MINER v. VILLAGE OF ILION (1999)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York.

Larry D. MINER, Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF ILION, Carol R. Perrone and Mark Hennessey, Respondents. (Action No. 1.)
Carolyn Williams, Plaintiff, v. Village of Ilion, et al., Defendants. (Action No. 2.)

Decided: February 10, 1999

PRESENT: GREEN, J.P., PINE, WISNER, PIGOTT, Jr., and CALLAHAN, JJ.

O'Donnell & O'Donnell by Philip O'Donnell, Herkimer, for Plaintiff-Appellant Miner. Kenneth Neeves, Richfield Springs, for Plaintiff-Appellant Williams. Kernan & Kernan, P.C., Utica, for Defendant-Respondent Village of Ilion. Horigan, Horigan, Pennock & Lombardo, P.C. by Kevin Martin, Amsterdam, for Defendant-Respondent Perrone. Getman, Franchi & Applegate, LLP by Krishna Singh, Ilion, for Defendant-Respondent Hennessey.

Larry D. Miner (plaintiff) was a tenant in a building destroyed by fire in the Village of Ilion (Village). Plaintiff commenced this negligence action against the owner, another tenant and the Village seeking to recover damages for his losses. Supreme Court properly granted the motions of the Village and the tenant and the cross motion of the owner for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The owner and tenant established their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of proximate cause, and plaintiff failed to submit proof in admissible form that any negligent act of the owner or tenant “was a substantial cause of the events which produced the injury” (Derdiarian v. Felix Contr. Corp., 51 N.Y.2d 308, 315, 434 N.Y.S.2d 166, 414 N.E.2d 666, rearg. denied 52 N.Y.2d 784, 436 N.Y.S.2d 622, 417 N.E.2d 1010; see, Ithaca Mem. Ch. No. 147, Disabled Am. Veterans v. First Natl. Bank & Trust Co., 96 A.D.2d 667, 466 N.Y.S.2d 496). The Village met its initial burden by establishing the absence of any special relationship between plaintiff and the Village (see, Cuffy v. City of New York, 69 N.Y.2d 255, 260, 513 N.Y.S.2d 372, 505 N.E.2d 937), and plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact.

Order unanimously affirmed without costs.

MEMORANDUM:

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network