Practice point: Where a municipality has adopted a prior written notice
law, it cannot be held liable for a defect within the scope of the law
absent the requisite written notice, unless an exception to the
requirement applies. Recognized exceptions to the prior
written notice requirement exist where the municipality created the
defect or hazard through an affirmative act of negligence, or where a
special use confers a special benefit upon it.
Here, in the bill of particulars, the plaintiff alleged that the City
affirmatively created a dangerous condition by the manner in which it
piled up snow and ice at the location of the accident. The City established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a
matter of law by demonstrating that it did not receive prior written
notice of a snow mound or icy condition in the area in which the
plaintiff fell, and that it did not, merely by plowing the roadway,
create a dangerous condition through an affirmative act of negligence.
Student note: The purportedly new facts submitted by the plaintiff on that branch of
the motion which was for leave to renew would not have changed the prior
determination, and so renewal was denied, pursuant to CPLR 2221[e].
Case: Moncrieffe v. City of White Plains, NY Slip Op 02017 (2d Dept. 2014).
Here is the decision.
Monday's issue: A jury's inconsistent verdict.
