ALBANY – Initial proceedings in a lawsuit filed by New York Regional Interconnect Inc. claiming the power line developer has been discriminated against by the state will continue in September, an operator at the U.S. District Court in Albany confirmed Tuesday.
<a href="http://www.evesun.com/topics/news/NYRI/">NYRI</a> is challenging an amendment to state law that currently denies it the authority to condemn private property to make room for its 190-mile-long power line using eminent domain.
A northern district court employee said a telephone conference between the parties involved is scheduled for Sept. 10, but would not elaborate on its purpose or the dates and times of future proceedings. She said a pre-trial hearing was held June 6.
“We have not heard any update from anyone as to where that lawsuit stands and where it is headed,” said Duncan Davey, spokesman for state Senator James Seward (R-Milford), one of the law’s sponsors who was named in the suit.
Aside from Seward, the suit names 11 other current and former state officials, including current Governor Eliot Spitzer, Tom Libous (R- Binghamton), and former governor George Pataki, who signed the bill into law Oct. 3, 2006. The Attorney General’s Office is defending the state in the suit. That office did not return messages seeking comment by press time.
NYRI filed the challenge in February. Company representatives did not return messages requesting comment.
However, in a February 2007 press release, NYRI attorney Leonard Singer states that the company’s 14th amendment rights, among others, have been violated.
“It’s unconstitutional for the legislature to pass a law that targets one person or company or singles them out for different treatment,” said Singer, of the Couch/White law firm in Albany. “The ramifications of this new law go far beyond NYRI. The new law has a chilling effect on economic development and investment in the State, creating a negative impact on New Yorkers for years to come if we don’t act now to invalidate it.”
Davey said Seward is confident the legislation will hold up in court.
