Opinion ID: 774796
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jurisdiction Over Due Process Claim

Text: 60 Plaintiffs do not challenge our jurisdiction to review the district court's ruling on their due process claim. Nonetheless, we are independently obligated to examine our subject matter jurisdiction, regardless of whether the parties invite us to do so. Concourse Rehab. & Nursing Ctr. Inc. v. DeBuono, 179 F.3d 38, 43 (2d Cir. 1999). 61 On this portion of the appeal, the only issue raised by defendants is whether plaintiffs' allegation of due process violations at their administrative hearings is foreclosed by the existence of an adequate post-deprivation remedy in the form of an Article 78 proceeding under New York law. See Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 609 (1999) (A court evaluating a claim of qualified immunity 'must first determine whether the plaintiff has alleged the deprivation of an actual constitutional right at all.') (quoting Conn v. Gabbert, 526 U.S. 286, 290 (1999)); accord Saucier v. Katz, 121 S. Ct. 2151, 2156 (2001) (This must be the initial inquiry.). Whether a post-deprivation remedy is adequate presents a question of law. Gudema v. Nassau County, 163 F.3d 717, 724 (2d Cir. 1998). Thus, under the principles articulated earlier, we may properly exercise interlocutory jurisdiction over this portion of the appeal. See also Genas v. State of New York Dep't of Corr. Servs., 75 F.3d 825, 830, 833 (2d Cir. 1996) (exercising interlocutory jurisdiction over some but not all claims on appeal). 62