Practice point: Plaintiff alleges that, after she was struck by an automobile, the responding officers failed to record the identity of the owner and/or operator of the vehicle that struck plaintiff.
The Appellate Division determined that the City is entitled to summary judgment because the investigation of the accident at issue here is a governmental function, and so the City is not liable for failing to properly investigate the incident unless there existed a special duty to plaintiff, in contrast to a general duty owed to the public.
Here, plaintiff cannot establish a special relationship through defendants' violation of a statutory duty, because none of the cited sections of the Vehicle and Traffic Law authorize a private right of action, nor were they otherwise enacted for the benefit of a particular class of persons as opposed to the public at large
Student note: While the statute imposes criminal liability if the vehicle's operator does not identify himself or herself, there is no statutory provision for governmental tort liability.
Case: Bouet v. City of New York, NY Slip Op 01567 (1st Dept. 2015)
Here is the decision.
Tomorrow's issue: A defendant's establishing a lack of constructive notice in a slip and fall case.
