New York Civil Service Attorney Law Blog : New York Civil Service Lawyer & Attorney : Kevin P. Sheerin : Article 78 : Serving New York City, Long Island, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island

Court Confirms Petitioner’s Termination for Misconduct.

Matter of Gibbons v. New York Unified Ct. Sys., Off. of Ct. Admin.

In this Article 78 case, Petitioner, Grace Gibbons, sought review of Respondent’s decision that found her guilty of incompetence and misconduct and terminated her employment.

Gibbons was a court reporter for the District Court in Nassau County for approximately 22 years. In May 2007, Respondent served Gibbons with a notice of disciplinary charges. At the hearing, the Office of Court Administration (OCA) stated that Petitioner was insubordinate to supervisors and a District Court Judge, failed to produce transcripts in a timely matter, and was excessively absent without sufficient notice, which left the District Court short notice to find a replacement.

In December 2008, the hearing officer recommended that Petitioner be terminated from his position. A few months later, on February 4, 2009, the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge found the Petitioner guilty of the misconduct and incompetent in at least 20 specifications. Thereafter, Gibbons was terminated.

In an Article 78 proceeding, the Appellate review is limited to whether that determination was supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is defined as “such relevant proof as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion or ultimate fact” and “[t]he courts may not weigh the evidence or reject the choice made by [an administrative agency] where the evidence is conflicting and room for choice exists.”

The Appellate Division found that the decision was supported by substantial evidence and the penalty of termination did not shock one’s sense of fairness.

The determination was confirmed, the petition is denied, and the proceeding is dismissed on the merits, with costs.

Read more about this Article 78 case here.

To read about more Article 78 cases go to http://www.sheerinlaw.com/?id=78.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Retirement Benefits Denied Due to Substantial Evidence Presented by New York State

In the Matter of Stephen C. Caruana v. Thomas P. DiNapoli, as Comptroller of the State of New York, et al..

Petitioner, Stephen C. Caruana, sought to review a decision of Respondent which denied his application for accidental disability retirement benefits.

In March 2006, Petitioner, a police officer, applied for accidental disability retirement benefits. Caruana claimed that he was permanently incapacitated due to neck and back injuries that were a result of three work-related incidents. Initially, his application was denied and petitioner requested a redetermination, therefore, a hearing was held. The Hearing Officer concluded that Petitioner “…failed to establish that such incapacity was caused by either 1987 incident or the 2003 incident, resulting in the denial of his application, an Article 78 followed.

The Appellate Division stated that the Petitioner has the burden of proving that his injuries were the results of the alleged incidents and in deciding whether Petitioner has fulfilled this burden, Respondent is entitled to produce “…conflicting medical evidence and to credit the opinion of one expert…” over the other.

In 2007, Petitioner had an orthopedic surgeon perform a spinal fusion surgery who agreed that Caruana condition was related to the 1987 incident and a chiropractor who agreed that his disability is related to the 1987 and 2003 incidents. Respondents brought in a board certified surgeon, Austin Leve, to examine Petitioner and review his medical records in August 2006. Leve concluded that Caruana’s injuries were not significant enough of an injury to permanently incapacitate him.

The court concluded that Respondent’s decision was supported by substantial evidence. Therefore the decision was confirmed, without costs and the petition is dismissed.

Read more about this Article 78 case here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

According to the following USA TODAY appointing police agencies are requesting releases from applicants to review their Facebook pages for negative information.  Read the article here

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In the Matter of Thomas Hughes v. New York Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration.

Pursuant to Article 78, Thomas Hughes, Petitioner, sought to review a decision of Respondent which adopted the recommendation of a hearing officer, who found that “…the petitioner engaged in acts of misconduct and incompetency prejudicial to the good or and efficiency of the New York State Unified Court System and adversely reflecting on his fitness to continue as a court officer…,” which resulted in his termination.

In February, 2007, Respondents filed administrative charges against Petitioner. Hughes requested a hearing, where a hearing officer found that Petitioner had accelerated his vehicle “...while it was in close proximity to his supervisor as the supervisor was entering a crosswalk, reported late for duty several times, was repeatedly insubordinate to several supervisors, failed to keep his uniform in proper condition, failed to keep his weapon properly loaded, and kept an impermissible metal-jacketed round in his weapon, which was capable of piercing courthouse walls.

In October of the next year, the Office of Court Administration ordered that Petitioner be terminated from his position. By February, 2009, Hughes filed this appeal. According the Appellate Division, an administrative decision made after a hearing mandated by law is limited to whether that decision is supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence “…relevant proof as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion or ultimate fact…”

The court concluded that the decision was support was substantial evidence and that the penalty of termination of employment is not disproportionate to the misconduct as to shock the conscience.

The petition was denied and the proceeding was dismissed with costs.

Read more about this Article 78 case here.

To read about more Article 78 cases go to http://www.sheerinlaw.com/?id=78.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In the Matter of Juan C. Rivera v. Thomas P. DiNapoli, as Comptroller of the State of New York, et al.

In this Article 78, Petitioner sought for to review a determination of Respondent which denied Petitioner’s Application for disability retirement benefits.

In 2004, Petitioner Juan C. Rivera, a correction officer, suffered a heart attack after becoming sick while at work. Petitioner could not return to work due to his medical condition, therefore he applied for disability retirement benefits. His application was denied by the New York State and Local Retirement System because his disability was not “…a result of the performance or discharge of his ….duties.”

A Hearing Officer also agreed and concluded that Rivera was not entitled to the performance of duty disability retirement benefits. The Comptroller adopted the Hearing Officer’s findings and denied Petitioner’s application. Petitioner filed this Article 78 proceeding to annul the determination.

According to Social Security Law § 507-b (c), where a person has “successfully passed a physical examination on entry into services as a correction officer” that did not disclose proof of heart disease and afterward become disabled as a result of a heart condition sustained throughout employment, it is assumed that the disability was “incurred in the performance and discharge of duty, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.”

The Retirement system needed to rebut the presumption that petitioner’s disability happened while in the performance and discharge of his duties as a correction officer. Therefore, the Retirement System brought in a cardiologist to examine petitioner and concluded that although work-related stress can heighten the symptoms of coronary artery disease, petitioner disease was not related to his employment. The cardiologist referenced the various risk factors that are commonly associated with coronary heart disease that the petitioner suffered from. This included hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension.

The Appellate Division concluded that the petitioner’s application for disability retirement benefits was properly denied and the petition is dismissed without costs.

Read more about this Article 78 case here.

To read about more Article 78 cases go to http://www.sheerinlaw.com/?id=78.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link