Nazario v. State

24 Misc. 3d 443, 884 N.Y.S.2d 580
CourtNew York Court of Claims
DecidedFebruary 27, 2009
DocketClaim No. 114318
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 24 Misc. 3d 443 (Nazario v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nazario v. State, 24 Misc. 3d 443, 884 N.Y.S.2d 580 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2009).

Opinion

[445]*445OPINION OF THE COURT

Francis T. Collins, J.

Defendant moves for summary judgment dismissing the claim and the claimant cross-moves for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability pursuant to CPLR 3212.

The claim herein alleges:

“Third: This claim is for damages suffered by claimant by reason of the negligence of the State of New York, its officers, agents or employees in the hiring, retention and training of its officers, agents and employees and the negligent maintenance of its records and databases. The acts of the State of New York, its officers, agents or employees resulted in the false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution of Claimant in violation of his statutory and constitutional rights.”

Counsel for the parties stipulated to the following relevant facts: On March 23, 2003 claimant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree in Supreme Court, Kings County. The court failed to impose a period of postrelease supervision (PRS) at the time the claimant was sentenced to a two-year determinate sentence on March 27, 2003 (defendant’s exhibit A ¶ 3). Claimant was released from prison on October 8, 2004 at which time a three-year period of PRS was administratively imposed by the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS). The maximum expiration of claimant’s two-year sentence was January 24, 2005. On March 22, 2005, claimant was declared delinquent upon a violation of the conditions of his parole. On March 28, 2007, claimant was arrested and imprisoned as a result of the execution of a parole violation warrant. Claimant petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on May 2, 2007 which was granted by the Honorable Joseph J. Dawson, Acting Supreme Court Justice, on July 10, 2007. The claimant was released from custody on that same date.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, defendant argues that DOCS is immune from liability because the term of PRS imposed upon the claimant was statutorily mandated. Defendant argues that DOCS, therefore, was acting under the “color of law or regulation” and in a discretionary, quasi-judicial capacity at the time PRS was imposed (see affirmation in support of Michael Krenrich ¶ 9, citing Gittens v State of New York, 132 Misc 2d 399, 402 [1986]). Defendant also argues that claimant has no private right of action under Penal Law § 70.45 [446]*446because the intent of the Legislature in enacting the statute was to subject individuals such as the claimant to PRS for the protection of the public. Since the intention of the Legislature was to protect the public at large, defense counsel argues that no private right of action exists under the statute as the claimant was not “one of the class for whose particular benefit the statute was enacted” (affirmation in support of Michael Krenrich ¶ 14).

With respect to the malicious prosecution cause of action, the defendant argues that the claim fails as a matter of law because DOCS was acting in accordance with the prevailing statutory mandate and without malice in imposing the term of PRS. Lastly, the defendant argues that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear the causes of action premised upon a violation of the claimant’s constitutional rights.

In support of his cross motion and in opposition to the defendant’s motion, the claimant cites, inter alia, the Court of Appeals decision in Matter of Garner v New York State Dept. of Correctional Servs. (10 NY3d 358 [2008]) for the proposition that the imposition of a term of PRS lies within the exclusive province of the sentencing court and beyond DOCS’ jurisdiction. Claimant argues that DOCS is not immune from liability because it was acting in violation of established law providing that only a sentencing judge may pronounce the PRS component of a defendant’s sentence (see People v Sparber, 10 NY3d 457 [2008]). Claimant concludes that he has established his prima facie entitlement to summary judgment on the causes of action for false arrest and imprisonment in that the determination in the habeas corpus proceeding necessarily decided the issue of the illegality of the arrest and imprisonment. With respect to the cause of action for malicious prosecution, claimant contends that malice may be inferred as “DOCS not only egregiously deviated from acceptable procedures, but DOCS acted illegally” (mem of law of Samiya N. Mir at 10). Lastly, in response to defendant’s argument that no statutory cause of action under Penal Law § 70.45 is stated, claimant contends that the defendant has mischaracterized his argument in that he is pursuing only common-law causes of action for negligence, false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution “because he was arrested and imprisoned based on a PRS sentence that did not legally exist” (mem of law of Samiya N. Mir at 12).

To establish a cause of action for false imprisonment a claimant must show that “(1) the defendant intended to confine [447]*447him, (2) the [claimant] was conscious of the confinement, (3) the [claimant] did not consent to the confinement and (4) the confinement was not otherwise privileged” (Broughton v State of New York, 37 NY2d 451, 456 [1975], cert denied sub nom. Schanbarger v Kellogg, 423 US 929 [1975]). While the first three factors are not disputed, it is the fourth which poses the most difficulty in this case.

In Matter of Garner (supra), the Court of Appeals held that a term of PRS “is not automatically included in the pronouncement of a determinate sentence, and thus a defendant has a statutory right to have that punishment imposed by the sentencing judge” (10 NY3d at 363). The Court noted that its holding was “without prejudice to any ability that either the People or DOCS may have to seek the appropriate resentencing of a defendant in the proper forum” (id. at 363 n 4). Decided the same day as Matter of Garner, People v Sparber (supra) rejected the argument that expungement is the proper remedy for a term of postrelease supervision improperly imposed by DOCS. Rather, the Court stated that “[t]he sole remedy for a procedural error such as this is to vacate the sentence and remit for a resentencing hearing so that the trial judge can make the required pronouncement” (10 NY3d at 471). The Court specifically noted that “there exists no procedural bar to allowing the sentencing court to correct its PRS error . . . [T]he failure to pronounce the required sentence amounts only to a procedural error, akin to a misstatement or clerical error, which the sentencing court could easily remedy” (id. at 472). The orders in each of the five cases reviewed on appeal in Sparber were therefore modified to the extent of remitting the cases to the Supreme Court for resentencing (see also People v Collado, 11 NY3d 888 [2008]).

In response to Garner and Sparber, the Legislature adopted Correction Law § 601-d, effective June 30, 2008 (L 2008, ch 141). As noted by the court in People v Peer (22 Misc 3d 620 [2008]), “[t]he legislative history of this statute reveals a clear legislative intent to provide ‘a framework for a prompt, fair and careful response to recent decisions in which the Court of Appeals struck down longstanding practices for determining the supervision terms of violent felons’ ” (id. at 622, quoting Senate Introducer’s Mem in Support of NY Senate Bill S8714, Bill Jacket, L 2008, ch 141).

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Bluebook (online)
24 Misc. 3d 443, 884 N.Y.S.2d 580, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nazario-v-state-nyclaimsct-2009.