Municipal liability.

Practice point: A municipality is immune from liability arising from a claim that it negligently designed the sewerage system, but not from a claim that it negligently maintained the sewerage system, since this implicates conduct which is ministerial in nature.

Case: Moore v. City of Yonkers, NY Slip Op 06636 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Summary judgment.

Practice point: A summary judgment motion may not be made more than 120 days after the filing of the note of issue, except with leave of court on good cause shown, pursuant to CPLR 3212(a).

Case: Lyons v. Donnelly, NY Slip Op 06633 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Vicarious liability.

Practice point: A private attending physician’s affiliation with a hospital or other medical facility, not amounting to employment, is generally insufficient to impute a doctor's negligent conduct to the hospital or the medical facility.

Case: Keitel v. Kurtz, NY Slip Op 06632 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here .

Res judicata.

Practice point: A disposition on the merits bars litigation between the same parties, or those in privity with them, on a cause of action arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions as a cause of action which was, or which could have been, raised in a prior proceeding.

Case: Barash v. Northern Trust. Corp., NY Slip Op 06628 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Medical malpractice.

Practice point: The required elements of proof in a medical malpractice action are (1) a deviation or departure from good and accepted standards of medical practice, and (2) evidence that the departure was a proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury.

Case: Elias v. Bash, NY Slip Op 06587 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

School Law.

Practice point: A school has a duty to supervise its students with the same degree of care as an ordinarily prudent parent in comparable circumstances.

Case: Doe v. Department of Education of the City of New York, NY Slip Op 06586 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Motion practice.

Practice point: A motion to strike an answer, pursuant to CPLR 3126, will be denied if defendant did not have prior notice that this sanction was imminent.

Case: Sidelev v. Tsal-Tsalko, NY Slip Op 05750 (1st Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Dog bites.

Practice point: To recover in strict liability for a dog bite, a plaintiff must establish that the dog had vicious propensities and that the owner knew or should have known of them. Admissible evidence would include a prior attack; the dog's tendency to growl, snap, or bare its teeth; the way the dog was restrained; and the fact that the dog was kept as a guard dog.

Case: Grubb v. Healy, NY Slip Op 05044 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Motion practice.

Practice point: If a matter is stricken from the trial calendar and designated as inactive, but not dismissed, a plaintiff seeking to restore is not required to submit an affidavit of merit or an explanation as to why the case was removed from active status.

Case: Ross v. Brookdale Univ. Hosp. & Med. Ctr., NY Slip Op 06597 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Civil contempt.

Practice point: To sustain a determination of civil contempt, a court must find that the alleged contemnor violated the court’s lawful and express order, and that, as a result, a party to the litigation was prejudiced, pursuant to Judiciary Law § 753[A][3].

Case: Village of Plandome Manor v. Ioannou, NY Slip Op 06594 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.

Statute of limitations.

Practice point: The statute of limitations for tort actions against the MTA is one year and 30 days, pursuant to Public Authorities Law § 1276[1],[2]. For negligence actions against the Transit Authority, the statute is one year and 90 days, pursuant to Public Authorities Law § 1212[3].

Case: Sullivan v. Atlantic Paratransit of N.Y.C., Inc., NY Slip Op 05920 (2d Dept. 2008)

The opinion is here.