Parietti v. Sampson

117 A.D.3d 830, 986 N.Y.S.2d 160
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided May 14, 2014·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

[831]*831In a hybrid proceeding, in effect, pursuant to Election Law article 16 to validate a petition to hold a referendum on a proposition to increase the number of members on the Town Council of the Town of Ramapo from four to six, and action for declaratory relief, Christian G. Sampson, as the Town Clerk of the Town of Ramapo, and the Town of Ramapo appeal, by permission, from an order of the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Garvey, J.), dated March 7, 2013, which, inter alia, denied their motion to dismiss the petition/complaint as time-barred.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs to the petitioners-respondents.

On September 6, 2012, the petitioners/plaintiffs Michael Parietti and Robert Romanowski filed a petition (hereinafter the referendum petition) with the Town Clerk of the Town of Ramapo, seeking to compel the Town to conduct a referendum asking Town voters “SHALL THE NUMBER OF COUNCILMEN OR COUNCILWOMEN OF THE TOWN OF RAMAPO BE INCREASED FROM FOUR TO SIX?” On October 23, 2012, after general and specific objections were filed, the Town Clerk issued determinations and findings invalidating all of the signatures in the referendum petition, thus concluding that the referendum petition did not comply with Town Law § 81.

On November 20, 2012, the petitioners/plaintiffs (hereinafter the petitioners) commenced this hybrid proceeding, in effect, pursuant to Election Law article 16 and action for declaratory relief, seeking to validate the referendum petition and to compel the Town Clerk to schedule a special election on the subject referendum, and for a judgment declaring that the referendum petition is valid. On November 21, 2012, the petitioners served copies of the initiatory papers in this matter upon the Town of Ramapo and the Town Clerk (hereinafter together the appellants).

The appellants thereafter moved pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the petition/complaint on the ground that it was time-barred by virtue of Election Law § 16-102 (2). Specifically, the appellants argued that the proceeding/action was time-barred since it was not commenced within three business days after October 23, 2012, the date on which the Town Clerk made the determination that the referendum petition was invalid. The petitioners opposed the motion, arguing, among other things, that the proceeding/action was timely commenced because the four-month statute of limitations applicable to CPLR article 78 proceedings (see CPLR 217 [1]), rather than [832]*832the three-day limitation period set forth in Election Law § 16-102 (2), applied.

In an order dated March 7, 2013, the Supreme Court denied the appellants’ motion to dismiss the petition/complaint. The court concluded that, although the three-day statute of limitations set forth in Election Law § 16-102 (2) was applicable (see Health v Town of Islip, 169 Misc 2d 382, 386 [Sup Ct, Suffolk County 1996]), and that a petitioner raising a challenge under this section must file and complete service on all necessary parties within the prescribed time period in order to timely institute the proceeding (see Matter of Goodman v Nassau County Bd. of Elections, 87 AD3d 668, 668 [2011]; Matter of McDonough v Scannapieco, 65 AD3d 647, 648 [2009]; Matter of Wilson v Garfinkle, 5 AD3d 409, 410 [2004]; Matter of Green v Mahr, 230 AD2d 873 [1996]), the petitioners’ failure to file the underlying petition within this three-day period did not render the proceeding time-barred because the limitations period was to have expired on October 26, 2012, the day that Hurricane Sandy hit New York State. Accordingly, the court determined that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 52 (9 NYCRR 8.52), signed by the Governor on October 31, 2012, suspended the statute of limitations, and that the petitioners thereafter timely commenced the proceeding/action within the statute of limitations, as extended by Executive Order No. 52.

The appellants’ sole argument on this appeal is that the Supreme Court erred in finding that Executive Order No. 52 was effective as of October 26, 2012. The appellants assert that the Executive Order was not effective until October 31, 2012, the date on which it was issued, and that since the statute of limitations for this proceeding expired on October 26, 2012, the proceeding/action is time-barred. We disagree.

Executive Order No. 52 provides:

“Temporary Suspension and Modification of Statutory Provisions Establishing Time Limitations on Actions and Time in Which to Take an Appeal

“WHEREAS, on October 26, 2012, I issued Executive Order Number 47 declaring a disaster emergency in all 62 counties in the State of New York;

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law to temporarily suspend specific provisions of any statute, local law, ordinance, orders, rules or regulations, or parts thereof, of any agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such provisions would prevent, hinder or delay action necessary [833]*833to cope with the disaster, I hereby temporarily suspend, for the period from the date of this Executive Order until further notice, the following laws:

“Section 201 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, so far as it bars actions whose limitation period concludes during the period commencing from the date that the disaster emergency was declared pursuant to Executive Order Number 47, issued on October 26, 2012, until further notice, and so far as it limits a court’s authority to extend such time, whether or not the time to commence such an action is specified in Article 2 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules;

“Section 5513 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, so far as it relates to a limitation period that concludes during the period commencing from the date that the disaster emergency was declared pursuant to Executive Order Number 47, issued on October 26, 2012, until further notice;

“Section 25 of the Court of Claims Act, so far as it relates to a limitation of time to appeal in which a limitation period concludes during the period commencing from the date that the disaster emergency was declared pursuant to Executive Order Number 47, issued on October 26, 2012, until further notice;

“Sections 30.10 and 30.30 of the Criminal Procedure Law, so far as they may bar criminal prosecutions brought in Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, in cases whose limitation periods conclude during the period commencing from the date that the disaster emergency was decldred pursuant to Executive Order Number 47, issued on October 26, 2012, until further notice;

“Subdivision (2) of section 310.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law, so far as it may limit the duration of a recess of a deliberating jury in Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, in cases where such a recess was declared during the period commencing from the date that the disaster emergency was declared pursuant to Executive Order Number 47, issued on October 26, 2012, until further notice;

“Sections 460.10, 460.30, 460.50 and Article 460 of the Criminal Procedure Law, so far as they relate to a limitation of time to appeal and such limitation period concludes during the period

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Parietti v. Sampson, 117 A.D.3d 830, 986 N.Y.S.2d 160 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2014).

117 A.D.3d 830 (Parietti v. Sampson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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