Oller v. DoorDash — Delivery platform owed motorists a direct duty
The Indiana Court of Appeals held that DoorDash owed motorists a direct duty of care against risks allegedly created by its speed incentives and driver-facing app.
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Negligence
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Wang v. City of Chelsea — Chapter 93A letter did not present tort claim
The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a Chapter 93A demand letter did not satisfy Tort Claims Act presentment because it omitted the incident, negligence theory, legal basis, and date.
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Vinson v. Ferrara Bros. — General Contractor’s Summary Judgment Reversed: Supervisory Authority Over Delivery Work Is a Triable Issue
Second Department reverses summary judgment for Toll Brothers developer: general contractor failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether it had supervisory authority over concrete delivery operations — that question must go to trial.
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Ralph v. Archdiocese of New York — Child Victims Act Case Survives Summary Judgment on Notice of Abuser’s Propensity
Second Department affirms denial of summary judgment for Archdiocese of New York and Church of St. Bernard in a CVA case alleging 1960s abuse: defendants failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to constructive notice of the abuser’s propensity.
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Rennie-Walker v. Weiss — Court Cannot Sua Sponte Convert Trespass Action to RPAPL 881 Proceeding; Preliminary Injunction Stands
The Appellate Division, Second Department holds that a trial court exceeded its authority by sua sponte converting a trespass and nuisance action into an RPAPL 881 special proceeding, while affirming the preliminary injunction against renovation work on a plaintiff’s adjoining Brooklyn property wall and rejecting dismissal of the trespass and nuisance claims.
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On Point Window Treatment v. 208 Clifton Place — Roof Collapse Triggers GOL § 5-321; Landlord Cannot Shift Liability to Tenant by Lease
The Appellate Division, Second Department affirms that a commercial landlord cannot enforce lease provisions requiring a tenant to hold the landlord harmless and bear sole insurance obligations when the landlord’s own negligence caused the tenant’s property damage—here, a roof collapse. General Obligations Law § 5-321 voids the exculpatory clauses.
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Rashada v. Ahmed — Radiologist Has No Duty to Recommend Biopsy After Identifying Mass, But Misinterpretation Claim Survives
The Fourth Department holds that a radiologist owes no duty to recommend a biopsy after identifying a hand mass on MRI — that obligation falls on the treating physician — while allowing the claim that the radiologist negligently misread the imaging to proceed to trial.
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Montes v. City of Rochester — Municipal Road-Maintenance Duty Does Not Extend to Adjacent Homeowners Struck by Speeding Vehicle
The Fourth Department holds that Rochester’s proprietary duty to maintain safe roads runs only to the traveling public, not to homeowners whose property is struck by a speeding vehicle at a T-intersection, absent a special duty running to them specifically.
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Polisoto v. St. Gregory the Great R.C. Church — Snow Removal Contractor’s Actual Salting Practice Revives Duty-of-Care Question Under Espinal
The Fourth Department reinstates a slip-and-fall complaint against a snow removal contractor, finding that contractor’s actual salting practice on the day of the fall may have completely displaced the property owner’s duty to address ice, triggering an Espinal exception.
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Sarah R. v. Crouse Health Hospital — Hospital-Issued Scrubs and Emergency Circumstances Create Apparent Agency Issue for Jury
The Fourth Department reinstates a medical malpractice complaint against a hospital, finding hospital-issued scrubs, a Medical Staff badge, and emergency neonatal circumstances raise a triable question of apparent agency over independent-contractor neonatologists.
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Rutigliano v. Tri City Construction Corp. — Homeowner’s Conversion Claim Survives After Contractor Deposited Insurance Check Without Endorsement
The Appellate Division, Second Department partially reverses dismissal of a homeowner’s claims against a fire-damage contractor who deposited a two-party insurance check without the homeowner’s endorsement, holding the conversion and unjust enrichment claims against the corporation survive the contractor’s authorization form defense.
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Crossbay Assoc. v. Singh — Property Owner May Add Engineer as Defendant After Neighboring Excavation Collapses Building
The Appellate Division, Second Department holds that a property owner whose building partially collapsed due to unsupported neighboring excavation work may amend its complaint under CPLR 3025(b) to add the consulting engineer whose negligence allegedly contributed to the collapse, even though the amendment comes years into the litigation.
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Williams v. New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner — $2.5M Default Judgment Against Funeral Home Vacated for New Inquest
The Appellate Division, Second Department vacates a $2.5 million default judgment against a funeral home and orders a new inquest, finding the lower court abused its discretion in failing to vacate the inquest ruling in the face of evidence that the damages determination was improperly rendered.
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Gantt v. City of New York
First Department modifies order, denying summary judgment to all parties in multi-vehicle accident where both bus and truck committed Vehicle and Traffic Law violations, creating triable issues of comparative fault.
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Whitney v. Lawson
The Second Department affirmed denial of summary judgment for both a property owner and wire owner in a motorcycle accident caused by a low-hanging communications wire weighed down by a fallen tree branch.
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Davis v. Rodriguez
The Second Department affirmed denial of summary judgment in an e-bike collision case, finding the defendants’ own evidence presented conflicting accounts of the accident.
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Estate of Lewis v. Anderson — Court denies police officer statutory immunity in fatal K-9 unit shooting
The Tenth District denied a Columbus police officer statutory immunity in a fatal K-9 unit shooting, finding genuine factual disputes about whether the officer recklessly perceived a threat before firing.
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Cruz v. Spec Personnel — Appellate Court Reverses $42M Verdict, Ruling Shipper Owed No Duty for Post-Delivery Warehouse Injury
Connecticut Appellate Court reverses a $42 million verdict against a product shipper, holding that a warehouse worker’s catastrophic injuries from falling unsecured freight were not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the shipper’s failure to stretch-wrap a pallet.
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Angler v. Muskingum County — Fifth District holds K-9 excessive force claims are battery, barred by one-year statute of limitations
The Fifth District affirmed summary judgment for deputies in a K-9 bite case, holding that claims alleging a duty to intervene in a K-9 attack are essentially battery claims governed by the one-year statute of limitations, not custodial negligence claims.
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Bartlett v. Valley Communications Center — 911 Dispatch Agency Faces Negligence Suit Under Special Relationship Exception After Downgrading Murder Scene Call to Priority 2
The Washington Court of Appeals, Division I, reversed dismissal of a negligence claim against a 911 dispatch agency, holding that the complaint sufficiently alleged the special relationship exception to the public duty doctrine where a dispatcher took a call about an identified murder victim in an identified room, told the caller help was dispatched, and then placed the call on hold—but affirmed dismissal of the negligent supervision claim because the complaint did not allege that any dispatcher acted outside the scope of employment.
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Gabel v. RMH Franchise Corp. — Court holds res judicata bars refiled slip-and-fall claim after voluntary dismissal
The Twelfth District affirmed summary judgment on res judicata grounds, holding that a prior summary judgment ruling on a premises liability claim was a final judgment on the merits even though the plaintiff later voluntarily dismissed the case under Civ.R. 41(A).
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Jackson v. Cleveland — Eighth District reverses judgment on the pleadings, holds discovery rule applies to political subdivision tort claims
The Eighth District reversed judgment on the pleadings for the City of Cleveland, holding that the discovery rule applies to the two-year statute of limitations for political subdivision tort claims and that immunity questions cannot be resolved on the pleadings when the relevant facts are in dispute.
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Housel v. Winking Lizard Tavern — Court affirms summary judgment on slip-and-fall claim, upholds expert exchange timeline
The Eighth District affirmed summary judgment for Winking Lizard Tavern and Cintas on a slip-and-fall claim, finding the floor mat hazard was open and obvious and the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact on the attendant-circumstances exception.
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Johnson v. Smith — Ninth District reverses summary judgment, holds negligence per se claim for sidewalk defect survives despite open-and-obvious doctrine
The Ninth District reversed summary judgment for a property owner in a sidewalk fall case, holding that the open-and-obvious doctrine does not override negligence per se based on a municipal ordinance requiring sidewalk maintenance, and that the plaintiff’s statement about tripping was admissible as an excited utterance.