Bill > S03413

This bill amends Section 7806 of the civil practice law and rules to provide additional judicial authority in disability pension appeal cases. Specifically, the bill allows courts more discretion when reviewing determinations by state or local pension systems that deny a disability pension. Under the new provision, if a court finds that the original pension system's determination was "arbitrary and capricious" and not supported by substantial evidence, the court can now not only annul the original determination but also directly grant the petitioner the requested disability pension. The bill uses gender-neutral language, replacing "he" with "such petitioner" throughout the text. The amendment applies retroactively to all appeals that have been filed but not yet decided, meaning current pending cases could potentially benefit from this new judicial power. This change aims to provide a more direct path to relief for individuals who believe they were wrongly denied a disability pension, giving courts a more explicit mechanism to intervene when pension system decisions appear to lack sufficient justification.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S3413