Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; March 5, 1997; New York; State Appellate Court
An appeal was filed by the New York State Rehabilitation Association, Inc. (NYSRA) and its member agencies against a decision by the Supreme Court, which dismissed their petition as barred by the Statute of Limitations. The petitioners, certified by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), challenged OMRDD's March 1, 1993, decision to eliminate the administrative appeals process for community residence reimbursement, which previously allowed for increased funding requests. Following a proposal to the Federal Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) for Medicaid funding, OMRDD implemented emergency regulations that continued to exclude community residences from the appeals process. Subsequently, on November 23, 1993, NYSRA sought a declaratory ruling regarding the validity of these regulations, specifically concerning the loss of appeal rights. OMRDD's ruling, issued on October 30, 1995, stated that it was not legally required to provide an appeals mechanism. The petitioners initiated their legal proceeding on February 29, 1996, but the Supreme Court ruled their claim accrued on March 1, 1993, thus dismissing the petition based on the four-month Statute of Limitations. The appeal focuses on determining when the administrative action became final and binding, with established precedent indicating that such action is final when it impacts a party and they are clearly aggrieved.
Ambiguity created by a public body regarding the finality of its determinations should be resolved against it. In this case, the Statute of Limitations commenced on September 13, 1993, coinciding with the effective date of emergency regulations that amended specific parts of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations. Petitioners became aware of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD)’s decision to eliminate community residence appeals during the comment period following the March 1993 regulations. Notably, a letter from NYSRA’s consultant referenced the lack of an appeals process, and extensive comments submitted by NYSRA contested the elimination of this process as lacking legal support. OMRDD acknowledged the potential for legislative reconsideration in response to these comments but later communicated plans to abandon the rehabilitation services initiative in favor of expanding the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver program, which did not alter the prior elimination of the appeals process.
The September 1993 regulations confirmed the finality of the rate appeals process elimination, thus constituting adequate notice to the petitioners for purposes of Article 78 proceedings. The petitioners’ claims that the Statute of Limitations was tolled or extended were rejected; specifically, a request for a declaratory ruling was interpreted as a request for reconsideration, which does not extend the limitation period. Consequently, the court affirmed the dismissal of the proceeding as it was not timely commenced within the four-month limitations period.
