Section 107. Enforcement  


Latest version.
  • 1.  Any  aggrieved  person shall have standing to
      enforce the provisions of this article against  a  public  body  by  the
      commencement  of  a  proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the
      civil practice law and rules, and/or an action for declaratory  judgment
      and injunctive relief. In any such action or proceeding, the court shall
      have the power, in its discretion, upon good cause shown, to declare any
      action  or part thereof taken in violation of this article void in whole
      or in part.
        An unintentional failure to fully comply with  the  notice  provisions
      required by this article shall not alone be grounds for invalidating any
      action  taken  at  a  meeting  of  a public body. The provisions of this
      article shall not affect the validity of the authorization, acquisition,
      execution or disposition of a bond issue or notes.
        2. In any proceeding brought  pursuant  to  this  section,  costs  and
      reasonable attorney fees may be awarded by the court, in its discretion,
      to  the successful party. If a court determines that a vote was taken in
      material violation of this article, or  that  substantial  deliberations
      relating thereto occurred in private prior to such vote, the court shall
      award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the successful petitioner,
      unless  there was a reasonable basis for a public body to believe that a
      closed session could properly have been held.
        3. The statute of limitations in an article  seventy-eight  proceeding
      with  respect  to an action taken at executive session shall commence to
      run from the date the minutes of such executive session have  been  made
      available to the public.