Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

LOUISE LORIA HANEL, as Executor of the

Estate of ROBERT A. LORIA, and YVONNE

MARIA PARSON, as Executor of the Estate MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

of JAMES L. HUTCHERSON, SR., for Case No. 23-cv-08213-FB-CLP

themselves and on behalf of all others

similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,

-against-

NEW YORK STATE VETERANS HOME AT

ST. ALBANS a/k/a NYS VETERANS

HOME IN NYC, NEVILLE A. GOLDSON,

Defendants.

Appearances:

For the Plaintiffs: For Defendant NYS Veterans Home:

JOSEPH CIACCIO STEPHEN M. JURIS

Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC JOSHUA D. ROTH

400 Broadhollow Road, Suite 305 BREANNA WEBER

Melville, NY 11747 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

One New York Plaza

WILBERT MENDEZ New York, New York

Wilbert Mendez 10004

P.O. Box 193773

San Juan, Puerto Rico For Defendant Neville A. Goldson

GREGORY JOHN RADOMISLI

Martin, Clearwater & Bell

220 East 42nd Street

New York, NY 10028

BLOCK, Senior District Judge:

Defendants’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint for lack

of subject matter jurisdiction is GRANTED.1 Plaintiffs have brought claims against the New

York State Veterans Home at St. Albans (the “State Home”), a state-owned and -run nursing

facility, and Neville A. Goldson in his capacity as administrator of the State Home. However,

states and their instrumentalities may not be sued in federal court unless they have waived their

Eleventh Amendment immunity or Congress has abrogated their immunity. Gollomp v. Spitzer,

568 F.3d 355, 366 (2d Cir. 2009); Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 662–63 (1974).

Here, there is no question that the State Home is an instrumentality of New York State. It

is owned by the State and operated by the New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”).

N.Y. Pub. Health L. § 403(1)(d) (establishing the State Home within the NYSDOH). Plaintiffs

concede as much in their complaint. Compl. ¶ 2 (“The New York State Veterans Homes are

publicly owned and operated[.]”). Courts in this circuit have not only concluded that NYSDOH

is immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment, see Gage v. New York State Dep’t of

Health, 204 F. Supp. 2d 399, 402 (N.D.N.Y. 2002), but also that this specific State Home is

immune. See Spooner-Mitchell v. New York State Veterans Home at St. Albans, No. CV-04-1266

(DGT), 2004 WL 7402964, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. May 18, 2004). And, as an officer of the State,

Eleventh Amendment immunity extends to Goldson as well. Burnette v. Carothers, 192 F.3d 52,

57 (2d Cir. 1999) (“State immunity extends to state agencies and to state officers who act on

behalf of the state.”). Because the State has not consented to suit and Congress has not abrogated

its immunity, the Eleventh Amendment immunizes the Defendants and deprives the Court of

jurisdiction. See Kimel v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 73, 120 S. Ct. 631, 640, 145 L. Ed. 2d

1 Defendants also move to dismiss for failure to state a claim under 12(b)(6), but because the Court concludes that

Defendants are immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment, it does not reach that part of the defendants’

motion.

522 (2000) (“[T]he Constitution does not provide for federal jurisdiction over suits against

nonconsenting States[.]”). Plaintiffs’ suit is hereby dismissed.

The Court also advises plaintiffs’ counsel to take particular heed of this ruling. The Court

understands that plaintiffs’ counsel has brought nearly identical claims in the past against another

State Home. Gille v. New York, No. 22-CV-02974 (E.D.N.Y. May 20, 2022) (Morrison, J.). In

that litigation, Judge Morrison advised plaintiffs’ counsel that he had “an ethical obligation to

dismiss” such claims because the Eleventh Amendment clearly immunized the defendants. Id.

Conf. Tr. Sept. 6, 2023, 11:17–20. This Court reminds counsel that he has an ethical obligation to

not bring legally baseless claims and advises him against continuing to pursue such claims in the

future. See N.Y. RPC 3.1 (“A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or

controvert an issue therein, unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not

frivolous.”).

SO ORDERED.

_/S/ Frederic Block___________

FREDERIC BLOCK

Senior United States District Judge

Brooklyn, New York

April 7, 2026