Opinion
# 2015-040-020 Claim No. 125559 Motion No. M-86369
04-27-2015
MICHAEL E. WENDEL v. NYS HOUSING TRUST FUND CORP. NYS; Respondeat Superior
Michael E. Wendel, Pro Se ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN Attorney General of the State of New York By: Paul F. Cagino, Esq., AAG
Synopsis
State's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over named Defendant granted.
Case information
| UID: | 2015-040-020 |
| Claimant(s): | MICHAEL E. WENDEL |
| Claimant short name: | WENDEL |
| Footnote (claimant name) : | |
| Defendant(s): | NYS HOUSING TRUST FUND CORP. NYS; Respondeat Superior |
| Footnote (defendant name) : | |
| Third-party claimant(s): | |
| Third-party defendant(s): | |
| Claim number(s): | 125559 |
| Motion number(s): | M-86369 |
| Cross-motion number(s): | |
| Judge: | CHRISTOPHER J. McCARTHY |
| Claimant's attorney: | Michael E. Wendel, Pro Se |
|---|---|
| Defendant's attorney: | ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN Attorney General of the State of New York By: Paul F. Cagino, Esq., AAG |
| Third-party defendant's attorney: | |
| Signature date: | April 27, 2015 |
| City: | Albany |
| Comments: | |
| Official citation: | |
| Appellate results: | |
| See also (multicaptioned case) |
Decision
For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(2) and (8) is granted.
The Claim, which was filed with the Clerk of the Court on January 21, 2015, alleges that Claimant was denied due process, with resulting discrimination, property damage and personal injury (Claim, ¶ 2). The Claim also alleges that Claimant's dwelling has been flooded by the actions/non-actions of the Ulster County Attorney (id., ¶ 5).
Additional information is provided in the affirmation of Paul F. Cagino, Esq., submitted in support of Defendant's motion to dismiss (hereinafter, "Cagino Affirmation"). It appears that Claimant voluntarily applied to participate in the Greater Catskill Flood Remediation Program (hereinafter, "GCFRP"), in an attempt to sell certain real property to the County of Ulster (see Ex. B attached to Cagino Affirmation).
The GCFRP was created by the Legislature, thereby authorizing the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation (hereinafter, "HTFC") to provide funds to certain counties in which residents had suffered from flooding that caused substantial damage to their homes.
The HTFC, in turn, is a public benefit corporation established under the Private Housing Finance Law (hereinafter,"PHFL"), as a subsidiary corporation of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (PHFL, § 45-a[l]), that may sue and be sued in its own name (PHFL § 45-a[7][a]), in accordance with the provisions of General Municipal Law § 50-e (PHFL § 61-a).
The statute governing the HTFC is silent with regard to the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims (cf., for example, Public Authorities Law § 361-b [granting Court of Claims jurisdiction over certain suits against the New York State Thruway Authority]). "Where the State Legislature has decided to confer on the Court of Claims jurisdiction over public authorities, it has done so specifically by statute; the absence of such a provision in the enabling legislation indicates that jurisdiction lies with courts of general jurisdiction (citation omitted)." (Gembala v Audobon Assn., 97 AD2d 345, 346 (4th Dept 1983); see Plath v New York State Olympic Regional Dev. Auth., 304 AD2d 885, 886 [3d Dept 2003]; Douglas v State of New York, UID No. 2010-030-505 [Ct Cl, Scuccimarra, J., Jan. 6, 2010]).
The Court of Claims is a court of limited jurisdiction, with power to hear claims against the State of New York and certain public authorities (see Court of Claims Act § 9; NY Const, art VI, § 9). The Court, thus, lacks jurisdiction over any cause of action based upon the alleged misconduct of HTFC, a subsidiary of the State Housing Finance Agency (see Quick v State of New York, et al., UID No. 2006-016-030 [Ct Cl, Marin, J., May 3, 2006]).
In addition, this Court does not have jurisdiction over the County of Ulster or any individual employee thereof (Whitmore v State of New York, 55 AD2d 745, 746 [3d Dept 1976], lv denied 42 NY2d 810 [1977]; Reid v State of New York, UID No. 2011-040-048 [Ct Cl, McCarthy, J., Aug. 31, 2011 ]; Lyons v State of New York, UID No. 2004-030-904 [Ct Cl, Scuccimarra, J., Feb. 18, 2004]; Webb v State of New York and The Administration for Children's Services (ACS), UID No. 2003-016-051 [Ct Cl, Marin, J., July 1, 2003]).
Claimant has submitted papers in opposition to the State's motion but has not addressed the issue of the Court's jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Therefore, the motion to dismiss the Claim is granted and the Claim is hereby dismissed.
April 27, 2015
Albany, New York
CHRISTOPHER J. McCARTHY
Judge of the Court of Claims
The following papers were read and considered by the Court on Defendant's motion for dismissal:
Papers Numbered
Notice of Motion, Affirmation in Support
& Exhibits attached 1
Claimant's Opposition papers 2
Filed Papers: Claim