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A MUNICIPALITY CANNOT BE SUED FOR NEGLIGENT HIRING, RETENTION, TRAINING AND SUPERVISION BASED UPON EMPLOYEES’ ACTIONS ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT; THE PROPER THEORY IS RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined that a municipality cannot be sued for negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision based upon actions taken by employees within the scope of their employment. In that case, the municipality can only be sued under a respondeat superior theory. Here plaintiff sued the City of Buffalo and police officers for actions relating to plaintiff’s arrest:

We agree with defendants that the court erred in denying their motion with respect to the … causes of action against the City of Buffalo, sounding in negligent hiring, negligent retention, and negligent training and supervision … . … [I]n those causes of action plaintiff alleges that the City of Buffalo was negligent in the hiring, retention and training and supervision of [officers] Moriarity and Bridgett, and plaintiff further alleges that Moriarity and Bridgett were acting in their capacities as employees of the City of Buffalo. It is well settled … that “where an employee is acting within the scope of [their] employment, the employer is liable for the employee’s negligence under a theory of respondeat superior and no claim may proceed against the employer for negligent hiring, retention, supervision, or training” … . Taylor, 2024 NY Slip Op 03632, Fourth Dept 7-3-24

Practice Point: A municipality cannot be sued for negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision when the employees’ actions are alleged to have been within the scope of their employment. The municipality should be sued under a respondeat superior theory.

 

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A TEACHER’S ALLEGED STATEMENT TO THE PLAINTIFF THAT HE WAS AWARE OF THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF THE PLAINTIFF BY ANOTHER TEACHER OCCURRING REPEATEDLY AT SCHOOL WAS DEEMED AN ADMISSION ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT RAISING A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE SEXUAL ABUSE WAS FORESEEABLE BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, over a concurrence disagreeing with the majority ruling that a teacher’s alleged statement was admissible against the school district as an admission, affirmed the denial of the school district’s motion for summary judgment in this Child Victims Act negligent supervision case. Plaintiff, who was a student in the late 60’s, alleged repeated abuse by a teacher in a back room at the school. Another teacher was alleged to have overheard the abuse and allegedly threatened plaintiff with revealing it in an attempt to sexually abuse plaintiff himself. That statement was deemed an admission which raised a question of fact whether the abuse was foreseeable by the school district:

… [P]laintiff testified that the orchestra teacher offered her a ride home from a bus stop after an evening event at the school. Instead of taking her home, however, the orchestra teacher took her to a park where, according to plaintiff, he told her “that he knew what was going on because he could hear through the walls from the orchestra room into that back room [where Fleming’s office was located] and that [plaintiff] didn’t want it to get out — [plaintiff] wouldn’t want it to come out, so [she] should be nice to him.” When plaintiff responded that she did not know what the orchestra teacher was talking about, he attempted to kiss her. * * *

The court determined that the entirety of the statement attributed to the orchestra teacher was admissible as a vicarious party admission of defendant under CPLR 4549 and therefore properly considered when evaluating defendant’s motion for summary judgment, because the orchestra teacher was employed by defendant and “[r]ecognizing and responding to the abuse of students while on school grounds certainly falls within the scope of the duties of a teacher employed by [defendant].” * * *

We conclude that it is within the scope of a teacher’s employment relationship to identify and assist a student who they believe is being sexually abused, and that the orchestra teacher’s statement indicating awareness of the abuse of plaintiff was therefore “on a matter within the scope of [the employment] relationship” … . We further conclude that the orchestra teacher’s statement professing knowledge of the abuse occurred “during the existence of” the employment relationship, within the meaning of CPLR 4549, inasmuch as it is undisputed that he was employed by defendant at the time the statement was made. Therefore, we agree with the court that the statement is admissible pursuant to CPLR 4549. Bl Doe 5, 2024 NY Slip Op 03608, Fourth Dept 7-3-24

Practice Point: In a negligent supervision action against a school district, is a statement allegedly made by a teacher to a student indicating the teacher’s awareness of repeated sexual abuse of the student by another teacher, taking place at school, admissible against the school district as an admission of its awareness of the abuse? Here the court answered “yes” over a concurrence which disagreed.

 

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LABOR LAW 193 PROHIBITS AN EMPLOYER FROM REDUCING AN EMPLOYEE’S PAY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE EMPLOYEE’S ALLEGEDLY POOR PERFORMANCE; HERE THE EMPLOYER REDUCED PLAINTIFF’S PAY TO RECOUP COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PLAINTFF’S TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WITH A COMPANY TRUCK (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined Labor Law section 193 prohibited plaintiff-truck-driver’s employer from reducing plaintiff’s pay to recoup costs associated with a traffic accident alleged to have been the result of plaintiff’s negligence:

Labor Law § 193 “prohibits an employer from making any deduction from an employee’s wages unless permitted by law or authorized by the employee for certain purposes” … . To allow an employer to recover the return of paid wages based upon an employee’s alleged lack of performance “would be permitting [that employer] to do indirectly and retroactively that which the law specifically prohibits it from doing directly” … . This principle applies equally whether the cause of action sounds in negligence or in contract, as an employee may not waive the protections of Labor Law § 193 … .

… [T]he defendants’ counterclaims are explicit attempts to recoup costs for their business allegedly arising out of the plaintiff’s negligence or poor performance. Because such causes of action are barred by the Labor Law, the Supreme Court erred in denying the plaintiff’s motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) to dismiss the defendants’ counterclaims. Craig v Fastex Logistics Transp., LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 03678, Second Dept 7-3-24

Practice Point: Here plaintiff-truck-driver’s employer reduced his pay to recoup costs associated with plaintiff’s traffic accident with a company truck. Such a pay reduction is prohibited by Labor Law section 193.

 

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DEFENDANTS “EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (ELCA)” AND “UPSTATE NEW YORK SYNOD OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (SYNOD)” HAD THE POWER TO DISCIPLINE AND TERMINATE A PASTOR ACCUSED OF ABUSE; THEREFORE THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THOSE DEFENDANTS WERE THE PASTOR’S EMPLOYERS; THE NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION AND RETENTION CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the negligent hiring, retention and supervision causes of action against Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Synod) should not have been dismissed on the ground that the alleged abuser (a pastor) was not an employee. Although the abuser was hired by a third-party church, St. Nicodemus, the ELCA’s and the Synod’s constitution provided that ELCA and Synod exercised control over discipline and termination of the pastor. Therefore there were questions of fact about ELCA’s and Synod’s status as employers:

… According to the ELCA Constitution and Bylaws, the authority to discipline pastors within the ELCA was granted to the synods and the ELCA. The authority to remove a pastor from the roster of ordained ministers remained with the synods and the ELCA. Once a pastor was removed from the roster of ordained ministers, a congregation that chose to retain that pastor could be removed from the ELCA. The entire disciplinary process was created by and governed by the ELCA Constitution and Bylaws. Under these circumstances, we conclude that plaintiffs’ submissions raised an issue of fact whether the ELCA and the Synod exercised sufficient control over the retention and supervision of plaintiffs’ alleged abuser so as to constitute his employers … . PB-20 Doe v St. Nicodemus Lutheran Church, 2024 NY Slip Op 03246, Fourth Dept 6-14-24

Practice Point: Here, although the pastor accused of abuse was hired by a specific Lutheran church (St. Nicodemus), the defendants Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Synod) had the power to discipline and terminate the pastor. Therefore there was a question of fact whether defendants were the pastor’s employers such that the negligent hiring, retention and supervision causes of action should not have been dismissed.

 

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PLAINTIFF IN THIS CHILD VICTIMS ACT CASE RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT SUMMER CAMP WAS AWARE OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF ITS EMPLOYEE’S PROPENSITY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE; THE NEGLIGENT HIRING, RETENTION AND SUPERVISION CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this Child Victims Act case alleging abuse at defendant’s summer camp in 1970, determined plaintiff had raised a question of fact supporting the negligent hiring, retention and supervision cause of action. Plaintiff alleged he informed defendant of the abuse by the employee (Puello):

“Although an employer cannot be held vicariously liable for torts committed by an employee who is acting solely for personal motives unrelated to the furtherance of the employer’s business, the employer may still be held liable under theories of negligent hiring and retention of the employee” … . “To establish a cause of action based on negligent hiring, negligent retention, or negligent supervision, it must be shown that the employer knew or should have known of the employee’s propensity for the conduct which caused the injury” … . “The employer’s negligence lies in having placed the employee in a position to cause foreseeable harm, harm which would most probably have been spared the injured party had the employer taken reasonable care in making decisions respecting the [supervision,] hiring and retention of the employee” … .

Here, the defendant demonstrated, prima facie, that it lacked actual or constructive notice of Puello’s alleged propensity for the conduct that caused the plaintiff’s injury. However, in opposition, the plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendant had constructive notice of Puello’s alleged propensity for sexual abuse, given, among other things, the frequency and nature of the alleged abuse perpetrated by Puello … . Moreover, the plaintiff averred in his affidavit submitted in opposition to the defendant’s motion that he “clearly told” Thomas Brown, an employee in the camp’s infirmary, about the first of Puello’s alleged assaults, which continued thereafter, raising a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendant had actual notice of Puello’s alleged propensity for sexual abuse. Hammill v Salesians of Don Bosco, 2024 NY Slip Op 03170, Second Dept 6-12-24

Practice Point: Here in this child victims act case alleging abuse of the plaintiff in 1970, plaintiff raised a question of fact whether defendant summer camp was aware of its employee’s propensity for sexual abuse. Among other allegations, plaintiff alleged he told an infirmary employee about the abuse and it continued thereafter.

 

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PLAINTIFF ALLEGED THE DRIVER WORKING FOR A LIVERY CAB COMPANY (CURB) AND THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY (NYCTA) DROPPED HIM OFF NEAR A HOLE IN THE ROAD WHICH CAUSED HIM TO FALL; THE RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR (AGENCY) CAUSE OF ACTION SURVIVED; BUT THE COMPLAINT DID NOT SUPPORT THE NEGLIGENT HIRING, RETENTION AND SUPERVISION CAUSE OF ACTION (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined the complaint did not state a cause of action for negligent hiring, retention and supervision. Plaintiff alleged the driver of car which provided a service to the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) through a livery cab company called Curb was negligent in dropping plaintiff off near a hole in the road. Although the negligence action against the NYCTA and Curb survived under an agency (respondeat superior) theory, there were no factual allegations in the complaint which supported the negligent hiring, retention and supervision cause of action:

“An employer can be held liable under theories of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision where it is shown that the employer knew or should have known of the employee’s propensity for the conduct which caused the injury” … . “[A] necessary element of such causes of action is that the employer knew or should have known of the employee’s propensity for the conduct which caused the injury” … . Although such causes of action need not be pleaded with specificity … , the complaint must contain more than bare legal conclusions unsupported by factual allegations … . Here, the complaint did not allege that Curb or the NYCTA knew or should have known of the driver’s propensity for the conduct which caused the injury, nor contain any factual allegations to support such an inference. The bare legal conclusions were insufficient to state a cause of action alleging negligent hiring, training, and retention … . Bailey v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 03156, Second Dept 6-12-24

Practice Point: Conclusory, as opposed to fact-based, allegations of negligent hiring, retention and supervision will not survive a pre-discovery motion to dismiss.

 

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IN THIS CHILD VICTIMS ACT CASE ALLEGING SEXUAL ABUSE BY A TEACHER DURING THE SCHOOL DAY OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, PLAINTIFF RAISED QUESTIONS OF FACT UNDER BOTH RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR AND NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION CAUSES OF ACTION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this Child Victims Act action, determined the respondeat superior and negligent supervision causes of action against the school alleging sexual abuse of the plaintiff by a teacher should not have been dismissed. Essentially the complaint alleged negligent supervision of both the teacher and the child. The defendant school did not demonstrate a lack of constructive notice of the abuse which allegedly took place over the course of a year in the same classroom during the school day:

“The employer’s negligence lies in having placed the employee in a position to cause foreseeable harm, harm which would most probably have been spared the injured party had the employer taken reasonable care in making decisions respecting the hiring, . . . retention, or supervision of the employee” … .

… “[A] school has a duty to exercise the same degree of care toward its students as would a reasonably prudent parent, and will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision. The duty owed derives from the simple fact that a school, in assuming physical custody and control over its students, effectively takes the place of parents and guardians” … . * * *

… [T]he defendants failed to establish, prima facie, that they lacked constructive notice of the teacher’s alleged abusive propensities and conduct … . “In particular, given the frequency of the alleged abuse, which occurred over” the entirety of a school year, “and always occurred inside the same classroom during the school day, the defendants did not eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether they should have known of the abuse” … .. The defendants similarly failed to demonstrate, prima facie, that their supervision of both the teacher and the plaintiff was not negligent … . Sayegh v City of Yonkers, 2024 NY Slip Op 03065, Second Dept 6-5-24

Practice Point: Here it was alleged plaintiff was sexually abused by a teacher repeatedly over a year during the school day. There were questions of fact whether the school had constructive notice of the abuse which supported causes of action under a respondeat superior theory (negligent supervision of the teacher) and a negligent supervision theory (negligent supervision of the child).

 

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THE FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S PTSD STEMMED FROM A SERIES OF INTERACTIONS WITH A CO-EMPLOYEE OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS AND THEREFORE WAS NOT THE RESULT OF AN “ACCIDENT;” SHE WAS NOT ENTITLED TO ACCIDENTAL DISABILITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS (ADR) (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, affirming the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Cannataro, determined the petitioner’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from interactions with a another school employee did not entitle her to accidental disability retirement benefits (ADR) as opposed to ordinary disability retirement benefits (ODR)  The court found that the employee interactions took place over a period of time and could not be characterized as “a sudden, unexpected event,” i.e., an “accident.” The court however refused to rule out that intentional conduct by a co-employee could constitute an “accident” in some circumstances:

… [T]he record supports the [Teachers’ Retirement System Medical] Board’s determination that petitioner’s injuries did not result from an event that was sudden, fortuitous, and unexpected … . Although petitioner claims that her PTSD was brought on by the April 2019 occurrence, that event was merely the latest of a series of incidents in which the food-service worker trespassed on school property and acted in a confrontational manner toward petitioner, causing her significant stress and anxiety. As early as February 2019, petitioner informed school officials that the employee was continuously disobeying instructions to keep away from the school and that she was “concerned about the students and the building staff that have to endure his confrontational behavior.” Following another incident in March, petitioner wrote that she “d[id] not feel comfortable with [the employee] given his behavior in the school.” The Board rejected petitioner’s initial ADR application on the ground that “based on the description of the events in question that occurred in the work setting on April 18, 2019, as well as the previous events in the work setting in February and March of 2019, [petitioner] has failed to demonstrate that an accident occurred in the work setting.” Because that reasoning is supported by the evidentiary record, the Board’s determination to deny ADR will not be disturbed on this appeal. Matter of Rawlins v Teachers’ Retirement Sys. of the City of N.Y., 2024 NY Slip Op 02840, CtApp 5-23-24

Practice Point: Although an intentional act by a co-employee could constitute an “accident” giving rise to accidental disability retirement benefits (ADR) under the Teachers’ Retirement System, here the interactions with the co-employee took place over a period of months and could not be described as “a sudden, unexpected event.”

 

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THE “RELIGIOUS EMPLOYER” EXEMPTION FROM MANDATED INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MEDICALLY NECESSARY ABORTIONS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Wilson, determined the US Supreme Court ruling in Fulton v Philadelphia, 593 US 522 (2021) did not render the “religious employer” exemption to the mandated insurance coverage for medically necessary abortions unconstitutional. The opinion is too detailed and comprehensive to fairly summarize here:

Plaintiffs, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and a variety of entities ranging from churches to religiously affiliated organizations to a single individual, provide medical insurance plans to their employees. They have challenged a regulation promulgated by the Department of Financial Services as violative of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The challenged regulation requires New York employer health insurance policies that provide hospital, surgical, or medical expense coverage to include coverage for medically necessary abortion services (see 11 NYCRR 52.16 [o] [1]). Their challenge is to the regulation’s exemption for “religious employers,” which is defined by four factors (see 11 NYCRR 52.2 [y]). Plaintiffs’ claim, in essence, is that the exemption is too narrow, such that the First Amendment rights of certain types of religiously affiliated employers are violated because they do not meet the terms of the exemption. * * *

Under Fulton, both the regulation itself and the criteria delineating a “religious employer” for the purposes of the exemption are generally applicable and do not violate the Free Exercise Clause. Neither the existence of the exemption in the regulation nor the defined criteria allow for “individualized exemptions” that are standardless and discretionary, nor do they allow for comparable secular conduct while discriminating against religious conduct. Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v Vullo, 2024 NY Slip Op 02764, CtApp 5-21-24

Practice Point: The 2021 US Supreme Court ruling in Fulton v Philadelphia did not render the “religious exemption” regulation promulgated by the NYS Department of Financial Services unconstitutional. The regulation exempts certain religious employers from mandated insurance coverage for medically necessary abortions.

 

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CITY RETIREES THREATENED WITH ELIMINATION OF THEIR EXISTING HEALTH INSURANCE AND AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT IN A MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN ENTITLED TO RELIEF UNDER THEIR PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL CAUSE OF ACTION (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Gesmer, determined the doctrine of promissory estoppel justified a permanent injunction prohibiting the city from “eliminating … retirees’ existing health insurance, automatically enrolling them in a new Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan, enforcing a June 30, 2023 deadline for retirees to opt out of the new plan, and implementing any other aspect of the City’s new retiree healthcare policy:”

… [T]he record shows a clear and unambiguous promise, made for more than 50 years, that upon an employee’s retirement, Medicare would provide the first level of hospital and medical insurance benefits and the City’s benefits program would provide the second level to fill in the gaps. * * *

… [T]he record shows detrimental reliance on the promise. * * *

… [P]etitioners have demonstrated injury. Many City retirees stated that their chosen providers and hospitals, like many healthcare providers, do not accept the MAPs [Medicare Advantage Plans]. The City’s plan to automatically enroll petitioners in the Aetna MAP and terminate their current Medigap coverage would result in injury to retirees whose medical providers do not accept the Aetna MAP. * * *

The particular manner in which the parties chose to litigate this action before Supreme Court resulted in a record with significant evidentiary support for petitioners’ position and very little support for respondents’ position. That record and the arguments the parties chose to make on appeal lead to the conclusion that petitioners are entitled to relief under their promissory estoppel cause of action. Matter of Bentkowski v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 02771, First Dept 5-21-24

Practice Point: Here the promissory estoppel doctrine was applied to permanently enjoin the city from eliminating city retirees’ health insurance and automatically enrolling them in a Medicare Advantage Plan.

 

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