McKinley v. McKinley

Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court at Special Term (Pennock, J.), entered March 31, 1981 in Rensselaer County, which awarded plaintiff counsel fees. After service of a summons and complaint in an action for divorce, but before an answer was served, plaintiff moved for an order seeking, among other requests for pendente lite relief, counsel fees. Special Term ordered defendant to pay the sum of $1,500 as reimbursement of plaintiff’s interim counsel fees. This appeal by defendant ensued. This court has consistently held that an award for counsel fees can only be justified…