AT2 affirmed the outcome.
There's no taking advantage of that.
To download a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use this link: Collura v. Collura