You are here: / / THE ACTION CONTESTING THE AMENDMENT TO THE BY-LAWS OF A NOT-FOR-PROFIT...
, ,

THE ACTION CONTESTING THE AMENDMENT TO THE BY-LAWS OF A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION WHICH OWNS RECREATIONAL LAND AND COLLECTS DUES FROM LOT OWNERS MUST BE BROUGHT AS AN ARTICLE 78 PROCEEDING, NOT AN ACTION FOR A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT; THE ACTION IS THEREFORE TIME-BARRED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the amendment to the by-laws defendant not-for-profit corporation which owns land underneath a man-made lake must be contested in an Article 78 action, not a declaratory judgment action. Therefore the four-month Article 78 statute of limitations applied and the action was time-barred. The underlying dispute involved the assessment of annual dues for lots which had been exempt from dues. Plaintiffs are the owners of those lots:

Supreme Court concluded that the action being challenged was a legislative act, which cannot be challenged in a CPLR article 78 proceeding but must be maintained in a declaratory judgment action. However, the cases addressing legislative acts deal with challenges to “governmental activity,” rather than the activity of nonpublic corporations … . This is an important distinction as the rule prohibiting the use of CPLR article 78 proceedings to challenge acts of legislative bodies “is derived from the separation-of-powers doctrine,” and so “has no application to the quasi-legislative acts of administrative agencies” … . Similarly, it does not apply to the actions or decisions of nonpublic corporations. * * *

Whether defendant’s alleged interest in plaintiffs’ property is based on the imposition of restrictive covenants or the possibility of a lien if plaintiffs fail to pay dues on multiple lots, any such alleged interest would be based on the amended bylaws. Accordingly, though all of plaintiffs’ causes of action are couched in declaratory judgment language, they can be distilled to challenges to defendant’s enactment of the amended bylaws that could have been raised in a CPLR article 78 proceeding and are therefore subject to a four-month statute of limitations … . Indeed, other courts have held that a challenge to a corporation’s amendment of its bylaws must be raised via a CPLR article 78 proceeding commenced within four months of such amendment … . Doyle v Goodnow Flow Assn., Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 02580, Third Dept 4-29-21

 

You might also like
THE PARKER WARNINGS DID NOT SPECIFICALLY WARN DEFENDANT HIS SENTENCE WOULD BE ENHANCED IF HE WERE ARRESTED BETWEEN THE PLEA AND SENTENCING, DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILING TO CHALLENGE THE ENHANCED SENTENCE ON THAT GROUND, MATTER REMITTED FOR SENTENCING TO THE AGREED TERM OR FOR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEFENDANT TO WITHDRAW HIS PLEA (THIRD DEPT).
HEARING OFFICER DID NOT MAKE AN ADEQUATE INQUIRY TO DETERMINE WHY AN INMATE WITNESS WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY AGREED TO TESTIFY LATER REFUSED, NEW HEARING ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).
THE FINDING BY THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS WAS NEVER FILED AS REQUIRED BY THE GENERAL CITY LAW; THEREFORE THE 60-DAY TIME LIMIT FOR CONTESTING THE RULING NEVER STARTED TO RUN (THIRD DEPT).
Challenge to Superior Court Information Does Not Survive Guilty Plea
ANNOUNCING A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ITS APPELLATE-REVIEW CRITERIA, THE 3RD DEPARTMENT NOW HOLDS THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE THE DATE, APPROXIMATE TIME OR PLACE OF A CHARGED OFFENSE IN A SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION (SCI) OR A WAIVER OF INDICTMENT IS NOT A JURISDICTIONAL DEFECT AND THEREFORE MUST BE PRESERVED FOR APPEAL (THIRD DEPT).
Where the State Is a Potential Joint Tortfeasor Which Cannot Be Joined In the Supreme Court Action with the Other Defendant (Because the State Must Be Sued in the Court of Claims), the Jury in the Supreme Court Trial Should Be Allowed, If Appropriate, to Apportion Damages Between the Defendant and the State
HERE THE “PRIMARY JURISDICTION DOCTRINE” DID NOT APPLY TO REQUIRE A STAY TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (PSC) TO DETERMINE WHETHER “STRAY VOLTAGE” WAS CAUSING INJURY TO PLAINTIFF’S CATTLE AND, IF SO, HOW BEST TO MITIGATE OR REMEDIATE; THE PSC HAS NO SPECIAL EXPERTISE REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF STRAY VOLTAGE ON CATTLE; THE ISSUES ARE BEST HANDLED BY A COURT, DESPITE THE COMPETING EXPERT OPINIONS (THIRD DEPT).
Question of Fact Re: the “Hostility” Element of a Prescriptive Easement

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES’ AMENDMENT TO AN INSURANCE REGULATION... THE MILD PENALTY IMPOSED BY THE ARBITRATOR ON AN EMPLOYEE WHO SEXUALLY HARASSED...