A referee takes his authority from the order of reference, and to the extent that he goes beyond the confines of the order he exceeds his authority. A reference to hear and determine can only be made on consent of the parties, and so where a referee to hear and report takes actions beyond merely reporting his findings he again exceeds his authority.

In this divorce action, certain of the issues were referred to a referee to hear and report, and his powers were therefore limited to doing just that: hearing the evidence and reporting his findings. The defendant wife sought to modify an earlier order of custody, and to stay an action in the Family Court. The order to show cause, including a TRO staying the Family Court proceeding, was presented to the referee rather than to the court, and he signed it. The parties had not consented to this expansion of the reference, and so the referee exceeded his authority. Supreme Court should have granted the plaintiff’s application to vacate the order to show cause.

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