FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER
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PHOTIUS COUTSOUKIS,
Petitioner,
-against- Docket #V-1284-98
SUSAN SAMORA, FU #53516
Respondent.
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Richard J. Daronco Court House
111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
White Plains, New York
October 29, 1998
B E F O R E :
HON. INGRID S. BRASLOW
Family Court Judge
A P P E A R A N C E S :
Mark Domicello, Esq.
Attorney for Respondent
Photius Coutsoukis
Appearing Pro Se
Robin Kotler, Esq.
Law Guardian
SANDY SAUNDERS REPORTING
Bank of New York Building
Two New Hempstead Road, Suite 303
New City, New York 10956
(914) 634-7561
COURT CLERK: Your Honor,
this is number four on the afternoon
calendar in the matter of Coutsoukis and
Samora. Counsel, please note your
appearances first, starting on the
Judge's left.
MR. DOMICELLO: Mark
Domicello (phonetic), assigned counsel
for Susan S. Samora.
MS. KOTLER: Robin Kotler
(phonetic), law guardian for Heddy
Coutsoukis.
COURT CLERK: Both parties
please raise your right hands. Do you
both swear to tell the truth, so help you
God?
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I do.
MS. SAMORA: I do.
COURT CLERK: Your name?
MR. COUTSOUKIS: Photius
Coutsoukis.
COURT CLERK: Your name?
MS. SAMORA: Susan Samora.
COURT CLERK: Thank you. You
may be seated.
THE COURT: All right, we're
scheduled for a preliminary proceeding on
Mr. Coutsoukis' Order to Show Cause. All
right, yes?
MR. COUTSOUKIS: For the
record, I'd like to make a statement.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: This is an
urgent, urgent, very urgent matter, a
serious emergency about my child in the
midst of a crisis of life and death. A
very charming convicted rapist in
Connecticut stated on television that he
did not rape, it was just fun. Please
keep that in mind if you hear the other
side say that my daughter is fine or that
she's getting better or that she was born
that way. I would like to point out that
after a father's petition for
modification and in order to distract
from and distort a real life and health
matter for my daughter, Susan filed a
frivolous, dishonest, and destructive
petition for an Order of Protection with
another judge.
MR. DOMICELLO: Objection,
Your Honor. We're not here--
THE COURT: Sustained. If
you would address your remarks to why the
Court should entertain your Order to Show
Cause.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: Yes, but
holding a hearing for that, especially at
the same time as my hearing, would help
accomplish the other side's insidious
objective. Oregon has declined
jurisdiction and the current decree
contains provisions that are illegal
under New York State law. Finally, with
my petition I move that the Court recuse
herself from this case, the reasons
having been explained in the petition and
in a letter I sent to this Court which
I'm now requesting it be entered into the
record.
THE COURT: Okay. Mr.
Domicello?
MR. DOMICELLO: Your Honor, I
had an opportunity to review all of the
petitions in this matter. I believe
there are actually two modification
petitions. There's a petition which I
was served with which was not--does not
have a docket number on it, and also an
Order to Show Cause with petitioner's
affidavit.
THE COURT: Okay, there's
only one matter on the calendar today. I
only have one Order to Show Cause--
MR. DOMICELLO: Maybe this
petition, Your Honor, was not filed.
I'll pass it up to the Court and see if
it's in the Court file.
THE COURT: All right, V-1284
of 1998.
MR. DOMICELLO: Yes, I have
that, Your Honor, which is the Order to
Show Cause and the petitioner's
affidavit. There's also this petition
which requests the same relief, which is
a modification of the--of the Oregon
order of custody and visitation. Be that
as it may, Your Honor, I have an
application. I'm requesting that these
petitions, the Order to Show Cause and
the petition for modification be
dismissed pursuant to Section 3211 of the
CPLR in that the cause of action may not
be maintained because of res judicata
grounds. The allegations in the petition
are the exact same or similar to the
allegations that Mr. Coutsoukis alleged
in his Oregon petition to modify. The
Oregon Court heard that action and
proceeding and made a ruling on it.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: No, they did
not.
MR. DOMICELLO: Therefore,
res judicata--res judicata grounds allow
this Court to dismiss this action on that
basis. In addition, Your Honor, it has
come to my--
THE COURT: Just a moment.
Okay, go ahead. I'm sorry.
MR. DOMICELLO: In addition,
Your Honor, it has come to my attention
that Mr. Coutsoukis is appealing the
Oregon order. He is attempting to vacate
the Judgment of Divorce which
incorporated the Oregon order as to
custody and visitation. With a pending
appeal, he cannot bring a new action in
this Court requesting modification of the
Oregon order and I'm--based on those two
grounds, I'm requesting that his petition
be dismissed.
THE COURT: Okay, thank you.
Ms. Kotler?
MS. KOTLER: I would agree
with that, Your Honor.
THE COURT: I'm sorry?
MS. KOTLER: I would agree
with that, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, do you
want to make any other statements on the
record?
MS. KOTLER: Just for the
record, Your Honor, I've never received
the backup affidavit that petitioner
cites in his petition. The petition is--
I'm not sure that it was served properly.
I'm not sure that it was all--you know,
all the pieces were there. For the
Court's information, I have met with my
client. She does not seem to be in any
kind of urgent distress. I have spoken
with her doctors' offices, at least two
doctors, and I feel confident that she is
not in any immediate danger.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: A couple of
problems here. Number one, the doctors
that the law guardian spoke with have a
history that comes from Susan. Number
two, regarding the Oregon action, the
Oregon action never prevented this Court
from taking action in this case on
Susan's petition. Saying that my--that
the Oregon Court has heard these exact
arguments and dismissed them is
erroneous. The Oregon Court said that
the New York Court has jurisdiction and
issued twice a decline--declining of
jurisdiction order. I had two judges at
one point pointing me in each other's
direction. None of them want to hear
this, and nobody has.
MR. DOMICELLO: I'm not
disputing that this Court has
jurisdiction. I believe it has
jurisdiction, but on res judicata
grounds, basically the issues that Mr.
Coutsoukis alleges in his petition are
similar to the allegations in the
petition that he's filed in Oregon.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: And they
have not been heard.
MR. DOMICELLO: They have
been litigated, they have been heard,
they have been decided on.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: No.
MR. DOMICELLO: And I believe
the Oregon--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: That is a
false statement.
MR. DOMICELLO: And I believe
the Oregon judge will attest to that.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I have the
Oregon order and they are not what he
said. The Oregon judge declined
jurisdiction, declined to have another
trial. These charges, the situation of
my daughter's health, has not been heard
from the moment we were separated.
Additionally, there are circumstances
that are more recent as well, namely I
had--all these arguments that we should
be having at a hearing that I could bring
evidence and witnesses for I am not
allowed the opportunity to do because the
Court keeps dismissing my--denying me the
opportunity to be heard. My daughter is
not in good condition. She is not in--
getting better. I don't care what she
said or what the doctor said, the
evidence and the reports I got from them
speak otherwise and I would like to
present the evidence to the Court. My
daughter is in danger. When Susan
complains about telephone calls, we jump.
My daughter's health and life is in
danger and we don't want to know about
it. She has perjured herself and I can
bring you proof of perjury. She has
committed extortion and I can bring you
the proof of that.
MR. DOMICELLO: Your Honor,
I'm going to object. Mr. Coutsoukis is
testifying--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: Her lawyer
lied, and I would like to be able to
bring evidence and witnesses.
THE COURT: Okay, are you
through with your statement?
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I have
tapes, I have videotapes, I have reports
from doctors. Yes.
THE COURT: All right.
Anything else that you want to say, Mr.
Coutsoukis?
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I would like
a hearing.
THE COURT: Okay. Initially,
the motion to recuse myself, there's
absolutely no grounds for this Court to
do that in law or in fact, and this Court
will not recuse itself. As to the letter
that you wrote to the Court, that is in
the file. But let me advise you, Mr.
Coutsoukis, this Court does not read ex
parte communication sent to it by any
party. In fact, you sent--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: It was sent,
copies to them as well.
THE COURT: You sent this
Court yesterday or today a FedEx. I am
returning that to you because it is
another ex parte communication and I do
not want you to--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: These are
subpoenas, Your Honor, that need to be
signed.
THE COURT: You do--I do not
want you communicating with me on an ex
parte basis.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: These are
subpoenas, judicial subpoenas that need
to be signed by the Court.
THE COURT: I am not opening
your mail.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: What do I do
with the subpoenas?
THE COURT: You can take care
of that in the clerk's office. Do not
send anything to me.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: Fine.
THE COURT: The Court agrees
with Mr. Domicello that all of these
issues as to your child's health were
made before the Court in Oregon. These
are identical issues to the ones that
were heard at that time. The Oregon
order is on appeal, that's a further
ground why this Court should not hear it.
Your previous application for custody
which was dismissed by this Court is also
on appeal. This is--this petition does
not state anything new.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I would like
to present evidence that the Oregon Court
did not hear those. I have the Court
order that will show you that that is not
the case. As a matter of fact, they are
on file with this Court. The file of
this case contains the Oregon order that
states that this will not be heard.
THE COURT: All I'm--as I
said before, I stand by my ruling that
all of these issues have already been
heard. There is nothing new in this
petition. Furthermore, Mr. Coutsoukis,
if you review your own order from Oregon,
you will see that your rights as the non-
custodial parent are very restricted.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: And that was
done through a plot, an insidious plot
where perjury was involved and where, as
far as the rules for arresting someone,
when she said that I could flee with my
child while knowing I had my child every
day for the seven days that she
travelled, I had her every day for three
years prior to that at my possession. I
was half an hour from the airport all the
time. I sold my--I sold--I abandoned my
business in Oregon to come here and be
near--so my child can be near her mother.
Then she tells you that I'm likely to
flee, and for that reason you arrest me.
That is what went to Oregon to a new
judge who had not previously heard this
case. Then her lawyer in Oregon lied to
the judge saying that the status quo as
of the hearing were just two days after
the consent agreement was that I am to
have supervised visitation. We had Mr.
Domicello sign a letter that that
wasn't--that he spoke with Ms. Sands and
I have the--he has--yes, you signed a
letter, remember?
THE COURT: Mr. Coutsoukis,
do not talk to her.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I'm not.
No, I was--
THE COURT: No, you are.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I was
looking at Mr. Domicello.
THE COURT: I'm observing
you--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I apologize.
THE COURT: --and you are
directing your comments to her and I
don't want you to do that.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I apologize.
Mr. Domicello signed a letter.
THE COURT: No, I'm not
interested in the letter that Mr.
Domicello signed. Now, you just listen
to me and let me finish. The order of
the Oregon Court restricts your right as
follows: you can write the school,
request the child's school records, but
not more--not more often than a period of
sixty days at a time. You can write to
the medical, dental, psychological,
psychiatric and other health providers
and request the child's medical and
health record, but not--
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I'm aware of
that.
THE COURT: No, let me
finish. But not more often than a period
of sixty days at a time. You can contact
emergency medical, dental, psychological,
psychiatric or other health care for the
child, but only if petitioner is
absolutely unavailable.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I'm aware of
that.
THE COURT: Except for that
described on this page, you shall not
have any other contact with the child's
school staff, medical and other treatment
providers.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: Correct.
That's an unfair and ill begotten decree.
THE COURT: That is in an
order of the Court that is presumed
to be legal. This Court will give
that order full face and--full face
and effect.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I would
like to point out that there was an order
from the Court. When Susan came here
last year whining, I was arrested. That
order from the Oregon Court was not
presumed correct. It was thrown out.
Regardless of UCCJA, for no apparent
reason, I was arrested, I was separated
from my daughter, and you called Judge
Arnold who had never heard from the
parties yet. And that's what happened.
And then when she went there with her
lawyer lying and we had to get Mr.
Domicello to sign a letter that he spoke
with her lawyer and she knew what the
consent was about, they still lied. The
judge wouldn't reverse anything at that
point. This is an ill begotten, unfair
and destructive decree--
THE COURT: You appeal it.
You appeal it.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: I have
appealed it, but in the meantime, my
doctor--
THE COURT: But that's what
you should do.
MR. COUTSOUKIS: --my
daughter is suffering.
THE COURT: That is your
remedy. Petition is dismissed.
MR. DOMICELLO: Your Honor,
with regard to the family offense
petition, I believe we have a trial
scheduled for December 1.
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. DOMICELLO: There is some
allegations that my client--my client
obviously filed this petition without me
present. There's some allegations with
regard to the child, okay, that have come
to my attention and also to Ms. Kotler's
attention whereby we believe that those
allegations would make out a case for
harassment against the child.
THE COURT: All right, what--
you can file an amended family offense
petition.
MR. DOMICELLO: We were going
to do that, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. DOMICELLO: And we're
requesting the Order of Protection--
we're going to do that, Your Honor, and
then--
THE COURT: Temporary order
is extended until the hearing date.
COURT CLERK: Okay. Parties
please step out.
(End of Proceedings)
* * *
STATE OF NEW YORK )
COUNTY OF ROCKLAND) ss:
I, Jeanette Carelli, certify
that the foregoing transcript of the
proceedings in the Family Court of
Coutsoukis vs. Samora, Docket No. V-1284-
98, was prepared to the best of my
ability, using four-track electronic
transcription equipment, and is a true
and accurate record of the proceedings.
_______________________
Jeanette Carelli
Sandy Saunders Reporting
2 New Hempstead Road
New City, New York 10956
Dated: November 12, 1998