You are here: / / Application to File Late Notice of Claim (30 Days Late) Should Have Been...
,

Application to File Late Notice of Claim (30 Days Late) Should Have Been Granted—Respondents Had Notice of the Incident and Short Delay Did Not Affect Ability to Investigate

In concluding the application to file a late notice of claim should have been granted, the First Department explained the relevant analysis.  The court noted the city had timely notice of the incident and the 30 delay in filing the notice did not prejudice the city’s ability to investigate:

General Municipal Law § 50—e(5) confers upon the court “the discretion to determine whether to grant or deny leave to serve a late notice of claim within certain parameters” (Matter of Porcaro v City of New York, 20 AD3d 357, 358 [1st Dept 2005]). The statute provides, in pertinent part, that in determining whether to grant an extension of time to serve a notice of claim, a court shall consider, in particular, whether the public corporation acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim within the 90—day period specified in § 50—e(1) “or within a reasonable time thereafter” (§ 50—e[5]). Further, under the statute, the court must take into account all other relevant facts and circumstances, including, among other things, whether the petitioner offered a reasonable excuse for the late notice and whether the delay substantially prejudiced the respondent’s defense on the merits … . The presence or absence of any one factor, however, is not determinative … . Moreover, while the court has discretion in determining motions to file late notices of claim, the statute is remedial in nature, and therefore should be liberally construed … .

…[R]espondents had actual knowledge of the pertinent facts constituting the claim — … .

In addition, petitioner attempted to serve the notice of claim only 30 days after expiration of the statutory 90-day period for filing a notice of claim against a municipality. This short delay does not prejudice respondents’ ability to investigate and defend the claim, as such a short passage of time is unlikely to have affected witnesses’ memories of the relevant events. Matter of Thomas v City of New York, 2014 NY Slip Op 04423, 1st Dept 6-17-14

 

You might also like
PLAINTIFF WAS STRUCK BY A STEEL BAR WHICH FELL DURING AN ATTEMPT TO HOIST IT WITH EXCAVATING EQUIPMENT; PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION; PLAINTIFF DID NOT NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THE EXACT CAUSE FOR THE BAR’S FALLING, NOR DID HE NEED TO SPECIFY THE EQUIPMENT WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED (FIRST DEPT). ​
PLAINTIFF SUED THE DEVELOPER OF PROPERTY ADJACENT TO PLAINTIFF’S BUILDING ALLEGING EXCAVATION WORK CAUSED PLAINTIFF’S BUILDING TO SETTLE AND LEAN; THE CITY ISSUED A STOP-WORK ORDER STEMMING FROM PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT; DEFENDANT-DEVELOPER THEN COUNTERCLAIMED ALLEGING PLAINTIFF WAS NEGLIGENT IN NOT MAINTAINING PLAINTIFF’S BUILDING SUCH THAT THE EXCAVATION WORK WOULD NOT DAMAGE IT, RESULTING IN THE STOP-WORK ORDER AND CAUSING THE DEVELOPER PURELY ECONOMIC LOSS OF AT LEAST $16 MILLION; SUPREME COURT LET THE COUNTERCLAIM STAND BUT THE FIRST DEPARTMENT DISMISSED IT; PLAINTIFF DID NOT OWE A DUTY TO THE DEVELOPER AND THE DEVELOPER WAS NOT ENTITLED TO PURELY ECONOMIC DAMAGES (FIRST DEPT).
THE FACT THAT THE CRITERIA FOR PIERCING THE CORPORATE VEIL WERE NOT MET DID NOT PRECLUDE AN ACTION AGAINST A CORPORATE OFFICER INDIVIDUALLY FOR PARTICIPATING IN AND BENEFITING FROM A TORT, HERE THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRADE SECRETS (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF ALLEGEDLY TRIPPED AND FELL CARRYING A PIPE DOWN A PLYWOOD RAMP IN THIS LABOR LAW 200 ACTION; THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THE RAMP CONSTITUTED A DANGEROUS CONDITION AND WHETHER THE DEFENDANTS HAD CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF IT (FIRST DEPT).
DENIAL OF A FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR WHO SAID IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO REACH A VERDICT WITHOUT HEARING FROM THE DEFENDANT REQUIRED REVERSAL (FIRST DEPT).
UNSIGNED FORM INSUFFICIENT TO MAKE RESPONDENT THE BENEFICIARY OF DECEDENT’S IRA (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF BICYCLIST WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS TRUCK-BICYCLE COLLISION CASE; THE TRUCK DRIVER BREACHED HIS DUTY TO SEE WHAT SHOULD BE SEEN (FIRST DEPT).
THE ATTEMPT TO CORRECT A SENTENCING MISTAKE IN THE DEFENDANT’S ABSENCE VIOLATED DEFENDANT’S CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHT TO BE PRESENT (FIRST 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 © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Under Mental Hygiene Law, Claim Made for Payment from Nursing Home Resident’s... Confusing Jury Instruction Re: the Justification Defense Required Reversal of...