Zacchia v. Zacchia

Decision Date31 December 1990
Citation563 N.Y.S.2d 504,168 A.D.2d 677
PartiesDoris ZACCHIA, Appellant, v. Louis ZACCHIA, Respondent.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Di Mascio, Meisner & Koopersmith, Carle Place (John P. Di Mascio, of counsel), for appellant.

Krohn, Rosenblum & Scharoff, Merrick (Charles B. Rosenblum and Everett A. Rosenblum, of counsel), for respondent.

Before BRACKEN, J.P., and KUNZEMAN, EIBER and HARWOOD, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In a matrimonial action in which the parties were divorced by a judgment dated June 5, 1985, the plaintiff wife appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Yachnin, J.), dated October 20, 1988, which, after a hearing, denied her application for an upward modification of the maintenance award in the judgment.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The plaintiff Doris Zacchia and the defendant Louis Zacchia were married in January 1946 and have two adult children. The couple separated in 1975, and the wife subsequently commenced a divorce action against the husband in September 1984. This action was settled by a stipulation dated May 17, 1985, which survived and was not merged in the ensuing judgment of divorce. Pursuant to the stipulation, the husband agreed to pay the wife a lump sum of $60,000, as well as maintenance in the sum of $150 per month until the death of either party or the wife's remarriage.

Two and one-half years later, the wife moved for an upward modification of her maintenance award, alleging that she was no longer able to be self-supporting because of her poor health and lack of any marketable training and skills. Following a hearing, the Supreme Court denied her application, finding that the financial hardship claimed by the wife was self-created because she had voluntarily left her job as an employee in her husband's concession business, and had failed to seek other employment or demonstrate the existence of a medical condition which prevented her from so doing. We affirm.

It is well settled that a party seeking to modify the maintenance provisions of a judgment of divorce in which the terms of a stipulation of settlement have been incorporated but not merged must establish that the continued enforcement of these maintenance provisions would create an "extreme hardship" (see, Domestic Relations Law § 236[B][9][b]; Saxton v. Saxton, 163 A.D.2d 292, 559 N.Y.S.2d 647; Matter of Cohen v. Seletsky, 142 A.D.2d 111, 119-120, 534 N.Y.S.2d 688). A party...

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9 cases
  • Hickman v. Hickman
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • April 7, 2022
    ...her means and, contrary to advice from professionals, purchased a business that resulted in no profit (see Zacchia v. Zacchia, 168 A.D.2d 677, 678, 563 N.Y.S.2d 504 [1990] ). Despite some proof of her 18–month job search before gaining employment, the wife did not demonstrate that she was u......
  • Rockwell v. Rockwell
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 15, 2010
    ...99; Steinberg v. Steinberg, 15 A.D.3d 388, 790 N.Y.S.2d 63;Lewis v. Lewis, 183 A.D.2d 875, 876, 584 N.Y.S.2d 594; Zacchia v. Zacchia, 168 A.D.2d 677, 678, 563 N.Y.S.2d 504; Saxton v. Saxton, 163 A.D.2d 292, 559 N.Y.S.2d 647; Pintus v. Pintus, 104 A.D.2d 866, 868, 480 N.Y.S.2d 501). Here, th......
  • Noren v. Babus
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • November 9, 2016
    ...520 ; Matter of Clarke v. Clarke, 8 A.D.3d 272, 777 N.Y.S.2d 687 ; Beard v. Beard, 300 A.D.2d 268, 751 N.Y.S.2d 304 ; Zacchia v. Zacchia, 168 A.D.2d 677, 563 N.Y.S.2d 504 ; Saxton v. Saxton, 163 A.D.2d 292, 559 N.Y.S.2d 647 ; Battista v. Battista, 132 A.D.2d 639, 518 N.Y.S.2d 12 ). The Supr......
  • Shoenfeld v. Shoenfeld
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 31, 1990
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