As an attorney I sometimes find myself having to advise clients against pursuing a course of action they believe they must take. My recommendations are given not because I don’t’ want the client to win, but because I know the law and I know the likelihood of success. I also know, and the decision below affirms, that a judge can not only deny a frivolous request bit can also asses an award of counsel fees against the offending party.
FAMILY LAW
20-2-1473 Farzan v. Farzan, App. Div. (per curiam) (10 pp.) Defendant appeals from portions of a Family Part order that (1) denied his motion to terminate child support for his 18-year-old daughter; (2) reduced to judgment prior counsel fee awards in plaintiff’s favor, totaling $2,300; and (3) awarded plaintiff an additional $700 counsel fee by virtue of defendant having again filed a frivolous, repetitive and unsupported motion. The panel affirms substantially for the reasons expressed below, adding that defendant’s argument that he should no longer be required to pay child support for his daughter because she is 18 and has completed high school is contrary to existing case law and contrary to the parties’ PSA, and that the counsel fees were awarded after a finding of bad faith that is supported in the record, defendant did not appeal the awards, and there is no indication that the fees were unreasonable.
