Levy v. City of New York

Decision Date24 April 2012
Citation94 A.D.3d 1060,2012 N.Y. Slip Op. 03147,943 N.Y.S.2d 187
PartiesMichael LEVY, respondent, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., appellants, et al., defendant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Stephen J. McGrath, Victoria Scalzo, Margaret G. King, and Kira Wallisch of counsel), for appellants.

Bamundo, Zwal & Schermerhorn, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Ben Bartolotta of counsel), for respondent.

RUTH C. BALKIN, J.P., JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, ARIEL E. BELEN, and SHERI S. ROMAN, JJ.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants City of New York, the New York City Department of Water Supply, and the New York City Department of Transportation appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Kerrigan, J.), entered August 3, 2010, as denied that branch of their motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them.

ORDERED that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs, and that branch of the motion of the defendants City of New York, the New York City Department of Water Supply, and the New York City Department of Transportation which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them is granted.

The plaintiff allegedly was injured when he tripped and fell as a result of a defect in the roadway adjacent to a hydrant gate box owned by the defendant City of New York. The hydrant gate box controlled the flow of water to a nearby fire hydrant. The Supreme Court, inter alia, denied that branch of the motion of the City, the defendant New York City Department of Water Supply, and the defendant New York City Department of Transportation (hereinafter collectively the City defendants) which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them. The City defendants appeal, and we reverse the order insofar as appealed from.

Where a municipality has enacted a prior written notice statute, it may not be subjected to liability for injuries arising from a defective roadway unless either it has received prior written notice of the defective condition or an exception to the prior written notice requirement applies ( see De La Reguera v. City of Mount Vernon, 74 A.D.3d 1127, 904 N.Y.S.2d 108; Griesbeck v. County of Suffolk, 44 A.D.3d 618, 619, 843 N.Y.S.2d 162; Lopez v. G & J Rudolph Inc., 20 A.D.3d 511, 512, 799 N.Y.S.2d 254). The only two recognized exceptions to the prior written notice requirement are where the municipality created the defect through an affirmative act of negligence, or where the defect resulted from a special use of the property by the municipality which conferred a special benefit on it ( see Amabile v. City of...

To continue reading

Request your trial
12 cases
  • Prudence v. Wright
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • 24 Abril 2012
    ...unsuccessful attempts, the process server affixed a copy of the summons and complaint to the defendant's door and mailed a copy to the [943 N.Y.S.2d 187] same address, which was alleged to be the defendant's “last known residence.” Contrary to these averments in the affidavit of service, th......
  • Estate of Peretz v. Vill. of Great Neck Plaza
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • 22 Julio 2015
    ...defect resulted from a special use of the property by the municipality which conferred a special benefit on it” (Levy v. City of New York, 94 A.D.3d 1060, 943 N.Y.S.2d 187 ; see Amabile v. City of Buffalo, 93 N.Y.2d 471, 474, 693 N.Y.S.2d 77, 715 N.E.2d 104 ; Halitzer v. Village of Great Ne......
  • McManus v. Klein
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • 3 Febrero 2016
    ...defect resulted from a special use of the property by the municipality which conferred a special benefit on it” (Levy v. City of New York, 94 A.D.3d 1060, 1060, 943 N.Y.S.2d 187; see Yarborough v. City of New York, 10 N.Y.3d at 728, 853 N.Y.S.2d 261, 882 N.E.2d 873; Amabile v. City of Buffa......
  • Chia v. City of N.Y.
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • 18 Septiembre 2013
    ...notice of the defective condition” ( Burwell v. City of New York, 97 A.D.3d 617, 618, 948 N.Y.S.2d 401;see Levy v. City of New York, 94 A.D.3d 1060, 943 N.Y.S.2d 187;De La Reguera v. City of Mount Vernon, 74 A.D.3d 1127, 904 N.Y.S.2d 108;Cendales v. City of New York, 25 A.D.3d 579, 807 N.Y.......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT