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Appellate Division, Second Department · September 30, 2026 · 2026 NY Slip Op 05544

Matter of Westchester County Dept. of Social Servs. v Davidson C.L.

Read the official decision: 2026 NY Slip Op 05544

Holding The Appellate Division affirmed the Family Court’s order adjudicating the appellant as the father of the child, finding that he was equitably estopped from obtaining a genetic marker test. The court determined that the best interests of the child supported the application of equitable estoppel and that the lower court properly resolved credibility issues in favor of the mother’s testimony.

The court’s words

the best interests of the child support the Family Court's application, after the hearing, of the doctrine of equitable estoppel in denying the appellant's application for a genetic marker test

2026 NY Slip Op 05544, at the official text

Issues of credibility were for the court to resolve, and there is no basis to disturb its determination to credit the testimony of the child's mother

2026 NY Slip Op 05544, at the official text
CourtAppellate Division, Second Department
DecidedSeptember 30, 2026
Citation2026 NY Slip Op 05544
Area of lawFamily Law
WeekWeek ending October 3, 2026
Official textOfficial decision: 2026 NY Slip Op 05544
Publication statusSlip opinions are uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.
Source feedNew York slip opinion page
Law Watch record id719

Recommended citation

ESQ HQ, New York Law Watch, Matter of Westchester County Dept. of Social Servs. v Davidson C.L., 2026 NY Slip Op 05544 (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 30, 2026), https://esqhq.com/decisions/2026-ny-slip-op-05544/

How this record was made

Holding drafted by Law Watch’s in-house model, graded by three reviewers; every quotation verified word for word against the official text.

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Published September 30, 2026. Updated September 30, 2026.