Notre Dame Leasing, LLC v. Rosario

I respectfully dissent and vote to reverse the order of the Appellate Term. The majority’s holding that a welfare recipient may not raise Social Services Law § 143-b (5) as a defense to a nonpayment proceeding unless a social services agency has elected to withhold payment of its share of the rent pursuant to section 143-b (2) of the statute, is inconsistent with the plain language of the Spiegel Law, and with its overriding purpose and intent.

“As the clearest indicator of legislative intent is the statutory text, the starting point in any case of interpretation must always be the language…