WOODWORTH 81 v. HINK (2006)

Plaintiffs commenced this action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by Colin J. Woodworth, Jr. (Colin) in a head-on collision between his vehicle and one driven by another student.   At the time of the accident, Colin was driving from his classes at defendant Steuben-Allegany Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) back to his high school.   Supreme Court properly granted the motion of BOCES and defendant Greenwood Central School District for summary judgment dismissing the amended complaint against them.   Under the circumstances, those defendants owed no duty to Colin and his parents to prevent Colin from leaving the BOCES facility in his father's car instead of on a school bus, notwithstanding the existence of school rules requiring students to ride the bus in the absence of a parent's written permission to drive in a private vehicle (see Thompson v. Ange, 83 A.D.2d 193, 194-196, 443 N.Y.S.2d 918;  see also Briggs v. Rhinebeck Cent. School Dist., 2 A.D.3d 383, 767 N.Y.S.2d 786, lv. denied 2 N.Y.3d 706, 781 N.Y.S.2d 287, 814 N.E.2d 459;  Cerni v. Zambrana, 271 A.D.2d 566, 706 N.Y.S.2d 153;  Wenger v. Goodell, 220 A.D.2d 937, 937-938, 632 N.Y.S.2d 865;  Bushnell v. Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Dist., 125 A.D.2d 859, 510 N.Y.S.2d 488, lv. denied 69 N.Y.2d 609, 516 N.Y.S.2d 1024, 509 N.E.2d 359;  Hurlburt v. Noxon, 149 Misc.2d 374, 376, 565 N.Y.S.2d 683).   Moreover, the record does not support plaintiffs' contention that those defendants assumed a special duty to Colin and his parents (see Wenger v. Goodell, 288 A.D.2d 815, 816-817, 733 N.Y.S.2d 523, lv. denied 98 N.Y.2d 605, 746 N.Y.S.2d 279, 773 N.E.2d 1017;  Brabender v. Altmann, 2001 N.Y. Slip Op. 40148[U], *3-5, 2001 WL 1221653;  see also Chalen v. Glen Cove School Dist., 29 A.D.3d 508, 510, 814 N.Y.S.2d 254).

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is affirmed without costs.

MEMORANDUM:

All concur, PIGOTT, Jr., P.J., not participating.