Matter of Bailey v Village of Lyons Bd. of Trustees |
2014 NY Slip Op 03422 [117 AD3d 1593] |
May 9, 2014 |
Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
In the Matter of Jack Bailey et al., Petitioners-Plaintiffs,
and Andrew DeWolf, Appellant, v Village of Lyons Board of Trustees, Respondent. |
Andrew DeWolf, petitioner-plaintiff-appellant pro se.
Nesbitt & Williams, Newark (Arthur B. Williams of counsel), for respondent-defendant-respondent.
Appeal from a judgment (denominated decision) of the Supreme Court, Wayne County (John B. Nesbitt, A.J.), entered August 27, 2013 in a CPLR article 78 proceeding and declaratory judgment action. The judgment, among other things, granted the petition-complaint in part by enjoining respondent-defendant to have a Board of Trustee's approved dissolution plan in place by October 20, 2013, failing which the court would appoint a hearing officer to undertake that responsibility.
It is hereby ordered that said appeal is unanimously dismissed without costs.
Memorandum: We dismiss the appeal as moot because, once the dissolution plan at issue was adopted on September 30, 2013, no justiciable controversy remained upon which a declaratory judgment could be made or injunctive relief could be granted. "It is a fundamental principle of our jurisprudence that the power of a court to declare the law only arises out of, and is limited to, determining the rights of persons which are actually controverted in a particular case pending before the tribunal" (Matter of Hearst Corp. v Clyne, 50 NY2d 707, 713 [1980]). This case does not fall within the exception to the mootness doctrine (see id. at 714-715). Present—Smith, J.P., Peradotto, Sconiers, Whalen and DeJoseph, JJ.