Dismissal as Time-Barred Is a Dismissal On the Merits for Purposes of Res Judicata

In an article 78 action challenging the prohibition (by the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority) of the implementation of a wage increase pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, the Fourth Department noted that the dismissal of an action as time-barred is a determination on the merits for res judicata purposes:  “It is well established that a dismissal of a proceeding as time-barred “ ‘is equivalent to a determination on the merits for res judicata purposes’”… . Matter of Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association, Inc…, CA 12-02126, 371, 4th Dept, 4-26-13