Court Opinion

ID: 9940673
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-14 21:09:40.295239+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:45:20.129447
License: Public Domain

Residents & Families United to Save Our Adult Homes
                        v Zucker
               2024 NY Slip Op 30459(U)
                    February 9, 2024
             Supreme Court, Kings County
          Docket Number: Index No. 9038/13
                Judge: Joy F. Campanelli
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                  INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                  RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

                                                                       At an IAS Term, Part 6 of the Supreme Court
                                                                       of the State of New York, held in and for the
                                                                       County of Kings, at the Courthouse, at 360
                                                                       Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York, on the
                                                                       9th day of February, 2024.

            P R E S E N T:

            HON. JOY F. CAMPANELLI,
                                                Justice.
            -----------------------------------------------------------------------X
            RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES UNITED TO SAVE OUR ADULT
            HOMES; NEW YORK COALITION FOR QUALITY ASSISTED
            LIVING; NEW YORK STATE HEALTH FACILITIES
            ASSOCIATION/NEW YORK STATE CENTER FOR ASSISTED
            LIVING; KENNETH PRZYJENSKI; WALTER ROBERTS; HUDSON
            VIEW MANAGEMENT CORP., D/B/A PALISADE GARDEN HFA;
            BELLE HARBOR MANOR; ELM YORK LLC; KINGS ADULT
            CARE CENTER, LLC; LAKESIDE MANOR HOME FOR ADULTS,
            INC; GARDEN OF EDEN HOME LLC, D/B/A GARDEN OF EDEN
            HOME; MOHEGAN PARK HOME FOR ADULTS; GLORIA’S
            MANOR LLC, D/B/A NEW GLORIA’S MANOR HOME FOR
            ADULTS; NEW HAVEN MANOR; NEW MONSEY PARK HOME;                              Index No. 9038/13
            NEW ROCHELLE HOME FOR ADULTS, LLC; PARKVIEW HFA,
            INC., D/B/A PARKVIEW HOME FOR ADULTS; ELENER                                 Mot. Seq. No. 22
            ASSOCIATES, LLC, D/B/A RIVERDALE MANOR HOME FOR
            ADULTS; SEAVIEW MANOR, LLC; SURFSIDE MANOR HOME
            FOR ADULTS, LLC; THE ELIOT MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC,
            D/B/A THE ELIOT AT ERIE STATION ALP; THE SANFORD
            HOME; WAVECREST HFA, INC., D/B/A WAVECREST HOME FOR
            ADULTS; WOODLAND VILLAGE LLC D/B/A FAWN RIDGE
            ASSISTED LIVING; EMPIRE STATE ASSOCIATION OF
            ASSISTED LIVING, INC.; DUTCHESS CARE; ELM YORK, LLC;
            HARBOR TERRACE ADULT HOME AND ASSISTED LIVING;
            CENTRAL ASSISTED LIVING, LLC; ADIRONDACK MANOR
            HOME FOR ADULTS; WILLIAM STANTON; JOHN TORY; LUCIA
            BENNETT; JOSEPH SIMONE; LAWRENCE WONG; and SUSAN
            OSTERHOUDT-BURNETT,

                                                Petitioners,
                          -against-

            HOWARD A. ZUCKER, M.D., in his official capacity as Commissioner
            of the New York State Department of Health; NEW YORK STATE
            DEPARTMETN OF HEALTH; KRISTIN M. WOODLOCK, in her

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  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                                    INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                                  RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

            Official capacity as Acting Commissioner of the New York State Office
            Of Mental Health; and NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF MENTAL
            HEALTH,
                                                         Respondents.
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

            The following e-filed papers read herein:                                        NYSCEF Nos.:

            Notice of Motion/Order to Show Cause/
            Petition/Cross Motion and
            Affidavits (Affirmations) Annexed                                                    255-453
            Opposing Affidavits (Affirmations)                                                      454
            Affidavits/ Affirmations in Reply                                                       455        .
            Other Papers:

                    Upon the foregoing papers, respondents the New York State Department of Health (DOH),

            the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and their respective Commissioners

            (collectively, respondents or the State) move, in motion (mot.) sequence (seq.) 22, for an order,

            pursuant to CPLR 2221(2), granting them leave to renew that branch of their prior motion (mot.

            seq. 19) which sought summary judgment dismissing petitioners’ claim under the Fair Housing

            Act (FHA) and, upon renewal, awarding them summary judgment dismissing petitioners’ claims

            under the FHA.

                                           Background Facts and Procedural History

                    The instant hybrid Article 78 proceeding and declaratory judgment action was brought by

            numerous petitioners comprised of current and former residents of Transitional Adult Homes

            (TAHs) (collectively resident-petitioners), TAHs (collectively adult-home petitioners), and

            associations representing adult homes.1              In this regard, the petitioners challenged certain

            regulations that were promulgated by the DOH and OMH in 2013. Among other things, these

            regulations placed limitations upon admitting new residents with serious mental illness (SMI) to

            1
             New York State Department of Health regulations define a TAH as “an adult home with a certified capacity of 80
            beds or more in which 25 percent or more of the resident population are persons with serious mental illness” (18
            NYCRR § 487.13 [b]).

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  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                                   INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                                 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

            TAHs.      In particular, the DOH regulations prohibited TAHs from admitting, as residents,

            individuals with SMI unless those individuals were formerly residents of the TAHs. The OMH

            regulations precluded hospitals from discharging individuals with SMI to TAHs unless that person

            was a resident of the TAH immediately prior to his or her current hospitalization. In challenging

            these regulations, the petitioners asserted numerous causes of action against the respondents,

            including allegations that the regulations were discriminatory under the Americans With Disability

            Act (ADA) and FHA, were ultra vires, arbitrary and capricious under CPLR Article 78, and

            violated their procedural due process rights under the Social Services Law. The adult-home

            petitioners also alleged that the regulations violate their due process rights under the Fourteenth

            Amendment to the United States Constitution (US Constitution) and Article I Section 6 of the New

            York State Constitution (State Constitution). In addition, several of the petitioners alleged that the

            regulations violated their liberty interests. Finally, one of the resident-petitioners alleged that the

            regulations discriminated against him under the Rehabilitation Act and New York Human Rights

            Law § 296, violated his right to intimate association under the US Constitution, and violated his

            equal protection rights under the US Constitution and State Constitution.

                                                            The Prior Order

                    Following the completion of pre-trial discovery, the respondents moved for summary

            judgment dismissing the petitioners’ claims and petitioners cross-moved for summary judgment

            under their claims against the respondents. In a decision and order dated May 2, 2023 (the prior

            order), Hon. Carl J. Landicino, formerly of this court, granted the respondents’ motion for

            summary judgment to dismiss except with respect to petitioners’ claims under the FHA and denied

            petitioners’ cross motions for summary judgment.2 In this regard, the prior order held that under

            2
             After the issuance of the prior order, Justice Landicino was appointed to the Appellate Division, Second
            Department. Thereafter, the matter was transferred to the instant part.

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  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                      INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                      RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

            the FHA, the regulations were subject to a heighted standard of scrutiny inasmuch as they were

            discriminatory on their face. The prior order further determined that the respondents must prove

            that the regulations furthered, in theory and in fact, a legitimate, bona fide governmental interest,

            and that no alternative would serve that interest with less discriminatory effect. Applying this

            standard, the prior order found that there were issues of fact concerning whether or not the

            regulations actually advanced the State’s goal of improving the living conditions, chances for

            recovery and rehabilitation, and integration of persons with SMI. Further, the prior order ruled

            that there were issues of fact regarding whether or not the regulations, which placed (with limited

            exceptions) a blanket ban on the admission of persons with SMI to TAHs, were the least restrictive

            means of achieving the State’s goals.

                                              The Third-Department Ruling

                   On May 4, 2023, two days after the prior order was issued, the Appellate Division, Third

            Department reversed an order issued by a lower court which found that the DOH regulations

            violated the FHA (Matter of Oceanview Home for Adults, Inc. v Zucker, 215 AD3d 140 [2023])

            (hereinafter referred to as Oceanview). In Oceanview, the trial court, after conducting a bench

            trial, determined that the regulations did not further the integration of individuals with SMI away

            from institutions as required by the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Olmstead v L.C. ex

            rel. Zimring (527 US 581 [1999]). The trial court also found that the DOH regulations were not

            the least restrictive means of achieving the State’s goals given the fact that they did not allow for

            any individualized analysis of individuals with SMI seeking residency in a TAH. Upon appeal,

            the Third Department found that the least restrictive standard was improperly applied by the lower

            court in ruling on the validity of the regulations (Matter of Oceanview Home for Adults, Inc., 215

            AD3d at 149). Instead, the Third Department determined that the State was only required to

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            demonstrate that the regulations were narrowly tailored to implement the State’s goal of integration

            of persons with SMI (id.). Finally, based upon the evidence presented at trial, the Third

            Department ruled that the DOH regulations were narrowly tailored to achieve the State’s goals and

            did not violate the FHA. In particular, the Oceanview court noted that the DOH regulations only

            applied to individuals with SMI, solely applied to a subcategory of large adult homes, allowed

            TAHs to resume accepting residents with SMI once their mental health census had been

            sufficiently reduced below the cap, and permitted TAHs to admit individuals with SMI if they

            were former residents (id. at 153-154). In coming to this conclusion, the Third Department noted

            that “the admissions cap benefits persons with serious mental illness by directly implementing

            integration into smaller and more diverse settings where people with serious mental illness have

            greater ability to exercise autonomy and interact with individuals who do not have serious mental

            illness, enhancing their chances of recovery (id. at 153).

                                             Respondents’ Motion to Renew

                   Respondents now move for an order granting them leave to renew the prior order and, upon

            renewal, an order awarding them summary judgment dismissing petitioners’ claims under the

            FHA. In support of this motion, respondents maintain that the Third Department’s ruling in

            Oceanview constitutes a modification in the law that would change the determination reached in

            the prior order with respect to petitioners’ claims under the FHA. In particular, respondents

            maintain that the issues surrounding petitioners’ FHA claims in Oceanview are identical to the

            issues in this matter. In addition, respondents note that the Oceanview court found that the proper

            standard to apply, in ruling on the validity of the regulations, was whether or not they were

            narrowly tailored to advance the State’s goals rather than the least restrictive standard applied in

            the prior order. Finally, in the absence of any Appellate Division or Court of Appeals’ authority

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  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                        INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

            to the contrary, respondents contend that the Third Department’s determination that the subject

            regulations are narrowly tailored to advance the State’s goals and did not violate the FHA is

            binding upon this court.

                   In opposition to respondents’ motion, petitioners maintain that the Third Department’s

            determination in Oceanview is erroneous and runs contrary to federal court precedent. Further,

            petitioners argue that, inasmuch as the Oceanview court interpreted federal, not state, law, its ruling

            is not binding upon this court. In particular, petitioners aver that state courts are bound to apply

            federal statutes as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court or in accordance with the rule

            established by lower federal courts. Alternatively, petitioners claim that Oceanview is factually

            distinguishable from the matter before this court since Oceanview did not involve any challenges

            to OMH regulations and the prior order was rendered based upon evidence that was not part of the

            record in Oceanview.

                   “A motion for leave to renew ‘shall be based upon new facts not offered on the prior motion

            that would change the prior determination or shall demonstrate there has been a change in the law

            that would change the prior determination’” (Dudley-Lanier v City of New York, 210 AD3d 739,

            741 [2022], quoting CPLR 2221[3][2]). Thus, “[a] motion for leave to renew is the appropriate

            vehicle for seeking relief from a prior order based on a change in law … [and] [a] clarification of

            the decisional law is a sufficient change in the law to support renewal” (Dinallo v DAL Electric,

            60 AD3d 620, 621 [2009]).

                   Here, contrary to petitioners’ argument, respondents’ motion is based upon a change in

            law, namely the Third Department’s determination in Oceanview. In particular, prior to the

            Oceanview ruling, there were no appellate court determinations regarding whether or not the

            regulations violated the FHA. Further, it is clear that the ruling in Oceanview requires a change in

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            that portion of the prior order which denied respondents’ motion for summary judgment dismissing

            petitioners’ claims under the FHA. In this regard, there is no merit to petitioners’ argument that

            the court is not bound by the Oceanview ruling because it involves the interpretation of federal

            law. Specifically, the Appellate Division, Second Department has long held that “the doctrine of

            stare decisis requires trial courts in this department to follow precedents set by the Appellate

            Division of another department until the Court of Appeals or this court pronounces a contrary rule

            (Mountain View Coach Lines v Storms, 102 AD2d 663, 664 [1984]). Furthermore, a state court is

            only “bound to apply the statute as interpreted by the Supreme Court or in accordance with the

            rule established by lower Federal courts, if they are in agreement” (Fletcher v Kidder, Peabody &

            Co., 184 AD2d 359, 361-362 [1992][emphasis added]). Here, there is no United States Supreme

            Court decision which addresses the issue of whether the “narrowly tailored” or “least restrictive”

            standard applies when facially discriminatory regulations or statutes are challenged under the

            FHA. Furthermore, as the Oceanview court examined at length, lower federal courts are divided

            on this issue but the Sixth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits have adopted the less onerous “narrowly

            tailored” standard adopted by the Oceanview court (Oceanview Home for Adults, Inc., 215 AD3d

            at 149).

                   Finally, there is no merit to petitioners’ argument that this court is not bound by Oceanview

            inasmuch as Oceanview did not involve any challenges to OMH regulations and the prior order

            was rendered based upon evidence that was not part of the record in Oceanview. The Oceanview

            court reviewed the exact same DOH regulations that are involved in this case and found that they

            were narrowly tailored to advance the state’s goal and did not violate the FHA. Thus, this court

            could not determine that the regulations violated the FHA, or that there are issues of fact as to

            whether the regulations violated the FHA, without running afoul of Oceanview. In any event, the

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  FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/09/2024 10:39 AM                                                   INDEX NO. 9038/2013
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 457                                                                   RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/09/2024

            relevant evidence and facts that the Oceanview court relied upon in determining that the DOH

            regulations did not violate the FHA are the same evidence and facts before this court. Further, it

            is of no moment that the OMH regulations were not challenged in Oceanview. The DOH and

            OMH regulations were promulgated at the same time to advance the same state goal of integrating

            individuals with SMI. In particular, the DOH regulations precluded the operators of TAHs from

            accepting new residents with SMI while the OMH regulations precluded hospitals from

            discharging patients with SMI to TAHs. Moreover the elements which the Oceanview decision

            relied upon in determining that the DOH regulations were narrowly tailored are equally applicable

            to the OMH regulations. Thus, if the DOH regulations are narrowly tailored to advance the state’s

            goal and do not violate the FHA (as the Oceanview court determined), it necessarily follows that

            the OMH regulations similarly do not violate the FHA.

                   Accordingly, respondents’ motion, in mot. seq. 22, for leave to renew their prior motion is

            granted and, upon renewal, that branch of respondents’ motion for summary judgment dismissing

            petitioners’ claims under the FHA is granted. Inasmuch as petitioners’ other claims were already

            dismissed in the prior order, the instant action/proceeding is dismissed.

                   This constitutes the decision, order, and judgment of the court.

                                                                   E N T E R,

                                                                   J. S. C.

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