Nature of Claims:The plaintiffs allege that families with minor children who pass the five-year time limit on receipt of federal welfare assistance are entitled to adequate public assistance shelter allowances. The plaintiffs also challenge various restrictions on eligibility for the Family Eviction Prevention Supplement (FEPS) with regard to time-limited families.
Background: This case arises out of the landmark decision in Jiggetts v. Dowling, which requires the public assistance “shelter allowance” for families with minor children to bear a reasonable relation to the actual cost of housing. In 1996, Congress imposed a five-year time limit on the receipt of federally funded welfare assistance. In 1997, New York State responded by creating the Family Assistance category of assistance (for families with minor children who have received federal benefits for less than five years), and the Safety Net Assistance category (for families with minor children who have received federal benefits for more than five years and other needy persons). In 2003, the trial court in Jiggetts held that families with children who are in the Safety Net category because they received federal benefits for more than five years are, like all other families with minor children, entitled to an adequate shelter allowance. Jiggetts v. Dowling, 196 Misc. 2d 678, 765 N.Y.S.2d 731 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 2003). On appeal, however, the Appellate Division held that this claim must be raised in a new action, not in Jiggetts. Jiggetts v. Dowling, 21 A.D.3d 178 (1st Dep’t 2005), app. dismissed, 6 N.Y.3d 807 (2006). The Brownley case is that new action.
Current Status: On January 11, 2006, the trial court again held (this time in Brownley) that time-limited families with minor children are entitled to adequate public assistance shelter allowances under SSL § 350(1)(a) and under the judgment in Jiggetts v. Dowling. The court also held that the plaintiffs need not exhaust administrative remedies and that the City is not a necessary party to the action. Brownley v. Doar, 11 Misc. 3d 615 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 2006).
In May 2006, the Appellate Division, Second Department held that families with minor children who transfer to Safety Net Assistance after reaching their five-year federal time limit do not have “standing” to seek an adequate shelter allowance. Hedgepeth v. Wing, 29 A.D.3d 632 (2d Dep’t 2006). The court relied on two earlier Second Department decisions. In response, on August 17, 2006, the trial court in Brownley found that, although the “court disagrees with the conclusion of the Appellate Division, Second Department” in Hedgepeth, it was “constrained” to follow that decision in the absence of controlling authority in the First Department. Accordingly, the court dismissed the complaint. On October 2, 2007, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed. Brownley v. Doar, 44 A.D.3d 313, 842 N.Y.S.2d 436 (1st Dep’t 2007). Observing that the Legislature did not amend § 350(1)(a) after the decision in Hedgepeth and the earlier Second Department decisions, the court reasoned: “That the Legislature has evidently chosen not to do so, suggests that the statute has been correctly construed.” On December 27, 2007, the Appellate Division denied the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals.
Related Action: Jiggetts v. Dowling
No. Persons Affected: 34,500 public assistance cases, including 106,000 individuals, include families with minor children who have passed the five-year time limit on federal welfare assistance. Excluding the Jiggetts caseload, half of all families living in private housing have rents above the shelter allowance.
Reported Decisions: Brownley v. Doar, 11 Misc. 3d 615, 811 N.Y.S.2d 894 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 2006), aff’d, 44 A.D.3d 313, 842 N.Y.S.2d 436 (1st Dep’t 2007).