Axon v. New York City Transit Authority
| Decision Date | 05 May 1986 |
| Citation | 502 N.Y.S.2d 31,120 A.D.2d 475 |
| Parties | Thomas AXON, Respondent, v. NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
William E. Rosa, Brooklyn (Kenneth J. Chertoff, of counsel), for appellant.
William R. Johnson, Brooklyn (Michael Guararra and Michele A. Pomara on brief), for respondent.
Before GIBBONS, J.P., and THOMPSON, NIEHOFF and RUBIN, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
In a negligence action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the defendant appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Dowd, J.), dated April 15, 1985, which, after a jury trial, is in favor of the plaintiff in the principal amount of $62,833.
Judgment reversed, on the law and the facts, with costs, and complaint dismissed.
In response to the complaint of a subway passenger named Ryan, who accused the plaintiff of beating him while on the train, the defendant's employees ordered the plaintiff off the train so that they could investigate the incident. Transit police officers then relocated both the plaintiff and the upset and agitated Ryan to the mezzanine level of the subway station in order to ascertain what had occurred on the train. As the plaintiff stood in the company of the transit police, Ryan, without warning, reached across one of the officers and punched the plaintiff in the mouth.
The defendant argues that it cannot be held liable in damages for failure to provide adequate police protection to a specific individual such as the plaintiff absent a special relationship between itself and the plaintiff (see, Weiner v. Metropolitan Transp. Auth., 55 N.Y.2d 175, 448 N.Y.S.2d 141, 433 N.E.2d 124). Assuming, without conceding, that such a special relationship existed under the facts of this case, the relationship merely establishes the existence of a duty of reasonable care, which the plaintiff must show was violated (see, De Long v. County of Erie, 60 N.Y.2d 296, 469 N.Y.S.2d 611, 457 N.E.2d 717). The officers were not under a duty to insure or guarantee the safety of the plaintiff.
The plaintiff in the case at bar failed to offer proof of lack of reasonable care on the part of the defendant's employees. According to the testimony offered at the trial, one of the transit police officers was standing between and separating the plaintiff and Ryan while he tried to ascertain from both men what had occurred. Certainly, it was reasonable for the officers to have the persons in relatively...
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Fontaine v. Ryan
...he had notice of the assault or an opportunity to prevent it. 452 N.Y.S.2d at 834. Similarly, in Axon v. New York City Transit Authority, 120 A.D.2d 475, 502 N.Y.S.2d 31, 32 (2d Dep't 1986), a police officer separated two quarrelling passengers on a subway train and took them to a platform ......
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...the existence of a duty of reasonable care which the plaintiffs were required to show was violated (see, Axon v. New York City Tr. Auth., 120 A.D.2d 475, 502 N.Y.S.2d 31). The plaintiffs failed to show any lack of reasonable care on the part of the respondents (see, Weiner v. Metropolitan T......
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...Transit Authority owed to this particular plaintiff a duty of reasonable care in protecting his person (see, Axon v. New York City Tr. Auth., 120 A.D.2d 475, 502 N.Y.S.2d 31). This plaintiff has not offered proof that the New York City Transit Authority police officers failed to exercise re......
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