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IN THIS CROSSWALK SLIP AND FALL CASE, THE FACT THAT THE MUNICIPALITY REPAIRED THE AREA FIVE MONTHS BEFORE DID NOT CONSTITUTE AN EXCEPTION TO THE PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE REQUIREMENT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the fact that the municipality repaired the crosswalk where plaintiff slipped and fell five months before did not constitute an exception to the prior written notice requirement:

Prior written notice of a defect is a condition precedent which plaintiff is required to plead and prove to maintain an action against the City, in the absence of a recognized exception … . The only recognized exceptions to the prior written notice requirement involve situations in which the municipality created the defect or hazard through an affirmative act of negligence or where a special use confers a benefit upon the municipality … . The affirmative negligence exception is limited to work which immediately results in the existence of a dangerous condition … . In support of her motion, plaintiff submitted evidence that the most recent repair work was performed five months prior to the accident in the general area of the subject defect. This does not raise an issue of fact as to whether defendants created the defect that caused plaintiff’s fall through an affirmative act of negligence at the location where the injury occurred, which immediately resulted in the existence of a dangerous condition … . Smith v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 03150, First Dept 6-11-24

Practice Point: Unless the plaintiff can allege the dangerous condition which caused the slip and fall was created by the municipality at the time the repair was made, prior written notice of the defect is a condition precedent for the lawsuit. Here the allegation the area was repaired five months before the slip and fall was not sufficient.

 

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THE ORDER IMPLEMENTING THE PLAINTIFFS’ PLAN FOR THE SEALING OF NYPD’S RECORDS OF FAVORABLY TERMINATED CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AMOUNTED TO A PERMANENT INJUNCTION WITHOUT A DETERMINATION ON THE MERITS; MATTER REMITTED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Kern, over a dissenting opinion, determined the order by Supreme Court implementing plaintiffs’ plan for sealing the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD’s) records of criminal prosecutions which are favorably terminated amounted to a permanent injunction issued without a determination on the merits, either by way of a summary judgment motion or a trial:

The New York sealing statutes at issue here, enacted in 1976, require that upon the favorable termination of a criminal proceeding or a noncriminal conviction, unless the government demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that the interests of justice require otherwise, “arrest information,” including photos, palm and fingerprints of arrestees, and official records and papers relating to an arrest or prosecution, will be “sealed and not made available” to any person or public or private agency, subject to six statutorily enumerated exceptions (Criminal Procedure Law §§ 160.50, 160.55 [Sealing Statutes]). * * *

We find that Supreme Court erred by prematurely issuing an overbroad permanent injunction without first making a final determination on the merits of the claim after a trial or summary judgment motion. Contrary to plaintiffs’ argument, the Implementing Order is a permanent injunction rather than a preliminary injunction. The purpose of a preliminary injunction “is not to determine the ultimate rights of the parties, but to maintain the status quo until there can be a full hearing on the merits” … . Conversely, a permanent injunction is a type of final judgment that is issued on the merits of the claims asserted … . R.C. v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 03017, First Dept 6-4-24

Practice Point: An order which includes no indication it is temporary is a permanent, not a preliminary, injunction which should not issue without a determination on the merits by summary judgment motion or trial.

 

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PHYSICAL INCAPACITY CAN BE A REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILING TO TIMELY FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM, BUT THE PERIOD OF DISABILITY DOES NOT TOLL THE ONE YEAR AND 90 DAY PERIOD FOR FILING A MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the motion for leave to file a late notice claim against the NYC Transit Authority should not have been granted because the motion was made more than one year and 90 days after the cause of action accrued. Although physical incapacity can be a reasonable excuse for failing to file a notice of claim withing 90 days, it does not toll the period for making a timely motion for leave to file a late notice of claim:

The court erred … in concluding that plaintiff’s hospitalization from the February 12, 2020 accident until April 11, 2020 rendered timely plaintiff’s January 25, 2021 notice of claim upon defendant NYC Transit Authority … . Although physical incapacity may be properly considered as a reasonable excuse under General Municipal Law § 50-e (5) for the failure to timely file a notice of claim … , it is relevant only upon timely motion for leave to file a late notice of claim “made before or after the commencement of the action but not more than one year and 90 days after the cause of action accrued” … . Melgarejo v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 02892, First Dept 5-28-24

Practice Point: A period of physical incapacity may be a reasonable excuse for failing to file a timely notice of claim, but it does not toll the one year and 90 day statute of limitations for filing a motion for leave to file a late notice of claim.

 

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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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THE REPORT OF THE INCIDENT IN WHICH PETITIONER WAS INJURED DID NOT PROVIDE THE CITY DEFENDANTS WITH NOTICE OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE INJURIES AND ANY NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE DEFENDANTS; THEREFORE THE CITY DEFENDANTS DID NOT HAVE NOTICE OF THE CLAIM WITHIN 90 DAYS; IN ADDITION, IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NOT A VALID EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM; THE PETITION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AND SERVE LATE NOTICES OF CLAIM SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the petition for leave to file and serve late notices of claim in this construction accident case should not have been granted. Although there was a report about the incident, nothing in the report made a connection between petitioner’s injuries and negligence on the part of the city defendants.  Another incident report made by one municipal entity (MTA Capital Construction) cannot be imputed to other municipal entities:

The evidence submitted in support of the petition failed to establish that the City, NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC Department of Transportation, and New York City Transit Authority (hereinafter collectively the City appellants) or the MTA [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim within 90 days after the claim arose or a reasonable time thereafter. “‘A report which describes the circumstances of the accident without making a connection between the petitioner’s injuries and negligent conduct on the part of the public corporation will not be sufficient to constitute actual notice of the essential facts constituting the claim'” …  The incident report upon which the petitioner relied did not connect his injuries to negligent conduct on the part of the City appellants or the MTA, and the incident report, prepared by MTA Capital Construction, cannot be imputed to other municipal entities … . Moreover, the petitioner testified at a hearing pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h that only his employer’s personnel were present at the construction site when the accident occurred.

The petitioner also failed to provide a reasonable excuse for failing to timely serve the notices of claim. The petitioner’s ignorance of the law does not constitute a reasonable excuse … . Furthermore, the petitioner did not adduce sufficient evidence to support his claim that he was unable to timely serve the notices of claim because he was seeking medical treatment and recovering from medical procedures, as he provided evidence only that he was unable to work for intermittent periods during the eight-month interval between the date of the accident and the service of the notices of claim … . Matter of Almeida v City of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 02699, Second Dept 5-15-24

Practice Point: In order for an incident report to provide notice of a potential lawsuit against a municipality such that a late notice of claim will be excused, the report must connect the injuries to negligence on the part of the municipal defendants (not the case here).

Practice Point: In the context of a petition for leave to file a late notice of a claim against a municipality, an incident report created by one municipal entity will not be deemed to have provided notice of the incident to other municipal entities.

 

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FORMER AND CURRENT SECTION 413 OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW REQUIRES THE REPORTING OF ANY SUSPECTED INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY UPON A CHILD, WHICH INCLUDES SEXUAL ABUSE, EVEN WHEN THE PERSON SUSPECTED OF THE ABUSE IS NOT LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE CHILD; TWO JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, over a two-justice dissent, determined former section 413 of Social Services Law, as the current section mandates, requires that all instances of suspected intentionally inflicted serious injury upon a child be reported, regardless of who is suspected of inflicting it. In other words, the suspected intentional infliction of serious injury upon a child must be reported, even if the person suspected of inflicting it is not a person legally responsible for the child. Despite this finding, the Fourth Department held that the cause of action based upon former section 413 should have been dismissed because the complaint does not allege the defendant town had received information that its employee, plaintiff’s youth baseball coach, was sexually assaulting plaintiff:

… [W]e conclude that Social Services Law former § 413 mandated, as the current version mandates, the reporting of every instance of suspected intentionally inflicted serious physical injury upon a child, regardless of who is suspected to have inflicted it, thereby triggering an investigation of the child’s parent or other legally responsible person—as a “subject of the report”—to determine whether, inter alia, that person inflicted or allowed the harm to be inflicted upon the child. “[T]he purpose of [the child protective services provisions under Social Services Law article 6, title 6, is] to encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse and maltreatment,” not less (Social Services Law § 411), and the former and current versions of sections 412 (2) (b) and 413 apply equally to children who have had a serious physical injury intentionally inflicted by, inter alia, a coach, a classroom teacher, a neighbor, another child or a distant relative who is not legally responsible for the child’s care.

From the dissent:

We write separately only to express our disagreement with the conclusion of the majority that … a mandated reporter is statutorily required to report any person who inflicted serious physical injury upon a child regardless of whether there is a parental or guardianship relationship, even where that same mandated reporter would not be required to report conduct constituting abuse. LG 70 Doe v Town of Amherst, 2024 NY Slip Op 02651, Fourth Deppt 5-10-24

Practice Point: Even where a person who is not legally responsible for the care of child is suspected of sexually abusing the child, the abuse must be reported pursuant to Social Services Law section 413.

 

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THE RULING OF THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD ENGINEER RE: A PROPOSED INDUSTRIAL PARK MUST BE CHALLENGED BEFORE THE TOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, NOT SUPREME COURT (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the petitioners’ challenge to a ruling by the town’s planning board engineer must first be brought in front of the town’s zoning board of appeals before a court can hear it:

“It is hornbook law that one who objects to the act of an administrative agency must exhaust available administrative remedies before being permitted to litigate in a court of law” … . “This doctrine . . . reliev[es] the courts of the burden of deciding questions entrusted to an agency, prevent[s] premature judicial interference with the administrators’ efforts to develop[ ] . . . a co-ordinated, consistent and legally enforceable scheme of regulation,” and allows the agency “to prepare a record reflective of its expertise and judgment” … . “Planning boards are without power to interpret the local zoning law, as that power is vested exclusively in local code enforcement officials and the zoning board of appeals” … .

As required by Code of the Town of New Windsor § 300-86(D)(3), the Planning Board Engineer reported to the Planning Board that the proposed site plan met all applicable zoning laws. Since the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals had the authority to review determinations of administrative officials with respect to local zoning laws … , the petitioners were required to challenge the determination of the Planning Board Engineer before the Zoning Board of Appeals … . Matter of O’Malley v Town of New Windsor Planning Bd., 2024 NY Slip Op 02537, Second Dept 5-8-24

Practice Point: Here the petitioners did not exhaust their administrative remedies before bringing a petition in Supreme Court. The town planning board engineer’s ruling on an application for approval of an industrial park must first be challenged in front of the town zoning board of appeals before an Article 78 petition is an available remedy.

 

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COMPLAINT ALLEGING THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM DISCRIMINATES AGAINST STUDENTS OF COLOR AND SEEKING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Moulton, reversing Supreme Court, determined the complaint alleging the New York City public school system discriminates against Black and Latinx students and seeking injunctive relief was justiciable and stated valid causes of action. Therefore the complaint, which had been dismissed, is now reinstated. The opinion is comprehensive and far too detailed to fairly summarize here:

Plaintiffs allege that State and City policies create a “racialized” admission pipeline. According to plaintiffs, the pipeline begins with a single standardized test for the City’s Gifted & Talented (G&T) programs taken by children as young as four-years-old. The G&T test, plaintiffs assert, disproportionately benefits “privileged” white students and their “in-the-know” parents, who have the “navigational capital” to understand the admissions process and the economic capital to pay for expensive test preparation. The G&T programs, plaintiffs allege, provide superior academic preparation, which allows primarily white and Asian students to continue through the pipeline to academically screened middle and high schools, relegating Black and Latinx students to unscreened schools, often in poorly maintained buildings with limited extracurricular programs. The end of the pipeline, or “zenith” as plaintiffs describe it, is admission to one of eight New York City specialized high schools based on the results of the Special High School Admissions Test (the SHSAT).* * *

The pipeline, plaintiffs claim, is designed to exclude Black and Latinx students from the City’s prime educational opportunities. According to plaintiffs, the State and the City “intentionally adopted” and “for decades have intentionally retained—with no pedagogical basis—testing-based sorting that they know excludes students of color from equal educational opportunities.” This knowledge was acquired, plaintiffs allege, “through decades of experience and reflected in [defendants] own admissions” including the knowledge of the public school system’s “racist character and outcomes.” Despite this knowledge, plaintiffs allege that the State and the City “intentionally refuse to dismantle . . . its racialized channeling system.” IntegrateNYC, Inc. v State of New York, 2024 NY Slip Op 02369, First Dept 5-2-24

Practice Point: Here Supreme Court’s conclusion that the suit seeking injunctive relief from discriminatory education policies and procedures in the New York City public school system was not “justiciable” was rejected.

 

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DEFENDANT NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DID NOT OWE A DUTY TO A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR WHO WAS ATTACKED BY A STUDENT IN A SCHOOL HALLWAY; THERE WAS NO “SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP” BETWEEN DEFENDANTS AND PLAINTIFF (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the absence of a special relationship between plaintiff high school administrator and defendant NYC Department of Education precluded recovery for an attack on the administrator by a student in the school’s hallway:

“Absent the existence of a special relationship between the defendants and the . . . plaintiff, liability may not be imposed on the defendants for a breach of a duty owed generally to persons in the school system and members of the public” … . To succeed on a cause of action sounding in negligence, the plaintiff must establish that the defendants owed her a special duty of care … .

A plaintiff may demonstrate that a special relationship exists by showing, among other things, that the municipality “voluntarily assume[d] a duty that generate[d] justifiable reliance by the person who benefits from the duty,” or that “the municipality assume[d] positive direction and control in the face of a known, blatant and dangerous safety violation” … . A special relationship based upon a duty voluntarily assumed by the municipality requires proof of the following: “‘(1) an assumption by the municipality, through promises or actions, of an affirmative duty to act on behalf of the party who was injured; (2) knowledge on the part of the municipality’s agents that inaction could lead to harm; (3) some form of direct contact between the municipality’s agents and the injured party; and (4) that party’s justifiable reliance on the municipality’s affirmative undertaking'” … .

… The defendants’ submissions demonstrated that they did not voluntarily assume a duty toward the plaintiff. The defendants did not make any promises to the plaintiff or take any actions regarding security protocols in the school that amounted to an affirmative undertaking of protection by them on her behalf, nor could the plaintiff have justifiably relied on any such actions … . Notably, the plaintiff testified at her deposition that she had no reason to fear the student who allegedly assaulted her. The plaintiff also testified that, prior to the incident, the student had never made any threats toward her and she never asked the school to provide her with protection from the student. Moreover, the defendants did not take positive direction and control in the face of a known, blatant, and dangerous safety violation … . Villa-Lefler v Department of Educ. of the City of N.Y., 2024 NY Slip Op 02343, Second Dept 5-1-24

Practice Point: Absent a “special relationship’ between plaintiff school administrator and defendant NYC Department of Education, defendant is not liable for an attack on the administrator by a student in a school hallway.

 

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A NOTICE OF VIOLATION FROM THE CITY TO THE ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER REGARDING THE DETERIORATED CONDITION OF THE SIDEWALK RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIDEWALK DEFECT (A PROTRUDING METAL BAR) WHICH CAUSED PLAINTIFF’S SLIP AND FALL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff had raised a question of fact whether the city had notice of the condition of the sidewalk which allegedly caused her slip and fall; Plaintiff demonstrated a notice of violation had been issued to the abutting property owner concerning the deterioration of the sidewalk. Plaintiff had alleged she tripped over a metal bar protruding from the sidewalk. The notice of violation raised a question of fact whether that specific defect was encompassed by the notice:

The plaintiff submitted … a Notice of Violation from the Department of Public Works, Office of the Commissioner, to the purported owner of the property abutting the sidewalk on which the plaintiff fell. The Notice of Violation was issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, the very individual who was statutorily designated to receive written notice of sidewalk defects. The Notice of Violation stated that an inspection, which … found … that “deteriorated and hazardous conditions” existed on the abutting sidewalk. Under the circumstances, the plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the City did, in fact, have prior written notice of the alleged defect … . Whether the Notice of Violation “encompassed the particular condition which allegedly caused the subject accident is an issue of fact which should await resolution at trial” … . Douglas v City of Mount Vernon, N.Y., 2024 NY Slip Op 02173, Second Dept 4-24-24

Practice Point: Here a notice of violation issued by the city to the abutting property owner concerning the deteriorated condition of the sidewalk raised a question of fact whether the city had prior written notice of the specific defect, a protruding metal bar, which caused plaintiff’s fall.

 

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