Cavanaugh v. DiNapoli

Petitioner retired from his position as a firefighter for the City of Syracuse in 2004 and, in 2007, he filed an application for World Trade Center (hereinafter WTC) accidental disability retirement benefits. Respondent ultimately denied petitioner’s application, concluding that petitioner failed to establish that he was performing duties in his official capacity at the time that he was working at the WTC site following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Petitioner thereafter commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding challenging the determination.

Initially, petitioner argues that it…