Ouziel v. State of New York

In Ouziel v. State of New York (174 Misc.2d 900, 667 N.Y.S.2d 872), the State Department of Taxation and Finance levied against an individual's bank account to recover taxes allegedly unpaid by a corporation. The taxpayer protested that he was not a corporate officer or employee responsible for the corporation's collection of sales taxes and therefore was not liable for their payment. He failed to timely commence either an Article 78 proceeding (Tax Law 1138[b]) or an action for declaratory judgment (see, Homer v. State of New York, 125 Misc.2d 1, affd 107 A.D.2d 64) but, instead, sought permission to late-file in the Court of Claims. This motion was denied on the ground that the primary relief sought was not recovery of money damages but, rather, to overturn and annul the administrative agency's determination. The inquiry is whether this proposed claim seeks primarily money damages or the equitable relief encompassed by Article 78. That issue is most easily decided by determining what this court would have to do to award a money judgment. (Id, at 905.)