Kotsakis v. Kotsakis

169 A.D.3d 1023

92 N.Y.S.3d 901 (Mem)

Irene KOTSAKIS, Appellant,

v.Nicholas KOTSAKIS, Respondent.

2016–12615

Index No. 12888/08

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

Submitted—November 2, 2018

February 27, 2019

J. Papapanayotou, Long Island City, NY, for appellant.

Joseph O'Shea, Staten Island, NY, for respondent.

WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., SHERI S. ROMAN, JEFFREY A. COHEN, FRANCESCA E. CONNOLLY, JJ.

DECISION & ORDER

In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the plaintiff appeals from a judgment of divorce of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Margaret Parisi McGowan, J.), entered September 6, 2016. The judgment of divorce, insofar as appealed from, upon a decision of the same court dated May 20, 2016, made after a nonjury trial, awarded the defendant 50% of the proceeds of the sale of timber from the marital property.

ORDERED that the judgment of divorce is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The parties were married in 1964. The plaintiff commenced this action for a divorce and ancillary relief in 2008. Following a nonjury trial, the Supreme Court issued a judgment of divorce, which, among other things, awarded the defendant the sum of $ 50,000, representing 50% of the proceeds of the plaintiff's sale of timber from the parties' approximately 80–acre property in Salem. The plaintiff appeals from that portion of the judgment of divorce.

"A trial court is vested with broad discretion in making an equitable distribution of marital property, and ‘unless it can be shown that the court improvidently exercised that discretion, its determination should not be disturbed’ " ( Schwartz v. Schwartz, 67 A.D.3d 989, 990, 890 N.Y.S.2d 71, quoting Saleh v. Saleh, 40 A.D.3d 617, 617–618, 836 N.Y.S.2d 201 ; see Rudish v. Rudish, 150 A.D.3d 1291, 1293, 56 N.Y.S.3d 191 ). Moreover, where, as here, "the determination as to equitable distribution has been made after a nonjury trial, the trial court's assessment of the credibility of witnesses is afforded great weight on appeal" ( Aloi v. Simoni, 82 A.D.3d 683, 685, 918 N.Y.S.2d 506 ; see Schwartz v. Schwartz, 67 A.D.3d at 990, 890 N.Y.S.2d 71 ; Ivani v. Ivani, 303 A.D.2d 639, 640, 757 N.Y.S.2d 89 ). In this case, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in awarding the defendant 50% of the proceeds of the sale of the timber from the marital property. The court credited the testimony at trial indicating that the plaintiff received $ 100,000 from the sale of the timber after the...