Ramirez v. State

171 Misc. 2d 677, 655 N.Y.S.2d 791
CourtNew York Court of Claims
DecidedJanuary 2, 1997
DocketClaim No. 93004
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 171 Misc. 2d 677 (Ramirez 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
Ramirez v. State, 171 Misc. 2d 677, 655 N.Y.S.2d 791 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

James P. King, J.

Motion by defendant for an order of dismissal. Among other issues, this motion raises the question of whether a cause of action for "wrongful confinement” within a prison setting is an intentional tort subject to the one-year time limitation of Court of Claims Act § 10 (3-b).

Claimant alleges that officials of the Coxsackie Correctional Facility wrongfully confined him to his cell from August 16 to September 1,1994 in retaliation for his having used the inmate grievance procedure to complain about inadequacies of the Coxsackie Correctional Facility inmate law library and having encouraged another inmate to take similar steps. Claimant was charged with violating the rule prohibiting an inmate from organizing others to take actions detrimental to the facility and for refusing to accept a program. A disciplinary hearing was timely commenced but was dismissed rather than completed. Claimant was not notified that the charges against him had been dismissed, nor was he released from confinement, until three days later when he inquired about his status.

The charges against claimant were filed and he was placed in confinement on August 16, 1994; they were dismissed on August 29, 1994; and claimant was released from confinement on September 1, 1994. His notice of intention to file a claim was filed with the court and served on the Attorney-General on November 28, 1994, and the claim was subsequently filed [679]*679and served on November 30, 1995 and December 4, 1995, respectively. In its answer, the State set forth the following affirmative defense: "Claimant served neither a notice of intention nor the claim on the State within ninety (90) days of the claim’s alleged accrual, as required by Court of Claims Act § 10 (3). The Court, therefore, lacks personal jurisdiction over the State and subject matter jurisdiction over the claim.” These statements raise the affirmative defense of untimeliness with sufficient particularity to meet the requirement of Court of Claims Act § 11 (c) (see, Fowles v State of New York, 152 Misc 2d 837; Garcia v State of New York, Ct Cl, Sept. 24,1993, Benza, J., claim No. 84965, motion No. M-48313, opn, at 4). Defendant now moves for dismissal of the claim on this ground.

Defense counsel’s interpretation of this action is that it is a claim for negligence (as shown by the reference to Court of Claims Act § 10 [3]) and that it accrued on August 16, 1994, the date of claimant’s initial confinement. Counsel apparently chose this date, rather than the date of release, because claimant referred to August 16 as the date of accrual in both his notice of intention and his claim. If the claim accrued on August 16, the November 28 notice of intention would be untimely. Recognizing, however, that the claim could also be construed as one for wrongful confinement, or false imprisonment, which would have accrued on September 1, 1994, counsel points out that false imprisonment is an intentional tort governed by CPLR 215 and that, pursuant to Court of Claims Act § 10 (3-b), claims based on the intentional torts of State employees must be filed and served within a year after accrual of the claim. The claim in this action was neither filed nor served by September 1, 1995.

Claimant’s allegations that correction officers conspired against him and had improper motives for instituting disciplinary charges against him do not state a viable cause of action for which money damages can be recovered in this court. These alleged wrongful acts involve the exercise of discretion and quasi-judicial power, and such actions taken by prison officials in bringing disciplinary charges and conducting disciplinary hearings are entitled to absolute immunity (Arteaga v State of New York, 72 NY2d 212). Furthermore, even if such acts could give rise to an action cognizable in this court, the wrongs as[680]*680serted would be intentional in nature, and the bar of Court of Claims Act § 10 (3-b) would prevent their being asserted.1

The situation is different, however, with respect to the three days of confinement that claimant experienced after the charges against him were dismissed. First, the date on which any wrongful confinement commenced was August 29, 1994, not August 16. The confinement that began August 16 was authorized by the Department of Correctional Services rules and regulations, specifically 7 NYCRR 251-5.1. Once the charges were dismissed, however, claimant was entitled to be returned to the general population, and it was at that point — when his additional confinement continued without legal justification— that his claim first arose (see, Covington v State of New York, Ct Cl, Sept. 14, 1988, McMahon, J., claim No. 74324). There must be an injury before a cause of action accrues (Vigilant Ins. Co. v Housing Auth., 87 NY2d 36, 43; McDermott v City of New York, 50 NY2d 211; 54 CJS, Limitations of Actions, § 168), and, in addition, "all of the facts necessary to the cause of action” must have occurred before a party is entitled to relief (Aetna Life & Cas. Co. v Nelson, 67 NY2d 169, 175). Here the relevant facts could not be known and the extent of the injury could not be ascertained until claimant’s release on September 1. November 28, 1994, the date on which the notice of intention was filed and served, is within 90 days of this date.

This, of course, brings up defendant’s second argument regarding timeliness: whether a claim for wrongful confinement is an intentional tort and therefore must be filed within one year of the claim’s accrual (Court of Claims Act § 10 [3-b]). If the cause of action arising from claimant’s confinement between August 29 and September 1 is considered to be an "intentional tort”, it would be subject to this one-year time limitation and if it is considered to be an action for false imprisonment, it would be subject to the one-year Statute of Limitations contained in CPLR 215.2 The latter date is important because the tolling of the Statute of Limitations [681]*681cuts off a claimant’s opportunity to move for permission to file a late claim (Court of Claims Act § 10 [6]) or to have the notice of intention deemed a claim (Court of Claims Act § 10 [8] [a]).

The time limitation contained in Court of Claims Act § 10 (3-b) applies to claims "to recover damages for injuries to property or for personal injuries caused by the intentional tort of an officer or employee of the state”. CPLR 215 (3), in contrast, does not refer to the category of "intentional” torts but, rather, lists specific causes of action that are generally considered to be intentional torts, that are subject to its one-year Statute of Limitations. These include assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, libel, and slander. Several courts have held that all intentional torts, whether or not they are specifically named in the statute, are subject to this statute (see, Gallagher v Directors Guild, 144 AD2d 261; Okure v Owens, 816 F2d 45, 49), and commentators have acknowledged, however, that the line between these specified torts and those considered to be unintentional, and thus governed by the three-year provision of CPLR 214, "is not always easy to draw” (McLaughlin, Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR C215:3, at 645).

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Bluebook (online)
171 Misc. 2d 677, 655 N.Y.S.2d 791, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramirez-v-state-nyclaimsct-1997.