THE FACT THAT THE SCHOOL WAS AWARE OF THE PETITIONERS’ CHILD’S INJURY AT THE TIME IT OCCURRED DOES NOT MEAN THE SCHOOL HAD TIMELY KNOWLEDGE OF THE POTENTIAL LAWSUIT; PETITIONERS’ APPLICATION TO DEEM A LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM TIMELY SERVED SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the petitioners’ application to deem the late notice of claim timely served nunc pro tunc should not have been granted. Apparently petitioners’ child tripped and fell on a stairwell at at her school. The fact that the school was aware of the child’s injury at the time does not mean the school was aware of a potential lawsuit. The year-long delay was not adequately explained; infancy is not enough. And the petitioners did not show the school was not prejudiced by the delay:
The appellant’s “knowledge of the accident and the injury, without more, does not constitute actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim, at least where the incident and the injury do not necessarily occur only as the result of fault for which it may be liable” … . The petitioner mother stated in an affidavit submitted in support of the application that the school nurse called her on the day of the accident, advising her that her daughter fell on the stairs and injured her right foot. This statement, however, did not provide the appellant with actual knowledge of the facts underlying the petitioners’ claim of negligent supervision … .. Similarly, although the petitioner mother stated in her affidavit that she spoke to an employee of the appellant about the accident approximately two months after it occurred, the mother’s affidavit indicates that the employee had no information or details to share. Moreover, letters sent by the petitioners’ attorneys to the appellant did not advise it of the essential facts underlying the negligent supervision claim. J. G. v Academy Charter Elementary Sch., 2022 NY Slip Op 02251, Second Dept 4-6-22
Practice Point: An application to serve a late notice of claim against a school may be granted if the school had timely knowledge of the claim. But that doesn’t mean timely knowledge of the injury or the incident. It means timely knowledge of the potential lawsuit.