Opinion
No. 188.
Decided September 8, 2009.
REARGUMENT, in the two above-entitled actions, of appeals from two orders of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judicial Department, entered December 22, 2006. The Appellate Division affirmed two orders of the Supreme Court, Wyoming County (Mark H. Dadd, J.), one as to each action, which had granted defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint and dismissed the complaint. Following the affirmances by the Court of Appeals upon the original appeals ( 9 NY3d 481), the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded the cases to the Court of Appeals ( 556 US ___, 129 S Ct 2108), concluding that Correction Law § 24, as applied to section 1983 claims, violates the Supremacy Clause.
Plaintiff inmate commenced these actions, predicated on 42 USC § 1983, seeking damages from employees of the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) based on their alleged tortious conduct committed in violation of his federal and state constitutional rights.
The Appellate Division concluded that Correction Law § 24, which encompassed defendants' conduct, precluded plaintiff from suing DOCS employees in their personal capacity, and that Correction Law § 24 was not preempted by the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution ( US Const., art VI, cl 2) and 42 USC § 1983.
Haywood v Drown, 35 AD3d 1290, reversed.
Haywood v Smith, 35 AD3d 1291, modified.
Dechert LLP, New York City ( Gary J. Mennitt of counsel), for appellant.
Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Albany ( Robert M. Goldfarb, Barbara D. Underwood and Andrea Oser of counsel), for respondents.
Before: Chief Judge LIPPMAN and Judges CIPARICK, GRAFFEO, READ, SMITH, PIGOTT and JONES.
OPINION OF THE COURT
Upon reargument, following remand by the Supreme Court of the United States, order in Haywood v Drown reversed, with costs, motion to dismiss denied and case remitted to Supreme Court, Wyoming County, for further proceedings, and order in Haywood v Smith modified, without costs, by denying the motion to dismiss the cause of action predicated on 42 USC § 1983 and remitting to Supreme Court, Wyoming County, for further proceedings on that cause of action and, as so modified, affirmed ( see Haywood v Drown, 556 US ___, 129 S Ct 2108).