Late Notice of Claim.

The First Department determined that the motion court properly exercised its discretion in letting petitioner file a late notice of claim more than seven months after expiration of the 90-day filing requirement, pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-e[1][a]; [5]), in Caridi v. New York Convention Operating Corp., which was decided on January 24, 2008.

The court said there is no prejudice to defendant since the State Police were on the scene at the time of the accident and immediately conducted an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and taking photographs of the location as it was at the time of the accident, which culminated in an accident report which is readily available to defendant.

In addition, the allegedly defective condition that caused petitioner to fall and injure his knee was highly transitory and defendant would have been unable to investigate even if the notice of claim had been served within the prescribed statutory period.