Matter of Salahuddin v. Connell

Decision Date17 July 2008
Docket NumberNo. 503937,503937
Citation2008 NY Slip Op 6334,53 A.D.3d 898,861 N.Y.S.2d 858
PartiesIn the Matter of ABDULLAH Y. SALAHUDDIN, Appellant, v. SUSAN CONNELL, as Superintendent of Oneida Correctional Facility, Respondent.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Hard, J.), entered November 30, 2007 in Albany County, which, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, granted respondent's motion to dismiss the petition.

Petitioner, who was then an inmate at the Oneida Correctional Facility in Oneida County, commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 seeking annulment of respondent's determination that he was not entitled to back pay in the amount of $12.25 for work he was compelled to perform without pay in violation of Department of Correctional Services Directive No. 4802 (D) (2). Prior to answering, respondent moved to dismiss contending that Supreme Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Supreme Court granted respondent's motion, finding that petitioner's claim was for monetary relief and, hence, must be brought in the Court of Claims. This appeal by petitioner ensued.

Although "[j]urisdiction reposes in the Court of Claims where the essential nature of the claim [against the state] is to recover money, [it does not lie] where monetary relief is incidental to the primary claim" (Guy v State of New York, 18 AD3d 936, 937 [2005] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]). Here, our inquiry distills to "`[w]hether the essential nature of the claim is to recover money, or whether the monetary relief is incidental to the primary claim'" (Madura v State of New York, 12 AD3d 759, 760 [2004], lv denied 4 NY3d 704 [2005], quoting Matter of Gross v Perales, 72 NY2d 231, 236 [1988]; see Hoffman v State of New York, 42 AD3d 641, 642 [2007]). Beyond that, we must ascertain whether the underlying claim, regardless of how it has been characterized, "would require review of an administrative agency's determination—which the Court of Claims has no subject matter jurisdiction to entertain" (City of New York v State of New York, 46 AD3d 1168, 1169 [2007], lv denied 10 NY3d 705 [2008]).

While petitioner seeks to recover $12.25 in back pay, the petition plainly challenges the denial of petitioner's grievance and respondent's purported failure to abide by departmental directives. Whether petitioner ultimately will be entitled to the incidental monetary relief he seeks cannot be ascertained without reviewing the underlying administrative determination, which "is a...

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5 cases
  • Walker v. State
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 1, 2017
    ...to decide the claim (see Jackson v. State of New York, 139 A.D.3d 1293, 1294, 32 N.Y.S.3d 372 [2016] ; Matter of Salahuddin v. Connell, 53 A.D.3d 898, 899, 861 N.Y.S.2d 850 [2008] ). Moreover, although claimant has asserted a cause of action for unjust conviction under Court of Claims Act §......
  • Blake v. State
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 22, 2016
    ...York, 64 A.D.3d 840, 840–841, 882 N.Y.S.2d 351 [2009], lv. denied 13 N.Y.3d 712, 2009 WL 4250814 [2009] ; Matter of Salahuddin v. Connell, 53 A.D.3d 898, 900, 861 N.Y.S.2d 850 [2008] ). Furthermore, recognition of the state constitutional tort claims are unnecessary given the additional ave......
  • Carver v. State
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 16, 2010
    ...887 N.Y.S.2d 45 [2009], appeal dismissed and lv. denied 14 N.Y.3d 764, 898 N.Y.S.2d 90, 925 N.E.2d 95 [2010]; Salahuddin v. Connell, 53 A.D.3d 898, 899, 861 N.Y.S.2d 850 [2008] ). Here, claimant alleges that the decision to withhold a portion of the lottery prize triggered a violation of st......
  • Green v. State
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • December 23, 2011
    ...72 N.Y.2d at 236, 532 N.Y.S.2d 68, 527 N.E.2d 1205; Buonanotte, 60 A.D.3d at 1143–1144, 875 N.Y.S.2d 301; Matter of Salahuddin v. Connell, 53 A.D.3d 898, 899, 861 N.Y.S.2d 850). Although claimant characterized his claim as one for money damages, upon our review of the record we conclude tha......
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