Judges have the authority to dismiss a Family Court Petition or deny a Summons without a hearing in many different types of cases. Examples are: Modification up or down of child support; change of custody; modification of parenting schedule; modification of spousal support; petition for Order of Protection; Contempt Application.
If certain filing requirements are not met the court clerk or judge may choose not to issue a Summons, Sign an Order To Show Cause and schedule a court date. What all of the above different types of cases have in common is that the Petitioner (person filing for judicial action) must in the Petition allege facts that allow the court to hear the case (subject matter jurisdiction), allege that the court has jurisdiction over the parties (personal jurisdiction) and that there are sufficient facts alleged that if true the court could hear the case and decide it (prima facie case).
An easy example of "subject matter jurisdiction" is that you cannot file for a divorce in the NY Family Court. Under NY law divorces can only be granted in the NY Supreme Court. So if a person filed in the wrong court the summons will not be issued and if it is issued it will be dismissed as soon as the court is aware of the problem.
Likewise, with many exceptions, at least one of the persons involved must have a NY connection or the court order originates in NY and NY is keeping the case for various reasons. This area of the law is extremely complicated especially if the event took place in NY for example an Order of Protection but the persons involved do not live in NY. Another example is when a parent with a child flees to NY or recently leaves NY with the child. This topic by itself could consume several hours of legal education.
However, for most people the above requirements will not be the reason why the court does not hear the case. Rather it is that the Petition did not allege the basic required information and allegations for the type of case.
If a modification of an existing custody order is requested the Petition must allege that the parties are the parents of the child, set forth what the current custody order or situation is and the reasons why a modification is sought. It would not be sufficient to just file and say "I want to see my child more."
If a modification of child support is requested, the court will want to see that there is a legal basis for modification as there are specific reasons that if they are not set forth adequately the court will deny a hearing and dismiss the petition.
If an Order of Protection is sought the persons involved must have the type of family relationship by blood or marriage, child in common or personal intimacy that allows the court to handle the case. So for example two neighbors that don't get along cannot go to the Family Court for an Order of Protection unless they also meet any of the prior requirements. In addition, the allegations must be the type that would allow the court to grant an Order of Protection if true. Certain conduct while perhaps disturbing, does not rise to the level of needing a protective order.
Since the first step of any Family Law case is the application whether it is a Petition, Complaint, Order To Show Cause having it prepared properly and with the right amount of detail can be critical to how the case moves forward. Obtaining the representation of an experienced matrimonial/family law attorney cannot be overstated as the attorney will know where to file, how to file, what to allege and how to have the papers served. Without these most basic legal steps the case could be off to a very rocky start.