A Suffolk County Supreme Court justice has dismissed a petition filed by Teresa Bertha on behalf of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association that would have allowed Ms. Bertha to sue the village for taking over the association’s ambulance certificate and its bank account.
In the petition, Ms. Bertha named herself as the chief of the ambulance association and asked the court for permission to file a lawsuit against the village, despite the fact that the statute of limitations to do so had expired.
In a decision on Friday, Justice Joseph Santorelli wrote that Ms. Bertha had claimed that the delay in filing the petition was because she had insufficient funds to hire a lawyer and that the ambulance association needed time to elect new officers. However, he found neither reason compelling enough “to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for failing to file a timely notice of claim.”
Village officials were pleased with the ruling.
“The village is thrilled with Judge Santorelli’s decision,” said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator.
“I’m glad the court denied their request,” Mayor Jerry Larsen said. “If they appeal, we’re prepared to fight that as well.”
Joel Ziegler, the attorney for the ambulance association, said Tuesday that it was unclear if there would be an appeal. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with my clients yet,” he said. “It’s appealable, but it’s a tough case to appeal.”
“The decision was that we waited too long to take action, but it doesn’t excuse what they did,” Ms. Bertha said in a text. “What they did is still wrong, and we can’t seek restitution unless we appeal.”
“The village formed a competing association using the same name. They shouldn’t have done that,” said Mr. Ziegler. “Mary Mott is a legitimate appointee of the village but has nothing to do with the corporation I represent, of which Teri Bertha is the chief.”
In denying the petition, Justice Santorelli didn’t take up the question of who, in fact, is the chief of the ambulance association (the village recognizes Ms. Mott as the chief). He did, however, hint at how confusing it all was.
“The claims of the petitioner are made even more unclear by respondent’s submission of the affidavits of Mary Mott (chief of the E.H.V.A.A.) and Laura van Binsbergen (treasurer of the E.H.V.A.A.), both of which attest that the money allegedly taken is still in the possession of the E.H.V.A.A., Teresa Bertha is not an officer of the E.H.V.A.A., and that the E.H.V.A.A. has not authorized this proceeding,” he wrote.
“I am relieved that there has been a final decision,” wrote Ms. Mott. “The truth has been revealed, and this entire situation can now come to closure.”
“The false narrative that had been communicated to our community over the past year by some of the present and past members of the E.H.V.A.A. has created a confusing and troublesome state of mind for many of our community members regarding their ability to access 911 and have an ambulance arrive for them in their time of need,” she wrote. “Moving forward, I would like to assure the members of our community that the E.M.S. will continue to provide competent and caring prehospital emergency care to all who request our response.”
Even if Ms. Bertha chooses not to appeal, however, the story may not be over. “I’m still waiting to see what is being done at the county level,” she wrote. The Suffolk County Regional Emergency Medical Service Council is the authority on transferring ambulance service certificates. In January, Phillip Cammann, the public information officer for the Suffolk County Regional Emergency Medical Services Council, known as REMSCO, said the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Services was investigating the way the certificate was transferred from the ambulance association to the village in the fall of 2022. Mr. Cammann also could not be reached for comment this week.
REMSCO was to hold a meeting with East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez in January, but it was canceled.
The supervisor’s office learned this week that REMSCO will hold a hearing on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. on the village’s request to expand ambulance services to the Northwest Fire Protection District and the Water Protection District. The hearing will be at LTV Studios in Wainscott.
“The village has a certificate of need to operate in the village,” said Mayor Larsen, “but technically we need a C.O.N. to cover the town area as well. According to our lawyers it’s never been done correctly. We’re just fixing that.”
“There are two ways it can work. Either the town can have a C.O.N. and contract with us, or we can expand our C.O.N. based on the contracts we already have with the town. This is the simplest way to do it.”
REMSCO is expected to make a decision othe request at its meeting on March 12 in Yaphank.
