Tunia v. State

106 Misc. 2d 601, 434 N.Y.S.2d 846, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2924
CourtNew York Court of Claims
DecidedOctober 18, 1978
DocketClaim No. 61438
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 106 Misc. 2d 601 (Tunia 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
Tunia v. State, 106 Misc. 2d 601, 434 N.Y.S.2d 846, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2924 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Henry W. Lengyel, J.

On September 19, 1977, claimant filed a claim with the Clerk of the Court of Claims. The claim was served on the Attorney-General on September 20,1977. In rather cursory fashion claimant alleged that he was falsely arrested, falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted, libeled, sustained loss of reputation, and was humiliated. Claimant demanded damages in the total sum of $300,000 and averred that each of the six above-enumerated “torts” carried a separate damage of $50,000.

Claimant was arrested on June 3, 1976 on the charge of criminal facilitation, second degree, a class A misdemeanor. [602]*602He was immediately arraigned before a Town Justice of the Peace and was committed to the Jefferson County Jail at 12:35 A.M. on June 4, 1976. He was released on bail at 1:00 p.m. on that date.

In February, 1977, the Jefferson County Grand Jury by sealed indictment accused the claimant of burglary in the second degree and grand larceny in the second degree. On February 15,1977 the Jefferson County Judge issued a warrant for claimant’s arrest. Claimant was arrested on February 17, 1977. He was immediately arraigned and released on bail.

On or about April 19, 1977, claimant’s counsel moved before the Town Justice of the Peace for dismissal of the criminal facilitation charge “in view of the fact that the matter covering the same fact situation has been referred to the Jefferson County Grand Jury and has been disposed or [sic] in Jefferson County Court.” The Special District Attorney joined in the motion. On April 22,1977, the Town Justice granted the motion.

On August 4, 1977, on motion of the Special District Attorney and defendant’s counsel, the Jefferson County Judge dismissed the indictment and discharged the claimant from arrest. The basis for the dismissal was “that a complete investigation of the case showed insufficient evidence that the defendant could have committed said crimes”.

The State’s motion to dismiss the cause of action for false arrest and imprisonment was predicated upon untimely filing. The State also posited that there was only one arrest, i.e., June 3,1976; that the “rearrest” of February 17,1977 was merely a continuation of the first arrest; and, that the time factor relating to the first arrest controlled the timeliness of both arrests. I reject that contention.

It has long been the law of this State that claims for false arrest and imprisonment accrue on the date that the claimant is arraigned and released on bail. (See Schildhaus v City of New York, 23 AD2d 409, 411, affd 17 NY2d 853, cert den 385 US 906; Molyneaux v County of Nassau, 22 AD2d 954, affd 16 NY2d 663; Redding v County of Westchester, 59 AD2d 776; Huff v State of New York, 27 AD2d 892; Bomboy v State of New York, 26 AD2d 974.) If the [603]*603above decisions still reflect the law of this State, then the claim for false arrest and imprisonment arising out of the June 3, 1976 arrest accrued on June 4, 1976.

In a recent Court of Appeals decision (Matter of Beary v City of Rye, 44 NY2d 398), Judge Fuchsberg, writing for a unanimous court, stated at page 408: “In Matter of Beary the claimant seeks damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution against the City of Rye. The criminal proceedings on which his claim is premised terminated in his favor when the Grand Jury dismissed all the charges against him. That was on January 14, 1976. His right to sue therefore accrued on that date (see Robbins v Robbins, 133 NY 597; Giglio v Delesparo, 46 AD2d 928).” Claimant’s counsel in the claim at bar urged that Matter of Beary v City of Rye (44 NY2d 398, supra) changed existing law; that a claim for false arrest/imprisonment accrued when the criminal proceeding flowing from the arrest had been finally determined in favor of the criminal defendant, and not when such person was freed on bail.

False arrest/imprisonment is premised upon an intentional physical act which unlawfully interferes with a person’s freedom from restraint of movement. It is not premised upon the criminal judicial proceeding which may occur after the arrest. Granted, the result of such criminal proceeding may be of importance in establishing probable cause or the lack of probable cause at the time of arrest. However, that result only relates to the civil defendant’s affirmative defense of legal justification. The criminal pro-ceding and its result bear no relationship to the intentional, known, nonconsenting, unprivileged, actual physical restraint which occurred before the criminal proceeding and which ceased when the criminal defendant was released on bail. (See Broughton v State of New York, 37 NY2d 451, cert den sub nom. Schanbarger v Kellogg, 423 US 929.) Therefore, Judge Fuchsberg obviously intended the accrual date language in the above quotation from the Beary (supra) decision to relate solely to the tort of malicious prosecution.

It is also of interest to note that the decision in the Second Department (Matter of Beary v City of Rye, 59 AD2d [604]*604905), which was reversed in the Court of Appeals, concerned itself solely with the accrual date for the tort of malicious prosecution, and that the two decisions cited by Judge Fuchsberg at the end of the above quotation were solely concerned with the tort of malicious prosecution. Furthermore and finally on this point, in my opinion, the Court of Appeals would not change law established and reinforced by a long line of appellate decisions without clearly stating that such a change was intended.

I, therefore, hold that a claim for false arrest and imprisonment accrues on the date of arraignment and release from actual physical custody. (Cf. Ross v Village of Wappingers Falls, 62 AD2d 892.)

In the claim at bar, claimant was released on bail on June 4, 1976. The claim was not brought until September 20,1977, i.e., 1 year, 3 months and 16 days after the accrual date.

The State’s motion to dismiss this claim was filed on April 5, 1978 returnable on May 2, 1978 and adjourned to May 16, 1978. By answering affidavit, dated May 11, 1978, claimant’s counsel not only opposed the motion but also, in the alternative, requested that the court permit a late filing of the claim under “Court of Claims Act, Section 10, Subdivisions 5 and 6”. Although both subdivisions 5 and 6 of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act contemplate a formal application for permission to file a late claim, in my opinion, such an application made in an answering affidavit to a dismissal motion may be considered as being within statutory contemplation. (See Gibson v State of New York, 64 AD2d 790.) Therefore, claimant is considered to have applied for late filing within two years of the accrual date of June 4, 1976. Under subdivision 5 of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act, the controlling statute on said accrual date, claimant had the right to make such an application; and, the court was given the discretionary power to grant the application if all three requirements of subdivision 5 of section 10 were satisfied. (See Crane v State of New York, 29 AD2d 1001; Bommarito v State of New York, 35 AD2d 458.)

The only excuse presented to justify the late filing ap[605]

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Bluebook (online)
106 Misc. 2d 601, 434 N.Y.S.2d 846, 1978 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2924, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tunia-v-state-nyclaimsct-1978.