You are here: / / HERE PLAINTIFF’S PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF APARTMENTS WAS PROHIBITED...
, , , ,

HERE PLAINTIFF’S PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF APARTMENTS WAS PROHIBITED BY A LOCAL LAW; PLAINTIFF ALLEGED THE BIAS OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PLANNING BOARD INFECTED THE PLANNING BOARD’S RECOMMENDATION TO THE TOWN BOARD (WHICH ENACTED THE LAW); THOSE ALLEGATIONS RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT PRECLUDING SUMMARY JUDGMENT FINDING THE LOCAL LAW VALID (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Garry, determined questions of fact precluded summary judgment in favor of the town in this dispute over the approval of the construction of apartments. Plaintiffs alleged that the chairperson of the planning board, who owned adjacent property, was biased against the proposed construction and his bias infected the planning board’s recommendation:

As Supreme Court correctly noted, the enactment that plaintiffs seek to invalidate in this action was a product of the Town Board, not the Planning Board … . We further note that it is expressly within the power of the Planning Board to submit advisory opinions to the Town Board for proposed amendment to the zoning law … . For these reasons, it is possible that the connection of the alleged bias to the action of the Town Board may ultimately be insufficiently direct. Supreme Court’s decision apparently rejected plaintiffs’ allegations on this ground. Nonetheless, accepting plaintiffs’ allegations as true, the extent to which the long-term Chairperson’s alleged bias infected the Planning Board’s recommendation to the Town Board that multifamily dwelling development be reconsidered, the Town’s subsequent investigation thereof, and the Town Board’s ultimate adoption of the challenged local law limiting same is not amenable to resolution as a matter of law at this procedural stage … . Thus, any declaration regarding the validity of Local Law No. 2022-08 was premature, and Supreme Court’s order must be reversed in full so that the action may proceed through the ordinary course. PF Dev. Group, LLC v Town of Brunswick, 2025 NY Slip Op 03671, Third Dept 6-18-25

Practice Point: Here allegations that the passage of a local law was influenced by bias on the part of the chairperson of the planning board raised a question of fact precluding summary judgment finding the local law valid.​

 

You might also like
Superior Court Information Was Jurisdictionally Defective—The Offenses Were Not the Same As, or Lesser Included Offenses of, Those In the Felony Complaint
THE TIME PERIOD FOR LEARNING THE IDENTITY OF DEFENDANTS DOES NOT BEGIN TO RUN WHEN A PLAINTIFF RETAINS COUNSEL, HERE THE ACTION WAS COMMENCED WHEN COUNSEL WAS RETAINED THREE DAYS BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, THE COMPLAINT NAMED DEFENDANTS AS ‘JOHN DOES’ WHO WERE NOT IDENTIFIED UNTIL AFTER THE STATUTE HAD RUN, THE ACTION WAS DEEMED TIME-BARRED (THIRD DEPT).
IN PLEADING GUILTY TO A LESSER CRIME, DEFENDANT ADMITTED AN ACTION WHICH NEGATED AN ELEMENT OF THE CRIME TO WHICH HE PLED, MOTION TO WITHDRAW PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
PEOPLE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO IMPEACH THEIR OWN WITNESS WITH A PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENT THAT SUBSTANTIALLY WEAKENED BUT DID NOT CONTRADICT THE PEOPLE’S THEORY OF PROSECUTION; DESPITE DIRECT EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S DOMINION AND CONTROL OVER APARTMENT WHERE HEREOIN WAS FOUND, THE EVIDENCE DEFENDANT POSSESSED THE HEREOIN WAS CIRCUMSTANTIAL, THE JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE INSTRUCTION.
POLICE OFFICER’S WARRANTLESS ENTRY INTO A METH LAB WAS JUSTIFIED BY WHAT WAS IN PLAIN VIEW THROUGH A PARTIALLY OPEN DOOR AND THE OFFICER’S CONCERN FOR THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE INSIDE A NEARBY TRAILER (THIRD DEPT).
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).
THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW SPELLS OUT THE ONLY GROUNDS FOR APPEAL IN A CRIMINAL PROCEEDING; NO APPEAL LIES FROM THE DENIAL OF A MOTION TO CORRECT, AMEND OR SETTLE THE SENTENCING TRANSCRIPT; AND NO APPEAL LIES FROM ADDING A MANDATORY SURCHARGE, WHICH IS NOT PART OF A SENTENCE (THIRD DEPT).
THE ALBANY LOCAL LAW WHICH GIVES THE COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY TO HANDLE POLICE DISCIPLINARY MATTERS IS VALID (THIRD DEPT).

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

WITHOUT AN AGREEMENT ON THE RECORD, A FAMILY COURT JUDGE CANNOT ORDER RESTITUTION... THE FAMILY OFFENSE OF HARASSMENT REQUIRES A COURSE OF CONDUCT; A SINGLE, ISOLATED...