Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Precedents

There are any number of circumstances under which a court might - if not disregard - distinguish a current case from one that appeared to have precedential value.

In Family Court cases, the Courts have broad discretion to distinguish cases based on their facts. The current case may not be precisely the same as the previous case.

Also, the Court may find that following the precedent yields a manifestly inequitable result. It doesn't happen often - but it's a possibility.

There are others.