Instead of Mandate Relief, Legislature Delivers Lawsuits to Municipalities

ALBANY, NY (06/22/2012)(readMedia)-- As New York State's cities and towns struggle under the burden of rising costs, last night, just hours before the end of the legislative session, the Legislature passed a law making it easier for plaintiffs to sue municipalities and public entities. Rather than provide municipalities with promised mandate relief, both houses of the legislature passed the "Uniform Notice of Claims Act," a bill which aims to streamline the process to sue cities and towns.

"This is a step in the wrong direction for New York. Ultimately, New York taxpayers will have to foot the bill for these new lawsuits," said Tom Stebbins, Executive Director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York. Stebbins was not surprised by the bill, saying, "The Trial Lawyer Lobby was the third largest political contributor in the state in 2011, it is tough for municipalities and public institutions to compete against that."

The bill extends the amount of time plaintiffs have to file cases against municipalities and centralizes the filing of lawsuits with the Secretary of State.

"With tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against our public institutions each year, it is easy to see how the Secretary of State's office could be quickly overwhelmed with litigation," said Stebbins, adding, "this bill will make the Secretary of State a clearinghouse for lawsuits, making it easier for lawyers to file lawsuits against municipalities. But the delay may make it harder for the municipalities to defend themselves."

Groups representing New York's municipalities, like the New York Conference of Mayors and the Association of Towns, expressed their opposition, but the bill was never subjected to a public hearing and quickly passed the legislature without debate.

When asked about the future of the legislation Stebbins said, "We are hopeful the Governor will veto it so that it can be properly scrutinized by elected officials and the public. New York's taxpayers and local governments need mandate relief, not more lawsuits."

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The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) is a broad based coalition of hardworking New York business leaders, farmers, health care professionals and consumers who are committed to changing New York's burdensome and expensive legal system to help create more jobs and energize our State's economy.

For more information, please contact Tom Stebbins, Executive Director at tstebbins@lrany.org or

518-512-5265.