You are here: / / THE ERIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE (ECSO) IS NOT A SEPARATE ENTITY...
, ,

THE ERIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE (ECSO) IS NOT A SEPARATE ENTITY APART FROM THE COUNTY; THE COUNTY MAY BE SUED FOR THE ACTIONS OF CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE PURSUANT TO RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR; HERE PLAINTIFF ALLEGED PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT DIED IN HIS CAR AWAITING RESCUE DURING A SNOWSTORM (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined the Erie County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) is not a separate entity apart from the county, and the county may be liable for the acts of the sheriff’s office’s civilian employees pursuant to respondeat superior. The lawsuit alleged the defendants failed to timely rescue plaintiff’s decedent who died in his car during a snowstorm:

A sheriff’s office has no legal identity separate from its corresponding county, “and thus an ‘action against the Sheriff’s [Office] is, in effect, an action against the [corresponding] County itself’ ” … . …

Although a “county may not be held responsible for the negligent acts of the Sheriff and his [or her] deputies on the theory of respondeat superior” … , we conclude that a county may be vicariously liable for the negligent acts of the sheriff’s civilian employees given the general rule that a sheriff’s office does not exist separately from its corresponding county … . Moreover, and contrary to defendants’ further contention, the County is not entitled to immunity under Executive Law § 25 because that statute was not pleaded as an affirmative defense in the answer (see CPLR 3018 [b] …). Abate v County of Erie, 2021 NY Slip Op 03940, Fourth Dept 6-17-21

 

You might also like
Construction Manager Not Liable Under Labor Law 241(6), Labor Law 200, or Under Common Law Negligence/No Control Over Work or Responsibility for the Premises
THE FOR CAUSE CHALLENGES TO TWO JURORS WHO SAID THEY WOULD TEND TO BELIEVE THE TESTIMONY OF POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FOURTH DEPT).
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CLAIMS DID NOT ALLEGE DISCRIMINATION; INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS DOES NOT APPLY TO TERMINATION OF AT WILL EMPLOYMENT; WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IS THE EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR NEGLIGENCE ACTIONS AGAINST AN EMPLOYER; PUNITIVE DAMAGES NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION OR BREACH OF CONTRACT CAUSES OF ACTION (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR APPEAL, THE FAILURE TO GIVE THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL-EVIDENCE JURY INSTRUCTION WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR (FOURTH DEPT).
MOTION SEEKING SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 241 (6) CAUSE OF ACTION ON ONE GROUND DID NOT JUSTIFY, SUA SPONTE, SEARCHING THE RECORD AND GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON A GROUND NOT RAISED IN THE MOTION PAPERS (FOURTH DEPT).
Defendant Invoked His Right to Counsel By Asking a Police Officer to Retrieve Defendant’s Lawyer’s Phone Number from Defendant’s Wallet—Subsequent Statements Should Have Been Suppressed/Defense Counsel’s Failure to Move to Suppress Weapon Seized from Defendant’s Person Deprived Defendant of Effective Assistance
THE GRAND JURY EVIDENCE OF TWO LACERATIONS ON THE VICTIM’S NECK, 3-4 AND 5-6 CENTIMETERS LONG, SUPPORTED THE TWO COUNTS OF FIRST DEGREE ASSAULT BASED UPON DISFIGUREMENT (FOURTH DEPT).
UNDER CRITERIA RECENTLY ANNOUNCED BY THE COURT OF APPEALS, GRANDPARENTS HAD STANDING TO CONTEST MOTHER’S PETITION FOR CUSTODY.

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

THE COMPLAINT CHARGING FORCIBLE TOUCHING DID NOT ALLEGE THE APPLICATION OF PRESSURE... HUSBAND’S PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF STOCK DID NOT LOSE THEIR SEPARATE-PROPERTY...