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Judge Elizabeth C. Coombe of U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, ruled Aug. 12 on the county's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. It was filed in January 2024 by Sara Hines, who accused the county Department of Social Services of denying her right to a final hearing before filing a felony welfare fraud complaint against her in June 2022.

Hines also accused the county District Attorney's Office of prosecuting her despite the department's alleged violation and an order from the state reversing the county's determination of welfare fraud.

In her order, Coombe dismissed the lawsuit's claims against the district attorney's office due to prosecutorial immunity. Its claims against the Department of Social Services聽of conspiracy and violation of the Administrative Procedure Act聽were dismissed because Hines failed to plausibly allege it knowingly tried to violate her rights, Coombe said, and because the act is only applicable to federal agencies.

Coombe dismissed an additional claim against the department concerning its official capacity, she said, because Hines did not identify a custom or policy of the department that caused her injury.

However, Coombe otherwise denied the county's motion, saying Hines' claim of a due process violation survives the criteria for dismissal.聽

"Although it is undisputed here that (Hines) eventually received a final fair hearing resulting in the reversal of DSS鈥檚 determination of overpayment, (she) alleges that the hearing did not occur until after she had been arrested and indicted," Coombes said, explaining that the lawsuit cannot be dismissed to the extent it can be "construed to allege that the process she received was not 'meaningful.'

In a Sept. 2 answer to the lawsuit, the Department of Social Services demanded a jury trial. The next day, Hines filed a motion for the court to reconsider its order on the motion to dismiss.

Hines declined comment on Coombe's order to 有料盒子.