Galusha v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

27 F. Supp. 2d 117, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20996, 1998 WL 805013
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedOctober 9, 1998
DocketNo. 98-CV-1117 (LEK/RWS)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 27 F. Supp. 2d 117 (Galusha v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Galusha v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 27 F. Supp. 2d 117, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20996, 1998 WL 805013 (N.D.N.Y. 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

KAHN, District Judge.

On July 28, 1998, this Court granted temporary relief to the Plaintiffs through an Order to Show Cause. On August 7, 1998, a hearing was held regarding Plaintiffs’ requested preliminary injunction.1 At that time, it was agreed Defendants would submit to this Court a report regarding motorized vehicle use in a heavily visited area of the Adirondack Park (“DEC Report”). With that report now in receipt and having considered its contents in addition to the arguments offered at the August 7, 1998 hearing and the submitted papers, this Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction.

I. BACKGROUND

The three plaintiffs in this action each have physical disabilities that limit their mobility. Plaintiff Theodore Galusha (“Galusha”) suffers from multiple sclerosis (“MS”). He has impaired mobility and can ambulate only by using a leg brace, crutches, a walker or a wheelchair. Galusha contends, and Defendants do not contest, that his MS condition is at a sufficiently advanced stage whereby each passing day could be his last. Plaintiff Teena Willard (“Willard”) is a parapalegic whose condition results from a 1978 automobile accident. Willard requires use of a wheelchair. Plaintiff William Searles (“Searles”) has been deaf since birth and in 1983 was involved in an automobile accident that severely damaged his spine. Searles is also a paraplegic and requires use of a wheelchair.

Plaintiffs assert that the policies of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”), the Adirondack Park Agency (“APA”), the State of New York, and its Governor, George Pataki (“Pa-taki”), in managing the Adirondack Park (the “Park”) unfairly limit their access to areas within the Park in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213. Use of land within the Park is governed by the “Master Plan” pre[120]*120pared by the APA pursuant to Section 816 of the Executive Law. N.Y.Exee.Law § 816 (McKinney 1996). In accordance with the Master Plan, the DEC is responsible for promulgating regulations that restrict use of the land within the Park.- The primary goals of the Master Plan are to preserve and provide access to the Park for the public’s enjoyment. Within certain regions of the Park, regulations prohibit the use of any non-emergency motorized vehicles on roads, trails, or pathways. The Plaintiffs assert that the only way that they can enjoy these areas is through motorized vehicle use. In the past, the State has issued temporary permits to persons with disabilities, including Plaintiff Galusha, which allowed access to certain restricted areas with motorized vehicles.2

On June 1, 1995, Galusha was ticketed for using an All-Terrain Vehicle (“ATV”) on restricted trails in a portion of the Hudson River Recreational Area known as “Buttermilk.” Subsequent to the violation, Galusha filed an ADA complaint with the Department of the Interior and New York State Division of Human Rights. In October of 1995, Galu-sha participated in a policy “working group” established by the DEC and composed of pi'ivate individuals, State employees, groups representing the disabled, and those seeking preservation of the wilderness areas. The working group developed a proposed plan and Galusha was issued a permit to operate a motorized vehicle in the area in which he was earlier ticketed. Other persons with disabilities were given similar permits. However, the working group proposal was never formally adopted by the State.

On November 26, 1996, Galusha attempted to renew his permit, but was denied on the grounds that a moratorium on new permits was in place pending finalization of DEC policies. Efforts by other permit holders were denied as well. In the interim, the State changed the designations of certain roads, resulting in greater restrictions on motorized vehicle access by all members of the public, including the disabled. Galusha alleges that subsequent motorized vehicle access was restricted to only a patchwork of roads and trails in the Park. On June 9,1997, Galusha attempted to access Buttermilk with an ATV and was again ticketed, prosecuted, and fined for the violation.

Plaintiffs contend that the State unjustifiably denies persons with disabilities access to certain areas of the Park while allowing non-disabled persons non-emergency use of motorized vehicles on the very same roads, paths, and trails from which the disabled are barred. Defendants counter that disabled Plaintiffs along with other non-disabled persons have motorized vehicle access to select areas of the Park, and any restrictions on motorized vehicle use in preserved areas equally applies to the disabled and non-disabled. Defendants further contend that the relief sought by Plaintiffs would violate State law.

Three causes of action are brought. The first alleges that the Defendants have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and damaged the Plaintiffs in the amount of $1,000,000. The second claim is for injunc-tive relief seeking a declaration that the Defendants have violated the ADA and that “the plaintiffs and other disabled be able to utilize motor vehicles on all roads and paths on which motorized vehicles were used at the time of [the] enactment of the ADA with the exception of emergency vehicles.” In the second claim, Plaintiffs also seek punitive damages in the amount of $1,000,000 against “John Doe,” a New York State employee who allegedly deliberately caused the DEC and APA to intentionally violate the ADA by failing to adopt the “working group” plan. Finally, the third claim requests attorneys’ fees.

II. DISCUSSION

At first blush, this action presents the seemingly vexing mandate of reconciling the public interest in protecting and preserving precious natural lands with the rights of the disabled to equal access to the environment and reasonable public accommodations. This Court recognizes the solemn responsibility of the public and State to respect the environment as a whole and those special areas [121]*121entrusted to us in particular. Today’s decision to grant Plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunction, extending to the disabled access to the Adirondack Park, is made possible by what intervening Defendants characterize as the State’s intensive and unnecessary use of motorized vehicles in protected Adirondack lands. Personal sacrifice to preserve the environment does not rest solely on the backs of the disabled. Nor are the remaining pristine portions of the environment to be available only to the able-bodied.

A. Preliminary Injunction Standard

“The general standard for issuing a preliminary injunction requires that the mov-ant show ‘(1) irreparable harm and (2) either (a) likelihood of success on the merits or (b) sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation and a balance of hardships tipping decidedly toward the party requesting the preliminary relief.’ ” Maryland Casualty Co. v. Realty Advisory Bd. on Labor Relations, 107 F.3d 979, 984 (2d Cir.1997) (quoting International Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Amestoy, 92 F.3d 67, 70 (2d Cir.1996) (quoting in turn Jackson Dairy, Inc. v. H.P. Hood & Sons, Inc.,

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Galusha v. NEW YORK STATE DEPT. ENVIRON. CONSERV.
27 F. Supp. 2d 117 (N.D. New York, 1998)

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27 F. Supp. 2d 117, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20996, 1998 WL 805013, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/galusha-v-new-york-state-department-of-environmental-conservation-nynd-1998.