Orange Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Richard C. (In re Dall. C.)

Richard L. Herzfeld, New York, N.Y., for appellant. David L. Darwin, County Attorney, Goshen, N.Y. (Peter R. Schwarz of counsel), for petitioner-respondent.
William E. Horwitz, Ardsley–on–Hudson, N.Y., attorney for the children.

In related child neglect proceedings pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, the mother appeals from an order of fact-finding and disposition of the Family Court, *446Orange County (Woods, J.), dated November 21, 2011, which, after a fact-finding hearing, inter alia, found that she neglected the subject children.

ORDERED that the order of fact-finding and disposition is reversed, on the facts, without costs or disbursements, the petitions are denied, and the proceedings are dismissed.

A finding that a child is neglected must be based on a preponderance of the evidence ( seeFamily Ct. Act § 1046[b][i]; Matter of Kassandra V. [ Sylvia L.], 90 A.D.3d 940, 941, 935 N.Y.S.2d 607). Here, the petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the mother neglected her children.

As a result of our determination, the mother's remaining contentions have been rendered academic. DILLON, J.P., ANGIOLILLO, LEVENTHAL, and MILLER, JJ., concur.