Peng v. Poole

191 A.D.3d 886

138 N.Y.S.3d 903 (Mem)

In the Matter of Mexia PENG, petitioner, v. Sheila J. POOLE, etc., et al., respondents.

2019-03509

Index No. 53536/18

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

Argued—January 19, 2021

February 17, 2021

Steven H. Klein & Associates, P.C., Poughkeepsie, NY, for petitioner.

Letitia James, Attorney General, New York, N.Y. ( Steven C. Wu and David Lawrence III of counsel), for respondents Sheila J. Poole, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and New York State Central Register.

MARK C. DILLON, J.P., HECTOR D. LASALLE, BETSY BARROS, FRANCESCA E. CONNOLLY, JJ.

DECISION & JUDGMENT

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services dated July 24, 2018, which, after a fair hearing pursuant to Social Services Law § 422(8), denied the petitioner's application to amend an indicated report maintained by the New York State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

ADJUDGED that the determination is confirmed, the petition is denied, and the proceeding is dismissed on the merits, with costs.

The petitioner commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding to review a determination of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (hereinafter OCFS), which, after a fair hearing pursuant to Social Services Law § 422(8), denied her application to amend a report maintained by the New York State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment from "indicated" to "unfounded." The report was based on an incident in which the petitioner was alleged to have, as a form of punishment, hit the then five-year-old subject child in the face with a ruler, leaving a lasting mark on the child's face.

The petitioner made an application to OCFS to amend the report from "indicated" to "unfounded" or, in effect, alternatively, for a hearing. OCFS denied the petitioner's application to amend the report and referred the matter for a hearing. In a determination dated July 24, 2018, made after a fair hearing pursuant to Social Services Law § 422(8), OCFS denied the petitioner's application. Thereafter, the petitioner commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review the denial of her application to amend the report. The Supreme Court transferred the proceeding to this Court pursuant to CPLR 7804(g).

"At an administrative expungement hearing to determine whether a report of child abuse or maltreatment is substantiated, the allegations in the report must be established by a preponderance of the evidence" ( Matter of Brown v. Velez, 153 A.D.3d 517, 518, 60 N.Y.S.3d 218 ). Judicial review of a determination that a report of child maltreatment has been substantiated is limited to whether the determination is supported by substantial evidence in the record ( see Matter of Doe v. New York State Off. of Children & Family Servs., 173 A.D.3d 1020, 1022, 105 N.Y.S.3d 454 ; Matter of Brown v. Velez, 153 A.D.3d at 518, 61 N.Y.S.3d 41 ). "Substantial evidence is ‘less than a preponderance of the evidence’ and ‘demands only that a given inference is reasonable and plausible, not necessarily the most probable’ " ( Matter of Doe v. New York State Off. of Children & Family Servs., 173 A.D.3d at 1022, 105 N.Y.S.3d 454, quoting Matter of Haug v. State Univ. of N.Y. at Potsdam, 32 N.Y.3d 1044, 1045–1046, 87 N.Y.S.3d 146, 112 N.E.3d 323 ). " ‘Where substantial evidence exists, the reviewing court may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency, even if the court would have decided the matter...