Ordered that the appeal from the order and judgment entered October 11, 1994, is dismissed, as that order and judgment was superseded by the judgment entered January 9, 1995; and it is further,
Ordered that the judgment entered January 9, 1995, is affirmed; and it is further,
Ordered that the respondent is awarded one bill of costs.
The report of a Referee should be confirmed whenever the findings are substantially supported by the record, and the Referee has clearly defined the issues and resolved matters of credibility ( see, Kaplan v. Einy, 209 A.D.2d 248; United States Trust Co. v. Olsen, 194 A.D.2d 481). We agree with the Supreme Court that the Referee's findings, which were based on more than a dozen hearings over an 18-month period, are supported by the record. Accordingly, the respondent's motion to confirm the report was properly granted.
We note that, in his motion to confirm the Referee's findings, the respondent contended that the plaintiff's claims were barred by a general release he signed in a Federal action. We decline to reach this issue because the respondent never moved to amend his answer to plead this affirmative defense after the release was signed ( see, CPLR 3018 [b]) and the Supreme Court did not address the issue.
We have considered the plaintiff's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Bracken, J.P., O'Brien, Joy and Goldstein, JJ., concur.