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ANTHONY COMMISSO AND VIKKI COMMISSO, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS OF ZACHARY COMMISSO, AN INFANT UNDER THE AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS, PLAINTIFFS-RESPONDENTS, v. LYNDA GREENLEAF AND GERALD GREENLEAF, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: Plaintiffs, individually and on behalf of their son, commenced this action to recover damages for injuries he sustained when he fell from his bicycle while he was under the supervision of defendants, at daycare. According to plaintiffs, defendants failed to provide adequate supervision for their son, who was then seven years old and was being badgered by another child who also was on a bicycle. We conclude that Supreme Court properly denied defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. “A person to whom the custody and care of a child is entrusted by a parent ‘is obliged to provide adequate supervision and may be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately resulting from the negligent failure to do so’ “ (Brennan v. Sinski, 31 AD3d 1108, 1109; see Singh v. Persaud, 269 A.D.2d 381; see generally Mirand v. City of New York, 84 N.Y.2d 44, 50-51). Here, defendants failed to meet their initial burden on the motion inasmuch as their own submissions in support thereof raise issues of fact whether the accident was foreseeable and whether they provided adequate supervision (see Oliverio v. Lawrence Pub. Schools, 23 AD3d 633, 634-635; Douglas v John Hus Moravian Church of Brooklyn, Inc., 8 AD3d 327, 328). Defendants' failure to meet their initial burden “requires denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers” (Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853).
Patricia L. Morgan
Clerk of the Court
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Docket No: CA 10-02185
Decided: March 25, 2011
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York.
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Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
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