City of Buffalo v. Thorpe

The plaintiff, City of Buffalo, by one of its police officers, served a summons upon the defendant in the above-entitled action. The action was commenced and prosecuted in the name of the City, of Buffalo and not in the name of the People of the *308State of New York. That act conclusively determined the character of the proceeding as a civil action and it still retains that character.

“ The term ‘ civil action ’ means any action except when prosecuted in the name of the people of the state of New York, as plaintiffs against a party charged with crime.” (Gen. Const. Law, § 16-a, added by Laws of…