Order unanimously reversed on the law without costs and matter remitted to Erie County Family Court for further proceedings in accordance with the following Memorandum:
In this child custody dispute between a mother and grandmother, Family Court erred in granting the grandmother's petition without a hearing on the ground that the mother had defaulted in appearing in response thereto. A party who is represented at a scheduled court appearance by an attorney has not failed to appear ( see, Matter of Cleveland W., 256 A.D.2d 1151, 1151-1152; Matter of Robert F., 200 A.D.2d 899; Matter of Cecelia A., 199 A.D.2d 582; cf., Matter of Black v. Black, 84 A.D.2d 922). In any event, the court erred in granting the petition summarily ( see, Obey v. Degling, 37 N.Y.2d 768, 769-770; Matter of Van Etten v. Van Etten, 207 A.D.2d 992). A parent's right to be heard on a matter of child custody is fundamental and "not to be disregarded absent a convincing showing of waiver" ( Matter of Kendra M., 175 A.D.2d 657, 658; see, Matter of Cleveland W., supra, at 1151). Moreover, transfer of custody from a parent to a nonparent requires a showing of extraordinary circumstances justifying the court's intervention, followed by a showing that an award of custody to the nonparent is in the child's best interests ( see, Matter of Bennett v. Jeffreys, 40 N.Y.2d 543, 545-549). Those issues may not be determined summarily ( see, Matter of Stefanik v. Roberts, 266 A.D.2d 758, citing D'Entremont v. D'Entremont, 254 A.D.2d 576, 576-577). Consequently, we reverse the order and remit the matter to Erie County Family Court for further proceedings on the petition before a different Judge.