R.C. et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JAFFE (2026)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Judith N. McMahon, J.), entered on or about June 4, 2024, which, insofar as appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted defendant NYU Langone Health System's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against it, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Supreme Court properly dismissed the complaint as against NYU Langone because it cannot be held vicariously liable for the negligence of the mother's private attending doctor, defendant Daniel Roshan (see Hill v. St. Clare's Hosp., 67 N.Y.2d 72, 79 [1986];  Walter v. Betancourt, 283 A.D.2d 223, 224 [1st Dept 2001] ).  Similarly, NYU Langone cannot be held vicariously liable for the conduct of persons who were not identified in the pleadings or in plaintiffs' experts' affirmations as persons for whose negligence NYU Langone may be liable (see Gambacorta v. Giordano, 193 AD3d 572, 573 [1st Dept 2021];  Harty v. Lenci, 294 A.D.2d 296, 298 [1st Dept 2002] ).  This conclusion is true even if issues of fact exist with respect to whether it was a departure from the standard of care to not immediately deliver the infant twins, or at least call for evaluation by a maternal-fetal medicine specialist when the plaintiff mother presented to the NYU Langone emergency room on March 19, 2016, and even if issues of fact exist as to whether such departure proximately caused plaintiffs' injuries — questions we expressly do not decide on this appeal.