2 1/2 Year Delay In Correcting Location of the Slip and Fall Described in the Notice of Claim Prejudiced the Defendant/Motion for Leave to File an Amended Notice Properly Denied

The Second Department determined plaintiffs' motion to amend the notice of claim to change the location of the accident (slip and fall on ice and snow) was properly denied. Although the error was not made in bad faith, the 2 1/2 year delay in correcting the error prejudiced the defendant town agency:

Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-e(6), a court has discretion to grant leave to serve an amended notice of claim where the error in the original notice was made in good faith and where the other party has not been prejudiced thereby … . Here, while there is no indication that the error regarding the location of the subject accident in the original notice of claim was made in bad faith, the record demonstrates prejudice to the respondent, the defendant Town of Babylon Industrial Development Agency (hereinafter the Agency), as a result of the error. The original notice of claim misidentified the location of the accident as the “walkway/pathway” in front of 595 Smith Street, East Farmingdale, rather than the correct location, the “roadway/parking lot” at 540 Smith Street, East Farmingdale. Furthermore, the subsequent complaint, bill of particulars, photographs of the purported accident location, supplemental bill of particulars, and even a second supplemental bill of particulars served almost 2½ years after the accident, all of which continued to misidentify the accident location, failed to dissipate the prejudice to the Agency in its attempt to conduct a timely and meaningful investigation … . The plaintiffs contend that the Agency's ability to conduct a physical examination of the snow and ice condition that allegedly caused the injured plaintiff's accident was not affected by the error in the notice of claim, since that condition undoubtedly had changed by the time the original notice was served. However, the record reveals that the Agency's ability to investigate other aspects of the occurrence and to interview witnesses was hampered by the plaintiffs' delay of more than 2½ years in serving a third supplemental bill of particulars identifying the correct accident location and in moving for leave to serve an amended notice of claim … . Torres v Town of Babylon, 2014 NY Slip Op 08901, 2nd Dept 12-24-14