Court of Appeals of New York

In an action by an Indian tribe against the Sheriffs and District Attorneys of Cayuga and Seneca counties, claiming that plaintiff was under no obligation to collect and transmit sales taxes on the cigarettes it sold to consumers in its stores because they were located on "qualified reservation" property within the meaning of Tax Law section 470(16)(a), the appellate division's partial modification of the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to dismiss the action is reversed where: 1) because no criminal action had been initiated against any identified party at the time the declaratory judgment action was commenced, the decision whether the action could be entertained fell soundly within the realm of discretion possessed by the lower courts and there was no abuse of that discretion in the denial of the motion to dismiss; 2) the convenience store properties met the definition of a "qualified reservation" under section 470(16)(a); and 3) Tax Law section 471 was not a sufficient regulatory or statutory predicate for the collection of sales taxes from Indian retailers.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/11/2010
• Published 05/11/2010

Judges

• GRAFFEO, J.:

Court

• Court of Appeals of New York

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Philip G. Spellane, for appellants., Andrew D. Bing, for State of New York, amicus curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• David W. DeBruin, for respondent.