Vora v. Vora

Decision Date18 January 2000
Citation268 A.D.2d 470,702 N.Y.S.2d 343
PartiesAMI VORA, Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>MANOJ VORA, Appellant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

O'Brien, J. P., Friedmann, Florio and H. Miller, JJ., concur.

Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the law, by (1) deleting from the 15th decretal paragraph thereof the sum of $84,089 and substituting therefor the sum of $18,916, and (2) deleting the 16th decretal paragraph thereof and substituting therefor a provision directing that the "distributive award of $18,916 be paid in two yearly installments of $9,458 each, with interest of 9% from date of the entry of judgment"; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.

The Supreme Court's determination that the award of custody of the parties' daughter to the plaintiff was in the child's best interest has a sound and substantial basis in the record (see, Eschbach v Eschbach, 56 NY2d 167; Friederwitzer v Friederwitzer, 55 NY2d 89; Bliss v Ach, 56 NY2d 995).

The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in awarding the plaintiff 80% of her counsel fees (see, DeCabrera v Cabrera-Rosete, 70 NY2d 879; Levine v Levine, 179 AD2d 625).

The Supreme Court erred in awarding the plaintiff a 10% interest in the defendant's medical practice, an asset which was acquired by the defendant 11 months after the commencement of this action. Assets acquired after the commencement of an action for a divorce, not otherwise the product of a sale or exchange of marital property, are categorized as separate, rather than marital property (see, Lennon v Lennon, 124 AD2d 788).

We agree with the Supreme Court's finding that the plaintiff is entitled to a 10% interest in the defendant's enhanced earning ability based upon her testimony that she cared for the parties' child, provided some economic support, and, to an extent, sacrificed her education while the defendant pursued his medical license (see, Vainchenker v Vainchenker, 242 AD2d 620). However, the Supreme Court erred in failing to apply a "coverture fraction" to the enhanced earning valuation to account for the portion of the defendant's medical education and training completed before the marriage and after the commencement of the instant action (see, Grunfeld v Grunfeld, 255 AD2d 12; Vainchenker v Vainchenker, supra). The defendant was a practicing physician in India for several years before coming to the United States, and completed the last two months of his residency in the United States after the...

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6 cases
  • Mojdeh M. v. Jamshid A.
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • July 4, 2012
    ...[3 Dept., 2001] and Farrell v. Cleary–Farrell, 306 A.D.2d 597, 599–600, 761 N.Y.S.2d 357 [3 Dept., 2003]; see Vora v. Vora, 268 A.D.2d 470, 471, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343[2 Dept., 2000] see also Kriftcher v. Kriftcher, 59 A.D.3d 392, 874 N.Y.S.2d 153 [2 Dept., 2009]; Kuznetsov v. Kuznetsova, 79 A.D.......
  • Taylor v. Taylor
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 15, 2016
    ...Cleary–Farrell, 306 A.D.2d 597, 599, 761 N.Y.S.2d 357 ; see Kriftcher v. Kriftcher, 59 A.D.3d 392, 393, 874 N.Y.S.2d 153 ; Vora v. Vora, 268 A.D.2d 470, 471, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343 ). Here, since the plaintiff's contributions to the defendant's acquisition of her degree and advanced certification......
  • Haspel v. Haspel
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • November 16, 2010
    ...357; Corasanti v. Corasanti, 296 A.D.2d 831, 744 N.Y.S.2d 614; Barbuto v. Barbuto, 286 A.D.2d 741, 743, 730 N.Y.S.2d 532; Vora v. Vora, 268 A.D.2d 470, 471, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343; Morrongiello v. Paulsen, 195 A.D.2d 594, 596, 601 N.Y.S.2d 121; cf. Krigsman v. Krigsman, 288 A.D.2d 189, 190, 732 N......
  • Ning&ndash;Yen Yao v. Karen Kao-Yao
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • February 23, 2017
    ...enhanced earnings (see Farrell v. Cleary–Farrell, 306 A.D.2d 597, 599–600, 761 N.Y.S.2d 357 [3d Dept.2003] ; see Vora v. Vora, 268 A.D.2d 470, 471, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343 [2d Dept.2000] ). It is well-established law that both parties in a matrimonial action are entitled to "fundamental fairness i......
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1 books & journal articles
  • § 9.02 States without Express Statutes
    • United States
    • Full Court Press Divorce, Separation and the Distribution of Property Title CHAPTER 9 Professional Education
    • Invalid date
    ...285, 574 N.Y.S.2d 385 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991).[108] Malhotra v. Gupta, 641 N.Y.S.2d 716 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996).[109] See Vora v. Vora, 268 A.D.2d 470, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000); Procario v. Procario, 623 N.Y.S.2d 971 (N.Y. Sup. 1994). The same concept was applied to the husband's ......

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