Hon. William M. Skretny

1990 – present 

Federal Judicial Service: 

  • Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York 
  • Nominated by President George H.W. Bush on June 12, 1990, to a seat vacated by Hon. John T. Curtin.  Confirmed by the Senate on August 3, 1990, and received commission on August 7, 1990.  Served as Chief Judge, 2010-2015.  Assumed senior status on March 8, 2015. 

Education: 

  • Northwestern University School of Law, LL.M., 1972 
  • Howard University School of Law, J.D., 1969 
  • Canisius College, A.B., 1966 

Professional Career: 

  • Private Practice, Buffalo, New York, 1981-1983, 1988-1990 
  • First Deputy District Attorney, Erie County, New York, 1983-1988 
  • Staff Attorney, Office of Special Prosecutor, U.S. Department of Justice, 1980 
  • Chief Counsel, Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Washington, D.C., 1979 
  • First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Western District of New York, 1975-1981 
  • Assistant U.S. Attorney, Western District of New York, 1973-1975 
  • Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1971-1973 
  • Criminal Defense Fellow, Ford Foundation, 1969 

Noteworthy Cases: 

In re: Aircrash Near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009, No. 1:09-md-02085: 

In the late hours of February 12, 2009, a cold night in Western New York, Continental Connection Flight 3407 was on approach to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport from Newark, New Jersey.  As the flight crossed over Clarence Center, New York, the pilots lost control and the aircraft plunged more than 2,000 feet into a single-family home below.  All 49 people aboard and one person on the ground were killed.  Two residents of the home miraculously survived.  Rattling this city and the nation, it was the deadliest air disaster in the United States since 2001.  The crash galvanized unprecedented public attention and led to nationwide aviation-safety reforms, spearheaded by the dogged efforts of the Flight 3407 Families.  

All federal litigation related to the crash was consolidated before Judge Skretny upon transfer by the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.  Judge Skretny presided over all discovery, mediation efforts, and pretrial motions.  He issued numerous decisions on a variety of legal issues, including remand to state court, choice-of-law, release of cockpit voice-recorder information, viability of the ground claimants’ emotional distress claims, viability of the county’s claims for recovery of response costs, and approval of estate settlements.  Each family received just resolution, and the lasting aviation reforms remain today. 

In re: Aircrash Near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009, 09-md-2085, 2010 WL 4116790 (W.D.N.Y. 2010); 2010 WL 5185106 (W.D.N.Y. 2010); 798 F. Supp. 2d 481 (W.D.N.Y. 2011); 277 F.R.D. 251 (W.D.N.Y. 2011); 2011 WL 6370189 (W.D.N.Y. 2011); 2012 WL 1029542 (W.D.N.Y. 2012)
https://casetext.com/case/in-re-air-crash-near-clarence-center-5
https://casetext.com/case/in-re-air-crash-near-clarence-center-new-york-on-february-12-2009-this-document-relates-to-all-cases 

 

 

United States v. Tonawanda Coke Corp., No. 1:10-CR-00219: 

In 2013, Judge Skretny presided over one of the nation’s first federal criminal prosecutions under the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.  After a month-long trial, the jury found the corporate and individual defendants guilty of violating both Acts.  Judge Skretny imposed significant sentences and fines, which uniquely included the corporate funding of local community projects as a condition of probation.  The Second Circuit affirmed.  

United States v. Tonawanda Coke Corp., 2012 WL 1944574 (W.D.N.Y. 2012); 2012 WL 1941729 (2012); 2013 WL 672280 (2013); 2013 WL 705906 (2013); 2014 WL 1053729 (2014); 5 F. Supp. 3d 343 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), aff’d, 636 F. App’x. 24 (2d Cir. 2016).
https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-tonawanda-coke-corp-3 

 

 

Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie Cnty. v. Norton, No. 1:06-CV-10001: 

In 2002, the Seneca Nation of Indians (“SNI”) and the State of New York executed a compact authorizing casino gaming at three sites, including one in the City of Buffalo.  The parties submitted the compact to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for approval as required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”).  After the Secretary took no action, the compact was deemed approved and the National Indian Gaming Commission (“NIGC”) subsequently approved a gaming ordinance submitted by the SNI pursuant to the compact.  In a series of three successive lawsuits thereafter, various individuals, citizen groups, and the County of Erie challenged the legality of casino gaming in Buffalo on a number of fronts.  After lengthy litigation involving multiple gaming ordinances, Judge Skretny ultimately determined that the SNI was properly authorized to proceed with casino gaming in Buffalo over the plaintiffs’ objection.  The Second Circuit affirmed. 

Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie Cnty. v. Norton, 471 F. Supp. 2d 295 (W.D.N.Y. 2007); 2007 WL 1200473 (2007); 2008 WL 11357911 (2008); 2008 WL 2746566 (2008); 2008 WL 4057101 (2008); 704 F. Supp. 2d 269 (W.D.N.Y. 2010), aff’d, 417 F. App’x. 49 (2d Cir. 2011); 814 F. Supp. 2d 261 (W.D.N.Y. 2011); 2012 WL 2405195 (2012); 2012 WL 3962505; 945 F. Supp. 2d 391 (W.D.N.Y. 2013), aff’d, 802 F. 3d 267 (2015), cert. denied, 578 U.S. 1011 (2016)
https://casetext.com/case/citizens-against-cas-gam
https://casetext.com/case/citizens-against-casino-gambling-in-erie-co-v-hogen
https://casetext.com/case/citizens-against-casino-gambling-v-stevens
https://casetext.com/case/citizens-against-casino-gambling-in-erie-cnty-v-stevens 

In subsequent litigation in 2019 concerning payments due the State of New York under the compact, Judge Skretny confirmed an arbitration panel’s award of hundreds of millions of dollars in the state’s favor over SNI’s strenuous objections.  The Second Circuit affirmed. 

Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York, 420 F. Supp. 3d 89 (W.D.N.Y. 2019), aff’d, 988 F.3d 618 (2d Cir. 2021); 2019 WL 6768779 (2019); 575 F. Supp. 3d 405 (W.D.N.Y. 2021)
https://casetext.com/case/seneca-nation-indians-v-new-york
https://casetext.com/case/seneca-nation-of-indians-v-new-york-10 

 

 

 Preservation Coalition v. FTA, No. 1:99-CV-00745: 

In 2000, Judge Skretny held that an environmental impact statement (“EIS”) prepared for the Buffalo Inner Harbor project inadequately considered the historic significance of the Commercial Slip, the western terminus of the Erie Canal.  Judge Skretny ordered the project’s managers to hold public hearings and prepare a supplemental EIS addressing the impact of the project on the Commercial Slip.  Following the public hearings, the City of Buffalo, Erie County, and State of New York agreed on a revised Inner Harbor Project that would prominently feature the Commercial Slip, rather than bury it, as originally planned.  The area is widely known today as Canalside. 

Preservation Coalition v. FTA, 129 F. Supp. 2d 538 (W.D.N.Y. 2000); 129 F. Supp. 2d 551 (W.D.N.Y. 2000)
https://casetext.com/case/preservation-coalition-v-federal-transit-admin
https://casetext.com/case/preservation-coalition-v-federal-transit-admin-wdny-2000