SENECA FALLS — When Cayuga Nation member Carlin Seneca-John operated a cannabis enterprise termed Gramma Authorized Sovereign Trades out of a front-property shed at his Lake Street property, the Cayuga Country and nearby non-Cayuga people Gordon and Joan Burgess sued him and the town, professing the small business violated town zoning legal guidelines that ended up not staying enforced.
On March 1 of last yr, condition Supreme Courtroom Justice Dan Doyle ruled the Country and the Burgesses lacked lawful standing to provide the lawsuit. A condition appeals court docket has overturned that choice.
The Nation and the Burgesses appealed Doyle’s ruling, and the five-choose Appellate Division of the Fourth Judicial Division in Rochester agreed. On Feb. 3, the appeals courtroom ruled the Nation and Burgesses have standing to file the lawsuit.
The choice allows the lawsuit towards the town to continue in condition Supreme Courtroom.
“We agree with petitioners that the court erred in granting the motion with respect to the 2nd cause of motion,” the ruling mentioned. “Standing is an facet of justiciability which, when challenged, need to be thought of at the outset of any litigation. Nevertheless, a party’s absence of standing does not represent a jurisdictional defect and therefore a challenge to a party’s standing is waived if the protection is not asserted in both the reply or a pre-answer motion to dismiss.”
The Appellate Courtroom mentioned the town’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against it, in the next lead to of action, was not primarily based on the petitioner’s alleged absence of standing.
Seneca-John is a Cayuga Country citizen, but his business is not sanctioned by the Cayuga Nation Council. The lawsuit statements the city is not enforcing its zoning code in this scenario and, as a outcome, is not getting steps to shut down Seneca-John’s company.
“The Cayuga Country enforces its own rules to control small business on our reservation, and we count on that municipalities will do the exact with respect to non-Cayuga corporations,” stated Clint Halftown, the federally recognized Country leader and head of the 5-member council.
Halftown stated the Country has initiated action inside its personal courtroom program, and a judgment in opposition to Seneca-John for “significant monetary penalties” has been issued.
“Now that the Appellate Division has confirmed the suit will have to go ahead in state Supreme Court, the Nation remains hopeful that the city will choose motion to shutter this enterprise and return peace to the residential area,” Halftown claimed.