Moccia v. Moccia

Austin, J.,

dissents and votes to reverse the order appealed from, with the following memorandum in which Belen, J., concurs: Based upon the disparity of income of the parties, I believe that it was an improvident exercise of discretion for the Supreme Court to deny the wife’s assigned counsel’s motion for an award of an attorney’s fee without a hearing.

The standard for awarding an attorney’s fee in a divorce action is well established (see e.g. Sand v Lammers, 150 AD2d 355 [1989]). In determining a counsel fee award, the trial court must consider factors such as “the difficulty of the…