New York Law Watch
Administrative Law
Agency determinations and judicial review belong here, including Law Watch decisions on administrative hearings, licensing and the limits of agency authority.
School governance, funding and student rights are grouped here, including Law Watch decisions involving school districts, universities and educational agencies.
Access to government records is the subject of this collection, including Law Watch decisions on FOIL requests, exemptions and challenges to withheld documents.
For Administrative Law, Law Watch lists 61 indexable decisions dated February 26, 2026 to November 12, 2026 across 13 decision weeks.
78 decision records: 61 meet the substance floor; 17 records are held from search listings.
The records below come from 9 courts and include both primary and secondary area classifications.
This collection also includes Education Law, Freedom of Information Law.
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Recent decisions
- Matter of Pasinkoff v New York State & Local Retirement Sys.2026 NY Slip Op 06599
The court affirmed the dismissal of the petition, holding that the Comptroller’s determination was supported by substantial evidence and not irrational or unreasonable. The agency reasonably interpreted the statutes to set the petitioner’s contribution cessation date at the effective date of his transfer from a tier 6 to tier 4 membership, rather than his initial enrollment date.
- Matter of Falu v Metropolitan Transp. Auth.2026 NY Slip Op 06571
The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the petition as time-barred because the petitioner commenced the proceeding nearly one year after the final administrative determination. The court held that the determination was final and binding, and the dismissal was proper despite the petitioner’s arguments regarding the merits of his disciplinary suspension.
- Matter of Anonymous v Trustees of Columbia Univ. in the City of N.Y.2026 NY Slip Op 06549
The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the petition as time-barred because the university’s email stating admissions decisions were final constituted an unambiguously final decision. The court found that the petitioner failed to commence the proceeding within the statutory four-month period and did not demonstrate fraud to justify equitable estoppel.
- Matter of Doe v Ithaca City Sch. Dist.2026 NY Slip Op 06507
The court affirmed the dismissal of the petition because the petitioner failed to exhaust available administrative remedies by discontinuing her appeals to the Commissioner of Education. The court rejected the petitioner’s arguments that administrative review would be futile or cause irreparable injury, noting that the Commissioner had the authority to stay the exclusion and that homeschooling was an alternative.
- Matter of Waldin v City of Cohoes2026 NY Slip Op 06501
The court affirmed the dismissal of the petition, holding that the city code’s requirement for the highest negotiated annual percentage increase did not apply to a one-time salary chart restructuring. Consequently, the petitioners were only entitled to the 4% annual increase granted to the animal control officer, not the 7.01% increase resulting from the restructuring.
- Matter of Clancy v New York State Dept. of Motor Vehs.2026 NY Slip Op 06499
The court held that a driver’s license revocation hearing did not violate due process when the arresting officer testified via audio-only telephone rather than video. The court found that the petitioner had the opportunity to cross-examine the witness and that the administrative burden of requiring video access outweighed the minimal risk of erroneous deprivation.
- Matter of Groovy Vibes, LLC v New York City Sheriff’s Office2026 NY Slip Op 06523
The Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s award of attorneys’ fees because the petitioner failed to assert any substantial federal constitutional claim in its CPLR article 78 petition. Since the petitioner only raised federal arguments after judgment in support of the fee motion, the court lacked authority to award fees under 42 USC § 1988.
- Matter of Davis v Oddo2026 NY Slip Op 06522
The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the petition because documentary evidence proved the landlord had filed the required gas piping inspection certification, rendering the Department of Buildings’ decision not to enforce the law neither arbitrary nor capricious. The court also upheld the denial of discovery regarding the document’s metadata, finding the petitioner failed to demonstrate unusual circumstances or an ample need for such disclosure.