PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
After she was displaced from her home (due to a restraining order that had been issued against her), C.C. returned to the residence with the assistance of the police and a locksmith, only to find that some of her personal belongings were missing -- like “a mink coat, a dog cage and a pair of earrings.”
After she was awarded $4350 by the Queens County Civil Court, the defendant, R.C., a/k/a “Romeo,” appealed to the Appellate Term, Second Department.
On its review of the record, the AT2 accorded “substantial deference” to the trial court, noting that it was in the best position to make credibility determinations and to “observe and evaluate the testimony and demeanor of the witnesses.’
Concurring with the outcome, it noted that, “the Civil Court was entitled to credit plaintiff's testimony,” given that she “had presented sufficient evidence warranting a judgment in her favor.”
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!”
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DECISION