Skelos v. Paterson

25 Misc. 3d 347
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 21, 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 25 Misc. 3d 347 (Skelos v. Paterson) 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
Skelos v. Paterson, 25 Misc. 3d 347 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

William R LaMarca, J.

Plaintiffs, Dean G. Skelos and Pedro Espada, Jr., as duly elected members of the New York State Senate, move for an order preliminarily enjoining defendants, David Paterson, as Governor of the State of New York, Richard Ravitch, putative nominee for Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, and Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, as Secretary of State of the State of New York, and any other person acting in concert with them, from, inter alia, exercising any of the powers of the office of Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, including but not limited to those powers relating to presiding over the Senate of the State of New York. Defendants oppose the motion and cross-move for an order dismissing the complaint in its entirety. In a subsequent order to show cause, defendants move for an order changing the place of trial of the action to Albany County on the ground of improper venue. The motions and cross motion are determined as follows:

This is an action for a declaratory judgment that New York Governor David Paterson cannot, consistent with the New York State Constitution, appoint Richard Ravitch as the Lieutenant [350]*350Governor of the State of New York. Plaintiffs also request a permanent injunction prohibiting the Governor from appointing Ravitch or any other individual to that office.

Article iy § 5 of the New York State Constitution provides, “[i]n case of the removal of the governor from office or of his or her death or resignation, the lieutenant-governor shall become governor for the remainder of the term.” On March 17, 2008, defendant, David Paterson, became Governor of the State of New York upon the resignation of Elliot Spitzer from that office.

Article iy § 6 of the NY Constitution provides for succession to the governorship, in the case of vacancy in the offices of both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and also in the case of vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor alone:

“In case of vacancy in the offices of both governor and lieutenant-governor, a governor and lieutenant-governor shall be elected for the remainder of the term at the next general election happening not less than three months after both offices shall have become vacant. No election of a lieutenant-governor shall be had in any event except at the time of electing a governor.
“In case of vacancy in the offices of both governor and lieutenant-governor or if both of them shall be impeached, absent from the state or otherwise unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor, the temporary president of the senate shall act as the governor until the inability shall cease or until a governor shall be elected.
“In case of vacancy in the office of lieutenant-governor alone, or if the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, absent from the state or otherwise unable to discharge the duties of office, the temporary president of the senate shall perform all the duties of lieutenant-governor during such vacancy or inability.”

It is to be noted that while article iy § 6 makes provision for succession to the office of Governor, in the case of vacancy in both offices, it makes no provision for anyone to act as Lieutenant Governor in those circumstances. Moreover, the Constitution clearly provides that the Lieutenant Governor is not to be elected separately. Article iy § 6 provides that the temporary president of the Senate shall “perform all the duties” of Lieutenant Governor, in case of vacancy in that office alone.

[351]*351However, the clear implication of section 6 is that the office of Lieutenant Governor is to remain vacant, in the event the temporary president is acting as Governor, or in the rare event the Senate is unable to elect a temporary president.

When Paterson became Governor, and the office of Lieutenant Governor first became vacant, the temporary president of the Senate was Senator Joseph Bruno, who had been reelected to that position by the Senate in 2007.1 Later in 2008, plaintiff, Senator Dean Skelos, was elected by the Senate as temporary president to replace Senator Bruno. Presumably, while temporary president, each of these senators performed the duties of Lieutenant Governor.2

On January 7, 2009, when the Senate convened for the new legislative session, a majority of the senators elected Senator Malcolm Smith as the temporary president and majority leader. Presumably, Senator Smith also performed the Lieutenant Governor’s duties. In any event, on June 8, 2009, two Democratic members, Senators Pedro Espada, Jr. and Hiram Monserrate, joined 30 Republican senators in an effort to remove Smith as the temporary president. These senators purported to adopt a resolution that elected Senator Espada as the temporary president and plaintiff Skelos as the majority leader. Other members of the Senate, challenging the election of Espada and Skelos, commenced an action in Supreme Court, Albany County, seeking a declaration that Senator Smith was still the temporary president. By order, dated June 16, 2009, the court dismissed the suit, holding that it would be an “improvident intrusion” into the affairs of the Senate for the court to decide the issue.

Meanwhile, on June 15, 2009, Senator Monserrate announced that henceforward he would be voting with the 30 Senators who continued to recognize Senator Smith as the temporary president and majority leader. Following that date, each coalition of 31 Senators claimed that the temporary president whom it supported had the right to preside over Senate sessions. With the two coalitions vying for control, the Senate was unable to take any action on pending bills or even to conduct debate.

On July 8, 2009, Governor Paterson purported to appoint defendant, Richard Ravitch, as Lieutenant Governor of New York [352]*352State. Article iy § 6 of the NY Constitution provides that “[t]he lieutenant-governor shall be the president of the senate but shall have only a casting vote therein.” The term “casting vote” has historically been interpreted to mean a vote only on procedural matters (Ward, New York State Government [2d ed 2006]). It appears that a primary purpose of the Governor in appointing Ravitch was to break the procedural deadlock.

This action by Senators Skelos and Espada challenging the Governor’s appointment of Ravitch was commenced on July 9, 2009. On that date, plaintiffs moved by order to show cause for a preliminary injunction enjoining Ravitch from exercising any of the powers of the office of Lieutenant Governor. Pending the hearing of the application, Justice Ute Lally granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting Ravitch from exercising any of the Lieutenant Governor’s powers. The same date that the temporary restraining order was granted, it was vacated by Justice Leonard Austin of the Appellate Division, without prejudice to any and all claims and defenses of the respective parties.

Defendants move to dismiss the complaint on the ground that plaintiffs lack standing, their dispute with the Governor is nonjusticiable, and a quo warranto proceeding by the Attorney General is the exclusive remedy. Alternatively, defendants move to transfer the action to Albany County on the ground that Nassau County is not a proper county and for the convenience of witnesses. The court will begin by considering defendants’ motion to transfer.

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Related

Skelos v. Paterson
915 N.E.2d 1141 (New York Court of Appeals, 2009)
Skelos v. Paterson
65 A.D.3d 339 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
25 Misc. 3d 347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/skelos-v-paterson-nysupct-2009.