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THE COURT’S INQUIRY ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS AN ARTICLE 78 PETITION, A COMPLAINT, AND/OR A REQUEST FOR A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT SHOULD RARELY GO BEYOND WHETHER, ASSUMING THE TRUTH OF THE ALLEGATIONS, A CAUSE OF ACTION HAS BEEN STATED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, noted that the inquiry on motions to dismiss should rarely go beyond determining whether a cause of action has been stated. The action here alleged violations of the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act (ECL 17-0825-a):

“On a motion pursuant to CPLR 7804(f) to dismiss a petition, only the petition is to be considered, all of its allegations are to be deemed true, and the petitioner is to be accorded the benefit of every possible inference” … , On a motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), “[c]ourts may consider extrinsic evidence outside of the pleading’s four corners to help determine whether the pleading party has a cause of action, as distinguished from whether the pleading simply states a cause of action” … . However, affidavits submitted by a movant “will almost never warrant dismissal under CPLR 3211 unless they establish conclusively that [petitioner] has no [claim or] cause of action” … . …

The petition/complaint also states a viable cause of action for declaratory relief. A motion to dismiss the complaint in an action for a declaratory judgment “‘presents for consideration only the issue of whether a cause of action for declaratory relief is set forth, not the question of whether the plaintiff is entitled to a favorable declaration'” … . Matter of Riverkeeper, Inc. v New York City Dept. of Envtl. Protection, 2023 NY Slip Op 01679, Second Dept 3-29-23

Practice Point: A court’s inquiry on motions to dismiss an Article 78 petition, a complaint and/or a request for declaratory judgment should rarely go beyond whether a cause of action has been stated.

 

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