Lugo v. St. Nicholas Associates
Decision Date | 24 May 2005 |
Docket Number | 6015. |
Citation | 2005 NY Slip Op 04140,795 N.Y.S.2d 227,18 A.D.3d 341 |
Parties | PILAR LUGO, Respondent-Appellant, v. ST. NICHOLAS ASSOCIATES et al., Appellants-Respondents, et al., Defendant. |
Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Plaintiff, a home health care aide for the disabled, fell at a building owned by defendant St. Nicholas Associates and managed by defendant Stahl Associates as she attempted to lower a wheelchair-bound client down a short indoor stairway. Plaintiff contends that her accident and injuries resulted from defendants' violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ([ADA] 42 USC § 12182 et seq.) in failing to provide an appropriate means of egress.
ADA allows litigants to pursue actions only for injunctive relief, and does not provide a private right of action for monetary damages in a personal injury action (see 42 USC § 12188 [a]; § 2000a-3 [a]; Hunt v Meharry Med. Coll., 2000 WL 739551, *6-7, 2000 US Dist LEXIS 7804, *17-19 [SD NY 2000]). Since ADA's purpose is to address issues of discrimination and not safety, the act should not be construed as setting a safety standard for stairs or walkways, even with respect to disabled plaintiffs (cf. Rocovich v Consolidated Edison Co., 78 NY2d 509, 513 [1991]). In light of the statute's overriding purpose of eliminating discrimination against the disabled, and given that Congress did not include a private right of action even for direct and intentional discrimination, there is no discernible reason why the motion court, or any court, should use ADA as a safety standard to create new and wide-ranging liabilities on building owners. Turning ADA into a safety standard would, in effect, require building owners to refurbish buildings immediately or face potential tort liability to the disabled or persons associated with them for accidents occurring during their attempts to...
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Carlson v. State
...over actions for money damages against the State (Court of Claims §§ 8, 9). The State's reliance upon Lugo v. St. Nicholas Assoc., 18 A.D.3d 341, 795 N.Y.S.2d 227 (2005), in urging the lack of a damage remedy under the ADA is misplaced. Although the Appellate Division, First Judicial Depart......
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Smahaj v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc.
...not recognize" ( Lugo v. St. Nicholas Assoc. , 2 Misc. 3d 212, 218, 772 N.Y.S.2d 449 [Sup. Ct., New York County 2003], affd 18 A.D.3d 341, 795 N.Y.S.2d 227 [2005] [analyzing the Americans with Disabilities Act]; see generally Moore v. New York Cotton Exchange , 270 U.S. 593, 602-603, 46 S.C......
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Gutterman v. State
...under the ADA and seeking monetary damages cannot be heard in the Court of Claims. Defendant cites Lugo v. St. Nicholas Assoc. , 18 A.D.3d 341, 795 N.Y.S.2d 227 [1st Dept. 2005], in support of this argument. However, Lugo analyzed a claim brought pursuant to Title III of the ADA which prohi......
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Cornelisse v. United States
...Lettera v. Retail Property Trust, No. 04 CV 4955, 2006 WL 196975, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 24, 2006); Lugo v. St. Nicholas Associates, 18 A.D.3d 341, 342, 795 N.Y.S.2d 227, 229 (1st Dep't 2005). Furthermore, where a regulation represents a good and safe practice, a trivial departure from its re......