Opinion
November 6, 1975
Appeal from the Erie Special Term.
Present — Marsh, P.J., Cardamone, Mahoney, Del Vecchio and Witmer, JJ.
Order unanimously modified to delete change in the alimony awarded by the judgment of divorce entered May 14, 1974 and as modified, affirmed, with costs, to appellant. Memorandum: There is no adequate demonstration of a change in the actual circumstances of the parties between the date of the original judgment of divorce entered May 14, 1974 and the date of the modification order made by Special Term on December 6, 1974. Such a change is not established by petitioner's imputation of error in his calculation of his income or his misunderstanding of the extent of his income at the time the matter was before the trial court. As was pointed out in Kover v Kover ( 29 N.Y.2d 408, 413): "despite the broad language of section 236 Dom. Rel. of the Domestic Relations Law, the courts have ruled that a party seeking a reduction or increase must show a `substantial change of circumstances'. (Brody v Brody, 22 A.D.2d 646, affd 19 N.Y.2d 790; Presberg v Presberg, 285 App. Div. 1134; Hedaya v Hedaya, 68 Misc.2d 165.) This accords with the fundamental principle that litigation must have an end and that a court, having performed its function, may not lightly be asked to do it all over again." Neither party has made an adequate showing under section 236 Dom. Rel. of the Domestic Relations Law to permit modification of the provisions of the original divorce decree.