Results tagged “appealscourt”

After Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor was struck down again recently in a state appeals court, it appeared to be curtains for one of Paterson's most popular moves in an attempt to combat the state senate takeover this spring. But yesterday the state's top court gave the governor and Ravitch a glimmer of hope after they were unexpectedly tough on the state senator who took the appointment to court, Republican Minority Leader Dean Skelos.

Well you had a good run, Richard Ravitch. After conflicting decisions from the courts in the days immediately following him signing his name as lieutenant governor in Peter Luger's blood, a state appeals panel in Brooklyn has once again struck down Governor Paterson's appointment of Ravitch as unconstitutional. In the panel's unanimous decision today, they said, "We have no quarrel with those who say that having a man of Mr. Ravitch’s stature, knowledge, and experience in the office of lieutenant governor would promote the public interest by providing help and counsel to the governor in difficult times and by bringing much-needed stability to the government of this State...(but) the governor’s purported appointment of Mr. Ravitch was unlawful because no provision of the Constitution or of any statute provides for the filling of the vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor other than by election." While the panel encouraged that Paterson take the fight all the way to the Court of Appeals, the Daily News says that is not likely since that court consists mostly of Pataki appointees.

Sorry, poor elderly, disabled and/or blind legal residents of New York State; the Court of Appeals has ruled that you're still limited to $352 a month in public aid, about half of what lower courts ruled you should get. Of course, since many of you have died since lawyers filed the class action lawsuit in 2004, Tuesday's decision might not matter much. But thousands of poor legal immigrants desperate for public assistance are shattered by the 5-2 ruling, which held that the state had no duty to fill in for a federal program that ended benefits to most disabled legal immigrants in 1996. Since the early '50s, legal NY residents who fell on hard times were entitled to a higher level of aid if they were elderly, blind or disabled, but when D.C. took over the program in the '70s, the state supplemented the benefit to reach the higher level it had set earlier. That's over now. The NY Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance applauded the ruling, saying it could save the state and local governments $100-270 million. But in a strongly worded dissent, two judges wrote that "the majority today has turned its back on the history of New York’s commitment to protect its most fragile and vulnerable populations."

An appeals court ruled that a doctor who had been missing before September 11, 2001 died during the World Trade Center attacks. The family of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, last seen at Century 21 on September 10, had in courts for years trying to do so.

The Supreme Court essentially upheld an Appeals Court ruling that said New York City must pay the private education of disabled students. The twist is that the students and their parents don't even need to try to see if the public school programs are adequate for them.

A 1992 NY State Appeals Court ruling that we'll definitely keep in mind: Women have the right to go topless since men can show their chests whenever they want (like this guy). This equal opportunity decision wasn't something a police officer was cognizant of when he arrested Jill Coccaro, who was walking around topless in August 2005 (she was trying to cool off).

The State Appeals Court has found that the NYC Transit Authority - the NYC division of the MTA - is responsible for maintaining subway exits and entrances. The thing is, the MTA doesn't even own the exits and entrances. Still, the court found that the NYCTA is liable for injuries that a woman suffered while falling down steps at the Columbus Circle station back in 1995. Here's an excerpt of the opinion:

In the case before us, the evidence at trial was sufficient to establish that the stairway in question was used primarily as a means of access to and from the subway. Therefore, defendants had a duty to maintain the stairway or to warn patrons of any dangerous condition. So imperative is the duty to provide a safe means of access to and from the subway that such duty may not be delegated to another. Thus, even if the responsibility to maintain the stairway resides in another entity, defendants may not avoid their responsibility "to at least provide against injury to its passengers by erecting such barricades, or giving such warning, as [would] guard against accidents" (Schlessinger, 49 Misc at 506).

While we're not crazy about the idea of tons of lawsuits, the MTA stairs can be dangerous - especially these past few days with the slush and ice. Use those handrails, because as tempting as suing the MTA may be, we rather you be healthy. You can read the full decision here.

Oh Governor Pataki, you can only screw New York City so much thanks to the State Appeals Court. As if his budget shortchanging the city wasn't bad enough, Pataki didn't comply with a previous court order to increase spending in city schools. Perhaps yesterday's decision by the Appellate Division will actually convince Pataki that it's time to pay up. It's the 2nd time that a court has said that New York State owes New York City at least $4.7 billion for its schools. The monies owed could be as high as $5.63 billion. But what's a few billion to Pataki. Maybe he can come and visit some schools and go over the math with the kids he's hosing.

The New York Court of Appeals ruled that New York State has been shortchanging New York City's ability to provide children "to the point of creating systemic failure in its schools and depriving students of their constitutional right to a decent education" as the Times puts it. Now the State has to figure out how much money to allocate to city schools, which then requires a reassessment of how much surburban schools should get. Newsday discusses the ruling and its impact on the suburban schools of Long Island.