Opinion
# 2015-038-106 Claim No. 116499
05-06-2015
DEVIN KEITT v. THE STATE OF NEW YORK
DEVIN KEITT, Pro se ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN, Attorney General of the State of New York By: Joan Matalavage, Assistant Attorney General
Synopsis
Case information
| UID: | 2015-038-106 |
| Claimant(s): | DEVIN KEITT |
| Claimant short name: | KEITT |
| Footnote (claimant name) : | |
| Defendant(s): | THE STATE OF NEW YORK |
| Footnote (defendant name) : | |
| Third-party claimant(s): | |
| Third-party defendant(s): | |
| Claim number(s): | 116499 |
| Motion number(s): | |
| Cross-motion number(s): | |
| Judge: | W. BROOKS DeBOW |
| Claimant's attorney: | DEVIN KEITT, Pro se |
| Defendant's attorney: | ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN, Attorney General of the State of New York By: Joan Matalavage, Assistant Attorney General |
| Third-party defendant's attorney: | |
| Signature date: | May 6, 2015 |
| City: | Saratoga Springs |
| Comments: | |
| Official citation: | |
| Appellate results: | |
| See also (multicaptioned case) |
Decision
This claim, which was filed on March 4, 2009 was scheduled for trial on April 23, 2015. It alleges that claimant's personal property was lost by defendant's employees at Upstate Correctional Facility on November 9, 2008. At the commencement of proceedings on April 23, 2015, defendant made a motion to dismiss the claim for lack of jurisdiction due to claimant's failure to serve the claim on the Attorney General as required by Court of Claims Act § 11 (a) (i) and also due to claimant's failure to exhaust his administrative remedies as required by Court of Claims Act § 10 (9). Defendant also argued that the claim should be dismissed because the lost property claim that is the subject of this claim number 116499 has already been tried before the Court under claim number 117530, and claimant was awarded compensation for the property that he lost on November 9, 2008 (see Keitt v State of New York, UID No. 2014-038-111, DeBow, J. [Dec. 29, 2014]). Having heard claimant's arguments in opposition to the motion and having marked and considered Court Exhibit Numbers 1, 2 and 3, the motion was granted and claim number 116499 was dismissed from the bench, for the following reasons.
Assuming that claimant properly served claim number 116499 on the Attorney General, and further assuming that he did so after exhausting his administrative remedies, which it does not appear that he did, the claim is dismissed on grounds of res judicata. This claim and claim number 117530 both allege that claimant's personal property was lost at Upstate Correctional Facility on November 9, 2008, when he was required to pack personal items to send home when he was transferred to another cell by Correction Officer Bush and Sergeant Duvall. Indeed, claimant sought to withdraw claim number 116499 because his administrative remedies were not yet exhausted (see Court Exhibit 1, Exhibit [Notice of Motion to Withdraw Claim]), and he thereafter filed claim number 117530. In stating his opposition to defendant's motion to dismiss claim number 116499, claimant was unable to identify any factual difference between the two claims, arguing only that he had not had the benefit of sufficient discovery prior to the trial of claim number 117530. That reason, even if true, is insufficient to avoid the rule of res judicata that "once a claim is brought to a final conclusion, all other claims arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions are barred" (O'Brien v City of Syracuse, 54 NY2d 353, 357 [1981]). Accordingly, and in accordance with the Court's ruling from the bench on April 23, 2015, it is
ORDERED, that claim number 116499 is DISMISSED.
May 6, 2015
Saratoga Springs, New York
W. BROOKS DeBOW
Judge of the Court of Claims