Public Authorities Law – New York Appellate Digest

PETITIONER, A NOT-FOR-PROFIT LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WAS PROPERLY FOUND TO BE SO CLOSELY AFFILIATED WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS TO MEET THE DEFINITION OF A “LOCAL AUTHORITY” SUBJECT TO THE REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AUTHORITIES BUDGET OFFICE (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the petitioner, a non-for-profit local development corporation, was a “local authority” subject to the reporting and oversight requirements of the respondent State of New York Authorities Budget Office:

… [W]e find that respondent rationally concluded that petitioner is a local authority, in that there is a “close relationship between petitioner and local governments” and petitioner “is the type of entity that the Legislature intended to subject to the provisions of the PAAA” [Public Authorities Accountability Act]. Notably, the purposes of the PAAA and the PARA [Public Authorities Reform Act] include remedying public concerns about transparency and accountability of entities that, like petitioner, “work[ ] with public and private sector partners to spur economic development and meet public needs” … . Matter of Saratoga Economic Dev. Corp. v State of N.Y. Auths. Budget Office, 2023 NY Slip Op 06292, 11-7-23

Practice Point: The State of New York Authorities Budget Office’s administrative determination that petitioner not-for-profit development corporation was a “local authority” subject to the Budget Office’s oversight was not arbitrary and capricious. Supreme Court should not have annulled the determination.

December 7, 2023

Administrative Law, Municipal Law, Public Authorities Law

RELATED PUBLIC AUTHORITIES PROPERLY REQUIRED TO FILE SEPARATE REPORTS WITH THE NYS AUTHORITIES BUDGET OFFICE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge DiFiore, determined that the NYS Authorities Budget Office (ABO) properly required the Madison County Industrial Development Agency (MCIDA) and the related Madison Grant Facilitation Corporation (MGFC) to file separate reports pursuant to the Public Authorities Accountability Act (PAAA) and the Pbblic Authorities Law. MCIDA had filed a single consolidated report and brought an Article 78 proceeding arguing the ABO’s determination that separate reports must be filed was arbitrary and capricious:

The ABO’s narrow record-keeping determination was not contrary to law. The Public Authorities Law plainly provides that a local development corporation such as MGFC, which is “affiliated” with a local IDA, is also a local authority subject to the PAAA and, as such, has reporting obligations (Public Authorities Law § 2 [2] [d]). Regardless of whether MGFC is also a subsidiary, it is clearly an “affiliate” of MCIDA within the meaning of the statute … . The PAAA does not contain a reporting exception for subsidiaries of local authorities, and petitioners have not identified any other statute or regulation that excused MGFC from its obligation to separately report. Matter of Madison County Indus. Dev. Agency v State of New York Auths. Budget Off., 2019 NY Slip Op 02150, CtApp 3-21-19

March 21, 2019

Corporation Law, Municipal Law, Public Authorities Law, Public Corporations

Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel as Applied to Public Corporations Explained

In affirming the denial of the petition to file a late notice of claim against a public corporation, the Second Department explained the doctrine of equitable estoppel as it applies to public corporations:

Estoppel against a public corporation will lie only when the public corporation’s conduct was calculated to, or negligently did, mislead or discourage a party from serving a timely notice of claim and when that conduct was justifiably relied upon by that party … . Here, the petitioner failed to demonstrate that the respondents engaged in any misleading conduct that would support a finding of equitable estoppel … . In addition, there was no evidence that the respondents made any settlement representations upon which the petitioner justifiably relied prior to the expiration of the statutory periods for serving a notice of claim or seeking leave to serve a late notice of claim and, therefore, the petitioner could not have relied on any conduct by the respondents in discouraging him from serving a notice of claim or seeking leave … . Attallah v Nassau Univ. Med. Ctr., 2015 NY Slip Op 06587, 2nd Dept 8-19-15

August 19, 2015

PETITIONER, A NOT-FOR-PROFIT LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WAS PROPERLY FOUND TO BE SO CLOSELY AFFILIATED WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS TO MEET THE DEFINITION OF A “LOCAL AUTHORITY” SUBJECT TO THE REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AUTHORITIES BUDGET OFFICE (THIRD DEPT).

RELATED PUBLIC AUTHORITIES PROPERLY REQUIRED TO FILE SEPARATE REPORTS WITH THE NYS AUTHORITIES BUDGET OFFICE (CT APP).

Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel as Applied to Public Corporations Explained

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