Kimons Moving, Inc. v Freeman

[*1] Kimons Moving, Inc. v Freeman 2013 NY Slip Op 50013(U) Decided on January 4, 2013 Appellate Term, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on January 4, 2013
SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: Schoenfeld, J.P., Shulman, Hunter, Jr., JJ
570012/12.

Kimons Moving, Inc. d/b/a/ The Velvet Touch, Plaintiff-Respondent,

against

Dr. Hal Freeman, Defendant-Appellant.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York (Debra R. Samuels, J.), entered on or about September 13, 2011, after trial, in favor of plaintiff and awarding it damages in the principal sum of $4,785, and dismissing defendant's counterclaim.

Per Curiam.

Judgment (Debra R. Samuels, J.), entered on or about September 13, 2011, affirmed, without costs.

A judgment rendered in the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court will be sustained on appeal unless it is shown that "substantial justice has not been done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law" (CCA 1807; see Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125 [2000], lv dismissed 95 NY2d 898 [2000]). Applying that limited review standard here, and since the record supports the court's express finding that the plaintiff moving company "substantially complied" with the parties' agreement, we find no basis to substitute our judgment for that of the trial court in awarding plaintiff the contract price in the main action and dismissing defendant's counterclaim. Defendant's failure to present competent proof of the claimed diminution of value of the antiques and artwood allegedly damaged during the moving process provides an additional basis for affirming the dismissal of his counterclaim.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
I concur
Decision Date: January 04, 2013