Cent. Sav. Bank in City of New York v. City of New York

• Decision Date: 21 February 1939
• Citation: 280 N.Y. 9,19 N.E.2d 659
• Parties: CENTRAL SAV. BANK IN CITY OF NEW YORK et al. v. CITY OF NEW YORK et al.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

280 N.Y. 9

19 N.E.2d 659

CENTRAL SAV. BANK IN CITY OF NEW YORK et al.

v.CITY OF NEW YORK et al.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Feb. 21, 1939.

On motion for reargument and to amend remittitur.

Motion granted.

For prior opinion, see 279 N.Y. 266, 18 N.E.2d 151.Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.

William C. Chanler, Corp. Counsel, of New York City (William S. Gaud, Jr., of New York City, of counsel), for the motion.

Jesse Knight, John H. Willenbrok, Kenneth N. LaVine, Robert C. Fulton, Jr., Edwin A. Berkery, and Joseph H. Praetz, all of New York City, for Central Savings Bank in the City of New York et al.

William I. Hart and Joseph R. Truesdale, both of New York City, for Dry Dock Savings Institution et al.

PER CURIAM.

In our opinion in this case we stated that under the statute property is ‘taken without due process of law (State Const. art. 1, § 6) and,’ etc., 279 N.Y. 266, 275, 18 N.E.2d 151, 154. A statute repugnant to the due process clause of the State Constitution is repugnant also to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, U.S.C.A. The clauses are formulated in the same words and are intended for the protection of the same fundamental rights of the individual and there is, logically, no room for distinction in definition of the scope of the two clauses.

Decisions of the Supreme Court defining the scope of the due process clause in the Federal Constitution are binding upon every court and in every State. We did not by reference solely to the Constitution of the State intend to indicate that though we cannot give validity to a statute which is repugnant to the due process clause in the Federal Constitution we would give wider scope to the same clause in the State Constitution and hold invalid statutes not repugnant to the Federal Constitution as defined by the Supreme Court. No such question was presented or considered in this court. We gave to the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, defining the due process clause, the great weight which, in our opinion, they should have by reason of the prestige of the court and the strength of the reasoning even if technically we might have power to reject them in defining the same clause in the State Constitution. Our conclusion that the statute is repugnant to article 1, section 6, of the State Constitution followed necessarily from our determination that in accordance with a long line of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, the statute is repugnant to the Federal Constitution. Cf. Morehead v. People of New York...