Notice of Claim Deemed Insufficient to Allege Negligent Design or Construction of Road
The Second Department dismissed a complaint against a town because the notice of claim alleged “damages for negligence arising out of the use, operation, ownership, maintenance, custody, and control of Hynes Road” but did not allege defective design or negligent construction of a road, the specific theories alleged in the complaint:
A notice of claim which, inter alia, sufficiently identifies the claimant, states the nature of the claim and describes the time when, the place where, and the manner in which the claim arose, is a condition precedent to asserting a tort claim against a municipality … . While a claimant need not state “a precise cause of action in haec verba in a notice of claim” …, “a party may not add a new theory of liability which was not included in the notice of claim”… .
Here, the Town established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it by submitting proof that the notice of claim made no allegations that the Town defectively designed or negligently constructed the roadway where the accident occurred … . Crew v Town of Beekman, 2013 NY Slip Op 02370, 2011-10932, Index No 7540/07, 2nd Dept, 4-10-13
HIGHWAYS AND ROADS