Cimo v. State of New York
Cimo v. State of New York
Opinion of the Court
Claimant-appellant Cimo, the owner of real property in the village of Falconer, New York, appeals here from a unanimous order of the Appellant Division, Fourth Department, which reversed, on the law, an order made by the Court of Claims, which Court of Claims order had granted claimant’s motion purportedly made under subdivision 5 of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act (L. 1939, ch. 860), for permission for late filing of her claim. Since the Appellate Division’s reversal was stated to be “ on the law ”, there is no question of discretion here, and we need not discuss the factual showing made in claimant’s moving affidavit as a basis for the relief prayed for, but can confine ourselves to the question of law.
The proposed claim which claimant asked leave to file is for alleged damage to her real property, occasioned by a change of grade of the street in front of her property, in connection with a grade crossing elimination structure, construction of which was by defendant State of New York. It is undisputed that claimant did not file any claim with the Court of Claims until more than six months after the completion of the elimination project, and the question of law is as to whether that delay is fatal. Claimant says that she comes within subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act, which require filing, within six months, of certain claims, but give the Court
The Appellate Division’s opinion, on the other hand, ruled that, since there is in section 6 a separate special provision, absolutely limiting to six months the time for filing a grade crossing elimination claim for damage to lands not taken, this special provision controls over the later but more general provisions of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act on which claimant relies. The following are the pertinent parts of the statutes in question:
Court of Claims Act.
“ § 10. Time of filing claims and notices of intention to file claims.
“ 4. A claim for breach of contract, express or implied, and any other claim not otherwise provided for by this section, over which jurisdiction has been conferred upon the court of claims, shall be filed within six months after the accrual of such claim, unless the claimant shall within such time file a written notice of intention to file a claim therefor in which event the claim shall be filed within two years after such accrual.
Grade Grossing Elimination Act (L. 1928, ch. 678).
‘ ‘ § 6. If the work of such elimination causes damage to property not acquired as above provided, the state shall be liable therefor in the first instance, but this provision shall not be deemed to create any liability not already existing in law. Claims for such damage may be adjusted by the department of public works with the approval of the railroad corporation or corporations and the county or counties bearing a part of the cost of the elimination if the amount thereof can be agreed upon with the persons making such claims, and any amount so agreed upon shall be paid as a part of the cost of such elimination as prescribed by this act. If the amount of any such claim is not agreed upon, such claim may be presented to the court of claims which is hereby authorized to hear such claim and determine if the amount of such claim or any part thereof is a legal claim against the state and if it so determines, to make an award and enter judgment thereon against the state, provided, however, that such claim is filed with the court of claims within six months after final approval of the elimination work by such commission.”
Thus, not only does section 6 contain a specific limitation of six months on the time for filing this precise kind of claim, but that limitation is found in the very same sentence with the grant of jurisdiction to the Court of Claims to hear such a claim. If it were not for section 6, there would, concededly, be no liability at all, on the State, for change of grade damages caused by grade crossing eliminations. At common law, no such damages were recoverable (Matter of Lawrence v. Village of Mamaronech, 263 N. Y. 455), but, later, a provision of the Village Law, changed that, as to grade changes in .villages like this one,, and made the villages liable therefor (see Matter of Torge v. Village of Salamanca, 176 N. Y. 324, 327, 328; Mistretta v. State
We turn to appellant’s argument. She admits that jurisdiction in the Court of Claims to grant awards against the State for such claims, and liability of the State for such claims, was created by section 6 (supra), but, she says, though liability had so been created, the claim, when it arose, was one falling within the language of subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act (supra) as being “ any other claim not otherwise provided for by this section ”. Claimant, of course, cannot deny that the very statute (§ 6, supra) which set up the State’s liability for, and conferred jurisdiction as to, such claims, set a limit of six months for filing such claims, so, if there were anything at all to the argument, there would be, as the Appellate Division pointed out, two separate limitation periods for these claims, one in each statute, and a claimant would (following this argument to its necessary conclusion) have a choice between them. We think it obvious that the Legislature could not have intended such duality.
The only other form of reasoning, by which claimant can reach the result she contends for, is by urging that the time limitation fixations in subdivision 5 of section 10 repealed, by implication, the express time limitation of section 6. As we know, ‘ ‘ repeal by implication is not favored and will be decreed only where a clear intent appears to effect that purpose ” (City of New York v. Maltbie, 274 N. Y. 90, 97; see Naramore v. State of New York, 285 N. Y. 80, 84; Moritz v. United Brethrens Church, 269 N. Y. 125, 133). Such repeals will not be discovered unless the conclusion is unavoidable, as when repugnancy between the two statutes is plain (People v. Dwyer, 215 N. Y. 46, 51; Peterson v. Martino, 210 N. Y. 412, 418). The absence of an express provision in a later statute, for repeal of an earlier one, gives rise to a presumption that repeal was not
There are other reasons why it cannot be held that subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 10 (supra) repealed the time limitation in section 6 (supra). Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 10 were enacted in substantially their present form in 1936 (see L. 1936, ch. 775). The Grade Crossing Elimination Act, including section 6, had been passed as chapter 678 of the Laws of 1928. At the time the Grade Crossing Elimination Act was put on the books, the provision of the Court of Claims Act as to “ claims not otherwise provided for ” was in section 15, and section 15 had the same time limitation — six months without any discretionary extension (see L. 1921, ch. 474, amdg. L. 1920, ch. 922) — that the Legislature put into section 6, in 1928. In other words, when, in 1928, the time limitation for filing various miscellaneous claims with the State was six months, with no extension, the Legislature imposed that same short limitation on the newly created claims for change of grade. Later on, when the Court of Claims Act was subjected to amendments, including the enactment of subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 10 (supra), the time limitations were liberalized as to certain contract and other miscellaneous claims, by giving discretion to the court to extend the time beyond six months, but no such liberality was displayed as to grade crossing project elimination claims for change of grade. It must be significant that the State, not in the Court of Claims Act, but as part of a new statutory scheme whereby the State took over major responsibility for grade crossing elimination, assumed, for the first time, liability for change of grade claims, but in that very section, indeed, in the same sentence of the section, it included, and never after-
Six months seems a very short limitation as to any sort of claim or suit, and we do not know the precise reason for its use by the Legislature in this instance. Probably, the reason is that the total cost of such a grade crossing elimination is fixed by the Public Service Commission and then borne, in certain proportions, by the State, the railroad or railroads, and the county or counties in which the crossing is located, a fixation and distribution of cost which cannot be completed until all items of cost, including any damage for change of grade, are finally determined. And, also, we know that it is quite customary and traditional to make very brief the time for filing such claims (see, for instance, Highway Law, § 197; Village Law, § 159, subd. 3; Administrative Code of City of New York, § 307a-3.0; Buffalo City Charter, § 367; Rochester City Charter, § 121).
The order should be affirmed, without costs.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). No obstacle appears to exist which prevents applying the more liberal provision of the 1939 amendment of the Court of Claims Act (§ 10, subds. 4,
Lewis, Ch. J., Conway, Dye, Fuld and Froessel, JJ., concur with Desmond, J.; Van Voobhis, J., dissents and votes to reverse in a memorandum.
Order affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Sandra Cimo, Appellant, v. State of New York, Respondent
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- 62 cases
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- Published