2012 New York Consolidated Laws
PBO - Public Officers
Article 7 - (100 - 111) OPEN MEETINGS LAW
107 - Enforcement.

 
    § 107. Enforcement.  1.  Any  aggrieved  person shall have standing to
  enforce the provisions of this article against  a  public  body  by  the
  commencement  of  a  proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the
  civil practice law and rules, or an action for declaratory judgment  and
  injunctive  relief.  In  any  such  action  or  proceeding,  if  a court
  determines that a public body failed to comply with  this  article,  the
  court shall have the power, in its discretion, upon good cause shown, to
  declare  that  the  public body violated this article and/or declare the
  action taken in relation to such violation void, in whole  or  in  part,
  without prejudice to reconsideration in compliance with this article. If
  the  court  determines that a public body has violated this article, the
  court may require the members of the public body  to  participate  in  a
  training  session  concerning  the  obligations  imposed by this article
  conducted by the staff of the committee on open government.
    An unintentional failure to fully comply with  the  notice  provisions
  required by this article shall not alone be grounds for invalidating any
  action  taken  at  a  meeting  of  a public body. The provisions of this
  article shall not affect the validity of the authorization, acquisition,
  execution or disposition of a bond issue or notes.
    2. In any proceeding brought  pursuant  to  this  section,  costs  and
  reasonable attorney fees may be awarded by the court, in its discretion,
  to  the successful party. If a court determines that a vote was taken in
  material violation of this article, or  that  substantial  deliberations
  relating thereto occurred in private prior to such vote, the court shall
  award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the successful petitioner,
  unless  there was a reasonable basis for a public body to believe that a
  closed session could properly have been held.
    3. The statute of limitations in an article  seventy-eight  proceeding
  with  respect  to an action taken at executive session shall commence to
  run from the date the minutes of such executive session have  been  made
  available to the public.