74 A.D. 58 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1902
The relators, by a writ of certiorari, seek to review the action of Charles R. Skinner, as State Superintendent of Public- Instruction, in setting aside the action of ;the:-duly-qualified electors of school district No. 1 of -the town of Ossining at a school meeting held on the 6th day of August, 1901. -It is necessary to an understanding of the questions. here. presented for review. to briefly, recite some antecedent history of the -school-district. in valved.
On the 1st-day of .August,. 1899, at a duly called meeting of the electors of the school districtabove mentioned, the board of trustees made a report of the financial, affairs, of the district and made a demand- for an increased amount of money. As a result of the meeting a committee of ¡five members w.as appointed to investigate the report which had been: submitted and to report at an adjourned meeting to be held on the 22d day of. August, 1899. The relators constituted three of the five-members of such committee, and after making an investigation of the report, the committee reported to the adjourned meeting that there was a shortage in the financial affairs of the district, and implicated Smith Lent and another in the , report in such a manner that Mr. Lent subsequently felt called upon to bring an action against each-one of these relators, charging them with- libel. . Similar actions were brought by the other person involved in the matter, but as he is now dead- it is not important to consider him. The actions for libel, in addition to the .matters alleged in this report; charged the several, relators with writing and. publishing in a local newspaper an elaboration and justification of the original report,, and the actions'were brought, not against the relators in any official or representative:capacity, but as individuals.
Mr. Lent, under the provisions of section 1 of title 14 of the Consolidated School Law, appealed to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who, after hearing the case, entered an order setting aside the action of the school district meeting, and it is this order that we are asked to review at this time.
By the provisions of section 2140 of the Code of Civil Procedure this court is authorized, on the hearing upon the return to a writ of certiorari, to inquire whether the body or officer had jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the determination under review,, and whether there was any competent proof of all of the facts necessary to be proved in order to authorize the making of the determination, as well as some other matters not necessary to be here considered. The facts here are not disputed, and we are to determine whether the State Superintendent had jurisdiction, and, if he did, whether the conceded facts justified the action taken. Section 1 of title 14 of the Consolidated School Law provides: “Any person conceiving himself aggrieved in consequence of any decision made * * * by any school district meeting * * * may appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is hereby authorized and required to examine and decide the same; and his decision shall be final and conclusive, and not subject to question or review in any place or court whatever.” Mr. Lent appears to have felt himself aggrieved at the action of the school district meeting of Ossining in voting to pay the expenses of the relators in defending the actions which he had brought against them for libel, and he has appealed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who has set aside the action of such meeting. There would, therefore, appear to be no question that the officer had jurisdiction of the subject matter, and the action
But, upon the merits, we are of opinion that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction has correctly determined this controversy. The relators can have no rights which are not given by the statute to recover the expenses of litigation, and they have not shown facts sufficient to bring themselves either within the letter or the spirit of the Consolidated School Law. They were not school district trustees or officers; they were not defending any action in which the school district was involved in the slightest degree. If all of the actions had been determined in favor of the plaintiffs, it would not have cost the school district one cent, nor could any judgment have been rendered against the district or any of its officers. The actions, because they grew out of a controversy over the affairs of the school district, did not impose any duty, either legal or moral, upon the inhabitants of the district to pay the cost of the litigation
The writ of certiorari should be dismissed, with costs.
All concurred.
Writ of certiorari dismissed, with costs.