SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department
799
CAF 14-00688
PRESENT: SMITH, J.P., PERADOTTO, CARNI, VALENTINO, AND WHALEN, JJ.
IN THE MATTER OF DELSENIOR STRACHAN,
PETITIONER-APPELLANT,
V MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
LINDA GILLIAM, RESPONDENT-RESPONDENT.
(APPEAL NO. 1.)
TIMOTHY P. DONAHER, PUBLIC DEFENDER, ROCHESTER (DAVID R. JUERGENS OF
COUNSEL), FOR PETITIONER-APPELLANT.
PAUL B. WATKINS, FAIRPORT, FOR RESPONDENT-RESPONDENT.
SARA E. ROOK, ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILD, ROCHESTER.
Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Monroe County (Patricia
E. Gallaher, J.), entered July 19, 2013 in a proceeding pursuant to
Family Court Act article 6. The order dismissed the petition for a
modification of an order of visitation.
It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from is
unanimously affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: In appeal Nos. 1 and 2, petitioner mother appeals
from orders that dismissed her petitions seeking to modify a prior
order of visitation. Contrary to the mother’s contention in both
appeals, we conclude that Family Court did not abuse its discretion in
sua sponte dismissing the petitions without conducting a hearing. “A
hearing is not automatically required whenever a parent seeks
modification of a custody [or visitation] order . . . and, here, the
mother failed to make a sufficient evidentiary showing of a change in
circumstances to require a hearing” (Matter of Consilio v Terrigino,
114 AD3d 1248, 1248 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Matter of
Sierak v Staring, 124 AD3d 1397, 1398).
Entered: June 19, 2015 Frances E. Cafarell
Clerk of the Court