You are here: / / A Phone Call, Even When Reduced to Writing, Does Not Satisfy the City’s...
,

A Phone Call, Even When Reduced to Writing, Does Not Satisfy the City’s “Written Notice of a Defect” Requirement

The Second Department determined the requirement that the city be notified in writing of a defect (here, a raised portion of a sidewalk) before liability for failing to repair will attach was not met.  A phone call from the abutting property owner to the municipality, even if the communication is reduced to writing, is not sufficient. The court further held that the “open request” generated by the abutting property owner’s “311” call did not constitute the city’s “written acknowledgment” of a defective condition (an alternative to the “written notice” requirement):

The City demonstrated its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it by submitting evidence showing that no written notice of any defect was received with regard to the subject sidewalk … . In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact. Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, neither [the abutting property owner’s] “311” call nor the records generated by the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation (hereinafter the DPR) from that call provided the City with prior written notice of the sidewalk defect. A verbal or telephonic communication to a municipal body, even if reduced to writing, cannot satisfy the prior written notice requirement … . Nor did the “open request” generated from that “311” call, which was received by the DPR clerk on the computer system, constitute a “written acknowledgment” by the City of a defective condition … . Tortorici v City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 06721, 2nd Dept 9-2-15

 

You might also like
DEFENDANT SOLE SHAREHOLDER OF DEFENDANT CORPORATION WAS NOT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE ACTION AGAINST HIM PREMISED UPON PIERCING THE CORPORATE VEIL, THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THE WARRANTY PROVISIONS OF THE CONTRACT WERE VIOLATED AND WHETHER DEFENDANT CORPORATION WAS STRIPPED OF ASSETS SUCH THAT IT COULD NOT MEET ITS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS (SECOND DEPT).
Defendant Presented No Evidence When Defective Bar Stool Was Last Inspected and No Evidence the Defect Was Latent—Summary Judgment Properly Denied
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS CLAIMS NOT INCLUDED IN THE NOTICE OF CLAIM PROPERLY GRANTED; MOTION TO AMEND THE NOTICE OF CLAIM AND MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A LATE NOTICE PROPERLY DENIED; JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE CLAIM FOR LOSS OF SERVICES BECAUSE THAT RELIEF WAS NOT REQUESTED (SECOND DEPT).
BY SUBMITTING A CLAIM TO THE “SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND” (VCF), PLAINTIFF, WHO ALLEGED HIS PROSTATE CANCER WAS RELATED TO HIS WORK AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH, WAIVED HIS RIGHT TO SUE HIS PHYSICIAN FOR AN ALLEGED DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF THE PROSTATE CANCER (SECOND DEPT).
RE-SERVICE AFTER EXPIRATION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS PROPERLY ALLOWED.
DEFENDANT COLLEGE DEMONSTRATED IT DID NOT CREATE OR HAVE NOTICE OF THE CONDITION WHICH INJURED PLAINTIFF, A PORTION OF A LIGHT FIXTURE IN PLAINTIFF’S ON-CAMPUS ROOM FELL ON HER (SECOND DEPT).
THE PLAINTIFF BICYCLIST COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF HIS FALL AND THE CITY DID NOT HAVE WRITTEN NOTICE OF ANY ROADWAY DEFECTS IN THE AREA; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
PLAINTIFF DEEMED TO HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE SETTLEMENT DOCUMENT BEFORE SIGNING, LEGAL MALPRACTICE COMPLAINT AGAINST HER ATTORNEYS PROPERLY DISMISSED.

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 © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Where the Complaint Alleged Only that the Driveway Was Defective and the Complaint... Causes of Action Seeking Monetary Damages Were Not Incidental to the Article...