Ordered that the judgments are affirmed; and it is further,
Ordered that the defendant is awarded one bill of costs.
The court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in awarding counsel fees to the defendant (see, Domestic Relations Law § 237; DeCabrera v. Cabrera-Rosete, 70 N.Y.2d 879). It would be unfair to have the wife, in effect, extinguish her assets to pay counsel fees incurred in reaching a settlement which might just as easily have been attained much earlier but for what appears to have been a lack of good faith by the husband (see, Schussler v. Schussler, 109 A.D.2d 875; Stern v. Stern, 67 A.D.2d 253).
We note that the plaintiff did not submit an affidavit in opposition to the factual allegations set forth in the defendant's affidavit. The affirmation of the plaintiff's attorney was not based upon personal knowledge and contained mere conclusory allegations (see, Metzger v. Metzger, 52 A.D.2d 1056). Thompson, J.P., Lawrence, Kunzeman and Rubin, JJ., concur.