Chapter 34 FAMILY COURT

JurisdictionNew York

Chapter Thirty-Four

Family Court

I. Family Court As a Court of Limited Jurisdiction

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Family Court was created by constitutional amendment effective in 19625744 and by statute, Family Court Act § 115, which specifies the jurisdiction of the court.5745 Family Court is a statutory court of limited jurisdiction and does not have subject matter jurisdiction to entertain matters of equity, such as, disputes that require an application of contract doctrine. For discussion on subject matter jurisdiction, see [§ 1.44], XXVI. "Subject Matter Jurisdiction."

B. Restrictions

As noted by the Court of Appeals in Sohn v. Calderon, "Article VI, § 7 of the N.Y. Constitution establishes the Supreme Court as a court of 'general original jurisdiction in law and equity.' Under this grant of authority, the Supreme Court 'is competent to entertain all causes of action unless its jurisdiction has been specifically proscribed,' and to that extent its powers are 'unlimited and unqualified.' "5746 The Supreme Court, a court of original, unlimited and unqualified jurisdiction,5747 is vested with inherent plenary power to fashion any remedy necessary for the proper administration of justice.5748 Once the Legislature creates a cause of action, jurisdiction to entertain it is automatically vested in the supreme court by virtue of article VI of the Constitution.5749

In Pollicina v. Misericordia Hospital Medical Center,5750 the Court of Appeals stated:

Article VI, § 7(a) of the State Constitution provides that the Supreme Court "shall have general original jurisdiction in law and equity." Further, "[i]f the legislature shall create new classes of actions and proceedings, the supreme court shall have jurisdiction over such classes of actions and proceedings."
This means that, with two narrow exceptions, the Supreme Court is competent to entertain all causes and to conduct all subsidary proceedings necessary to determining those causes. . . . While the Legislature may confer concurrent jurisdiction on other courts, it cannot oust the Supreme Court from jurisdiction or limit the scope of its authority in those actions.

C. Family Court May Not Reform, Vacate, Modify, Invalidate, Enforce, Interpret an Agreement, Declare the Validity of an Oral Modification, or Examine for Breach of Contract or Fraud

Family Court, created by constitutional amendment effective in 1962,5751 is a court of limited jurisdiction. The powers of Family Court, as a court of limited jurisdiction, are restricted to those granted it by the precise language of the state Constitution5752 and statute. 5753

N.Y. Constitution art. VI, § 13 (Family Court established; composition; election and appointment of judges; jurisdiction):

a. The family court of the state of New York is hereby established. It shall consist of at least one judge in each county outside the city of New York and such number of additional judges for such counties as may be provided by law. Within the city of New York it shall consist of such number of judges as may be provided by law. The judges of the family court within the city of New York shall be residents of such city and shall be appointed by the mayor of the city of New York for terms of ten years. The judges of the family court outside the city of New York, shall be chosen by the electors of the counties wherein they reside for terms of ten years.
b. The family court shall have jurisdiction over the following classes of actions and proceedings which shall be originated in such family court in the manner provided by law: (1) the protection, treatment, correction and commitment of those minors who are in need of the exercise of the authority of the court because of circumstances of neglect, delinquency or dependency, as the legislature may determine; (2) the custody of minors except for custody incidental to actions and proceedings for marital separation, divorce, annulment of marriage and dissolution of marriage; (3) the adoption of persons; (4) the support of dependents except for support incidental to actions and proceedings in this state for marital separation, divorce, annulment of marriage or dissolution of marriage; (5) the establishment of paternity; (6) proceedings for conciliation of spouses; and (7) as may be provided by law: the guardianship of the person of minors and, in conformity with the provisions of section seven of this article, crimes and offenses by or against minors or between spouses or between parent and child or between members of the same family or household. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge the authority or jurisdiction of courts to appoint guardians in cases originating in those courts.
c. The family court shall also have jurisdiction to determine, with the same powers possessed by the supreme court, the following matters when referred to the family court from the supreme court: habeas corpus proceedings for the determination of the custody of minors; and in actions and proceedings for marital separation, divorce, annulment of marriage and dissolution of marriage, applications to fix temporary or permanent support and custody, or applications to enforce judgments and orders of support and of custody, or applications to modify judgments and orders of support and of custody which may be granted only upon the showing to the family court that there has been a subsequent change of circumstances and that modification is required.
d. The provisions of this section shall in no way limit or impair the jurisdiction of the supreme court as set forth in section seven of this article.

Family Court Act § 115:

(a) The family court has exclusive original jurisdiction over:
(i) abuse and neglect proceedings, as set forth in article ten;
(ii) support proceedings, as set forth in article four;
(iii) proceedings to determine paternity and for the support of children born out-of-wedlock, as set forth in article five;
(iv) proceedings to permanently terminate parental rights to guardianship and custody of a child: (A) by reason of permanent neglect, as set forth in part one of article six of this act and paragraph (d) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law, (B) by reason of mental illness, intellectual disability and severe or repeated child abuse, as set forth in paragraphs (c) and (e) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law, and (C) by reason of the death of one or both parents, where no guardian of the person of the child has been lawfully appointed, or by reason of abandonment of the child for a period of six months immediately prior to the filing of the petition, where a child is under the jurisdiction of the family court as a result of a placement in foster care by the family court pursuant to article ten or ten-A of this act or section three hundred fifty-eight-a of the social services law, unless the court declines jurisdiction pursuant to section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law;
(v) proceedings concerning whether a person is in need of supervision, as set forth in article seven; and
(vi) proceedings concerning juvenile delinquency as set forth in article three.
(b) The family court has such other jurisdiction as is set forth in this act, including jurisdiction over habeas corpus proceedings and over applications for support, maintenance, a distribution of marital property and custody in matrimonial actions when referred to the family court by the supreme court, conciliation proceedings, and proceedings concerning physically handicapped and mentally defective or retarded children.
(c) The family court has such other jurisdiction as is provided by law, including but not limited to: proceedings concerning adoption and custody of children, as set forth in parts two and three of article six of this act; proceedings concerning the uniform interstate family support act, as set forth in article five-B of this act; proceedings concerning children in foster care and care and custody of children, as set forth in sections three hundred fifty-eight-a and three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services law and article ten-A of this act; proceedings concerning former foster children as set forth in article ten-B of this act; proceedings concerning destitute children, as set forth in article ten-C of this act; proceedings concerning guardianship and custody of children by reason of the death of, or abandonment or surrender by, the parent or parents, as set forth in sections three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law; proceedings concerning standby guardianship and guardianship of the person as set forth in part four of article six of this act and article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act; and proceedings concerning the interstate compact on juveniles as set forth in chapter one hundred fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty-five, as amended, the interstate compact on the placement of children, as set forth in section three hundred seventy-four-a of the social services law, and the uniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act, as set forth in article five-A of the domestic relations law.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) through (c) of this section, jurisdiction of the family court and tribal courts of Indian tribes designated by the Secretary of the Interior over those child custody proceedings provided for in articles three, seven, ten and ten-A of this act and sections three hundred fifty-eight-a and three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law involving Indian children as defined in subdivision thirty-six of section two of the social services law shall be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in applicable sections of title twenty-five of the United States
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