January 5, 2018
McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia is pleased to report the successful dismissal of a high-profile general liability case venued in Kings County New York, a notoriously plaintiff-friendly venue. An eight-year-old girl was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while crossing the street near our client’s residential apartment building in Brooklyn. Plaintiffs sued the driver of the vehicle that struck the decedent, the driver of a vehicle double-parked at the scene to deliver furniture to one of our client’s tenants, and our client, the owner of the residential building. Plaintiffs claimed that the double-parked vehicle contributed to the accident by blocking sight-lines. They alleged that our client, the adjacent land-owner, knew that vehicles routinely double-parked in front of its building to make deliveries and did nothing to stop them from doing so. It was further alleged that our client’s building was defective, in that it offered no safe place for deliveries, effectively forcing vehicles to double-park.
MKC&I Associate David Sasser was able to quickly and economically resolve what could have been a costly matter via a pre-answer motion to dismiss. At oral argument, Mr. Sasser convinced the Court that our client owed no duty to the plaintiffs because none of the hazards that caused the accident were located on our client’s property. While our client could potentially be held liable if it contributed to the accident, we demonstrated through an uncontradicted affidavit that our client did not coordinate the delivery, direct the vehicle to double-park in front of the building, or assist in the delivery in any way. Finally, we demonstrated that residential buildings in New York City have no duty to provide special places – ramps, parking spots, etc. – for deliveries. Over the plaintiffs’ strenuous objections, the Court agreed that our client did not owe the plaintiffs a duty, and dismissed the plaintiffs’ Compliant for failure to state a cause of action in its entirety.
Congratulations to David Sasser from MKC&I’s New York office for drafting the motion papers and successfully arguing our position before the Court.