2006 New York Code - Adjudication And Determination In The Supreme Court.

 
    § 712. Adjudication and determination in the supreme court.  1. In the
  event  that  one  or  more  but  not  all of the governing boards of the
  affected local governments  shall  determine  that  it  is  not  in  the
  over-all  public  interest  to  approve  the  proposed  annexation,  the
  governing board of any other affected local government may apply to  the
  appellate   division   of   the   supreme  court  for  adjudication  and
  determination, on the law  and  facts,  of  the  issue  of  whether  the
  proposed annexation is in the over-all public interest.
    2.  A  proceeding  brought  under  this  section  shall  be  a special
  proceeding and, except as otherwise provided herein, shall  be  governed
  by  the  provisions of article four of the civil practice law and rules.
  Such proceeding shall be brought in the judicial district embracing  any
  county  in  which all or part of the territory proposed to be annexed is
  located, within thirty days after the filing in the office of the county
  clerk of the order by which such determination was made.
    3. The appellate division may stay or transfer  and  consolidate  with
  the  proceeding  brought pursuant to subdivision one of this section any
  other proceeding brought against one of  the  parties  pursuant  to  the
  provisions  of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules
  concerning a matter described in paragraphs a, b, c or d of  subdivision
  one  of  section  seven  hundred five of this article and pending in any
  court.
    4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section four hundred one  of  the
  civil  practice law and rules or any other general or special law, after
  a proceeding is commenced pursuant to subdivision one of  this  section,
  intervention  in  such proceeding shall be allowed the following parties
  as a matter of right provided they shall have appeared formally  at  the
  hearing held pursuant to section seven hundred five of this article:  a.
  Any school district, fire district or other district corporation, public
  benefit  corporation  (where  a  majority of the governing board of such
  public benefit corporation is appointed by an officer or board of one or
  more of the affected local governments), or town or  county  improvement
  district,  situated  wholly  or  partly  in the territory proposed to be
  annexed.
    b. Any owner of taxable property located in the territory proposed  to
  be annexed.
    5.  In the event of default in appearance of all necessary respondents
  and failure  to  intervene  on  the  part  of  any  party  described  in
  subdivision  four  of  this  section  no  triable issue of fact shall be
  deemed  to  have  been  raised,  and  the  court  may  make  a   summary
  determination upon the pleadings and record.
    6.  The  court, by order of reference, shall designate three referees,
  one of whom shall be either a justice of the supreme court or a  retired
  justice  of  the  supreme court or any judge temporarily assigned to the
  supreme court, to hear and report to the court after a  trial  conducted
  in  the  same  manner  as  a  court  trying an issue without a jury. The
  provisions of article forty-four of the civil  practice  law  and  rules
  applicable  to trial by the court shall apply to a reference pursuant to
  this section.
    7. In order that the issues in such proceeding may  be  determined  in
  advance  so far as practicable and that the parties may be encouraged to
  stipulate and agree on questions of law and fact which  may  not  be  in
  dispute,  a  pre-trial  conference  shall  be held by one or more of the
  referees so designated. At such pre-trial conference, upon such terms as
  in his or their discretion may seem  proper,  the  referee  or  referees
  holding such pre-trial conference may:
    a.   Direct   pre-trial  disclosure  of  evidence  and  discovery  and
  inspection of books, records and documents;
    b. Permit the taking of depositions for use at the trial;
    c. Limit or restrict the number of experts to be heard as witnesses;
    d. Clarify and define the issues to be tried.
    8.  Before  the  case is finally submitted to the referees the parties
  shall be given an opportunity to submit requests for  proposed  findings
  of fact.
    9. The referees shall file their report setting forth findings of fact
  and  conclusions  of  law within thirty days after the matter is finally
  submitted. The referees' findings on the issue of whether the annexation
  is in the over-all public interest may be based on  provisions  for  the
  adjustment  of  indebtedness  and liabilities or disposition of property
  prescribed in  subdivision  one  of  section  seven  hundred  seven  and
  subdivision one of section seven hundred eight of this article for cases
  where  no agreement governing such adjustments or disposition shall have
  been executed, or such findings may be based on alternative  adjustments
  as  recommended  in  the  report  and  which might have been agreed upon
  pursuant to the other provisions  of  such  sections.  Unless  otherwise
  stipulated,  a transcript of the testimony together with the exhibits or
  copies thereof shall be filed with the report.
    10. Upon receipt of  the  referees'  report,  the  appellate  division
  shall,  after  hearing oral argument on the report of the referees, make
  its own adjudication and determination, on the law and the facts, on all
  questions presented to the referees and substitute its judgment for that
  of any of the governing boards of the local governments as made in their
  respective determinations and enter its judgment on the issue of whether
  the annexation is in the over-all public interest and on any question of
  compliance  with  procedural  provisions  of  this  article  where  such
  questions   are  before  it.  Such  determinations  shall  also  include
  directions of the court, if any, as to the manner in which  indebtedness
  or  other liabilities shall be assumed and property shall be disposed of
  subject to the provisions of sections  seven  hundred  seven  and  seven
  hundred eight of this article.
    11.  Costs shall not be allowed against any governing board of a local
  government in a proceeding brought under subdivision one of this section
  to review a  determination  of  a  governing  board  unless  such  local
  government fails to respond to the petition filed in such proceeding.
    12.  A  final  judgment  pursuant  to  this  section  or an order of a
  governing board of  a  local  government  determining  that  a  proposed
  annexation  is not in the over-all public interest shall not be a bar to
  the filing of a new petition for the same annexation.