MOTION TO AMEND NOTICE OF CLAIM TO ADD THE ADDRESS OF PLAINTIFF’S SLIP AND FALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff's motion for leave to amend her notice of claim in this slip and fall case should have been granted:
“[I]n making a determination on the sufficiency of a notice of claim, a court's inquiry is not limited to the four corners of the notice of claim” … . “A court may consider the testimony provided during an examination conducted pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h and any other evidence properly before it to correct a good faith and nonprejudicial technical mistake, omission, irregularity, or defect in the notice of claim” … . Where the defendant is provided with such evidence correcting the notice of claim within a reasonable time after the accident, there is no prejudice… .
Here, the defendant did not demonstrate, prima facie, that the notice of claim was insufficient. The information contained in the notice of claim, supplemented by the testimony of the plaintiff given a few months thereafter at the General Municipal Law § 50-h hearing, was sufficient to allow the defendant to conduct a meaningful investigation into the plaintiff's claim … .
Moreover, the defendant did not demonstrate, prima facie, that it would be prejudiced by the plaintiff's proposed amendment to the notice of claim, which was to state the address of the accident. The plaintiff had testified that there were witnesses to the accident. As such, the defendant could have ascertained the location of the accident ” with a modicum of effort'” … . Moreover, the defendant did not submit any evidence demonstrating that it was misled by the error, or that it conducted an investigation at the wrong location … . Finally, even if the original notice of claim had contained the address of the defect, the plaintiff testified that the road was resurfaced approximately three weeks after her fall, which was prior to service of the notice of claim … . Ruark v City of Glen Cove, 2018 NY Slip Op 06286, Second Dept 9-26-18
NEGLIGENCE (MOTION TO AMEND NOTICE OF CLAIM TO ADD THE ADDRESS OF PLAINTIFF'S SLIP AND FALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/MUNICIPAL LAW (NEGLIGENCE, NOTICE OF CLAIM, MOTION TO AMEND NOTICE OF CLAIM TO ADD THE ADDRESS OF PLAINTIFF'S SLIP AND FALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/SLIP AND FALL (MUNICIPAL LAW, MOTION TO AMEND NOTICE OF CLAIM TO ADD THE ADDRESS OF PLAINTIFF'S SLIP AND FALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/NOTICE OF CLAIM (NEGLIGENCE, SLIP AND FALL, MOTION TO AMEND NOTICE OF CLAIM TO ADD THE ADDRESS OF PLAINTIFF'S SLIP AND FALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))