You are here: / / PLAINTIFF SUED THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY, NOT THE FIRE DISTRICT WHICH...
,

PLAINTIFF SUED THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY, NOT THE FIRE DISTRICT WHICH WAS THE PROPER PARTY, PLAINTIFF NEVER SERVED A NOTICE OF CLAIM ON THE DISTRICT, THE ACTION WAS PROPERLY DISMISSED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined the action against the Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Company was properly dismissed and the proper party, the Coeymans Hollow Fire District #3, could not be sued because it was never served with a notice of claim. Plaintiff alleged she was injured when members of the Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Company evacuated her from her house during a fire call:

A volunteer fire company, such as defendant, “shall be under the control of the . . . fire district . . . having, by law, control over the prevention or extinguishment of fires therein” (N-PCL 1402 [e] [1]). Indeed, the Fire District was responsible for preventing and extinguishing fires within its jurisdiction and trained and supervised defendant’s members. Furthermore, when defendant’s members responded to the fire at [plaintiff’s] house, they acted under the direction of the Chief of the Fire District. Because defendant and the Fire District are separate entities and defendant does not exert control over its members, defendant cannot be held liable for the alleged negligence of its members … . …

We reject plaintiff’s contention that defendant and the Fire District are so inextricably intertwined that timely service of the notice of claim upon defendant equates to timely service upon the Fire District. Furthermore, although defendant conducted an examination of [plaintiff] under General Municipal Law § 50-h, equitable estoppel does not preclude any claim that Roberts failed to serve the notice of claim upon the proper party … . We also note that, even though defendant was not obligated to inform Roberts that she failed to name the proper party … , defendant did so as an affirmative defense in its answer.

Plaintiff additionally contends that General Municipal Law § 50-e (3) (c) permits deeming the notice of claim served upon defendant as being timely served upon the Fire District. We disagree. This savings provision is “limited in scope to defects in the manner of serving the notice of claim on the correct public entity” … . That said, plaintiff fails to identify, nor does the record disclose, any infirmities in the service of the notice of claim. More critically, before any defects in service can be overlooked, service on the proper party must be accomplished in the first instance … . Roberts v Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Co., 2019 NY Slip Op 00006, Third Dept 1-3-19

 

You might also like
IN A FORECLOSURE ACTION, THE REFEREE’S FAILURE TO HOLD A HEARING DOES NOT REQUIRE REVERSAL OF THE JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE IF THE DEFENDANT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE THE REFEREE’S REPORT BY SUBMITTING EVIDENCE DIRECTLY TO SUPREME COURT (THIRD DEPT).
In a Class Action Suit, Class-Representatives’ Failure to Keep In Touch With Their Lawyer Justified Their Withdrawal as Class Representatives
UNDER THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW CERTAIN DOCUMENTS RELATED TO A HOSPITAL DEATH THAT WERE NOT PART OF A QUALITY ASSURANCE INVESTIGATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO PETITIONER.
Defendant-Doctor’s Failure to Mention He Was Under a Stayed License-Suspension In His Affidavit In Support of His Motion for Summary Judgment Was One Factor In Finding the Affidavit Insufficient to Meet Defendant’s Burden on the Motion
Relationship Between Mother and Father Had Not Deteriorated to the Extent that the Joint Custody Arrangement Should Have Been Modified to Award Sole Custody to Mother
COUNTY COURT’S TELLING DEFENDANT HIS SENTENCE WOULD BE ENHANCED IF HE DID NOT COOPERATE WITH THE PROBATION DEPARTMENT DID NOT ADEQUATELY INFORM DEFENDANT HIS STATEMENT IN THE PROBATION INTERVIEW THAT HE DID NOT REMEMBER THE BURGLARY WOULD TRIGGER AN ENHANCED SENTENCE; SENTENCE VACATED (THIRD DEPT).
County Court Had Jurisdiction to Correct 1999 Sentence Which Did Not Include Period of Post-Release Supervision
WARRANTLESS ENTRY INTO DEFENDANT’S APARTMENT WAS NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE EMERGENCY EXCEPTION TO THE WARRANT REQUIREMENT, MOTION TO SUPPRESS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CONVICTION REVERSED (THIRD 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

DEFENDANT WAS CONVICTED OF 37 COUNTS OF SEXUAL OFFENSES, THE TESTIMONY AT TRIAL... OIL AND GAS INVESTMENT SCHEME PROPERLY FOUND TO BE AN ABUSIVE TAX AVOIDANCE...