You are here: / / Escaped Calf Furnished the Condition or Occasion for Plaintiff’s...
,

Escaped Calf Furnished the Condition or Occasion for Plaintiff’s Decedent’s Presence in the Road When She Was Struck, But Was Not the Proximate Cause of Plaintiff’s Decedent’s Being in the Road

The Fourth Department, over a dissent, determined that defendant’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted. A calf escaped from defendant farm. Plaintiff’s decedent stopped her car and got out to aid the calf.  Both plaintiff’s decedent and the calf were struck by a car when they were in the road, although there was no evidence decedent stopped her car because the calf blocked the road. The Fourth Department held that the escape of the calf did not “cause” the decedent to be in the road. Rather the escape of the calf furnished the condition or occasion for decedent to be in the road:

Although “a landowner or the owner of an animal may be liable under ordinary tort-law principles when a farm animal . . . is negligently allowed to stray from the property on which the animal is kept” …, “liability may not be imposed upon a party who merely furnishes the condition or occasion for the occurrence of the event but is not one of its causes” … . Here, in support of its motion, Drumm Farm established that any negligence on its part in allowing the calf to escape merely “created the opportunity for plaintiff to be standing [in the roadway], [but] it did not cause [her] to stand” there … . “In short, the [alleged] negligence of [Drumm Farm] merely furnished the occasion for an unrelated act to cause injuries not ordinarily anticipated” … . Importantly, plaintiff does not contend, and did not submit any evidence that would establish, that the calf’s presence in the road blocked decedent’s ability to travel in the southbound lane or otherwise forced decedent to stop her vehicle. Thus, Drumm Farm established as a matter of law that its “alleged negligent act, at most, caused the [calf to wander] out of the field, which was not the immediate cause of the accident” … , and plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition … . Hain v Jamison, 2015 NY Slip Op 06074, 4th Dept 7-10-15

 

You might also like
RESTITUTION IN EXCESS OF THE STATUTORY CAP FOR LOST WAGES WAS IMPROPERLY AWARDED BECAUSE “LOST WAGES” DOES NOT FIT ANY OF THE EXCEPTIONS TO THE CAP RESTRICTION (FOURTH DEPT).
RELEASE DID NOT ENCOMPASS A BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ITSELF.
Response to Jury Note Without Notice to Defendant Required Reversal and a New Trial
THE “EVEN YEAR ELECTION LAW” (EYEL) IS CONSTITUTIONAL, SUPREME COURT REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT).
THE PARTY WHO BROUGHT THE WRONGFUL DEATH ACTION WAS NOT A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF DECEDENT’S ESTATE AND THEREFORE DID NOT HAVE STANDING; BECAUSE THE PARTY HAD NO RIGHT TO SUE, “SUBSTITUTION” OF THE EXECUTORS FOR THAT PARTY WAS NOT AVAILABLE (FOURTH DEPT).
The One-Year-and-Ninety-Day Time Limit for Bringing Suit Under the Public Authorities Law Is a Statute of Limitations, Not a Condition Precedent to Suit, and Is Therefore Subject to the Six-Month Extension for Recommencing a Suit Which Was Dismissed Without Prejudice Provided by CPLR 205(a)
IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE, COLLAPSE OF PAVEMENT NEAR A STORM DRAIN WAS CAUSED BY WATER FLOWING INTO THE DRAIN OVER TIME AND WAS NOT THE IMMEDIATE RESULT OF ACTION TAKEN BY THE VILLAGE, THE CONDITION WAS NOT ACTIONABLE (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (FERC) APPROVED THE GAS PIPELINE, THE STATE DID NOT ISSUE A WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION (WQC) FOR THE PROJECT, THEREFORE THE PIPELINE COMPANY CAN NOT SEEK EASEMENTS OVER PRIVATE LAND PURSUANT TO THE EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEDURE LAW (EDPL) TO INSTALL THE PIPELINE (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Claim for Psychological Injury Should Have Been Upheld—Retail Employee... Supreme Court Abused Its Discretion by Vacating a Judgment Which Was Not Appealed...