[email protected]
+1 (212) 754 9000

Tesser Ryan Blog

Nassau County Supreme Court Upholds Sheriff Officer’s Association’s Finding that Officer Violated Organization’s By-Laws

03 Nov 2011
0

By Lewis Tesser, Partner, and Timothy Nolen, Associate

A recent opinion from the Nassau County Supreme Court demonstrates the reluctance of courts to interfere with the internal administrative affairs of a not-for-profit organization. The litigation included issues of administrative law, civil practice and constitutional law.

The case, Adams v. Imm, 2011 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4429 (Sup. Ct. Nassau County, August 31, 2011) involved an Article 78 proceeding seeking to review a determination by the board of the Sheriff Officer’s Association to discipline the petitioner. The petitioner argued that the Board’s action—disciplining him pursuant to newly-enacted by-laws—was improper because the by-laws were not enacted in accordance with  the Sheriff Officer’s Association’s amendments and the newly enacted by-laws were tantamount to a retroactive restrictive covenant. Rejecting this argument, the Court stressed that courts avoid interfering with not-for-profit internal affairs, but may review whether the petitioner received “fair play” from the organization. Since the petitioner had, the Court declined to stay the disciplinary proceedings.

Administrative proceedings are often complicated and involve unique and complex regulations or by-laws. At Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, our attorneys regularly represent clients before administrative agencies. Our experience can help clients navigate the often stressful experience of challenging an administrative decision, or litigating an Article 78 proceeding.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

About Post Author

mm

Lewis Tesser is a senior partner in the New York law firm of Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP, concentrating his practice in litigation and mediation, representing licensed professionals and professional practices, administrative law and commercial law. Lew Tesser is Vice-President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and Director of its Ethics Institute. Prior to private practice, Mr. Tesser was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. In that capacity, he represented various agencies of the United States government in litigation in the United States District Court and United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Tesser also served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army where he prosecuted and defended criminal cases and was the chief legal advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He also has served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, New York City Civil Court, a Judge for the Environmental Control Board of the City of New York and a lecturer for various Bar Associations and New York area law schools. Mr. Tesser, who was admitted to practice in 1971, is a 1970 Honors graduate from the National Law Center, George Washington University, a Masters graduate from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania (l974) and a graduate of the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers. He is a past President of Congregation Sons of Israel, Nyack, NY. Publications and Speaking Engagements Editor-In-Chief, “The New York Rules of Professional Conduct Annotated”, Oxford University Press, New York, 2010. A complete list of Mr. Tesser’s speaking engagements and publications is available if you would like to learn more about Mr. Tesser’s work. Representative Cases In Re Zhang, 376 Fed. Appx. 104 (2d Cir. 2010) Continental Casualty Co. v. JBS Construct. Mgmt., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85467 (S.D.N.Y. 2010)

Leave a Reply

Tesser, Ryan, & Rochman Blog

At Tesser, Ryan, & Rochman we are committed to keeping current, former, and future clients up to date. Here on our blog we will have news regarding our firm, as well as business analysis, various cases, case studies, and legal findings for the benefit of our clients.