Won Affirmance On Behalf Of The Child Of Order Granting Custody To The Maternal Grandmother Over The Mother.

Matter of Sharon B. v Tiffany P., 143 AD3d 573 (1st Dept 2016)

In this custody proceeding wherein I represented the child in an appeal by the mother from an order granting custody to the child’s grandmother, the First Department accepted my argument that the child’s grandmother, demonstrated the requisite extraordinary circumstances to establish her standing to seek custody of the child as substantial evidence supported the court’s determination that it was the grandmother and not the mother who cared for the child on a daily basis beginning in his infancy and that the child resided in her home for more than 10 years, nearly his entire life. Indeed, the Court agreed with my argument that the mother’s 28-month incarceration for selling drugs—during which time the child resided in petitioner’s home—is alone enough to constitute extraordinary circumstances under Domestic Relations Law § 72 (2) (see Suarez, 26 NY3d at 451).  The Court also accepted my argument that it was in the best interests of the child for the grandmother to be awarded custody as the grandmother has supported the child and provided a stable and loving home where he is thriving, while the mother is at this point unable to do so.

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2016/2016_06880.htm