Matter of Graves v. Doar

• Decision Date: 19 May 2009
• Docket Number: 2008-00372.,2007-10555.
• Citation: 2009 NY Slip Op 04060,62 A.D.3d 874,879 N.Y.S.2d 204
• Parties: In the Matter of SHEILA GRAVES et al., Appellants, and FRED KAMINTZKY, Intervenor-Appellant, v. ROBERT DOAR, Respondent, et al., Respondent/Defendant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

62 A.D.3d 874

879 N.Y.S.2d 204

2009 NY Slip Op 04060

In the Matter of SHEILA GRAVES et al., Appellants, and

FRED KAMINTZKY, Intervenor-Appellant, v. ROBERT DOAR, Respondent, et al., Respondent/Defendant.

2007-10555.

2008-00372.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department.

Decided May 19, 2009.

In a hybrid proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review several determinations of Robert Doar, Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance of the New York State Department of Family Assistance, each dated February 23, 2006, which, after a fair hearing, affirmed several determinations of John E. Imhof, Commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Social Services, each dated December 19, 2004, inter alia, reducing the food stamp benefits of the petitioners-plaintiffs, and putative class action, inter alia, for declaratory

and injunctive relief, the petitioners-plaintiffs and the intervenor-petitioner-plaintiff appeal from (1) so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Woodard, J.), entered October 3, 2007, as denied that branch of their motion which was pursuant to CPLR article 9 for class certification of the action, and (2) so much of an order and judgment (one paper) of the same court entered December 27, 2007, as was entered upon the order entered October 3, 2007, denying that branch of the motion which was pursuant to CPLR article 9 for class certification of the action.

Ordered that the appeal from the order entered October 3, 2007 is dismissed, as that order was superseded by the order and judgment entered December 27, 2007; and it is further,

Ordered that the order and judgment entered December 27, 2007 is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, so much of the order entered October 3, 2007, as denied that branch of the appellants' motion which was pursuant to CPLR article 9 for class certification is vacated, that branch of the appellants' motion is granted to the extent of certifying a plaintiff class consisting of all recipients of food stamps in the State of New York whose food stamp benefits were determined and reduced under the Group Home Standardized Benefit Program and whose monthly income included payments of supplemental security income benefits, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Nassau County, for entry of an appropriate order pursuant to CPLR 903; and it is further,

Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the appellants.

"Whether a lawsuit qualifies as a class action matter is a determination made upon a review of the statutory criteria [set forth in CPLR art 9] as applied to the facts presented" (Small v Lorillard Tobacco Co., 94 NY2d 43, 52 [1999]; see CPLR 901; Globe Surgical Supply v GEICO Ins. Co., 59 AD3d 129, 136 [2008]). The Supreme Court denied that branch of the appellants' motion which was for class certification of similarly-situated group-home residents receiving supplemental security income (hereinafter SSI; see 42 USC § 1382) whose food stamp allotments were determined under the New York State Group Home Standardized Benefit program (hereinafter GHSBP), authorized pursuant to 7 USC § 2017 (f) (2), on the sole ground that a class action was not superior to an ordinary lawsuit where "governmental operations" are involved. The premise of the "governmental operations" rule is that stare decisis will afford adequate protection to members of the class (see Matter of Martin v Lavine, 39 NY2d 72, 75 [1976]; Mahoney v Pataki, 98 NY2d 45, 55 [2002]; Weinstein-Korn-Miller, NY Civ Prac ¶ 901.23 [10] [3d ed]).

The "governmental operations" rule does not apply where, as here, the members of the class are "seeking relatively small sums of damages" as a result of the challenged governmental action (Matter of Holcomb v O'Rourke, 255 AD2d 383, 384 [1998]; see Bryant Ave. Tenants' Assn. v Koch, 71 NY2d 856 [1988]; Tosner v Town of Hempstead, 12 AD3d 589 [2004]; Brodsky v Selden Sanitary Corp., 85 AD2d 612 [1981]). The order and judgment appealed from, inter alia,...