A year ago, I was once again stuck in family court. Ex was dragging me there one more time for unreimbursed medical expenses, mostly orthodontic, for my girls. Ex did not want to use my dental insurance, did not ask health providers to fill insurance claims and was instructing health providers not to speak to me. Our case was assigned to a new Support Magistrate, let us call her Kukuk. Not the overtly biased type like S.M. Grey but the whimsical, lunatic one. Kukuk first found me in violation and gave me the whole enchilada: the claimed unreimbursed orthodontic expenses and ex-wife lawyers fees. Four months later, she waved the Court order but finally reinstated it for the only reason that I could not be in Court the day she wanted me to. In Manhattan family court, facts and the search for justice are rarely the guide of magistrates’ decisions.
Kukuk’s ruling was proving one more time that in Manhattan Family Court, non-sense would never end. I decided to have my divorce agreement amended in Supreme Court. Some thousands of dollar later, I have a Supreme Court order stating that I can speak to the health providers of my daughters, use my dental and vision insurance for them (which by New York State law, I have to have), and that my ex and I will go over medical expenses at the end of the year: a definite breakthrough for family justice in New York State.
All bias, bitter, entrenched judges and magistates need to be removed from NYS Family Court. I droped and landed in Family Court for custody and support by just a 4 month long ex girlfriend who kept the child after an untentional pregnancy. She would still be co habitating with her 5 cats in a shabby apt in Brooklyn if not for her ‘choice’ to have a kid. The support order by Mag. Karen Kolomechuk was criminal! The visitation order by Gloria Sosa Lintner grant visitation but has been violated by the mother. I went thru 5 judges from Mar. 2009 to Apr. 2010. Here is a list of Magistates and Judges I went thru. Please rate their bias and fainess. Plus add any Mag. and Judges I should avoid. Thanks all.
Karen D Kolomechuk
Gloria Sosa-Lintner
Ann Marie Loughlin
Helen C. Sturm
Robert FX Ross
Matthew Troy
Hope everything is well with you. I’m dealing with Karen Kolomechuk and she is a undisputed criminal. She recently told the custody judge in my case that a made a threat to commit homicide. Now my visitation with my daughter has been terminated.
I heard your story on youtube and it broke my heart. My husband had his support hearing with magistrate Karen D. Kolomechuk- he is a good father who has NEVER defaulted with his child support to his daughter. The child’s mother is vindictive and ia “all about the money” and about destroying his life through his finances which as his wife, affects my finances as well. The mother of his child make $60,000 annually (which was more than he makes) and they still raped him in child support. She is a disgusting person. She is dishonest and unfairly treats “Good Fathers”. When I heard your story we could relate. What a gross Miscarriage of justice.
Ann Marie Loughlin is a punisher of fathers. I believe that she is truly trying to destroy men. Specifically black men. She ask for documentation and doesn’t review them. She base her judgment solely on the words of the mother and never, never listen to what the father have to say. It is her mind set that you, the father should have nothing. She and the majority of judges cases and rulings need to be reviewed by a higher authority.
They do what they do because there are no repercussion for their actions. They don’t care that they are ruining lives. How is a man to survive/ live in this unfair, unjust society.
I don’t know Loughin, Ross and Troy. Sturm deprived me from seeing my children even though she acknowledged my innocence in a phony child abuse trial. Avoid at any price if you can support magistrate Solange Grey and law guardian Garline Octobre.
The Judges and Magistrates on 60 Lafayette NYC seem to be reluctant to rule fairly to non custodial parents. They protect the custodial parent by unjust and/or criminal rendering. I believe entrenched judge Karen D Kolomechuk may deny my request for a standard DNA test to confirm biological fatherhood, while continuing the order to pay child support/care.
Do you think writing a complaint letter to the Chief Support Magistrate Robert Mulroy would do any good or harm?
I am having a terrible time with her. Maybe we can speak?
January 14, 2011
Dear Mr. Roberty Mulroy
Good morning Mr. Mulroy my name is Gary Oden and I am sending this letter with great intentions of having “Support Magistrate Ryneski” removed from hearing my child support case, which is F-43861-09/10C.
To start, last year February 2010, Mr. Ryneski was the Magistrate to overhear the child support case between my daughters mother (Lisa Renee Grant) and myself. Ms. Grant had previously made out two separate petitions (September 12, 2008 and April 29, 2009), was served twice. Since Ms. Grant failed to meet the court date, on both occasions Support Magistrate Matthew Troy dismissed the case.
Now the third attempt and we are in front of Mr. Ryneski, who is in my opinion being truly unfair to one party and obviously favoring the other party. Mr. Ryneski asked me for all my expenses and a copy of my 2009 tax return papers. I then provide Mr. Ryneski with childcare receipts I’m paying for my second daughter, notarized letter from the childcare provider, postal money order receipts dating back to when I began paying child support on my own (November 2005) for the child in question (Jalisa Grant-Oden). Mr. Ryneski did not acknowledge any of the information that I provided, only my 2009 tax return papers. Ms. Grant gives her information and he accepts it all without any questions or comments. Ms. Grant then goes to request that Mr. Ryneski make it retro to when she first petition the child support case. His response was “I could take that into consideration”. I interject explaining the two previous cases were dismissed. Mr. Ryneski explained that “if I could produce such evidence that the case was dismissed, he would not honor Ms. Grant’s request”. The following court date Ms. Grant appears with her mother Ms. Saunders, who goes on record that she provides childcare services to the child in question Jalisa Grant-Oden from Monday-Friday and charges $125 (one hundred twenty-five dollars) per week. Ms. Grant then provides Mr. Ryneski with unpaid medical bills dating back to September 2009. Mr. Ryneski goes on to state that he’s going to honor Ms. Grant’s request and making it retroactive. At that point I again interject not only to remind him of the two previous cases that was dismissed because of her failing to appear and to mention that I (the custodial parent) shouldn’t be penalized by paying outstanding medical bills because she went either to a doctor or hospital that does not accept her medical coverage. Now after bringing all this information to the attention of Mr. Ryneski, he stills go forward and honors her request to have her child support retroactive. Mr. Ryneski again ignores me, my information and my documentation.
Since February 2010, my income has changed. I have been unemployed since May 14, 2010. I also began receiving unemployment as of June 01, 2010 in the amount of $405 weekly and Ms. Grant has been receiving half my unemployment for child support. I have been unsuccessful in serving Ms. Grant since my income has changed. My last attempt was to have the Marshals serve her for me at her place of employment. January 11, 2011 was my court appearance before Mr. Ryneski again. Unaware if the Marshals did serve Ms. Grant, Mr. Ryneski would not proceed on with the case without Ms. Grant being present in the court room. I begged him and tried pleading with him to please hear my case. Even though I was unsuccessful Mr. Ryneski adjourned the case until January 13, 2011.
Now here we are present day, Ms. Grant has been served and I provided Magistrate Ryneski with the affidavit from the Marshals. Yes Mr. Ryneski lowered my child support payments but, I feel that he is still being unfair. Because Ms. Grant failed to show up for court the Magistrate adjourns the court hearing for another day. I feel by him doing so is giving Ms. Grant the chance and opportunity to come up with some more unrealistic bills that I am going to penalized for by paying. I am beyond frustration when it comes to Ms. Grant and the court system ignoring me, my documentation and the proof that is in black and white and in their face. What I am requesting is for “Support Magistrate Ryneski” to be removed from the case immediately and I would like to request Magistrate Matthew Troy.
I would like to thank you in advance for your time and attention in this serious matter.
Gary
Hi Gary,
I hate to ruin your hope, but you are appealing to the wrong person. He was far more worse that the person you are dealing with now. I had a two year ordeal with RDM that I he convinced me that I never met a worse human being. The system is designed to screw men… plain and simple and… they have done a perfect job finding these heartless loosers to mete out the dose. They will surely meet with a higher Justice on the day of reckoning. Hang in there and fight. Write every higher public official you can appeal to. Use the press if you have to. It is a never ending battle for men.
I know Loughlin all too well, and I’m glad she was transferred to the Bronx or whereever because she has nearly ruined my life. She misread my tax return which doubled my income. When I couldn’t explain this non-existant income, I was labeled an unreliable witness and my downward mod was dismissed. She also said that tax return was incomplete because it was “missing” pages that turned out to be optional. And it took 17 months to get to that point! We were in there every 6 weeks and she would order me to create a job searc diary and return in six weeks. Six weeks later, she would not as for the diary, but ask for an updated fianancial statement and return in six weeks. Then ask me to prove I was laid off and did not quit and return in six weeks. Then prove my comapny went bankrupt and return in six weeks. Then an updated diary. Then an updated financial statement. We went in circles for 17 months. She modified a temporary order from 25% of my income (correct) to 110% of my income. I was told I could not object because it was a temporary order, but it was input as a final order. Another “final” order was given 2 months later, after she mis-read my tax return. I objected to this final order, but Judge Jody Adams did not even consider the Magistrate’s errors and introduced new errors by stating that the income on me and my current wife’s income was all mine, and dismissed my objection. I have an appeal in the Appelate court, but I was denied poor person relief (I work full-time at a decent job in retail so my income seems ok, but I only brng home $350/month after support), so I have to do th8is appeal all by my self. This system is completely broken!
Yes, 60 Lafayette street, all are looser of professionnel justice (specialy judges et law gardiens), All couldn’t work at them dreams “the big criminel case” Nothing to said at the diner table, or date. So frustred, they became mines, insensitives, cruels (100 case/day) and of course correpted. New York family court is like Berlin in 1938. Hy Giulliani/Hitler/Mussolini!
After the father Eddy Fitzgerald of my son kidnaped him, his brother Dermot and him asked for a orders of protection. the brother doesn’t want me to call him for looking after my son disparation and the father asked for protection for arguments happen two years before our separation( I broke a very little statuette on him for self defense), since september 2005, judge helen C sturn didn’t stop thoses orders of protection, So I have no contact with my son since, fews hours/week, (during summer my son is in scool camp because his father is working so no visitation and the law gardien Mrs Barnes doesn’t want me to call her I had no communication with the law gardien, she represante the father when he can’t be in the court and she try to use my hospitalisation documents againt me). For the birthday of my son without him (no chrismas, nothing), I ended in hospital (2006), judge helen C sturn said that I was deprest because of my séparation with the father (2005, raison of it “no sexe since 2001” so I have to leave that?). New York Family court is a Dictature. It s an abusif power by corruted and frustated judges et laws gardiens (smaters). In 20/12/2008 judge helen C sturn who is hated by each personne works with her, stop the ridicilus visitation (4H/week), I steel don’t know the raison of her dictature, because no letter, no call, no justificatif, the father answell et stop the phone for fun, nothing else. But I was arrested for having meet my son on my street in october 2009, (Sturn want me to see un psychiatric doc for this, before she ll give any contact with my son who steel hasking about me and said to that judge he want to leave with me, the law gardian answer him “nevers you leave with you mother he was 4…”). I have to stop this torture, I left my son and NYC, we have to wait until my son ll be free of those barbares, in his 18’s.
So American PARENTS, INDIGNED ? or be terified by family court during childwood of your kids or stay leaving with a homosexuel for the rest of your live.
I was in front of Kolomechuk on June 19th 2012. Before I was involved in this family court crap I had two jobs which together paid roughly $100,000. Once I was allowed visitation of my daughter I could not work the second job. This brought down my income to $70,000 a year. Kolomechuk refused my downward modification for support in November of 2011. She stated that I did not hand in my W-2. This was an obvious lie. You can hear me clearly on the tape telling her “hear is my W-2”. I again refilled and showed the magistrate that my visitation schedule did not allow me to work two jobs. The support magistrate told the custody judge that I had threatened to kill someone during the support hearing. My visitation was terminated. Now with no visitation Kolomechuk says I can work two jobs, my modification was denied. The problem here is that Kolomechuk stopped the court tape so there is no way to disprove her claim. The mother of my daughter is siding with the magistrate.
Thanks for your comment. I am sorry and I wish I could help. Unfortunately the reality is that Manhattan Family Court is out of control. Support magistrates – Grey, Kolomenchuk, whom I had to deal with- do whatever they want. I wrote to the chief magistrate Passidomo to no avail.
Until Manhattan Family Court is audited, supervised, and possibly closed, there is not much to do besides – an this is quite important- letting people know what goes on there. As a non-custodial father trying to get justice – that is trying to see his children and not being financially strangled by child support payments- the best thing you can do in the short-run is to try to have your case moved to Supreme Court. It ‘s no paradise – New York States family laws suck, whatever the court – but at least there is not this overtly anti-men/ father bias that prevails in Family courts.
Good luck to you and keep us posted,
Pierre
I have just ended 2 year court battle, I was taking my ex to court to modify our custody arrangement. I want my daughter to live with me. In the trial, it was proven by me in trial that the mother, a trailer living, welfare recipient, had made several bad choices. 1st, I proved that she was operating an unsafe car and after a year of e-mails from her explaining how the car would shake viciously when she would drive or apply the brakes, on April 30, 2011 her front tire fell off the car while she was driving my daughter to a party. The judge stated that I was unable to prove my allegation because my daughter wasn’t injured. In August of 2011, there was a mandatory evacuation of the trailer park due the Hurricane Irene, My ex decided to shut the lights off and have my daughter hide under a blanket because they didn’t want the fire dept. to know they were home. The judge stated that my daughter was never hurt so no big deal. My ex allowed my 9 year old daughter to have a Face Book account and someone in her family sent my daughter a sexually Explicit video. When I notified her mother she blocked my access to the account. The judge stated that we can’t be sure that my daughter seen the video so no big deal. My daughter had a Law Guardian, he was asking the judge for a Lincoln Hearing because my daughter told him that everything I was alleging was true and she wanted to live with me. The judge Denied the Lincoln Hearing because I failed to provide any proof the my daughter wanted to live with me.
I was told a long time ago, as you don’t go to church looking to see god, don’t go to court looking to see justice.
Hello Anthony,
Reading your post along with the others bring back bad memories. I took a similar course to obtain residential custody of my 7 year old son. But went one extra step in the process. The system is so screwed up, the supreme, family court judges fall back on faulty laws to support their decisions. The only way these matters will change is through legislation. Calling/meeting with your elected officials to effect change.
If you want to talk futher please contact me at larryf832@aol.com, I will check my email for your reply.
I am under the dictatorship-court of Karen Kolomechuk. She took 16 months to dismiss with prejudice a false violation case (under threat of incarceration) against me. How incompetent this magistrate is to have taken so long to understand that my ex was a liar. Meanwhile, for the simple child support adjustment case she is presiding over, I have been in court for 3 long exhausting years and she is overtly favouring the ex (custodial mother previously found to lie). The magistrate demanded total discovery on me, but refused to apply that same high standard of total discovery to the ex.
Sounds totally consistent with Kolomenchuk and New York County family court in general. The question is when there will be a serious audit of this place.
Hang in there. All the best,
Pierre
Pierre,
I have now been in trial for 6 exhausting years in front to Support Magistrate Kolomechuk. For all these years she continued to blame me for prolonging this simple support case and overtly dislikes me. I know why and it is so obvious. It is because I have been defending myself pro se for 6 years, while my ex has a $400 per hour lawyer, and this magistrate sees that I am actually defending myself quite well but would rather have me capitulate and she is highly frustrated that I have not yet collapsed. This woman is overtly hostile to men in court. Her tenure as a support magistrate ends on August 16, 2016. My fear is that she may have been promoted to judge. Got help us all,
Hi Ariel (?),
Congratulations on having handled Kolomenchuk, who is a notoriously biased, for so long.
As I was representing myself for a -long while- I strongly felt what you are sharing in this post. The peculiarities of a case do not matter for the Manhattan Family court folks ( judges, support magistrates, law guardians etc.) if this case in not handled by one of their own. Manhattan Family Court is a sad family of law practitioners that happens to handle family issues critical to us.
Good luck to you,
Pierre
I’m sorry to hear this. I too am infront of Kolomechuk, and she too has taken 3 years, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. She too is overly favoring the ex. The opposing attorney has piled on motion after motion (around a dozen yet to be decided). All Kolomechuk does is tell me her problems of having over 2300 cases, so we get 6 minutes. So, it takes her 5 minutes to remind us of her workload, and gives us 1 minute to adjourn and adjourn.
I have written to the supervising judge who cannot do anything!
I would love to speak with you re Karen Kolomechk
For the past 3 years I have been paying my sole proprietor health insurance premium which is many times the cost of the large group health insurance premium used by the custodial mother. At the moment, I am paying more than 8 times the cost of what the custodial can obtain through her employer. However, Karen Kolomechuk has done absolutely nothing to compel the custodial mother to place my child onto the mother’s plan with my full reimbursement to the mother. The magistrate claims that she can do nothing until she hears the full testimony, which is nowhere near ending after 3 years of court. Meanwhile, this super high premium I am forced to pay is near bankrupting me, all the while the court does nothing except complain to me because I am the non-custodial father. I am truly disgusted by the attitude of the court. I can be sure that if I stopped paying this super high health insurance premium because I have no more money left to do so, even though the obviopusl alternative was to place the child onto the mother’s plan costing 1/8 that of mine, the magistrate would rule that I violated a court order and so have full legal grounds to incarcerate me.
I have a child support violation hearing friday with S.M. Grey, I have been out of work and havent paid my support in close to a year..despite countless efforts of applying everywhere possible. So im about $4,000 and change in debt so Welfare is taking me to appear. I had no clue I was supposed to be keeping logs / records of my attempts at employment. I was served about 2-3 weeks before the violation papers were served to me..which I don’t think is sufficient enough time to prepare myself to be heard. Im also currently in the process of enlisting to the National Guard. Any chance theyll actually attempt to lock me up for violating? My non-payment wasn’t willfull..I truely COULDN’T pay my obligation. I realize I was man enough to bring a child into this world and recognize my responsibilities to him. I’m ridiculously worried to be locked up for this. What is the most likely outcome ? Thanks & My Apologies for the length of my question.
Vinny!
My advice to you is to send money even if it is $5 every chance you can get(use money orders and keep the receipts). No judge in the land is going to put you in jail if you are sending something in to the child support recovery office that is handling your child support collection. Hopefully you will be inducted into the National Guard. First thing you do is notify your paymaster that you have a child support obligation so that they just deduct it from your pay. If you don’t get into the National Guard, it is time to make the decision to get multiple part time jobs.
Why there is not a registry where people that owe child support can register for work is beyond me. Maybe I need to start one, as I am paying off a $17,000 arrears child support debt myself. There are lots of us out here that want to pay our obligations and have lost jobs in this horrible economy. Why isn’t there preference given to people that want to work and have child support or student loans or back taxes to pay. Seems to me that if the government wants money out of us, then they could help us get job referrals to pay our debt.
Hal
Karen Kolomechuk is, I’m sure a lovely lady (who could look on her but faint or gag at her beauty?) who thinks that she has the best intentions…but…she’s wrong. Very wrong. Working on assumptions is not legal. Judges are intended to be and must be what their title suggests and means, but they cannot apply personal opinions and values when it comes to judgments. I put it that Kolomochuk has usurped the cause of justice to further her own cause – and/or more likely to lessen her work load. I think she has dealt injustice to thousands and has not been held accountable. I know that she has dealt injustice to me.
My case now enters year 4 with no end in sight. During cross examination of the ex-wife, I had shown that she was not trustworthy in her declaration of income. My findings enraged Support Magistrate Kolomechuk, such that she constantly looked at me nastily and said that I would be in for an increase in child support because she would not believe me either. The problem is, my testimony as to explaining my much-decreased income situation has not even come up yet. It is outrageous that this magistrate shows such anger towards me and threatens to increase my child support when she has not even heard my testimony. In addition, Kolomechuk continues to approve of discovery on me to no end, while refusing to allow me to conduct the equal degree of discovery on the ex-wife. It is so obvious that Kolomechuk is against men paying support. She ought to be removed from the bench.
AR,
So sad to hear. As I mentioned in my previous comment, Kolomechuk has even disregarded an expert witness of mine who shows that my ex earned >$400k last year, and that I earned <$100k. Yet she still wants a full trial, costing tens of thousands of dollars.
I have the BIPOLAR JUDGE ANN MARIE LOUGHLIN, This lady is nuts really. My daughter father haven’t paid court order child support over a year, i’m struggling with paying her school books for John Jay. To all the GREAT DADS OUT THERE DON’T GIVE UP!
The guy is a typical family court judge with no scruples. He, like all the others, just goes through the motions day in and day out, and hardly reads any of the petitions- just gives his “grand view”. He doesn’t give a damn about who is hurt and who isn’t, doesn’t care about the facts, he just follows his own little mind script. Idiot! He threatened me, a solid paying custody support Father and a great Dad with six months of incarceration! His words “And that would be at Riker’s Island. It won’t be here” I mean what kind of stupid individual would send a law abiding citizen to six months in jail, thus scuttling any opportunity to provide income for child support, lose his job, when no “real” crime was committed. Seriously? Get a life dude. Moronic and self-delusional does not even begin to describe this guy. Do not be afraid to post your views- he is just a judge who thinks like all the others that they have some sway over everyone’s lives. They don’t. Egomaniac I suppose. He is just a judge in the black hole of Family Court, and nothing more. It is judges like this idiot that should be removed from the system. Yes was only a threat by him to throw me in jail, but still what kind of person would do this? Clearly he has no sense of his moral boundaries or authority, not to mention fiduciary duty…probably just bored with his job, and he is just another cog in the fraudulent and corrupt wheel of American “justice”. Hey, as long as the lawyers get paid, he gets paid and the wheel moves on- screw the children and parents who are trying to do the right thing. Pathetic, unacceptable, and an abomination.
Karen D Kolomechuk is a criminal outright. I can’t tell you what the last 6 years of my life have been like with this money hungry piece of you know what I had a kid with. Paid every month since he’s alive by order only for this dirty magistrate (playing by no rulebook but her own) to stick it to me.
Legal fees still up the wazoo to continue to object to her delusional order that had no bearing or sense to it at all whatsoever.
If any of you wanna stick it to this magistrate and try to get her removed from the courts give me a shout sizzahandz@gmail.com. My case proves hands down she’s not cut out for the job she somehow landed in.
If not, watch for me in the papers because it made my bucket list and i’ll spend every dime I have to try and get this woman out of the justice system before she destroys any more lives.
Sorry about all of your issues guys, I am right there with ya.