§ 63-C — Action by the people for illegal receipt or disposition of public funds or other property

§ 63-c. Action by the people for illegal receipt or disposition of\npublic funds or other property. 1. Where any money, funds, credits, or\nother property, held or owned by the state, or held or owned officially\nor otherwise for or in behalf of a governmental or other public\ninterest, by a domestic, municipal, or other public corporation, or by a\nboard, officer, custodian, agency, or agent of the state, or of a city,\ncounty, town, village or other division, subdivision, department, or\nportion of the state, has heretofore been, or is hereafter, without\nright obtained, received, converted, or disposed of, an action to\nrecover the same, or to recover damages or other compensation for so\nobtaining, receiving, paying, converting, or disposing of the same, or\nboth, may be maintained by the state in any court of the state, or\nbefore any court or tribunal of the United States, or of any other\nstate, or of any territory of the United States, or of any foreign\ncountry, having jurisdiction thereof, although a right of action for the\nsame cause exists by law in some other public authority, and whether an\naction therefor in favor of the latter is or is not pending when the\naction in favor of the state is commenced. The attorney-general shall\ncommence an action, suit or other judicial proceeding, as prescribed in\nthis section, whenever he deems it for the interests of the state so to\ndo; or whenever he is so directed, in writing, by the governor.\n 2. Upon the commencement by the state of any action, suit or other\njudicial proceeding, as prescribed in this section, the entire cause of\naction, including the title to the money, funds, credits, or other\nproperty, with respect to which the suit or action is brought, and to\nthe damages or other compensation recoverable for the obtaining,\nreceipt, payment, conversion or disposition thereof, if not previously\nso vested, is transferred to and becomes absolutely vested in the state.\n 3. Any court of the state in which an action is brought by the state,\nas prescribed in this section, may direct, by the final judgment\ntherein, or by a subsequent order, that any money, funds, damages,\ncredits, or other property, recovered by or awarded to the plaintiff\ntherein, which, if that action had not been brought, would not have\nvested in the state, be disposed of, as justice requires, in such a\nmanner as to reinstate the lawful custody thereof, or to apply the same\nor the proceeds thereof to the objects and purposes for which they were\nauthorized to be raised or procured; after paying into the state\ntreasury out of the proceeds of the recovery all expenses incurred by\nthe state in the action.\n 4. Any corporation, board, officer, custodian, agency, or agent, in\nbehalf of any city, county, town, village, or other division,\nsubdivision, department, or portion of the state, which was not a party\nto an action, brought as prescribed in this section, and which claims to\nbe entitled to the custody or disposition of any of the money, funds,\ndamages, credits, or other property, recovered by, or awarded to the\nplaintiff, by the final judgment in the action, or any of the proceeds\nthereof, and not disposed of as prescribed in subdivision three, may\nbring a special proceeding against the attorney-general at any time\nafter the actual collection of the money and its payment into the state\ntreasury, or the actual receipt of the property by the state, in the\nsupreme court, county of Albany, seeking disposition of the money or\nother property.\n 5. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including without\nlimitation; section sixty-four of this article; the education law; the\nretirement and social security law and the administrative code of the\ncity of New York, the portion of all money received by the attorney\ngeneral in connection with the settlement of an action arising out of\nthe management, operation, investments of or otherwise in connection\nwith a retirement or other fund established pursuant to the education\nlaw, the retirement and social security law or the administrative code\nof the city of New York attributable to the harm suffered by such fund\nshall be deposited into such fund.\n