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March 28, 2023

Preventing a court's judgment or order which is unreviewable for mootness from "spawning any legal consequences or precedent"

The Petitioner discontinued efforts to enforce the judgment of Supreme Court and obtain the documents it had requested pursuant to New York State's Freedom of Information Law [FOIL] from Respondents. This rendered Respondents' instant appeal challenging Supreme Court's judgment and the report of the Referee moot. Further, Respondents did not establish an exception to the mootness doctrine.

The Appellate Division, noting the Respondents had not establish an exception to the mootness doctrine* and that the general rule in New York State is simply to dismiss an appeal that has been rendered moot, opined that "vacatur of an order or judgment may be an appropriate exercise of [the discretion of the court] when necessary to prevent a judgment or order which is unreviewable for mootness from spawning any legal consequences or precedent."

Explaining that a Supreme Court's orders could be used as precedent in future cases, "causing confusion of the legal issues raised", the Appellate Division found that "the circumstances presented in this case warrant the exercise of [its] discretion" and vacated the orders and judgment of Supreme Court and sealed the Referee's report.

* The Merriam-Webster.com Legal Dictionary defines the mootness doctrine as "A doctrine in judicial procedure: a court will not hear or decide a moot case unless it includes an issue that is not considered moot because it involves the public interest or constitutional questions and is likely to be repeated and otherwise evade review or resolution."

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

 

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