Several state and local laws, including Civil Practice Law and Rules §9804 and New York Town Law §65-a, provide that no civil action shall be maintained against a municipality for damages or injuries to a person unless written notice of the defect, unsafe dangerous or obstructive condition is given to the municipality. New York General Municipal Law §50-e(4) authorizes such written notice requirement only if there are defects, unsafe or dangerous conditions in the following six enumerated locations: (1) streets; (2) highways; (3) bridges; (4) culverts; (5) sidewalks; or (6) crosswalks. As will be discussed below, the New York Court of Appeals has progressively expanded the prior written notice protections to areas that serve the same “functional purpose” as the enumerated locations.
In a 1994 case, Walker v. Town of Hempstead, the plaintiff sued the town to recover for injuries sustained after a fall on a municipal paddleball court at a beach area, and the town claimed that it had not been given prior written notice of any defective condition of the paddleball court as required by Hempstead, N.Y., Code §6-2. 84 N.Y.2d 360 (1994). The court held that to the extent Hempstead, N.Y., Code §6-2 required prior notice of defect for locations other than those enumerated in N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law §50-e(4), the code section was beyond the town’s supersession authority, and the absence of a prior written notice of a defect could not be a defense.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
