N.Y. Tax Law § 3034 — Civil damages for certain unauthorized collection actions

§ 3034. Civil damages for certain unauthorized collection actions.\n(a) General. If, in connection with any collection of any tax with\nrespect to a taxpayer, any officer or employee of the department\nrecklessly or intentionally disregards any provision of any tax, or any\nregulation promulgated under any of such taxes, such taxpayer may bring\na civil action in the court of claims for damages against the state.\nExcept as provided in section three thousand thirty-two of this article\nrelating to civil damages for failure to release a lien, such civil\naction shall be the exclusive remedy for recovering damages resulting\nfrom such actions.\n (b) Damages. In any action brought under subdivision (a) of this\nsection, upon a finding of liability on the part of the defendant, the\ndefendant shall be liable to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the\nlesser of one hundred thousand dollars or the sum of (1) the actual,\ndirect economic damages sustained by the plaintiff as a proximate result\nof the reckless or intentional actions of the officer or employee, and\n(2) the costs of the action.\n (c) Limitations. (1) Exhaustion of administrative remedies. The\namount of damages awarded under subdivision (b) of this section may be\nreduced if the court determines that the plaintiff has not exhausted the\nadministrative remedies available to such plaintiff within the\ndepartment which have been established pursuant to the commissioner's\nauthority to compromise civil liability provided in subdivision\neighteenth-a of section one hundred seventy-one of this chapter. In\nestablishing administrative review procedures regarding claims for\ndamages under this section, the commissioner is authorized to enter into\ncontracts with private dispute resolution entities for the purpose of\nproviding review of such claims and suggested compromises by independent\nthird parties.\n (2) Mitigation of damages. The amount of damages awarded under\nparagraph one of subdivision (b) of this section shall be reduced by the\namount of such damages which could have reasonably been mitigated by the\nplaintiff.\n