Brooklyn – Yesterday, the City’s motion to transfer the Term Limits lawsuit to a federal court in Manhattan was denied. The case will remain in federal court in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.  Judge Charles Sifton ruled for the plaintiffs, which include a number of elected officials, candidates for local office, voters, and good-government groups, rejecting the City’s request to transfer the case to the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, where another term limits lawsuit filed by a group of New York City teachers is pending.   Judge Sifton found that the claims, plaintiffs, and interests of the parties in the two cases were sufficiently distinct, such that combining the cases in the Southern District would not save any resources or serve the interests of justice, as the City had claimed.

Councilmember Bill de Blasio, a plaintiff in the suit, said, “Once again, we are very pleased with the speed with which the case is progressing.  Judge Sifton is moving things along quickly, and he has rightfully recognized that the claims behind these two cases are very different.  We look forward to arguing the merits of the case, as there can be no disputing the facts that the actions of the Council and the Mayor in overturning voter-ratified term limits were in clear violation of local, state and federal law.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)