NY top court nixes challenge to party boss

ALBANY -- A bit of tardiness ended up costing a tea party faction its chance at ousting Dan Donovan as chairman of the Conservative Party in Nassau County, according to a decision by the State Court of Appeals.

New York's top court Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donovan detractors who had claimed that his election as leader in 2010 was improper. The Court of Appeals said opponents waited too long to file their lawsuit, missing the deadline by two days.

In a 7-0 decision, the court said state election law makes clear that any claim challenging selections by a county political committee must be filed within 10 days of the election. The group challenging Donovan filed its lawsuit on Oct. 6, 2010 -- 12 days after Donovan had been re-elected chairman at a Conservative organizational meeting, the court noted. The court wouldn't give the challengers any leeway.

"The 10-day period is sensible and consistent with the [state] Legislature's avowed purpose," when it put the time limit into New York election law, the judges wrote.

The lawsuit had been filed by Paul Kosowski, Robert Pendleton and others who are members of the Nassau County Civic Association. Donovan has said the faction is affiliated with the tea party. The claim hinged on a different election-law technicality: whether there were a sufficient number of people on the party's county committee when Donovan was elected.

The Court of Appeals said that point was rendered moot by the lateness of the claim.