Terry v. Cnty. of Schoharie

• Decision Date: 21 June 2018
• Docket Number: 525250
• Citation: 80 N.Y.S.3d 483,162 A.D.3d 1344
• Parties: In the Matter of Alicia TERRY, Appellant, v. COUNTY OF SCHOHARIE et al., Respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

162 A.D.3d 1344

80 N.Y.S.3d 483

In the Matter of Alicia TERRY, Appellant,

v.COUNTY OF SCHOHARIE et al., Respondents.

525250

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

Calendar Date: May 2, 2018

Decided and Entered: June 21, 2018

Tabner, Ryan & Keniry, LLP, Albany (Brian M. Quinn of counsel), for appellant.

Lemire Johnson & Higgins, LLC, Malta (April J. Laws of counsel), for respondents.

Before: Egan Jr., J.P., Lynch, Clark, Mulvey and Rumsey, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Mulvey, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Ferreira, J.), entered March 30, 2017 in Schoharie County, which, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, among other things, granted respondents' motion for summary judgment dismissing the petition.

Beginning in June 1995, petitioner was employed by respondent County of Schoharie as the Director of Planning for its Planning and Development Agency. In November 2014, petitioner was informed that funding for her position had been eliminated from the 2015 budget by the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors (hereinafter the Board). However, the Board also created the position of Senior Planner, to which petitioner was permanently appointed effective January 1, 2015. As a result, petitioner's salary was reduced by $8,968.

Petitioner thereafter commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding alleging that the elimination of her position violated Civil Service Law § 80, as well as her constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and political affiliation. Specifically, petitioner asserted that the abolition of her position was carried out in bad faith and in retaliation for her change in political party affiliation nearly five years earlier. Respondents removed the proceeding to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and, following the completion of discovery, all of the federal claims were dismissed on the merits. The District Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims and remanded such claims back to Supreme Court. Upon remand, respondents moved for summary judgment dismissing the petition and petitioner cross-moved for summary judgment in her favor. Supreme Court granted respondents' motion and dismissed the petition. This appeal by petitioner ensued.

"A public employer may, in the absence of bad faith, collusion or fraud, abolish positions for the purposes of economy or efficiency" ( Matter of Linney v. City of Plattsburgh, 49 A.D.3d 1020, 1021, 853 N.Y.S.2d 227 [2008] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted]; accord Matter of Cutler v. Town of Mamakating, 137 A.D.3d 1373, 1374, 26 N.Y.S.3d 409 [2016] ; see Civil Service Law § 80[1] ). The submissions proffered by respondents establish that petitioner's position was abolished as part of a cost-saving measure due to fiscal restraints imposed on the County over a period of several years following flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. It is undisputed that the County was undergoing a loss of population as well as a shrinking tax base and, over this period, the Board eliminated positions and restructured several County departments by consolidation or separation of functions. Specifically with regard to the Planning and Development Agency, the Board's 2015 budget separated planning from economic development, resulting in two separate departments. The bifurcation of that agency, as well as the elimination of petitioner's supervisory position overseeing both components thereof, came upon the recommendation of William Cherry, the then–Budget Officer who drafted the 2015 proposed budget. Cherry explained that the purpose behind his recommendations in that regard, which were adopted by the Board, was to promote more efficient and effective governance of the separate and independent planning and economic development agencies and to achieve potential cost savings for the County. Indeed, the 2015 budget adopted by the Board shows that a number of County positions were eliminated in response to the fiscal crisis confronted by the County.

In opposition to such proof, petitioner was required to prove "that the abolition of [her] position was brought on by bad faith or in an effort to circumvent the Civil Service Law" ( Matter of Mucci v. City of Binghamton, 245 A.D.2d 678, 679, 664 N.Y.S.2d 396 [1997], appeal dismissed 91 N.Y.2d 921, 669 N.Y.S.2d 262, 692 N.E.2d 131 [1998], lv denied 92 N.Y.2d 802, 677 N.Y.S.2d 72, 699 N.E.2d 432 [1998] ; see Matter of Cutler v. Town of Mamakating, 137 A.D.3d at 1374, 26 N.Y.S.3d 409 ; Matter of Lamb v. Town of Esopus, 35 A.D.3d 1004, 1005, 827 N.Y.S.2d 307 [2006] ). With regard to the issue of bad faith, that issue was squarely addressed and decided by the District Court in its resolution of petitioner's federal claims. In dismissing the federal claims—which were grounded upon the very same allegations as those underlying the claimed Civil Service Law violations—the District Court expressly held that the evidence submitted by respondents established that petitioner's position was abolished as a cost-saving measure and that there was no evidence to support petitioner's "self-serving testimony that [respondents] acted in bad faith" or in retaliation for petitioner's change of political party enrollment. The doctrine of collateral estoppel "precludes a party from relitigating an issue which has previously been decided against [him or] her in a proceeding in which [he or] she had a fair opportunity to fully litigate the point," regardless of whether the tribunals or causes of action are the same ( Matter of Dunn, 24 N.Y.3d 699, 704, 3 N.Y.S.3d 751, 27 N.E.3d 465 [2015] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted]; see Paramount Pictures Corp. v. Allianz Risk Transfer AG, 31 N.Y.3d 64, 65, 96 N.E.3d 737 [2018] ; Conason v. Megan Holding, LLC, 25 N.Y.3d 1, 17, 6 N.Y.S.3d 206, 29 N.E.3d 215 [2015] ; Parker v. Blauvelt Volunteer Fire Co., 93 N.Y.2d 343, 349, 690 N.Y.S.2d 478, 712 N.E.2d 647 [1999] ). Inasmuch as the core, factual issue of bad faith "was raised, necessarily decided and material in the [federal proceeding], and [petitioner] had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue" ( Parker v. Blauvelt Volunteer Fire Co., 93 N.Y.2d at 349, 690 N.Y.S.2d 478, 712 N.E.2d 647 ), petitioner is barred by the principles of collateral estoppel from relitigating that issue here (see Pinnacle Consultants v. Leucadia Natl. Corp., 94 N.Y.2d 426, 431–432, 706 N.Y.S.2d 46, 727 N.E.2d 543 [2000] ; Graven v. Children's Home R.T.F., Inc., 152 A.D.3d 1152, 1154, 60 N.Y.S.3d 556 [2017] ; Martinez v. City of Schenectady, 276 A.D.2d 993, 995, 714 N.Y.S.2d 572 [2000], affd 97 N.Y.2d 78, 735 N.Y.S.2d 868, 761...