March 6, 2021

The City's liability for emergency calls.

The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Order which granted defendant City of New York's motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) and 3212(a). Plaintiffs claim that the City's agent negligently chose a lower priority radio dispatch code in response to the decedent off-duty police officer's 911 call regarding a possible burglary in the house next door, and that the use of a lower priority code resulted in police arriving later than they might have if a higher priority code had been used. The City established that the defense of governmental function immunity applies in this case, as its agent's duties inherently entailed the exercise of discretion and judgment, and that the assignment of an applicable dispatch code based on the limited information provided by the decedent resulted from discretionary decision-making. The court correctly dismissed plaintiffs' General Municipal Law § 205-e claim for failure to identify noncompliance with a requirement found in a well developed body of law or regulation that imposes clear duties.

Estate of Enchautegui v. City of New York, NY Slip Op 01231 (1st Dep't March 2, 2021)

Here is the decision.