Opinion
08-03-2017
In the Matter of Mitchell KALWASINSKI, Appellant, v. CENTRAL OFFICE REVIEW COMMITTEE, NYS DOCCS, Respondent.
Mitchell Kalwasinski, Dannemora, appellant pro se. Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, Albany (Martin A. Hotvet of counsel), for respondent.
Mitchell Kalwasinski, Dannemora, appellant pro se.
Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, Albany (Martin A. Hotvet of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Ceresia, J.), entered July 11, 2016 in Albany County, which dismissed petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to review a determination of respondent denying petitioner's grievance.
Petitioner, an inmate, filed a grievance claiming that his signature had been forged on a form indicating that he refused to participate in a prison program. Based on the alleged forgery, petitioner requested, among other things, that the form be declared null and void. Following an investigation, respondent denied his grievance, finding that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation of forgery or malfeasance on the part of staff. Thereafter, petitioner commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding and, following joinder of issue, Supreme Court dismissed the petition and this appeal ensued.
We affirm. "Judicial review of the denial of an inmate grievance is limited to whether such determination was arbitrary and capricious, irrational or affected by an error of law" (Matter of Kairis v. Fischer, 149 A.D.3d 1427, 1428, 54 N.Y.S.3d 187 [2017] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted] ). "Where ... an appropriate investigation of the matter reveals nothing to substantiate petitioner's claims, which were denied by the facility staff member or members allegedly involved, there is no basis for this Court to disturb the determination denying the grievance" (Matter of Cliff v. Brady, 290 A.D.2d 895, 896, 737 N.Y.S.2d 168 [2002] [citation omitted], lv. dismissed and denied 98 N.Y.2d 642, 744 N.Y.S.2d 757, 771 N.E.2d 830 [2002] ). Here, in investigating petitioner's grievance, the facility staff member whose contemporaneous signature appears on the program refusal notification form denied forging petitioner's signature. As there was no evidence presented to substantiate petitioner's allegation of forgery, the denial of his grievance was not irrational or arbitrary and capricious (see Matter of Zulu v. Egan, 1 A.D.3d 649, 649–650, 766 N.Y.S.2d 610 [2003] ; Matter of Cliff v. Brady, 290 A.D.2d at 896, 737 N.Y.S.2d 168 ). Petitioner's remaining contentions, to the extent that they are preserved, are without merit.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.
PETERS, P.J., McCARTHY, LYNCH, ROSE and MULVEY, JJ., concur.