Supreme Court rejected the CPLR Article 78 petition filed by a former New York City police officer [Plaintiff] seeking to annul the New York Police Department's [NYPD] decision to terminate his employment while he was serving "on dismissal probation." Plaintiff contended that the termination of his employment as a police officer was made in bad faith in an effort "to frustrate his application for Accidental Disability Retirement [ADR] benefits".*
Plaintiff appealed but the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling.
Plaintiff, said the court, "failed to demonstrate that [NYPD] dismissed him in bad faith," noting that Plaintiff's dismissal was recommended after ADR benefits had been denied him.
Further, opined the court, any delays in Plaintiff's dismissal were explained by the investigation undertaken by NYPD, which took months to complete.
* Section 13-173.1 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York requires an employee subject to its provisions to "be in service" on the effective date of his or her retirement or vesting of retirement benefits. If the employee is not "in service" on that date, he or she forfeits his or her retirement benefits.
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision.