Union's pharmacy lawsuit: Rockland judges recuse themselves

The lawsuit filed against Rockland County for shuttering its fully funded employee pharmacy has been moved to Dutchess County after seven judges recused themselves to avoid conflict, officials said Tuesday.

The Civil Service Employees of America sued the county Feb. 1, the day the pharmacy -- which dispensed free prescriptions to county employees for 36 years -- shut its doors. The county cut the fringe benefit out of its 2013 budget to help plug a $33 million shortfall caused by rising, state-mandated costs. The union has called the move "illegal."

Judge Victor Alfieri, the first Rockland County judge to receive the case, recused himself Feb. 5 "in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety," said Arlene Hackel, spokeswoman for New York State Courts.

Then Judges Robert Berliner, Thomas Walsh, Gerald Loehr, Margaret Garvey, William Kelley and Charles Apotheker all recused themselves as well, Hackel said,

"It's a small county. Everyone knows each other," CSEA spokeswoman Jessica Ladlee said of Rockland.

The case was then sent nearly 50 miles north to Dutchess County Civil Supreme Court in Poughkeepsie. But even there, an eighth justice, Christina Sproat, recused herself, Hackel said. It will now go before Judge Peter Forman on May 3.

Rockland County Attorney Jeffrey Fortunato has not offered to settle, and a written decision is expected in the coming weeks, Ladlee said.

The cash-strapped county -- which is believed to be carrying a deficit of more than $100 million -- has been footing prescription bills for county employees and retirees to the tune of about $2 million annually. The deal was struck between the county and the CSEA 36 years ago, when the union agreed to buy its own workers' compensation coverage in exchange for free prescriptions.

Now the more than 2,300 employees -- along with hundreds of retirees -- must use conventional pharmacies and pay $5 to $90 for their medicines. The suit also seeks reimbursements for those expenses.

Ron Levine, speaking on behalf of Fortunato, declined to discuss specifics of the pending litigation.

"We've done everything in good faith," Levine said Tuesday. "We feel now it's up to the judicial system to render a decision."