Stony Brook University’s action to virtually close its Southampton campus last April was illegal, according to a ruling from a state Supreme Court justice.

Judge Paul J. Baisley ruled that Stony Brook made its decision without first gaining approval from the Stony Brook Council. The judge ruled the closing constituted a “major plan” that required the council’s approval.

UUP President Phil Smith was not surprised by the judge’s decision.

“From the outset, we thought the move was very abrupt and premature, since the action was taken months before SUNY’s budget was finalized,” Smith said. “The lives of our 82 members and some 500 students were needlessly disrupted.”

The legal action against the closure was filed by six Southampton students and Save the College at Southampton, a group formed to fight the decision to close the campus in 2005, when it was owned by Long Island University. Several Stony Brook University students also joined more than a dozen UUP members in Albany to urge state lawmakers to keep the Southampton campus open.

Following the favorable ruling, the groups went back to the judge asking him to force Stony Brook to reopen the Southampton campus in time for the spring semester. A decision on that motion was pending as The Voice went to press. — Donald Feldstein