On April 10, 2009, the Supreme Court, Albany County, granted an Article 78 Petition brought on behalf of a retired school superintendent to challenge a determination by the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) which excluded the value of pre-retirement life insurance benefits in the calculation of his final average salary.  The matter was handled by Christopher P. Langlois, Esq.

The proceeding arose out of a determination by TRS to exclude the value of the pre-retirement life insurance benefits from the superintendent’s pension calculations on the ground that the benefits were an “eve of retirement”  increase in compensation intended to “artificially inflate” the superintendent’s final average salary prior to his retirement.  Exclusion of the value of these benefits would have resulted in the loss to the superintendent of several thousand dollars in annual pension benefits

In granting the retiree’s Petition, the Court was persuaded that the pre-retirement life insurance benefits at issue constituted genuine compensation to the superintendent for services rendered or to be rendered under his employment contract, and therefore should have been included by TRS in the retirement calculations.

If you would like more information about this case, please contact Christopher P. Langlois at cpl@girvinlaw.com

Girvin & Ferlazzo attorneys are often asked to speak to various groups to share their knowledge and expertise on a variety of topics.  Here are some of the upcoming presentations:

Karen Norlander will be speaking at the Council of New York Special Education Administrators (CNYSEA) Spring Conference.  The conference is being held March 10 through March 12, 2010 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany.  Karen will be speaking on the topics of “Avoiding Litigation Without Selling Your Soul” and Medicaid Claiming:  A GPS to Success.

Tara Moffett will be presenting at the 13th annual Special Education Taskforce Advocacy Conference.  This year’s conference entitled “Practical Information for Today and Tomorrow” explores topics that affect children with disabilities.  The conference is being held at the Italian American Community Center in Albany on Friday, March 19th. 

James E. Girvin, will be speaking at a workshop sponsored by the American Arbitration Association Labor Series.  Mr. Girvin will be discussing how and when to use Brief Writing or Closing Argument to close a case.   The workshop is being held on March 31, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. 

Karen S. Norlander will be presenting at the 10th Annual School Law Institute on May 5th.  Ms. Norlander will be speaking on two topics during this session.  Hearing Officers’ Authority to Award Non-Statutory Remedies and Ethical Issues in Effective Settlement Negotiations.

 Jay Girvin will be teaching a course at the Sage Colleges as part of the School of Education doctoral program.  The course he will be teaching is “Education Law, Policy & Values”.

Jay Girvin will be conducting a full day presentation on June 8th for the Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES. 

On June 30th, Jay Girvin will be providing a school administrators workshop at the FDR site in Hyde Park.  The work shop will include topics such as Bullying, Cyber Bullying and Social Network Issues. 

Jeff Honeywell will be presenting at the School Boards Summer Law Conference on July 15th.  Jeff will present on the issue of “teacher layoffs”.

Jay Girvin will be presenting at the CASDA school law conference on August 12th.  He will be presenting on the topic of “Top 5 Employment Law Mistakes and How To Avoid Them”. 

If you are interested in having one of our attorneys speak to your professional or civic organization, please contact us at info@GirvinLaw.com

On May 14, 2009, the Appellate Division, Third Department unanimously affirmed a July, 2008 Supreme Court decision which, after trial, ruled in favor of the Town of Caroga in a case brought by the Town to enforce its zoning laws.  Salvatore D. Ferlazzo, Esq., represented the Town of Caroga at both the trial and appellate levels, and was assisted on the appeal by Robert F. Manfredo, Esq.

The Town commenced the civil enforcement action in 2005 seeking to enjoin a resident from completing the construction of a building on his property, which the Town claimed exceeded the uses permitted under the Town’s zoning laws, as well as the terms of a previously issued building permit.  Among the issues litigated were whether the structure as built went beyond a mere “boathouse,” the specific use for which the building permit had been issued, and if so, what the appropriate remedy should be.  The Supreme Court determined, and the Third Department agreed, that the resident’s structure exceeded the scope of a permissible “boathouse,” and that the appropriate remedy under the circumstances was to order that the structure be removed, together with the payment of a $50,000 civil penalty.

Welcome to the newly revised Girvin & Ferlazzo website.  We hope you’ll take some time to look it over and learn more about us and our work.  In this space, we will post items of interest about the firm, our partners and associates, and our community.  We aim to keep it interesting and to provide insight into our work ethic and commitment to our clients.

Please check back often to see what’s happening at Girvin & Ferlazzo.  And let us know if there is something more you’d like to see on this site.  We’d love to hear from you.