Sumner v. McCall
| Decision Date | 08 June 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-CV-119 LEK/DRH.,87-CV-119 LEK/DRH. |
| Citation | 103 F.Supp.2d 555 |
| Parties | Charles H. SUMNER; Marjorie Marriott Sumner; Robert L. Richardson; Theodore Wettig; Robert Cunningham; Edward J. Tomeny; E.K. Harris; Edward J. Sabol; Frank W. Broadbent; Harry F. Michaels; Beryl Michaels; and Virginia Schafran, Plaintiffs, v. Carl McCALL, as Comptroller of the State of New York; Barbara Andrews, as Acting Treasurer of the State of New York; Thomas Sobol, as Commissioner of Education of the State of New York; Jane G. Gould, Director of the Office for the Aging of the State of New York; Douglas Boettner, Director of Contracts and Expenditures, Office of the New York State Comptroller; Ceasar Peralez, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services; Leonard G. Dunston, Director of the New York State Division for Youth; East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District; East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Anthony Mastrobattisto, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Dennis Helsel, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Terrance O'Brien, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Brian Schaller, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Kenneth Sheehan, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Deborah Tyminski, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; John Cowen, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Anne O'Malley, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; Peter Monteleone, as a member of the East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; The Franciscan Academy, of Syracuse, New York; Greater Rochester Community of Churches; Catholic Charities of Diocese of Albany, Inc.; Seton Center Downtown and Seton Center — Prospect Recess, a/k/a Seton Catholic Family and Community Services; Little Flower Children's Services, of Brooklyn, New York; Madonna Heights Services, Burrs, Inc., a/k/a Madonna Heights Services; St. Gregory the Great Community Service Center, Inc.; Saint Sebastian Boys Brigade Camp, Inc.; St. Thomas Acquinas College, at Sparkill, New York; Our Lady of Lourdes, Melverne, New York; St. Stanislaus Kosta School, Maspeth, New York; Refuge Temple of Christ, Buffalo, New York; St. Peter's Day Care, Peekskill, New York; Hollywood Baptist Church of Christ; Suffolk Association for Jewish Educational Services; East Ramapo School District, Spring Valley (Rockland County), New York; Oyster Bay — East Norwich County School District, Nassau County, New York; Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District, Westchester County, New York; New York City Board of Education, New York County, New York; and Albany City School District, Albany County, New York, Defendants, and John Calareso and Thomas Quaresima, Intervenor-Defendants. East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District; East Syracuse-Minoa Board of Education; John Cowen; Anne O'Malley; and Peter Monteleone, Cross-Claimants, v. Carl McCall; Barbara Andrews; Thomas Sobol; Jane G. Gould; Douglas Boettner, Ceasar Peralez; Leonard G. Dunston; East Ramapo School District; Oyster Bay — East Norwich County School District; Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District; New York City Board of Education; and Albany City School District, Cross-Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
Boothby & Yingst, Washington, DC (Lee Boothby, of counsel), Office of Robert Epstein, Rochester, NY (Robert Epstein, of counsel), for the plaintiffs.
Hon. Eliot L. Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, Albany, NY (Assistant Attorneys General, Howard L. Zwickel, James B. McGowan, of counsel), for state defendants and cross-defendants.
O'Hara & O'Connell, Syracuse, NY (Dennis G. O'Hara, James P. Evans, of counsel), for East Syracuse-Minoa defendants and cross-claimants.
Costello Cooney & Fearon, LLP, Syracuse, NY (Donald L. Nicholas, of counsel), for defendant The Franciscan Academy (Sisters of the Third Franciscan Order).
Nixon Peabody, LLP, Rochester, NY (David M. Schraver, of counsel), for defendant Greater Rochester Community of Churches (formerly known as Genesee Ecumenical Ministries).
Tobin and Dempf, Albany, NY (Michael L. Costello, of counsel), for defendants Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany, and other defendants, and intervenor-defendants John Calareso and Thomas Quaresima.
Bishop Robert Sanders, Buffalo, NY, for defendant Refuge Temple of Christ.
Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc., Elmsford, NY (Susan Gibney, of counsel), Bozeman & Trott, LLP, Mount Vernon, NY (Bruce L. Bozeman, of counsel), St. Peter's Community Outreach, c/o Mr Paul Turnley, Peekskill, NY, for defendant St. Peter's Day Care.
Blumberg, Cherkoss, Fitz Gibbons & Blumberg, Amityville, NY (H. Lee Blumberg, of counsel), for defendant Hollywood Baptist Church of Christ.
Debbie Friedman or David I. Rosenberg, Commack, NY, for defendant Suffolk Association for Jewish Educational Services (formerly known as Suffolk Association of Jewish Schools).
Greenberg, Wanderman & Fromson, Spring Valley, NY (Stephen M. Fromson, of counsel), for defendant and cross-defendant East Ramapo School District.
Cammarata & Cronin, LLP, Oyster Bay, NY (James Cammarata, of counsel), for defendant and cross-defendant Oyster Bay — East Norwich County School District.
Shaw & Perelson, L.L.P., Poughkeepsie, NY (Stephen A. Perelson, of counsel), for defendant and cross-defendant Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District.
New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, New York City (Naomi Fern Sheiner, of counsel), for defendant and cross-defendant New York City Board of Education.
Ruberti, Girvin & Ferlazzo, P.C., Albany, NY (Christopher P. Langlois, Jeffrey D. Honeywell, of counsel), for defendant and cross-defendant Albany City School District.
Now before the Court are motions for reconsideration of the Court's 30 September 1999 Memorandum-Decision and Order ("Order" (Doc.259)). In that Order the Court denied New York City Board of Education's ("NYCBOE") motion for summary judgment (Def.'s Notice Mot. (Doc. 181, 27 May 1998)), denied New York State Defendants' ("State") motion for summary judgment (Notice Mot. (Doc. 189, 28 May 1998)), denied Plaintiffs' motion and cross motion for summary judgment , denied Intervenor-Defendants Calareso and Quaresima's motion for summary judgment (Notice Mot. Pursuant to Rule 56 (Doc. 208, 29 May 1998)), and denied Plaintiffs' second motion and cross motion for summary judgment . State Defendants have timely submitted a motion for reconsideration (see Notice Mot. (Doc. 260, 7 Oct. 1999)), as have Defendant NYCBOE (see Notice Mot. (Doc. 263, 8 Oct. 1999)) and the Plaintiffs .
Motions for reconsideration proceed in the Northern District of New York under Local Rule 7.1(g), unless otherwise governed by Fed.R.Civ.P. 60. The "clearly erroneous" standard of review applies to motions for reconsideration. The moving party must "point to controlling decisions or data that the court overlooked — matters, in other words, that might reasonably be expected to alter the conclusion reached by the court." Shrader v. CSX Transp., Inc., 70 F.3d 255, 257 (2d Cir.1995) (Calabresi, J.). Generally, the prevailing rule in the Northern District "recognizes only three possible grounds upon which motions for reconsideration may be granted; they are (1) an intervening change in controlling law, (2) the availability of new evidence not previously available, or (3) the need to correct a clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice." In re C-TC 9th Ave. Partnership, 182 B.R. 1, 3 (N.D.N.Y.1995) (McAvoy, C.J.).
In the present case, Movants do not contend that the first ground, an intervening change in controlling law, applies, although a number of parties in this action have pointed out that a substantial change in the controlling law may well be imminent. The Movants are not contending that the second ground, the availability of new evidence not previously available, applies. Movants are instead arguing principally on the basis of the third ground, that their motions for reconsideration should be granted in order to correct a clear error of law or prevent a manifest injustice.
This is a demanding standard.
It is not enough ... that [the moving party] could now make a more persuasive argument.... "[M]ere doubt on our part is not enough to open [up] the point for full reconsideration." The law of the case will be disregarded only when the court has "a clear conviction of error" with respect to a point of law on which its previous decision was predicated.
Fogel v. Chestnutt, 668 F.2d 100, 109 (2d Cir.1981) (Friendly, J.) (citations omitted) (quoting White v. Higgins, 116 F.2d 312, 317 (1st Cir.1940), and Zdanok v. Glidden Co., 327 F.2d 944, 953 (2d Cir.1964) (Friendly, J.)). A simple difference of opinion, no matter how deep it runs, will not warrant reconsideration. "[A]ny litigant considering bringing a motion for reconsideration must evaluate whether what may seem to be a clear error of law is in fact simply a point of disagreement between the Court and the litigant." In re C-TC 9th Ave. Partnership, 182 B.R. at 3.
The Court did not reach the substance of the issues raised in the State's and the NYCBOE's motions because it found that the moving and non-moving parties were not in compliance with the Local Rules pertaining to motion practice — specifically, that those parties had exceeded the page limits mandated for memoranda of law. (See Order at 3-5.) In moving for reconsideration, the State and the NYCBOE have pointed out that the Court had previously...
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...also Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Pataki, 188 F.Supp.2d 223, 244 (N.D.N.Y.2002) (McCurn, S.J.) (citing Sumner v. McCall, 103 F.Supp.2d 555, 558 (N.D.N.Y.2000) (Kahn, J.)). Applications for reconsideration are also subject to an overarching “clearly erroneous” gauge. Sumner, 103 F.Sup......
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