Kayden Industries, Inc. v. Lefkowitz

46 Misc. 2d 423, 259 N.Y.S.2d 704, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1997
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 28, 1965
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 46 Misc. 2d 423 (Kayden Industries, Inc. v. Lefkowitz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kayden Industries, Inc. v. Lefkowitz, 46 Misc. 2d 423, 259 N.Y.S.2d 704, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1997 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1965).

Opinion

William O. Hecht, Jr., J.

In this action to enjoin the State Attorney-General and the State Bingo Control Commission from interfering with the play and conduct by the plaintiff and its [424]*424licensees of a game called 1 ‘,Super-Bingo ”, both sides request summary judgment. The game is a supermarket promotional device and plaintiff alleges that it is the owner of the game and of trade-mark and copyright registration approved in the United States Patent Office. It is further alleged that if and when installations of the game are made in supermarkets, the participants need not be customers and will not pay a consideration for the play of the game. Plaintiff proposes to make installations in Syracuse and other parts of Onondaga County, Buffalo and its adjacent area, and New York City and its metropolitan area. However, the State authorities have expressed the opinion that any sponsor of “ Super-Bingo ” within the State of New York may be subject to prosecution under the provisions of sections 1387 and 1388 of the Penal Law.

The decisional and legislative history of the applicable statutory law is pertinent to the determination of these motions. In People v. Burns (304 N. Y. 380 [1952]), the Court of Appeals reversed a conviction for conducting an illegal lottery in violation of sections 1370 to 1373 of the Penal Law, on the ground that the record lacked proof that the participants in the game were ‘ ‘ persons who have paid * * * consideration for the chance ” so as to constitute a lottery within the meaning of section 1370 of the Penal Law. Thus, the game was held to be a lottery when played for stakes in which the player made a contribution.

Subsequently there was enacted a constitutional amendment and legislation adopted in implementation of such amendment, all effective January 1, 1958. Section 9 of article I of the New York State Constitution had provided that “ except as hereinafter provided, no lottery or the sale of lottery tickets * * * shall hereinafter be authorized or allowed within this state; and the legislature shall pass appropriate laws to prevent offenses against any of the provisions of this section”. The constitutional amendment is what now constitutes subdivision 2 of section 9 of article I. In effect it authorized approval by appropriate vote in political subdivisions of the State of the conduct of specific games of chance known as ‘ ‘ bingo or lotto ’ ’ subject to certain restrictions. It concludes: “ Nothing in this section shall prevent the legislature from passing laws more restrictive than any of the provisions of this section.” Thereupon there were enacted article 19-B of the Executive Law (which, among other things, created the State Bingo Control Commission) and article 14-G (now art. 14-H) of the General Municipal Law entitled “Local Option for Conduct of Bingo by Certain Organizations.”

[425]*425Defendants cite two cases in support of their position that the “ game ” here involved may not be legally played in New York. In Italian Community Home Federation v. Kelly (12 Misc 2d 33) the Supreme Court, Onondaga County, held the playing of ‘‘ free ’ ’ bingo to be illegal and People v. Burns, cited (supra) to be inapplicable in view of the change in law occasioned by the constitutional amendment and implementing legislation. The General Municipal Law (§ 479) was deemed to now prohibit all bingo (whether or not it be for consideration) unless authorized by local option and in conformity with the regulatory statutes.

In Fedin v. Hanifin (22 Misc 2d 570) the Supreme Court, Broome County, agreed that by the constitutional amendment and the implementing statutes it was ‘‘ firmly decided to control all bingo — ‘free’ or otherwise *' * * [and] * * * no type of bingo may be conducted unless its operation is in conformity with the new legislation requiring local voter approval, licensing and control.”

Plaintiff relies on People v. Burns (23 Misc 2d 636) decided December 15, 1959. In that case, the County Court of Niagara County sustained a demurrer to an indictment charging defendant with the crime of “ Unauthorized Conduct of Bingo Games in Violation of Article 14-G of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York ”. The prosecution arose in the City of Niagara Falls where the electorate had disapproved the playing of bingo in accordance with the ‘ ‘ Bingo Licensing Law ’ ’. The court reviewed Italian Community Rome Federation v. Kelly (supra) and Fedin v. Hanifin (supra) and commented (p. 637): “ Both of these opinions held that ‘ under the recent amendment to the State Constitution and the implementing statutes, no type of bingo may be conducted unless its operation is in conformity with the new legislation requiring local voter approval, licensing and control ’. Both of these cases were for equitable relief, requesting temporary injunctions restraining police authorities from arresting officers of the plaintiff organizations which in each case were conducting what might be called ‘ free bingo ’ or ‘ entertainment bingo ’ which has been held not to constitute gambling (People v. Burns, 304 N. Y. 380).” The court noted that in the 1958 Session of the New York State Legislature, the proposed Hatch Bill was rejected. That bill would have declared it to be a crime under the Penal Law to conduct “ free bingo ” or “ entertainment bingo ”. The court inferred, therefore, that the conduct of free or entertainment bingo was not proscribed either by virtue of People v. Burns (304 N. Y. 380) or by virtue of the adoption of article 14-H [426]*426of the General Municipal Law or the rejection of bingo by community referendum.

The opinion concluded (pp. 641-643) that there was no language contained either in the constitutional amendment or in the implementing legislation:

“ That expressly states that the playing of bingo or the conducting of bingo games — especially ‘ free bingo ’ or ‘ entertainment bingo which has been held not to be a lottery — is legal only where played in a community that has approved of it by a referendum vote, nor have they pointed to clear, understandable and unequivocal language expressly saying you or I cannot play ‘ social bingo ’ or ‘ entertainment bingo ’ without a license or the sanction of the State of New York.

“In a community which has approved of bingo under the ‘ Bingo Licensing Law ’ by a referendum vote, it can only be played in conformity with such ‘ Bingo Licensing Law ’. This has its merit in that communities that want bingo have the satisfaction of knowing that it will be licensed, controlled and played fairly and honestly and in accordance with the purposes of the 1 Bingo Licensing Law \ For those that feel that the playing of bingo such as ‘ free bingo ’, ‘ entertainment bingo ’ or even ‘ social bingo ’ is a pernicious thing, it behooves them to urge their community to pass a bingo referendum so that they can license and control all bingo.

* * *

‘ ‘ This court is of the opinion that in communities where a favorable referendum has been conducted, a person who attempts to play or conduct a bingo game, not licensed, should be prosecuted for a violation of the General Municipal Law. Further, if it constitutes a lottery, there should, of course, be a criminal prosecution.

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46 Misc. 2d 423, 259 N.Y.S.2d 704, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kayden-industries-inc-v-lefkowitz-nysupct-1965.