The Matter of Tina Leggio v. Sharon Devine

New York Court of Appeals·Decided February 13, 2020·No. 9·Published

Opinion

State of New York OPINION Court of Appeals This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York Reports.

No. 9 In the Matter of Tina Leggio, Appellant, v.

Sharon Devine, &c. et al., Respondents.

Beth C. Zweig, for appellant Tina Leggio. Andrew W. Amend, for respondent Devine. Empire Justice Center, amicus curiae.

WILSON, J.:

In this CPLR article 78 proceeding, a parent challenges the determination of a local social services agency, confirmed by a state agency, that child support payments she receives, made for the benefit of five of her children living at home, including two college

-2- No. 9 students between the ages of 18 and 22, are included as “household” income when deciding whether and to what extent the household is eligible for benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as “food stamps.” She contends that because her two children in college are ineligible for SNAP, their pro rata share of the support funds should be excluded, lowering the household’s income such that it would qualify to receive SNAP benefits. We confirm the agency’s determination based on deference to its policy choice in administering a federal assistance program.

I.

Congress created SNAP to provide food for people in need. SNAP is administered by the states, in compliance with rules and regulations set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). SNAP benefits are disbursed to “household” units based on a formula that considers a household’s income and size.

At the relevant time, petitioner Tina Leggio was a single parent raising five children under the age of 22. 1 The two eldest children were full-time college students who lived at home. Because they did not satisfy any of the conditions for a student enrolled in higher education at least half-time to be eligible for SNAP, as enumerated in 7 CFR 273.5(b), and were not otherwise eligible for a federal exemption under the law, they were ineligible for the program. The children’s father paid $593.75 per week to support all five children. The

1 Ms. Leggio’s sixth child was older than 22 at the relevant time and is not at issue in this appeal.

-3- No. 9 household had been receiving SNAP benefits because Ms. Leggio’s income, including the child support, had been below the applicable income limit.

In October 2014, upon Ms. Leggio’s application to recertify under SNAP, the Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS) discontinued the household’s benefits because its income exceeded the upper limit for a household of four (Ms. Leggio plus her three younger children, excluding the two in college). Because the two older children were ineligible for SNAP, DSS did not count them as household members. Nevertheless, DSS included the full amount of child support in its calculation of household income. Ms. Leggio challenged that determination, contending that because her two children in college were excluded from SNAP benefits, their pro rata share of the child support payment (two-fifths of $593.75, or $237.50 per week) should likewise be excluded from household income, rendering the household SNAP-eligible. 2 After a hearing, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)

determined that DSS correctly discontinued Ms. Leggio’s benefits. OTDA held that child support funds are “income given to the parent and [are] under the parent’s control” and therefore, the total amount of child support was household income, even though a portion of it was used “exclusively for [Ms. Leggio’s two college student] sons’ everyday expenses, such as school, clothing, and food” (Decision After Fair Hearing, No. 6878939Z [OTDA December 30, 2014]). OTDA’s analysis depended on the fact that the students

2 As of October 1, 2014, the limit on net monthly income for a household of four to receive SNAP benefits was $2,160.03 (A-150). The contested pro rata share of child support was $1,029.17, which, if excluded, would have lowered the household’s net monthly income from $2,917.26 to $1,888.09.

-4- No. 9 lived at home, as distinguished from “child support income for an ineligible student living outside of the SNAP household” which must be excluded from household income.

Ms. Leggio brought this CPLR article 78 proceeding to annul OTDA’s determination. Supreme Court transferred the matter to the Appellate Division, which confirmed OTDA’s determination on a different rationale and dismissed the proceeding (158 AD3d 803 [2d Dept 2018]). Although it held that the child support monies were income of the children, not Ms. Leggio, the Appellate Division concluded that because the college students were disqualified from SNAP, and did not work a minimum of twenty hours per week or qualify for any other exemption that would make them SNAP-eligible, their unearned income still qualified as income of the household pursuant to 7 CFR 273.11(c)(1). That section counts the income of persons disqualified from SNAP for failure to comply with work requirements, among other program disqualifiers, against the remaining SNAP-eligible household members.

We granted Ms. Leggio leave to appeal, and now affirm the Appellate Division order on different grounds. The plain text of the statutes and regulations that bind OTDA provide that income of ineligible college students, including child support income, must be excluded from household income, contrary to the Appellate Division’s reading of the governing law (see 7 CFR 273.5[d]; 273.11[d]). Consequently, if Ms. Leggio’s two eldest children are the owners of their pro rata shares of the child support she receives, the household would be eligible for SNAP benefits.3 Conversely, if child support funds are

3 OTDA agrees: it has consistently taken the position in this proceeding that if the child support payments are deemed to be the property of the children—for example, if paid

-5- No. 9 considered income of the custodial parent who received them (here, Ms. Leggio) they are household income not subject to any exclusion, and Ms. Leggio’s household’s income would be too high to receive SNAP benefits. Although the consequences of allocating the income are clear, the threshold question, whether child support is income of the recipient- parent or of the beneficiary-child for purposes of determining eligibility for SNAP benefits, is unresolved by any federal or state statute or regulation or decision of this Court.

We conclude that OTDA’s interpretation of the federal statutes it administers was not irrational and is entitled to deference and thus, for the purposes of SNAP, child support directly received by a parent is household income, even if it is used for the benefit of an ineligible college student living at home.

II.

A

In the context of SNAP, “household” is a term of art meaning “an individual who lives alone or who, while living with others, customarily purchases food and prepares meals for home consumption separate and apart from the others; or a group of individuals who live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together for home consumption” (7 USC § 2012[m][1]). USDA has adopted rules applying the household concept to various living arrangements including, as relevant here, that people under the age of 22 and living with a parent, “must be considered as customarily purchasing food and preparing meals with the others, even if they do not do so, and thus must be included

directly to a college student—those funds must be excluded from the income attributed to the household of which they are part.

-6- No. 9 in the same household, unless otherwise specified” (7 CFR 273.1[b][1][ii]). Thus, under federal law, Ms. Leggio’s two children in college are part of her household for SNAP purposes.

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