Newman v. Kaplan

New York Supreme Court

Newman v. Kaplan

33 Misc. 2d 494, 227 N.Y.S.2d 554, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4085

DecidedJanuary 4, 1962

StatusPublished

This text of 33 Misc. 2d 494 (Newman v. Kaplan) 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

Newman v. Kaplan, 33 Misc. 2d 494, 227 N.Y.S.2d 554, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4085 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1962).

Pincite

Opinion

Herbert D. Hamm, J.

The petitioners appealed from determinations of the Director of Classification and Compensation denying reallocation. On March 30, 1961, the commission dismissed the appeals. Thereafter the respondent H. Eliot Kaplan, as President of the commission, wrote a letter to Commissioner Martin P. Catherwood of the New York State Department of Labor. In this letter the respondent Kaplan, as alleged in an affidavit annexed to the petition, stated with reference to the appeals of the petitioners: “ You must appreciate that for the Commission to preempt the determination of the Director of Classification and Compensation there would have to be a clear indication that he had acted contrary to the material facts and findings, or that the allocation of the positions was clearly erroneous as related to other similar classes of positions or, completely out of relationship to similar classes of positions in other comparable jurisdictions.” Section 120 of the Civil Service Law provided: ‘ ‘ The commission shall examine and [495]*495review such appeal and make such changes in classification or allocation as may be just and equitable. ’ ’ The preliminary issue is not reasonable justification for the determination appealed from but the commission’s erroneous and singularly narrow interpretation of its statutory functions and duties. As the commission decided the appeal before it under a misapprehension as to the impact of the law upon the problem, the decision of the commission must be annulled and the matter remitted for reconsideration free of the erroneous view which the commission followed in reaching its decision on appeal. Whether or not the decision of the commission will be the same on reconsideration, the petitioner is entitled to have his appeal considered and decided in accordance with law. Under the broad powers conferred by the statute on the commission a different result could be reached.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Herbert D. Hamm, J.

The petitioners appealed from determinations of the Director of Classification and Compensation denying reallocation. On March 30, 1961, the commission dismissed the appeals. Thereafter the respondent H. Eliot Kaplan, as President of the commission, wrote a letter to Commissioner Martin P. Catherwood of the New York State Department of Labor. In this letter the respondent Kaplan, as alleged in an affidavit annexed to the petition, stated with reference to the appeals of the petitioners: “ You must appreciate that for the Commission to preempt the determination of the Director of Classification and Compensation there would have to be a clear indication that he had acted contrary to the material facts and findings, or that the allocation of the positions was clearly erroneous as related to other similar classes of positions or, completely out of relationship to similar classes of positions in other comparable jurisdictions.” Section 120 of the Civil Service Law provided: ‘ ‘ The commission shall examine and [495]*495review such appeal and make such changes in classification or allocation as may be just and equitable. ’ ’ The preliminary issue is not reasonable justification for the determination appealed from but the commission’s erroneous and singularly narrow interpretation of its statutory functions and duties. As the commission decided the appeal before it under a misapprehension as to the impact of the law upon the problem, the decision of the commission must be annulled and the matter remitted for reconsideration free of the erroneous view which the commission followed in reaching its decision on appeal. Whether or not the decision of the commission will be the same on reconsideration, the petitioner is entitled to have his appeal considered and decided in accordance with law. Under the broad powers conferred by the statute on the commission a different result could be reached.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

33 Misc. 2d 494, 227 N.Y.S.2d 554, 1962 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4085, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/newman-v-kaplan-nysupct-1962.